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How The War Against Israel Is Being Fought Alex Grobman, PhD

By on May 16th, 2017

The State of Israel,” declared David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, “will be judged not by its riches or military power, nor by its technical skills, but by its moral worth and human values.”1 Israel is engaged in a world-wide political war against a vast array of organizations seeking her demise. Attempts to dehumanize her through delegitimization continues unabated.

From debates in universities, among left-wing European movements, academics, church associations, unions, segments of the Western media, human rights groups, entertainers, a number of liberals and some Arab and Third World countries, Israel’s right to exist remains in dispute.2 British journalist Melanie Philips observed: “Israel inspires an obsessional hatred of a type and scale that is directed at no other country.”3

War of Analogy

The goal is to isolate Israel, criminalize her actions and expose her as an international war criminal, an occupier of Arab lands and a rightwing religious theocracy. They want to deny her the fundamental rights of self- defense and security in an asymmetric war, erode her stature, and turn her into a pariah state through lies, disinformation and double standards. To undermine the legal, political and moral justification for the Jewish state, Israel must be seen as the impediment to peace, and an oppressive government with no historic or legal claim to the land of Israel or to Jerusalem her capital. 4

This “War of Analogy,” a term coined by former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, describes the spurious analogies comparing Israel to the crusaders, colonialists and the former apartheid regime of South Africa. 5 The war is waged in the media and in cyberspace, with its websites, blogs, social networks and forums.6 The profusion of this technology allows hate speech, in the form of racist and vile comments by readers, to remain for days on respectable mainstream media websites. Access to hate literature and propaganda such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Hitler’s Mein Kampf can easily be purchased at Amazon or read on the Internet.

In response to cyber-attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu established the National Cyber Directorate to create a “digital Iron Dome” to protect the country, and the formation of a national program to train young people for cyber warfare.7

Nathan Sharansky, an Israeli politician, human rights activist and once a refusenik in the former Soviet Union, sees these new attacks as presenting a unique challenge. Traditional antisemitism threatened the Jewish people or the Jewish religion.8 Individual Jews were denied the right “to live as equal members in a society. The new anti-Jewishness denies the right of Jewish people to live as equal members in the family of nations…. All that has happened is that we’ve moved from discrimination against the Jews as individuals to the discrimination against the Jews as a people.9

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Palestinians: The Threats Trump Needs to Hear by Bassam Tawil

By on May 16th, 2017

The warning by Hamas and Islamic Jihad is directed not only against Trump and his new administration, but also against Abbas and any Arab leader who dares to “collude” with the U.S.

A new policy document recently published by Hamas says that the Islamic terror movement accepts a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, but without recognizing Israel’s right to exist. Translation: Hamas seeks a Palestinian state that would be used as a launching pad to destroy Israel.

The electoral showing demonstrates with excruciating clarity that Hamas could easily take over any Palestinian state that the U.S. and the Europeans help create in the West Bank.

Abbas is a weak leader with precious little legitimacy among Palestinians. He would never survive any kind of real peace deal with Israel — a reality that, ironically, he has done his very best to create.

As U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to hold his second meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem next week, two Palestinian terror groups have announced that the new U.S. administration is planning to “liquidate the Palestinian cause.” The warning by Hamas and Islamic Jihad is directed not only against Trump and his new administration, but also against Abbas and any Arab leader who dares to “collude” with the U.S.

The two Palestinian terror groups, which control the Gaza Strip and its two million residents, also renewed their pledge to pursue the armed fight against Israel; they said they would not give up one inch of Palestine, from the (Mediterranean) sea to the (Jordan) river.

Trump and his administration would do well to heed the warning issued by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, especially in the wake of Abbas’s recent statements concerning a two-state solution and peace with Israel. Abbas controls only parts of the West Bank, and how he intends to establish a Palestinian state when he cannot even set foot in the Gaza Strip is anyone’s guess. Recently, Hamas announced that if and when the 82-year-old Abbas shows up in the Gaza Strip, he will be hanged in a public square on charges of “high treason.”

The warning by the Palestinian terror groups was made during a joint rally in the Gaza Strip on May 14. Leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad vowed to “preserve the Palestinian rifle and Palestinian rights in the face of any schemes and attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause.”

