The Institute for the Study of
Global Antisemitism and Policy
Newsletter
Volume 6 No. 4
29 August 2014
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.” – Elie Wiesel, ISGAP Honorary President, from The Night Trilogy: Night/Dawn/The Accident
“The question is, if a people without guns, without any arms, if they have nothing to defend themselves, to whom comes the duty to defend them?” —Pope Francis’ envoy to Iraq, reinforcing the Vatican’s position that military force is justified when religious minorities are being attacked by Islamic extremists, and must be defended now and given international protection so they can return home. He added that “in my opinion, this is not a war when you have two actors facing each other with the same capacities. This is defending the right of defending these poor, simple people who are unable to defend themselves.” The Vatican’s position is significant because it often opposes military intervention on the basis of its overall peace message. This case is different, however because Christians are being directly targeted because of their faith, and Christian communities, which have existed for 2,000 years in Iraq, have been emptied as a result of the extremists’ onslaught. (U.S. News, Aug. 22, 2014)
SPECIAL ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Ex-AP Jerusalem correspondent: How the AP (and others) covered up the truth to make Israel look bad (Tom Gross Media)
Tom Gross
Tom Gross analyzes the article written by Matti Friedman in Tablet. Click here to read the full article.
(http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/001480.html)
REPORTS
Playing with Terror: How to Stop Qatar’s Support for Hamas (Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies
Professor Joshua Teitelbaum
Qatar has become the leading backer of Hamas terrorism, and the country’s wings need to be clipped. Cancellation of the plan to hold the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar would be a useful and important first step. Click here to read the full article. (http://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/playing-terror-stop-qatars-support-hamas/)
BREAKING: Searchers Find Body of Missing Yeshiva Student in Jerusalem Forest (Algemeiner)
Dave Bender
Searchers on Thursday have found the body of American student, Aron Sofer, 23, missing since Friday, in the Jerusalem Forest, Israeli army radio reported. Click here to read the full article. (http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/08/28/breaking-searchers-find-body-of-missing-yeshiva-student-in-jerusalem-forest/)
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
MEDIA
A Former AP Correspondent Explains How and Why Reporters Get Israel so Wrong, and Why it Matters (Tablet)
Matti Friedman
“The lasting importance of this summer’s war, I believe, doesn’t lie in the war itself. It lies instead in the way the war has been described and responded to abroad, and the way this has laid bare the resurgence of an old, twisted pattern of thought and its migration from the margins to the mainstream of Western discourse—namely, a hostile obsession with Jews”. Click here to read the full article. (http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/183033/israel-insider-guide?utm_source=tabletmagazinelist&utm_campaign=6bb6f7d29a-Tuesday_August_26_20148_26_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c308bf8edb-6bb6f7d29a-207106077)
Why I’m Unsubscribing to the New York Times (Tablet)
Richard A. Block
“I am a lifelong Democrat, a political liberal, a Reform rabbi, and for four decades, until last week, a New York Times subscriber. What drove me away was the paper’s incessant denigration of Israel, a torrent of articles, photographs, and op-ed columns that consistently present the Jewish State in the worst possible light.” Click here to read the full article. (http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/183412/why-im-unsubscribing-to-the-new-york-times?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Post&utm_content=Why+I’m+Unsubscribing+to+the+New+York+Times&utm_campaign=August2014)
NORTH AMERICA
Obama Faces a Back-to-Work Challenge (Washington Post)
David Ignatius
It’s “back to school” week for President Obama, after what a CNN analyst called “the vacation from hell.” So perhaps it’s a good time to examine what’s been going wrong for Obama recently and whether he can fix it. Click here to read the full article. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-obamas-back-to-work-challenge/2014/08/26/b7edd31c-2d39-11e4-994d-202962a9150c_story.html)
On July 31, 2014 Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced H. Res. 707 to the US House of Representatives
“Condemning all forms of anti-Semitism and rejecting attempts to justify anti-Jewish hatred or violent attacks as an acceptable expression of disapproval or frustration over political events in the Middle East or elsewhere.” Click here to read the full resolution. (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113hres707ih/pdf/BILLS-113hres707ih.pdf)
Congress Last Holdout to Break Turkey Embrace (Commentary)
Michael Rubin
Congress now trails behind even Obama and the State Department in recognizing just how destructive Turkey has become. Click here to read the full article (http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/08/28/congress-last-holdout-to-break-turkey-embrace/).
