Western world

2024-05-08

The latest grotesque displays of antisemitism wreaking havoc on are more coordinated and organized than ever before. These apologists and supporters of Hamas-ISIS, Hezbollah (which alone has killed hundreds of Americans and other Westerners besides Israelis), and other genocidal jihadist groups, have also been attempting to spread this mayhem to other institutions of higher learning across different parts of the Western world. Reading the protest signs and listening to the messaging and and faculty involved in these campus occupations causes one to ponder whether these are in fact institutions of higher learning, or more institutions filled with incitement, and subpar educational standards and practices. Beyond the fact that these universities have incubated and tolerated the oldest hatred of a collective known to man – the hatred of – many of the institutions’ students and faculty who partake in these campus carnivals of bigotry, openly condone, deny, and sometimes even support the murder, mutilation, rape, and torture of Israeli men, women, children, and infants, that occurred on October 7.   These same students and faculty members have displayed a glaring ignorance of the subject matter they claim to be taking a stand on, i.e. Israel and the Middle East. Basic facts are totally unknown to them. Perhaps most infamously, which river and to what sea are they referring while repetitively chanting about them like mindless automatons?  Or, for some of the more naïve and manipulated participants in these campus hijackings, what sadistic acts of barbarism were committed against Israelis that were also recorded in real-time by Hamas-ISIS on October 7? A SIGN posted at the protest encampment in support of Palestinians at Columbia University. It is the spirit of the ’60s that seems to be animating many of the protesters on campuses protesting against Israel – in their eyes, the symbol of the established order they want to tear down. (credit: CAITLIN OCHS/REUTERS) For these activist-agitators, comprehending the nature and nuances of the ethno-national-theological composition of the Middle East is way beyond their knowledge base, and their go-to, two-minute TikTok tutorials. Let us not even get started on how these students, the Ivy Leaguers among them, have almost no familiarity with, or understanding of, the history of the Middle East, modern or ancient. SO HOW best to confront this crisis on US and other Western nations’ university campuses? A crisis, which is part and parcel of the wider growth and mainstreaming of antisemitism as has not been witnessed since World War II.  Supporters and friends of Zion, Evangelical Christians, chief among them, should see this as a calling to mobilize and get engaged in the most direct of ways. They have the numbers, influence, and resources to confront this hate and bigotry, especially in the United States.  They can do so on a large scale and in a way that would create lasting results. The same is true in other Western, particularly Anglo-Saxon countries, where there are also vibrant Evangelical and Christian Zionist communities.  South America too has growing, and increasingly organized Evangelical communities, as well as other sectors of society that traditionally support Israel – both from strong Christian and ideologically conservative secular backgrounds. Friends and supporters of Israel of all types have the opportunity now to do even more than they have done as communities and individuals in the past. They can do so very directly and in their native lands by counter-protesting, and academically and economically boycotting universities riddled with antisemitism, anti-Americanism, and radical progressivism.  By demanding more of their local and national leaders, and making it very clear that support and facilitation, moral or otherwise, of jihadist hate speech and antisemitism, regardless of the setting, will not be tolerated.   They can call for concrete accountability for the leaders of the academic institutions whose mismanagement, or worse coddling, of agitators and their acolytes, have allowed for their campuses to be hijacked and vandalized. Pastors, mega-church congregations, youth groups, and local and national organizations of Israel supporting Evangelicals specifically, can confront this mayhem and push hate back into its dark corners at least for a time. It is now better understood by many that what is happening on these campuses has, predictably, also gone beyond antisemitism and hatred for Israel. In the US, American flags have been torn down and burned. US law enforcement members have been verbally abused and derided in the basest of ways at these protests and disturbances; the United States itself has been denounced.  Jihadist, anti-American, and anti-Western hate speech continues to grow and feature prominently at these campus hijackings. If not confronted, it will only become more extreme, and the potential for wider-scale violence will increase. Friends and lovers of Zion can stand up and say: Enough – not in my country, not out of my pocket [public universities receive funding from taxpayers], not at the price of my personal safety and national security.  