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar stated that Palestinian “principles are part of our [Islamic] religion, and we cannot make any concessions on them. We will not give up one inch of our land and holy sites. We will continue to work until the liberation of each inch of Palestine.”

Zahar also warned Abbas against signing any agreement with Israel that includes relinquishing Palestinian rights. “Anyone who gives up our rights and holy sites will betray Allah and his Prophet Mohammed,” Zahar cautioned.

Notably, Zahar’s statement to “liberate every inch of Palestine” comes amid false claims in the Western media to the effect that Hamas has abandoned its dream of eliminating Israel.

The claims are based on a new policy document recently published by Hamas; it says that the Islamic terror movement accepts a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, but without recognizing Israel’s right to exist. Translation: Hamas seeks a Palestinian state that would be used as a launching pad to destroy Israel.

Zahar and other Hamas leaders have taken advantage of every available platform to clarify that their acceptance of a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines does not mean abandoning their plan to eliminate Israel.

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CONVICTED MURDERER OF SIX ISRAELIS ELECTED AS PALESTINIAN MAYOR OF HEBRON

By on May 16th, 2017

Abu Sneineh , one of four Palestinians behind the murder of six Israeli yeshiva students in 1980was reportedly elected mayor of the West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday as head of the Fatah Party list.

The students, included two American citizens and a Canadian national, were part of a group that had danced from the Cave of the Patriarchs to Beit Hadassah in Hebron when Abu Sneineh and his terror cell opened fire. The six students were killed and 16 others were wounded.The students, included two American citizens and a Canadian national, were part of a group that had danced from the Cave of the Patriarchs to Beit Hadassah in Hebron when Abu Sneineh and his terror cell opened fire. The six students were killed and 16 others were wounded.

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Sebastian Gorka and The Rising Madness of the Jewish Left By Bruce Abramson and Jeff Ballabon

By on May 14th, 2017

“I have spent my life fighting totalitarian ideologies,” blared the banner headline of the May 8 Jerusalem Post. The Post’s editors chose that single line, and a photo of its speaker, as the highlight of the annual conference it had hosted the previous day in New York. The speaker was Dr. Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to President Trump, specializing in national security and counterterrorism.

Gorka’s brief time on stage was indeed the highlight of the conference. It was also – at least outside the conference itself – the most controversial. So much so that the Post’s Editor-in-Chief, Yaakov Katz, felt the need to introduce the controversy before calling Dr. Gorka to the stage. He referenced the campaign, spearheaded by Jewish leftists, to brand Gorka as the worst type of anti-Semite: a Neo-Nazi – or, at the least, a neo-Nazi sympathizer and collaborator. Katz then asked his audience to be respectful, shook Gorka’s hand, and invited him to address the allegations directly. Gorka responded with a bold and unequivocal denial. He spoke about his life’s work fighting totalitarian ideologies, explicitly grouping Islamism with fascism and communism. And he talked passionately about the strong bonds and commonality of interest that President Trump shares with Israel.

Katz’s request for decorum proved unnecessary. The crowd was identifiably Jewish and pro-Israel, not a room full of progressives. The habit of disrupting, threatening, and attacking speakers presenting diverse or dissenting views—particularly if they are Israeli or pro-Israel—is a phenomenon of the left. The largely centrist crowd in attendance welcomed Dr. Gorka warmly, rising in a spontaneous standing ovation even before he began to speak. Time and again the throng of 1500 rewarded Dr. Gorka’s pro-America, Jewish and pro-Israel passion, and his references to President Trump, with cheers and applause–and another standing ovation when he concluded. It was about as close to a communal embrace as the notoriously fractious American Jewish community can offer. The crowd understood that the extreme Jewish left had targeted Dr. Gorka because he is a visible player in the Trump White House and precisely because of his passionate commitment to protecting Jews, Israel, and American interests.

Fake news indeed. As controversial as the issue may have seemed to those on the outside, to Jews other than Islamist-apologists and Israel-slanderers of the progressive camp, Gorka himself isn’t actually controversial. His attackers, however, are – from the political operative brazenly hijacking Anne Frank’s good name to attack political opponents to the newspaper editor frantically betraying 120 years of the Forward’s opinionated but legitimate journalism by turning it into a hack political propaganda tabloid.