Jewish Community ‘forced out’ of Guatemalan Village (Times of Israel)
AFP
A community of 230 Orthodox Jews from several countries Thursday began leaving the Guatemalan Indian village where they have lived for six years after claims and counterclaims of discrimination and threats. Click here to read the full article. (http://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-community-forced-out-of-guatemalan-village/)
The Yale Chaplain Who Doesn’t Get Jews (Tablet)
Mark Oppenheimer
The New York Times ran a letter to the editor by Father Bruce M. Shipman, Yale’s chaplain to Episcopal students, in response to an Aug. 21 op-ed about rising anti-Semitism. The op-ed, by Tablet contributor Deborah E. Lipstadt, focused on the troubling incidence of anti-Semitic attacks in Europe—to which Father Shipman replied, “The trend to which she alludes parallels the carnage in Gaza over the last five years, not to mention the perpetually stalled peace talks and the continuing occupation of the West Bank”. Click here to read the full article. (http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/183402/the-yale-chaplain-who-doesnt-get-jews?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Post&utm_content=The+Yale+Chaplain+Who+Doesn’t+Get+Jews&utm_campaign=August2014)
EUROPE
16% of French Citizens Support ISIS, Poll Finds (Newsweek)
Madeline Grant
The poll of European attitudes towards the group, carried out by ICM for Russian news agency Rossiya Segodnya, revealed that 16% of French citizens have a positive opinion of ISIS. This percentage increases among younger respondents, spiking at 27% for those aged 18-24. Click here to read the full article. (http://www.newsweek.com/16-french-citizens-support-isis-poll-finds-266795)
MIDDLE EAST
Iran Says it has Begun Arming West Bank (Times of Israel)
AFP, AP and Times of Israel
Iran said Wednesday it was stepping up efforts to arm West Bank Palestinians for battle against Israel, with Basij militia chief Mohammad Reza Naqdi saying the move would lead to Israel’s annihilation, Iran’s Fars news agency reported. Click here to read the full article. (http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-says-it-has-begun-arming-west-bank/)
The Real #GenocideinGaza (Slate)
Ron Rosenbaum
The hashtag “GenocideinGaza” has become a popular hashtag following the recent war in Gaza. However, the only signs of genocide in Gaza are found in the Hamas Covenant in Article 7, which calls for the extermination of the Jews. Click here to read the full article. (http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_spectator/2014/08/genocide_gaza_and_godwin_s_law.2.html)
Boris Johnson’s proposal for British fighters in Syria and Iraq is dangerous and counterproductive (Independent Voices)
Shiraz Maher and Peter R. Neumann
On Monday, August 25, Boris Johnson proposed that all the British fighters in Syria should be presumed guilty unless proven innocent. However, treating all foreign fighters as terrorists risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Click here to read the full article. (http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/boris-johnsons-proposal-for-british-fighters-in-syria-and-iraq-is-dangerous-and-counterproductive-9692303.html)
TERRA INCOGNITA: Filling Nasser’s shoes (The Jerusalem Post)
Seth J. Frantzman
With the revolutions in Egypt and Syria and the US invasion of Iraq, the main centers of historic Arab culture and power, Baghdad-Damascus- Cairo, were deeply harmed. The Gulf could step into the vacuum and Qatar sought to lead that effort. Qatar’s bid to become a new Nasserist regional hegemon in the Middle East was probably never going to work, given its tiny size, but its role will continue for years to come. Click here to read the full article. (http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/TERRA-INCOGNITA-Filling-Nassers-shoes-372298)
Pentagon: Egypt, UAE Attacking Islamists in Libya Differs From US Bombing ISIS in Iraq (CNS News)
Patrick Goodenough
Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) carrying out airstrikes in Libya was different from U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant forces in Iraq, Pentagon spokesman Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told a briefing, because the U.S. was acting in Iraq, in a “very targeted” manner, at the request of its government. Click here to read the full article. (http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/pentagon-egypt-uae-attacking-islamists-libya-differs-us-bombing-isis)
WEEKLY QUOTES FROM THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH RESEARCH (CIJR)
“We will build and upgrade our arsenal to be ready for the coming battle, the battle of full liberation,” —Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, declared, surrounded by Hamas gunmen. Zahar also promised to rebuild homes destroyed in the war and said Hamas would rearm. Large crowds gathered in Gaza City after the truce took effect at dusk, some waving the green flags of Hamas, while celebratory gunfire and fireworks erupted across the territory. (Globe & Mail, Aug. 26, 2014)
“If you read the Arab press, many of the commentators do not like it but they don’t dare to say (Sisi) is pro-Israel,” —Tzvi Mazel, a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt. In the Gaza conflict, while Egypt and Israel may not be brothers, they are certainly cousins with a joint interest in fighting Hamas, which controls the densely populated Gaza Strip. The Egyptian-brokered ceasefire has reinforced Egypt’s central position in the Arab world as the only country able to negotiate between Israel and Hamas. It will also likely solidify the position of Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh Al-Sisi, a former army chief, who had little experience in foreign policy before he was elected. Although Egyptian media have been virulently anti-Hamas during this conflict, Sisi runs the risk of being perceived as “pro-Israel.” “The Arab world is in a difficult position. People are more afraid of the [Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham, ISIS] than anything else,” added Mazel. (National Post, Aug. 26, 2014)