This is indeed your struggle as much as it is our Diaspora’s – a struggle for your children’s and your future generations’ education, for your academic systems, your morals, and your values, and what your countries stand for. Israel’s Diaspora is too small, too geographically concentrated, and facing too many varied threats, to be able to launch impactful countrywide responses to the virulent and increasingly violent antisemitism leveled against it.  Aliyah rates from Western countries have been robust for several years now, and they should continue to increase. The symbolism of this campus crisis peaking during the period of Passover, the commemoration of the nation of Israel’s first exodus from exile and return to its homeland – and this week, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, is deep. It should serve to sharpen the understanding, historical and practical, of how natural choosing aliyah should be for our Diaspora. Short of aliyah, instead of spending small fortunes on institutions that have traded meritocracy and hard work for equity and wokeism; our Diaspora youth should avoid these hotbeds of hate, and either attend schools in places where the problem is less prevalent, such as the US’s more rural and southern states, or come and study in Israel. Israeli universities are consistently ranked among the best in the world, and spending time in their native land will strengthen and invigorate during these unstable and dangerous times. As for supporters of Israel in the West – you who stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us, you who have cleaved yourselves to the nation of Israel, you who are concerned for your own countries and cultures’ future:  Arise and beat back those who poison the minds of your young people and ultimately seek to undermine the very foundations of your countries and societies. The writer is an Israeli hi-tech entrepreneur and a member of the Israel Leadership Forum. He is involved with various Israel advocacy causes including working with Christian Zionist and pro-Israel Noahide groups. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-06

The European Jewish Association has issued an appeal to Berlin’s finance minister to urge him to convert Nazi chief propagandaist’s mansion into a center for combatting hate propaganda. Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the charmain of the EJA, said that “Turning the mansion of the engineers in human history into a center for political psychology, communication, and combating hate speech would be an important moral victory. EJA is ready to examine the possibility of promoting the idea and realizing it.” Margolin, in a letter addressed to German Finance Minister Stefan Evers, expressed that the EJA would be willing to examine the possibility of accepting responsibility for the site, which the EJA claimed the Berlin government is struggling to maintain. Margolin wrote "91 years since the and the free world is once again facing waves of hatred that are motivated by consciousness engineering of poisonous propaganda, mass enframement and the creation of virtual reality with the sole purpose of sowing destruction and violence. It is precisely these days that Dr. Goebbels' estate should not be demolished, but rather that it should be turned into a center of combating hate speech that will protect the free world from the dangerous trends that are repeating themselves in the entire Western world and in Germany in particular."9 March 1945: Goebbels awards a 16-year-old Hitler Youth, Willi Hübner, the Iron Cross for the defence of Lauban (credit: Wikimedia Commons) “We are interested in implement[ing] the matter together with the Berlin government" noted  Margolin. "In a chilling resemblance to what is happening now in another place where the Jewish people are being sought to be destroyed, this week marked exactly 79 years since Goebbels poisoned his six children and committed suicide in his tunnel. Let us make the estate of spreading absolute evil a source of spreading good. It would be an important moral victory.” The EJA, founded by Margolin in 2007, has operated in hundreds of initiatives across Europe, in partnership with Jewish communities and organizations seeking to combat antisemitism and encourage freedom of religion and worship in Europe. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-29