Indeed, columnist Caroline Glick closed the conference speaking about the real issue of l’affaire Gorka: the danger—and the shame—of members of the Jewish community having slandered a good man.

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Russia Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital. Why Can’t the U.S.? – Eugene Kontorovich

By on May 14th, 2017

Russia Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital. Why Can’t the U.S.? – WSJ

President Trump’s visit to Israel next week is expected to lead to some announcement about his Jerusalem policy. The trip will coincide with celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the city’s reunification after the Six Day War. Only days after the visit, the president will have to decide between waiving an act of Congress or letting it take effect and moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv—as he promised last year to do if elected.

Jerusalem is the only world capital whose status is denied by the international community. To change that, in 1995 Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which mandates moving the U.S. Embassy to a “unified” Jerusalem. The law has been held in abeyance due to semiannual presidential waivers for “national security” reasons. President Obama’s final waiver will expire June 1.

There’s no good reason to maintain the charade that Jerusalem is not Israeli, and every reason for Mr. Trump to honor his campaign promise. The main arguments against moving the embassy—embraced by the foreign-policy establishment—is that it would lead to terrorism against American targets and undermine U.S. diplomacy. But the basis of those warnings has been undermined by the massive changes in the region since 1995.

While the Palestinian issue was once at the forefront of Arab politics, today Israel’s neighbors are preoccupied with a nuclear Iran and radical Islamic groups. For the Sunni Arab states, the Trump administration’s harder line against Iran is far more important than Jerusalem. To be sure, a decision to move the embassy could serve as a pretext for attacks by groups like al Qaeda. But they are already fully motivated against the U.S.

Another oft-heard admonition is that America would be going out on a limb if it “unilaterally” recognized Jerusalem when no other country did. An extraordinary recent development has rendered that warning moot. Last month Russia suddenly announced that it recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Note what happened next: No explosions of anger at the Arab world. No end to Russia’s diplomatic role in the Middle East. No terror attacks against Russian targets. Moscow’s dramatic Jerusalem reversal has largely been ignored by the foreign-policy establishment because it disproves their predictions of mayhem.

To be sure, Russia limited its recognition to “western Jerusalem.” Even so, it shifted the parameters of the discussion. Recognizing west Jerusalem as Israeli is now the position of a staunchly pro-Palestinian power. To maintain the distinctive U.S. role in Middle East diplomacy—and to do something historic—Mr. Trump must go further. Does the U.S. want to wind up with a less pro-Israel position than Vladimir Putin’s ?

The American response to real attacks against U.S. embassies has always been to send a clear message of strength. After the 1998 al Qaeda bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Washington did not shut down those missions. Instead it invested in heavily fortified new facilities—and in hunting down the perpetrators.

Moving the embassy to Jerusalem would also improve the prospect of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. It would end the perverse dynamic that has prevented such negotiations from succeeding: Every time the Palestinians say “no” to an offer, the international community demands a better deal on their behalf. No wonder no resolution has been reached. Only last week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas insisted that new negotiations “start” with the generous offer made by Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2008. Relocating the embassy would demonstrate to the Palestinian Authority that rejectionism has costs.

If Mr. Trump nonetheless signs the waiver, he could do two things to maintain his credibility in the peace process. First, formally recognize Jerusalem—the whole city—as the capital of Israel, and reflect that status in official documents. Second, make clear that unless the Palestinians get serious about peace within six months, his first waiver will be his last. He should set concrete benchmarks for the Palestinians to demonstrate their commitment to negotiations. These would include ending their campaign against Israel in international organizations and cutting off payments to terrorists and their relatives.

This is Mr. Trump’s moment to show strength. It cannot be American policy to choose to recognize a capital, or not, based on how terrorists will react—especially when they likely won’t.

Mr. Kontorovich is a department head at the Kohelet Policy Forum and a law professor at Northwestern University.

