LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 02/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
I do not mean to imply that we lord it over your faith; rather, we are workers with you for your joy, because you stand firm in the faith.
Second Letter to the Corinthians 01/23-24/02,01-05/:”But I call on God as witness against me: it was to spare you that I did not come again to Corinth. I do not mean to imply that we lord it over your faith; rather, we are workers with you for your joy, because you stand firm in the faith. So I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came, I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice; for I am confident about all of you, that my joy would be the joy of all of you. For I wrote to you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain, but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you. But if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but to some extent not to exaggerate it to all of you.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on May 01-02/19
Lebanese Government Holds Second Session to Discuss Draft Budget
Cabinet Resumes Discussing Austerity Budget at Grand Serail
Aoun Meets Retired Military Deputies in Wake of Protests
Aoun at the 2nd centennial of Butros Boustani: He was among the pioneers of the call to separate religion from the state
Report: 'Positive' Signals from Russia to Hizbullah
Egyptian PM starts a threeday official visit to Beirut
Brazilian House Speaker begins a oneday visit to Lebanon
Geagea on Labor Day: People are not responsible for the economic deterioration, must not bear austerity budget consequences due to corrupt minority's behavior
Protests against Worker Salary Cuts Sweep Lebanon
Australian court finds man guilty of plotting to blow up airliner

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 01-02/19
Iran’s Al Qods Brigades and Hizballah on battle alert on day before next US sanctions
Rouhani Signs Law Blacklisting U.S. Troops in Middle East
Iran’s Rouhani Decries US Policy of Maximum Pressure
Syria Regime Barrel Bombs Batter Idlib for First Time in 6 Months
UN Condemns Shelling of Medical Facilities in Syria
Muslim World League Condemns Attack on San Diego Synagogue
Israel Bars Officials from Meeting with Prominent French Diplomat
UN Envoy Optimistic over Formation of Syria Constitutional Committee
Sri Lanka President Urges ISIS to ‘Leave My Country Alone’
Algeria Army Chief Says Military Will Prevent Country from Plunging into Chaos

Litles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 01-02/19
Iran’s Al Qods Brigades and Hizballah on battle alert on day before next US sanctions/DEBKAfile/May 01/2019
A Greek Inquiry about Islam in Europe/Raymond Ibrahim/May 01/19
Striving for Humanitarian Tendencies/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/ May 01/2019
Dark Days in Hong Kong/Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/May 01/2019
Turkey: On Anniversary of Genocide, Armenians Still under Attack/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/May 01/19
Making Sense of Iraq's PMF Arrests/Phillip Smyth/The Washington Institute/May 01/19
Op-Ed In Saudi Daily 'Arab News': The Lessons Of The Holocaust Must Be Learned By Everyone, So That Such Atrocities Will Never Recur/Dr. Ellen R. Wald,/MEMRI/May 01/2019
Russia’s worrying involvement in Iran’s nuclear program/Zaid M. Belbagi//Arab News/May 01/19
Palestinians can use Trump’s peace plan as a launchpad/Ray Hanania/Arab News/May 01/19

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on May 01-02/19
Lebanese Government Holds Second Session to Discuss Draft Budget
Kataeb.org/May 01/19/The government convened on Wednesday for the second day in a row to discuss the 2019 draft state budget, as ministers are expected to hold daily meetings in a bid to speed up its endorsement before being referred to the Parliament. The session, chaired by Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the Grand Serail, is set to go into the details of the proposed blueprint, as stated by Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters ahead of Wednesday's session, Khalil reaffirmed that the austerity draft budget will not impact the pensions and end-of-service benefits granted to the retired military personnel.Allegations claiming otherwise, he noted, are aimed at spreading confusion and sowing rift. “I am addressing the Army command and the defense ministry in particular so that they do not get involved in fictitious conflicts that some are using to score heroic gains,” Khalil advised. However, Khalil stressed that high, unreasonable and unjustified salaries in the public sector must be reconsidered. “A serious work effort is needed. It is not the time for theories and preaching."

Cabinet Resumes Discussing Austerity Budget at Grand Serail
Associated Press/Naharnet/May 01/19/Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Wednesday chaired a Cabinet meeting at the Grand Serail dedicated to resume discussions to approve the country's draft austerity budget. Lebanon's economy is suffering from slow growth, a high budget deficit and massive debt. Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil told reporters after a Cabinet meeting in Baabda Tuesday that the government aims to reduce the percentage of the budget deficit compared with the gross domestic product. Leaks through the media about steps that could include cutting end of service and social benefits of civil servants have led to protests around Lebanon by retired military personnel and others. The Labor Union called for a three-day strike starting Thursday if workers' demands are not met.Khalil said he does not know the reason behind the call for the strike adding that the budget has not been approved yet.