James, “Jim,” Biden——partnered with Qatari government officials for US healthcare venture funds, Politico reported on Sunday following testimony in Jim Biden’s Kentucky bankruptcy case. The purported arrangements represent one of the most direct connections between a Biden family member and a foreign government that is publicly known. Recent testimony suggests that President Joe Biden’s brother collaborated with Qatari government officials to secure funding for healthcare projects in the United States. According to sworn testimony by fund manager Michael Lewitt, a former business associate of Jim Biden, it is confirmed that two companies involved in the endeavors had partial ownership by "members of the government." The alleged arrangements originated from Jim Biden's endeavor to secure funding from Qatari sources for projects in the United States shortly after his elder brother's tenure as vice president ended. During this period, the small, wealthy nation faced a financial blockade from neighboring countries and invested heavily to bolster its diplomatic standing in the Western world.(L R) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal arrive for a meeting in Doha. (credit: REUTERS) In 2017, Saudi Arabia and surrounding Arab countries cut ties with Qatar due to its support for terrorism, causing a financial and physical blockade. In response, reports claimed that Qatar began sending well-connected Westerners gifts and financial benefits, sometimes in the form of investment funding. The report also indicated that Jim Biden and Lewitt journeyed to Qatar in mid-2018 as part of the fundraising endeavors. Yet, it remains unclear if any encounter occurred between Jim Biden and Qatar's then-finance minister, Ali Sharif Al Emadi. The public records and emails obtained shed light on fundraising activities where leveraged his connection to his older brother and sought ways to navigate restrictions on international financial transactions. The transactions linked to these endeavors have emerged as focal points in a recently resolved fraud case pursued by the SEC. They are currently subject to thorough examination as part of a federal criminal inquiry in South Florida. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-25

The Hamas al-Aqsa Flood invasion from its independent entity of the Gaza Strip that included Palestinian Gazans of all ages and gender, focused on massacring, burning, raping and looting, and abducting Israeli babies, children, women and elderly, is embedded as a day of Palestinian pride. Its aftermath, in the form of Israel’s counterattack into the weapon-and-tunnel-infested, densely populated Gaza Strip, has generated unprecedented antisemitic and anti-Israeli tones, and hate crimes in the Western world. This quake possesses a new challenge for Western statesmanship. The terrifying chant “” in streets from Sydney through London and down to small-town USA (not to mention academic havens) reflects a decisive turning point in the future of Western society. This chant, which demonstrates a vision of the full destruction of democratic Israel and its Jewish and (20%) Muslim inhabitants, still appears to be equivocally unaccepted by Western governments. However, these governments in turn and to portray poor equity, strongly and optimistically advocate for a seemingly win-win effort – the two-state solution of a yet-to-be-founded, non-democratic Palestinian state bordering the current State of Israel. This vision comprises a continuation of 30 years of attempts to manifest the 1993 Oslo Accords into a Palestinian state. The repetitive Palestinian turndown of these statehood offers is strong evidence of their overarching intentions as explained below. Due to the criminal intent and actions of October 7, the two-state vision is unforeseeable by an unprecedented Israeli majority. In February, the Knesset backed Prime Minister Netanyahu’s declaration opposing any “unilateral” recognition of a Palestinian state, in response to a growing international call for the revival of efforts to establish such a state. This decision appears to have been one the catalysts of a supposed rift between Israel and its Western allies. But it is also a call to craft more creative efforts to stabilize the Palestinian-Israeli and, essentially, the Arab-Israeli conflict that since October 7 has generated immense and mounting impact even on internal policies of Western countries. This link between the al-Aqsa Flood murder spree and the streets and Western world parliaments needs to be understood and monitored. PALESTINIANS WAVE Hamas flags in the West Bank in solidarity with Gaza. Calls to restore the PA as the governing entity in Gaza are no less naïve than calls for a ‘two-state solution,’ argues the writer. (credit: WISAM HASHLAMOUN/FLASH90) The two-state solution is based on several fundamental working hypotheses. One, that Israel will finally be accepted as a legitimate Jewish state by the Palestinians; two, a Palestinian state will be an economically and socially sustainable one, opposed to the degraded and sensitive internal situation of the four Arab states that border Israel; three, that this agreement will be accepted by the world and, in particular, by the Islamic Middle East states; four, that Israel and the Palestinian state will not be hostile to each other and five, in the wake of hostilities anticipated to be initiated by the Palestinians as has occurred numerous times, the world will provide efficient armed forces to monitor such escalations. DESPITE THE fact that even the first clause has never been achieved, the Hamas invasion demonstrated to Israel that its forces, obstacles, surveillance