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The Pro-Israel Arab-Speaking Marine Veteran in Congress Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin-District 8)

By on May 14th, 2017

WASHINGTON – Although many members of Congress frequently analyze or write legislation pertaining to the Middle East, few have the hands-on experience and rigorous background of Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI). After studying Arabic at Princeton University, the Green Bay native enlisted in the US military and served seven years on active duty including multiple tours in Iraq where he used his language skills to both interpret and interrogate Iraqis. Gallagher served as a counterintelligence officer under H.R. McMaster, currently the White House National Security Advisor, for a year. After leaving the military, Gallagher worked as the lead Republican staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee covering the Middle East. Somehow at the young age of 33, he also found time to earn a PhD from Georgetown University in international relations. http://jewishinsider.com/11577/the-pro-israel-arabic-speaking-marine-veteran-in-congress/

Gallagher served in the Anbar province, which had been struck by some of the most horrific violence after the 2003 American invasion. However, after the surge of US military presence across Iraq, the situation calmed dramatically. “We were just walking around without our protective gear without our helmets passing out school supplies and soccer balls to kids that couldn’t even walk to that school a year before because it was too dangerous,” Gallagher told Jewish Insider. “That to me was tangible evidence for all the progress that had been made.” Yet, while Gallagher’s service ended on an optimistic point, only a few years later after the US military fully withdrew, the Islamic State expanded its control over much of Syria and Iraq including the same Anbar province where the Congressman served.

The Wisconsin lawmaker’s deep knowledge of the Arab world has not diminished his commitment to Israel. While President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for securing the “ultimate deal” between Israelis and Palestinians, Gallagher has urged an alternative policy. America should “Invest heavily in a bottom-up approach. We have seen how a top-down solution has failed on multiple occasions, particularly one that has been driven by the UN,” he explained. “Instead, let’s focus on how we can improve the lives of the Palestinians particularly for the next generation and over time build up the trust necessary for the parties to come to an agreement.”

Republican and Democratic Presidents have continuously over-emphasized the importance of Israeli-Palestinian peace, Gallagher contended. It’s necessary to “recognize that Iranian destabilization of the region as well as ISIS are far more important issues than Israeli-Palestinian peace. If Netanyahu and Abbas were on the White House lawn tomorrow with an agreement, we could live with — it might help — but the broader strategic picture in the Middle East would probably remain largely unchanged,” he explained.

Unlike some in his party who have recently defended the decision to go to war in Iraq, Gallagher was quite critical of the Republican administration that led the operations and made a point to list for us the various failures. “It was not only a failure of intelligence, it was a failure to plan for phase three and four of the operations. It was a failure to understand how our action in Iraq would upend the balance of power with Iran in the region. Subsequent decisions to de-Bathasize the Iraqi army was a failure of planning as well,” he emphasized.

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ISRAEL AT 69-SIMPLY AMAZING! GOOD NEWS FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

By on May 14th, 2017

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Protein protects brain against DNA damage. (TY Eli) Scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University have discovered that the protein SIRT6 is key to repairing DNA damage that causes neurodegenerative brain diseases. SIRT6 was almost completely absent in Alzheimer’s disease patients. http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/Health-and-Science/Israeli-scientists-find-likely-cause-of-neurodegenerative-diseases-490134
http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/abstract/S2211-1247(17)30325-X

New understanding about Parkinson’s. Researchers from Israel’s Technion and Harvard have a new theory on how Parkinson’s disease develops. The responsible toxic protein alpha-synuclein doesn’t spread like an infection but accumulates throughout the body. It could change the way the neurological disease is treated.
https://www.israel21c.org/harvard-technion-study-suggests-new-parkinsons-theory/
http://www.cell.com/trends/neurosciences/abstract/S0166-2236(16)30145-X

Removing lung tumors using AR. Israel’s Body Vision Medical has integrated CT scans with X-rays to help surgeons remove small, early-stage lung-cancer tumors. Pre-surgery 3D CT images are overlaid with 2D X-ray images during the operation to produce high-resolution Augmented Reality maps of the tumors in real-time.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-body-vision-maps-lung-cancer-1001187492
http://www.bodyvisionmedical.com/

Easier removal of colon polyps. Israel’s Tandem Technologies has developed Tandem Snare – a device for precise removal and retrieval of polyps in the colon. Tandem’s CEO Noam Hassidov described the device on ILTV. https://www.youtube.com/embed#3IRkVWCVwYA?rel=0
http://trendlines.com/portfolio/tandem-technologies/