Aoun Meets Retired Military Deputies in Wake of Protests
Naharnet/May 01/19/Following the protests staged by retired military personnel over possible cuts to their end of service benefits, President Michel Aoun held a meeting on Wednesday with six parliament deputies who are also retired military servicemen, the National News Agency said. NNA said that talks focused on the state budget and the “rights” of the military. Aoun met with MPs Shamel roukuz, Jamil Sayyed, Antoun Pano, Walid Sukkarieh, Jean Talouzian and Wehbeh Katisha, said NNA. “The state must stop all the sources where public funds are being wasted and it must also stop the thefts before approaching anywhere near the pockets of citizens,” said Sayyed after the meeting which took place in Baabda. “Because the budget was not passed to the Defense Minister, and because the Finance Ministry does not realize the impact of the suggestions it made, we asked the President to refer all the budget items related to the army and retired servicemen to the Defense Ministry,” added Sayyed. On Tuesday, Sayyed “warned” Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil that “encroaching on the rights of retired servicemen is playing with fire.”Referring to the retired servicemen who staged several sit-ins on Tuesday morning in rejection of any austerity-related wage cuts, he said "these demonstrators are the voice of all Lebanese.”

Aoun at the 2nd centennial of Butros Boustani: He was among the pioneers of the call to separate religion from the state
Wed 01 May 2019/NNA - President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, stressed Wednesday that "the late Mentor Butros Al-Boustani is still a national Arab oriental school and an immortal value," adding that "he was a pioneer in his political, national and social thoughts and among the leading figures who called for separating religion from the state." In a speech at the second centennial celebration of Boustani's birth anniversary, which was held this evening at the Beirut Waterfront Seaside Arena, Aoun urged the new generation to derive their inspiration from the late Boustani, in his strive to modernize the Arabic language and in his love for knowledge and culture. The President called on the new generation to follow in the footsteps of the late Mentor, especially in his relentless efforts to expand the frameworks of thought and develop a critical sense and credibility in the media, alongside impartiality in education and learning..."so that he may remain alive in our civilization, in our schools, in our culture, and in the nation's soul."

Report: 'Positive' Signals from Russia to Hizbullah
Naharnet/May 01/19/Hizbullah MP Ali Fayyad of the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc, recently visited Moscow where he participated in the International Security Conference held on 23, 24 and 25 April, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday. The daily said the presence of Fayyad in Moscow “has special significance because it is not the first time that Moscow invites “Hizbullah” to participate in a conference on security issues, which reflects the Russian leadership’s interest in Hizbullah’s role at the regional and local levels.”It noted that Russia and Hizbullah have a common experience in the Syrian field, and the "calamity" of American policies are a “uniting factor for the two at more than one level.”Moscow’s “positive signal” towards Hizbullah was not limited to the invitation itself, but also included another dimension represented by the “keenness” of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov to “receive Fayyad for an hour and a half hours, after it was scheduled to be half an hour.” The two men, according to al-Joumhouria, held a comprehensive discussion about the situation in Lebanon and the Middle East, and the crisis of displaced individuals in Lebanon in addition to the so-called "Deal of the Century, which took up a wide area of discussion between the two men.”

Egyptian PM starts a threeday official visit to Beirut
Wed 01 May 2019/NNA - Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly arrived at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport this evening, beginning a three-day official visit to Lebanon. Prime Minister Saad Hariri was at the Airport to welcome his Egyptian counterpart, alongside Egyptian Ambassador Nazih Al-Najari, Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt Ali Al-Halabi, Head of Airport Security, Brigadier General George Doumit, and senior Egyptian Embassy staff. During his stay, Madbouly will hold talks with President Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Hariri, and will head the Egyptian side at the meetings of the Egyptian-Lebanese Higher Committee. Moreover, a number of joint agreements will be signed between both countries on the sidelines of PM Madbouly's visit. He will also be partaking in the Arab Economic Forum's opening session at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beirut.