and hi-tech intelligence, along with Western support, have limitations in anticipating, blocking and counter-attacking Palestinian invasions. As a result these rationales for a two-state solution have, painfully, virtually dissolved. However, many Arabs and westerners still claim that if there was a Palestinian state, there would be no rationale for the Hamas onslaught. Accordingly, such a state has never been timelier? The war against Hamas and the different perceptions of it between the West and Israel, contemporaneous with the political and military strengthening of the Russia-China-Iran axis, demonstrates that a global turning point is imminent. Fully perceiving the situation requires in-depth understanding of the driving forces of the conflict. Indeed, the last months were helpful in elucidating some of the dormant motives of the Palestinians and many of their Western supporters. The emerging genocidal River-to-the-Sea call, despite not being fully understood by many Westerners, is nothing new for any educated Muslim nurtured between Pakistan and Morocco. In many Muslim countries and even in Western academic journals, the State of Israel is not recognized in any fashion. The consequent stream of this canceling call signifies that dark parts of Islamic culture are deeply embedded and established in significant parts of non-Islamic populations of the West. This Islamic-sourced call and the total abandonment of discourse or verification of facts naturally radiates a domino-like, antisemitic fervor upon local Jewish populations. The cancel culture in social media further paralyzes the masses that possess empathy for both sides. Altogether, this new social map, supported by indigenous and woke populations, is challenging. The aggressive progressives appear to be depleting the diplomatic and legislative toolbox of Western leadership to efficiently deal with Islamic expansion and physical and vocal violence in Western countries. Actually, the terminology and narrative of the two-state solution comes in handy to deeply grasp the geopolitical dynamics. The “solution” has been adopted to assume that a newly established Palestinian state alongside Israel will be a grand resolution to the Palestinian-Israel, Arab-Israel and possibly Islam-West conflicts. The River-to-the-Sea call, its derivatives, and the everlasting call of Hamas and most other Palestinian organizations to eliminate Israel, clearly imply that two states of any sort are unacceptable. Furthermore, the notion of a solution is self-deceiving. THE PRESERVATION of the Palestinian resistance narrative and unprecedented, fossilized UNWRA refugee status exemplifies that a solution can only be reached when the descendants of the refugees will be allowed to become Israeli residents while areas considered to be allocated for a Palestinian state will be clean of Jews – an absurd scenario. In other words, even two states in any type of configuration is not a solution for both the Palestinians and most of Islamic countries, rather a stage in the Islamic-fueled fantasy that one day an Islamic entity will fully occupy historic and modern Israel between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. This fantasy allows non-democratic Arab regimes to explicitly and consistently resist providing haven for Palestinians and passively to actively enjoy supporting the bloody conflict between the Palestinians and Israel. This tailored conflict is also anticipated to weaken Israel and deplete it from international support due to Israel’s one-sided moral obligations to abide by international law. As such, and so unfortunately, the Palestinian-Israel, and also Arab-Israel and Islam-West conflicts appear to continue to be inevitable. To turn the tables of the current Arab-Israel war the above understandings have to be explicitly reoriented into action. Wishful Western solutions have to be discarded and original approaches that boldly confront the inner motives of the regional players are needed. Leading nations are obligated to provide new and previously unaccepted opportunities that require significant action. Palestinian autonomous existence in Judea and Samaria and possibly complex rehabilitation in the destroyed Gaza Strip can continue only under condition that these Arabs fully obliterate their terror culture; there is no evidence of such a trend. Therefore, Palestinians need to be allowed, as many of them sincerely want, basic human rights and freedom to emigrate to a wide range of Arab and Western countries to pursue better lives. As part of this pan-Palestinian plan, Israel will need to provide assistance, such as unification of families and full citizenship of its original Arab residents of east Jerusalem, upon their formal acceptance of the State of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. Isolated Yemen Houthis, Hezbollah or/and Iranian strategic assets, have to be subdued by coalition forces. If such a road map is clearly pursued, Gulf-oriented Arab countries will likely continue their quest to better their economies and defense by cooperating