Safe stitches. I reported previously (Jan 29) about Israel’s Gordian Surgical and its safe suturing (stitching) system to assist minimally-invasive surgery. Gordian’s Doni Mayerfield was interviewed recently on ILTV.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/bzD2DDuXGPI?rel=0

Another cure for pelvic prolapse. Israel’s Escala Medical has developed what it describes as “the only non-surgical, incision-free 20-minute solution for patients suffering pelvic prolapse.” It is targeting FDA approval by the end of 2017. (I reported on a similar solution previously.)
https://www.israel21c.org/first-ever-incision-free-fix-for-pelvic-organ-prolapse/
https://www.youtube.com/embed/r_livY0vlIQ?rel=0 http://trendlines.com/portfolio/escala-medical/

Cartilage regeneration aims for FDA approval. Israeli bone regeneration biotech CartiHeal has raised $18.3 million to fund a trial that will help it achieve US FDA approval for its cartilage regeneration technology. CartiHeal already has CE (European) marketing approval.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-israel-bone-regeneration-co-cartiheal-raises-183m-1001187527

Cancer biotech launches on NASDAQ. Israel’s UroGen has three treatments for the treatment of cancers of the urinary system (bladder and kidneys). It has just raised $58.2 million on NASDAQ. UroGen’s MitoGel treatment for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma has received Orphan status from the US FDA.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-urogen-pharma-raises-582m-in-nasdaq-ipo-1001187475
https://www.youtube.com/embed/6aBvLhlUxh0?rel=0

UK medical magazine publicizes Israeli achievements. Newsletter readers may remember (Oct 2014) when UK Lancet editor Professor Richard Horton visited Rambam hospital after writing an anti-Israel article. In his latest publication, Horton has made a complete turnaround, publishing 15 positive Israeli medical articles.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4959260,00.html
http://www.thelancet.com/series/health-in-israel

Israel’s first “green” hospital. (TY Eli) Jerusalem’s Herzog Medical Center, Israel’s foremost center for geriatric, respiratory, mental health and psycho-trauma treatment, is opening Israel’s first environmentally-friendly pavilion. The 270-bed 8-floor facility includes a 200-bed underground emergency hospital.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4958694,00.html

Personalized cancer treatment. Israel’s GeneSort detects specific genetic mutations linked to various types of cancer. Oncologists can then adapt treatments to the patient’s specific genetic mutations, dramatically improving outcomes. GeneSort has just been acquired by Hong Kong investment fund AID Partners for $23 million. http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-aid-partners-buys-israels-genesort-for-23m-1001187888
https://www.genesort.com/about-us

Iraqi boy gets bovine heart valve. Israeli surgeon Sagi Assa from Save A Child’s Heart worked together with his former mentor Dr Stephan Schubert from Germany to implant an artificial heart valve into 11-year-old Iraqi-Kurdish boy Marwan Ghazi Ali. The valve was made from the jugular vein of an Australian cow.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/German-and-Israeli-doctors-partner-on-Iraqi-childs-heart-surgery-490163

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Israel’s Justice Minister: ‘Realistic’ That New Palestinian Peace Talks Will Fail By Karl Herchenroeder

By on May 14th, 2017

WASHINGTON – President Trump would be better served to engineer an economic deal with moderate Arab states than to pursue a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked said Wednesday.

Shaked was asked during an appearance at the Hudson Institute about whether potential peace talks will once again fail. Shaked, who has served under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since 2015, replied flatly, “I’m a realist.”

Trump earlier this month in a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas vowed to prove critics wrong in helping to secure a peace agreement, saying, “We will get it done.”

Shaked has said that she hopes the Trump administration will come up with something more creative, and on Wednesday she suggested the president reach out to moderate Arab states that have existing relationships with Israel so that the region can forge an economic agreement that would boost the Palestinian territories’ economy. Investment in Palestinian infrastructure and industrial zones, she said, would benefit both them and Israel.

“I think President Trump has a huge opportunity to have an economic deal,” Shaked said. “I think he is the right person to do it. First of all, people are really involved in what’s going on in the Middle East and understand that the gaps between the Israelis and Palestinians are much too big. … If the president is talking about an economic deal, the economic deal can be much better (than peace talks).”

Shaked, who was scheduled to meet with Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday, was also asked about Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director Jeff Comey on Tuesday, but she steered clear of the topic.