“Hamas cannot be allowed to rain rockets on Israeli cities, nor can it be allowed to hold its own people hostage. Hospitals are for healing, not for hiding weapons. Schools are for learning, not for launching missiles. Children are our hope, not our human shields,” —letter from several Hollywood stars slamming Hamas over the “devastating loss of life endured by Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza.” The reported 187 signatories, who include Mayim Bialik, Minnie Driver, Kelsey Grammer, Seth Rogen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sarah Silverman, and Sylvester Stallone, condemn the “ideologies of hatred and genocide which are reflected in Hamas’ charter, Article 7 of which reads, ‘There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!’” (Times of Israel, Aug. 23, 2014)
“I am giving this deadline today as I am ready to be martyred and I have taken the last bath today,” —Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, the Pakistani-Canadian cleric, whose supporters have overrun the government quarter of Islamabad in a protest against corruption. Waving a burial shroud, Qadri, 63, who has twice left a quiet life of retirement near Toronto for the roiling cauldron of Pakistani politics, set a 48-hour deadline for the resignation of Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister. Failing that, Qadri told thousands of supporters his own life could be the price. “I’m calling on people from across the country to come out and reject this corrupt and undemocratic government,” he told the Sunday Times. “People saw what we could do before. This time we will not stop until the government is removed,” Qadri said, referring to the march he led last year, which ended with the arrest of the previous Prime Minister, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. Barely a year after the first transfer of power between democratically elected governments in Pakistan’s independent modern history, Pakistanis are frustrated at Sharif’s rule, his failure to conquer the energy crisis, and his pursuit of General Pervez Musharraf in what the Financial Times said “looks like a personal vendetta.” Qadri has compared the moment to the Arab Spring. With his slogan that Pakistan’s “lawmakers are lawbreakers,” he returned to Pakistan in June, publicly declaring the government would not survive. Almost immediately, police and military stormed his headquarters in a confrontation that left 12 people dead and 80 injured, one of the rare moments of outright violence in his campaign, which he calls “an intellectual and spiritual war against extremism and terrorism.” (National Post, Aug. 25, 2014)
“Given the onset of so many other armed conflicts in this period of global destabilization, the fighting in Syria and its dreadful impact on millions of civilians has dropped off the international radar,” —United Nations human rights agency chief, Navi Pillay, bluntly criticizing Western nations, saying their inaction in the face of the slaughter had “empowered and emboldened” the killers. It is “scandalous,” she said, that the depth of the suffering in Syria no longer attracts much international attention. The fact that the crisis has been allowed to continue for so long, with no end in sight, and is now spilling into neighboring Iraq and Lebanon is “an indictment of the age we live in,” she said. “Short-term geopolitical considerations and national interest, narrowly defined, have repeatedly taken precedence over intolerable human suffering and grave breaches of — and long-term threats to — international peace and security,” Pillay told the Security Council, adding that “I firmly believe that greater responsiveness by this Council would have saved hundreds of thousands of lives.” (New York Times, Aug. 22, 2014)
“If you come after Americans, we’re going to come after you, wherever you are,” —Benjamin J. Rhodes, U.S. President Obama’s deputy national security adviser. “We’re actively considering what’s going to be necessary to deal with that threat and we’re not going to be restricted by borders.” While President Obama has long resisted being drawn into Syria’s bloody civil war, officials said recent advances by ISIS had made clear that it represents a threat to the interests of the U.S. and its allies. The beheading of American journalist James Foley has contributed to what officials called a“new context” for a challenge that has long divided the president’s team. Officials said the options include speeding up and intensifying limited American efforts to train and arm moderate Syrian rebel forces that have been fighting both ISIS as well as the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Another option would be to bolster other partners on the ground to take on ISIS, including the Syrian Kurds. An expanded intervention into Syria would represent a striking turnaround for a president who has opposed such a move before, and some administration officials therefore doubt that he will agree. From the start of the Syrian civil war, Obama’s response has been marked by a pattern of heightened public statements and indications of stepped-up involvement, followed by far less action than suggested. (New York Times, Aug. 22, 2014)
“Fore! Score? And seven trillion rounds ago, our forecaddies brought forth on this continent a new playground, conceived by Robert Trent Jones, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal when it comes to spending as much time on the links as possible — even when it seems totally inappropriate, like moments after making a solemn statement condemning the grisly murder of a 40-year-old American journalist beheaded by ISIL. I know reporters didn’t get a chance to ask questions, but I had to bounce. I had a 1 p.m. tee time at Vineyard Golf Club with Alonzo Mourning and a part-owner of the Boston Celtics. Hillary and I agreed when we partied with Vernon Jordan up here, hanging out with celebrities and rich folks is fun…Yet it is altogether fitting and proper that I should get to play as much golf as I want, despite all the lame jokes about how golf is turning into “a real handicap” for my presidency and how I have to “stay the course” with ISIL. I’ve heard all the carping that I should be in the Situation Room droning and plinking the bad folks. I know some people think I should go to Ferguson. Don’t they understand that I’ve delegated the Martin Luther King Jr. thing to Eric Holder? Plus, Valerie Jarrett and Al Sharpton have it under control. I know it doesn’t look good to have pictures of me grinning in a golf cart juxtaposed with ones of James Foley’s parents crying, and a distraught David Cameron rushing back from his vacation after only one day, and the Pentagon news conference with Chuck Hagel and General Dempsey on the failed mission to rescue the hostages in Syria…” —Maureen Dowd. (New York Times, Aug. 23, 2014)