with Israel, which could – in time – lead to improved human rights in these countries. This process may be a positive tipping point for other Islamic regimes. Uprooting the 75-year Palestinian lockdown may partially undermine hardcore Islamic regimes and approaches, possibly in significant parts of the Middle East and its enrooted tentacles in the West. This axis of development that will reinforce Western cooperation in the Middle East is crucial to unite the Western world into a rejuvenated stand against rapidly growing threats from the rapidly emerging Asian coalitions. But if Western academia, policy institutes, and governments continue to tread stagnating water on these issues, and focus on comfort-zone climate change and internal issues along with equity-oriented policies, a wave of bloody floods that may dwarf the may soon become imminent. The writer is a geologist and geographer, and a faculty member of the Department of Environment, Planning and Sustainability at Bar-Ilan University. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-09

In the aftermath of Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attacks against Israel on and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, attacks against Jews have skyrocketed across the Western world. Antisemitic incidents have surged by 361% in the United States, 132% in Canada, and are at record highs in the United Kingdom and near-record highs in the European Union. From violent threats and physical intimidation on public transit to widespread vandalism of Jewish-owned business, Jews are no longer safe in spaces or even countries where they were previously welcomed. The media’s fixation on antisemitism in the West makes sense given that the is concentrated in Western Europe and Anglo-America. But Jews do not only live in “rich” countries, and since the Hamas attacks on Israel, the media has failed to expose the day-to-day dangers faced by Jews living in less prominent regions such as Latin America. For a Jew living in Argentina, Chile, or Mexico, a story condemning an antisemitic attack in Vancouver will only do so much. Stamping out antisemitism across the globe means stamping out antisemitism across the globe, and Latin America should be included in those efforts. Latin America has long nurtured an antisemitic underbelly that has drawn scant international media attention, even after the October 7 attacks. Latin America is home to approximately 500,000 Jews, including nearly 200,000 in Argentina alone. In Brazil, antisemitic attacks have risen by nearly 1,000% since October 7. A Venezuelan student walks over a cloth with red paint and the Star of David during an anti-Israel demonstration in Caracas (credit: REUTERS/JORGE SILVA) In Peru, right-wing extremists targeted a prominent Peruvian Jewish journalist by screaming antisemitic chants outside his home, including showing posters of rats holding bags of money. In Nicaragua, Jewish cemeteries have been vandalized and desecrated. Vicente Fox, Mexico’s former president, accused presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum – who has Jewish parents – of being “a Jew and foreigner at the same time.” Argentina’s new president, , who claims to be an ally of Jewish people and Israel, appointed Rodolfo Barra to be the country’s lead prosecutor. Barra belonged to a right-wing group responsible for hundreds of antisemitic attacks, including attacks against synagogues, a violent riot in a Jewish neighborhood, and the murder of a Jewish lawyer. He will now be responsible for prosecuting antisemitism in Argentina. Political leaders in nearly every Latin American country espouse popular tales about Jewish control of the media, politics, and the economy. Supporters of these antisemitic leaders include José Antonio Kast, the son of a Nazi SS lieutenant and frontrunner for the next Chilean presidential election, and Daniel Jadue, the mayor of Recoleta linked to the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). A number of politicians and associations linked to former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro have also promoted antisemitic conspiracies and espoused neo-Nazi imagery. In the past, such antisemitism has moved from words to murder. In 1992, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) bombed the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, and later the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) Jewish community center in 1994, killing 114 people. In 2009, armed vandals attacked the oldest synagogue in Venezuela as a protest against Israel – and rather than help its Jewish citizens, the Chávez government was quick to issue support to the terrorists. IRAN FUNDS operations against Jews and Israel and in the last five years has signed multiple security deals with Latin American governments. The regime also supports terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah, in conducting attacks against Israel and Jews in Latin America. Israel’s diplomats and intelligence operatives in the region are subject to frequent attacks, some