“I respect your democracy, and I never interfere with internal (decisions),” she said. CONTINUE AT SITE

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CHANGE THE NARRATIVE MR. PRESIDENT: MELANIE PHILLIPS

By on May 13th, 2017

Recent stories about President Trump’s initiatives in the Middle East have been causing consternation among Israel supporters.

First the World Jewish Congress president, Ron Lauder, reportedly told a group of Israeli politicians that the president was confident he could persuade the Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas to make concessions that would renew the peace process.

The only concession that matters, though, is to abandon the Palestinian goal of destroying Israel. That one wouldn’t currently seem to be on the cards.

The next day, Prime Minister Netanyahu was reported to be furious with Lauder for having briefed Abbas before he met President Trump.

Then came a report that the White House had told Netanyahu that Trump had decided not to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem after all. Israel promptly denied this report, saying no such communication from the Trump administration about the embassy move had been received.

These reports may all be fake news. They have deepened nevertheless the mood of nervousness and even despair among Israel supporters after Trump invited Abbas to the White House for what seemed to be a warm and encouraging meeting.http://melaniephillips.com/change-narrative-mr-president/

The Palestinians say they were pleasantly surprised. The London-based Arab newspaper Al-Hayat reported senior Palestinian officials saying Trump might use his upcoming visit to Israel to announce the resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Israel supporters fear all this suggests Trump is going down the same peace-process rabbit hole as previous administrations.

Such reports, however, should be taken with a large dose of salt. The first relied on what Israelis said Lauder said, which he may or may not have done; Trump may or may not have thought Abbas would make concessions; Netanyahu may or may not have been furious; Trump may or may not be planning a resumed peace process. It’s all spin and hype.

What we do know is this. Trump wants to broker a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, acting as a “mediator, an arbitrator or a facilitator.” He has said so repeatedly.

Ahead of his visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority later this month, Trump will stop in Saudi Arabia. He wants to show that he respects the Muslim world in order to seek Saudi help in promoting a regional approach to solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and he wants Arab leaders to help pressure Abbas to make concessions.

Well, over the years Palestinian “concessions” have all popped like soap bubbles as soon as they are floated. I am told, however, by those who know the president that he will never, ever betray Israel.

And the fact is that he has set the Palestinians a high bar to jump. They must stop paying terrorists’ families; they must stop teaching their children to hate Jews. And there may be other requirements he will make.

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The UN’s Obsession against Israel by Pierre Rehov

By on May 13th, 2017

Israel is thus the only country on the planet to benefit from the doubtful privilege of being scrutinized on the least of its actions, through an agenda decided by its enemies.

There is also no need to go back to 1976, to remember the infamous UN Resolution 3379, “Zionism is a form of Racism,” under the Secretary-Generalship of a former Nazi, Kurt Waldheim, a week after Uganda’s brutal Idi Amin received a triumphant reception at the UN headquarters.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) met once again on March 20 to debate “Agenda Item 7,” a mandatory subject of debate since June 2006, the only one whose goal is systematically to condemn the Israeli democracy for crimes the existence of which remain to be proven.

The agenda, officially designed to assess the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories, in the light of the reports submitted by Fatah, the PLO and various NGOs, is part of a wider campaign, carried out by countries such as Libya, Algeria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Sudan and Yemen. Israel is thus the only country on the planet to benefit from the doubtful privilege of being scrutinized on the least of its actions, through an agenda decided by its enemies.

If it were only a question of expressing this obsession, born out of an old habit for the Arab-Muslim dictatorships to turn the Hebrew state into their scapegoat, responsible for all the misfortunes plaguing their societies, Agenda Item 7 would be a mere oddity, especially since the session is regularly boycotted by a majority of Western countries, and systematically by the United States.

Unfortunately, this Israelphobia has been spreading throughout the United Nations. In 1948, when Israel, after being officially recognized as a sovereign state by virtually all Western democracies, had just repelled the genocidal aggression of five neighboring countries, and hundreds of thousands of Jews were fleeing the oppression of Arab dictatorships, the UN gave birth to UNRWA, an organization designed to help Palestinian refugees exclusively. This was despite there already being a program for refugees at the UN, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

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