deadly. Governments are not helping. Shortly after Israel began its defense, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, and Chile recalled their ambassadors from the region. Bolivia cut off diplomatic relations with Israel, accusing the nation of crimes against humanity. Colombian President Gustavo Petro compared Israel to the Nazis, saying that they treated Gaza like the Warsaw Ghetto. Lula, Brazil’s President, also compared Israeli policy regarding Palestine as a “new Holocaust,” saying Israelis are the new Nazis. Manuel Zelaya, former president of Honduras, claimed anyone who supports Israel is not human. Nicolás Maduro, the dictator of Venezuela, frequently goes on dehumanizing tirades against Jews and Zionists on national television. Despite its problems, Argentina offers a path forward. Back in 2019, the country’s Jewish community lobbied its leaders to create a task force to honor the victims of the AMIA attack and another to combat antisemitism. In addition, after the October 7 attacks, Argentina’s Jews created coalitions with other religious leaders within the country to denounce antisemitism and call for greater interfaith dialogue. Western media should support these efforts to combat antisemitism in the region. A Jew in Chile or Mexico is not responsible for whatever “sins” Israel “commits or does not commit” in Gaza, and Jewish communities deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Antisemitism in Latin America will not go away overnight, but in order to fight it, one has to recognize it. The West and Latin America alike have failed in that department. Joseph Bouchard is a freelance journalist and analyst covering geopolitics in the Americas, with reporting experience in Bolivia, Colombia, and Brazil. His articles have appeared in The Diplomat, Mongabay, Le Devoir, La Razón, Responsible Statecraft, and Brazilian Report. He is a contributor with Young Voices, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting young journalists and columnists promoting heterodox thinking. Garion Frankel is a Ph.D student in PK-12 educational leadership at Texas A&M University. He is a State Beat fellow for Young Voices, and his work has appeared in various outlets including USA Today, Newsweek, and the Dallas Morning News.  ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-03-25

Maj.-Gen. (res.) , former commander of the West Bank division, spoke Monday morning with Anat Davidov and Udi Segal on 103FM. Tibon discussed the difficult security situation throughout the October 7 attacks in the various arenas and sharply criticized the government's performance. Regarding the northern arena, he claimed that "[Israel] needs to do two things - on the civilian level, we need to establish a body similar to the Takuma administration to take care of the northern citizens. They have been out of their homes for six months, businesses have been destroyed, and farms and entire settlements have been damaged.  We now need a director who is a civil servant, not a political figure, because, at this moment, there are no answers from anyone, and the personal cost is very high. Currently, no one is taking care of them." Tibon, clearly furious, stated that the current "government is not functioning, [with the only consideration it holds] is that it has 64 mandates so that Netanyahu can stay in power- this is full neglect of the people affected by this war. "These people need answers; all of those who hold ministerial positions are irresponsible, and [personally] I would start with that [issue] before talking about what is being done in Lebanon." The destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, October 20, 2023 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90) Switching gears to the southern campaign against Hamas and the Rafah issue, Tibon continued by saying that "the problem in is not the Hamas battalions. "These are not the first-tier battalions, but the issue is the Philadelphia axis. How can Israel reach a solution where it has effective control in the area but also by cutting off supply pipes Hamas holds in the Sinai Peninsula? "We are no longer in a situation of war within the Gaza Strip; we are in a situation of ongoing security. There was a strategic mistake in the campaign- we did not have a clear strategy." On October 7, Tibon heroically fought with the security forces in Nahal Oz to save his son's life, eliminating Hamas terrorists around his house and rescuing him and his granddaughters. "From a situation where we were attacked and our people slaughtered, the whole Western world was in our favor. We have reached a situation where we have an arms embargo. The pictures the world sees are not from Beeri or Kfar Aza but of the hungry children within the Gaza Strip." Concluding his remarks, Tibon stated that multiple clear objectives need to be achieved. These include returning the hostages, preventing Hamas from controlling the Gaza Strip, returning security to Israeli , and resuming prosperity in the Western Negev." ...قراءة المزيد

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