Brazilian House Speaker begins a oneday visit to Lebanon
Wed 01 May 2019/NNA - Head of the Brazilian Parliament, Rodrigo Maia, arrived at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut this afternoon, starting a one-day official visit during which he will meet with Speaker Nabih Berri and sign a number of cooperation agreements between the two countries.
Maia and his accompanying delegation were received at Beirut Airport by Speaker Berri's representative, MP Ali Bazzi, and Brazilian Ambassador Paolo Cardillo and senior Embassy staff. In a word of welcome, MP Bazzi praised the bilateral relations between both countries "which date back to generations between them," pointing out that Lebanon and Brazil share the same values and concepts. He hoped to further "consolidate and strengthen the existing joint relations between Lebanon and Brazil."

Geagea on Labor Day: People are not responsible for the economic deterioration, must not bear austerity budget consequences due to corrupt minority's behavior
Wed 01 May 2019/NNA - Lebanese Forces Party Chief, Samir Geagea, stressed Wednesday that citizens are not responsible for the deterioration of the economy and ought not to shoulder the burdens of an austerity budget imposed by the behavior of a corrupt minority. "The Lebanese Forces Party is one of the most active labor parties in Lebanon, because it demands effective reform steps and provides numerous studies to assess the situation prevailing in the state, activate the economic cycle and improve the condition of workers, employees and the middle and limited income classes," he confirmed. Geagea continued to affirm that LF is the most consistent party when it comes to the issues of workers and citizens, performing away from the limelight because it is part of the people and mirrors their needs and concerns. The LF Chief's words came during the Labor Day gathering organized by the Party's syndicate branch at its main headquarters earlier today, in the presence of Labor Minister Kamil Abu Sleiman, MP Georges Okeis, General Federation of Workers Head Beshara Asmar, and a number of prominent dignitaries. Geagea addressed a word to demonstrators that are taking to the streets, saying: "We support their demands, but what they are doing can lead us to lose everything since the most essential step today is to extinguish the fire." He encouraged laborers to unite and abstain from provoking class divisions and strife, but to work for the benefit of society and its economy, growth and prosperity. "It is not through work alone that a human thrives, but through freedom, individual initiatives, high ethics and the progressive, advanced and well-developed community, without which labor loses a lot of its value and sanctity, and becomes a mere means towards material gains," Geagea corroborated.

Protests against Worker Salary Cuts Sweep Lebanon
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday,01 May, 2019/Retired military officers staged on Tuesday sit-ins in several Lebanese regions to protest any possible wage cuts and the decrease their end-of-service benefits. They blocked several entrances to the capital Beirut as political leaders threatened to make the cut as part of efforts aimed at reducing the budget deficit. Head of the Lebanese General Labor Union Beshara Asmar joined protesters and showed solidarity with all demands against wage cuts. The protesters blocked the road leading to the Central Bank in Beirut.A group of military veterans also held a protest at Riad Solh square and the Ministry of Finance premises in Downtown Beirut. “The sit-in will continue until the government clearly annuls all measures related to possible wage cuts and the decrease of our end-of-service benefits,” retired General Maroun Khreish said, speaking on behalf of the National Commission for Veterans. Retired General Georges Nader said: “We closed the entrances of the Port of Beirut and the Central Bank to send a warning message to the government.”He threatened that no parliament session would be held if the cabinet does not withdraw items related to their salary cuts from the draft budget.
Meanwhile, the General Labor Union announced a three-day general strike starting Thursday. The Socialist Party said it would hold a protest Wednesday on Labor Day to protest any wage cuts. The protests took place as the cabinet launched a series of meetings Tuesday to discuss the 2019 state budget that was prepared by Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil. The minister had previously said that it would include austerity measures and reductions in spending in a bid to ease the budget deficit.

Australian court finds man guilty of plotting to blow up airliner
Reuters/NNA /May 01/19/An Australian court on Wednesday found a man guilty of plotting to blow up an Etihad Airways flight out of Sydney at the behest of Daesh, by hiding a bomb in the luggage of his brother. Police had accused the man, Khaled Khayat, and another brother, Mahmoud Khayat, of planning two terrorist attacks that also included a chemical gas attack on the flight to Abu Dhabi in July 2017, police said. The third brother was unaware that he was carrying a bomb, disguised as a meat mincer, in his luggage, as he tried to check in at the airport, police said. But the device was taken out of his luggage when it was deemed too heavy and the bomb never made it past airport security. Khaled and Mahmoud Khayat were arrested weeks later after a series of raids in Sydney. “The jury this afternoon returned a guilty verdict for Khaled and is still deliberating in respect of Mahmoud,” a spokeswoman for the New South Wales Supreme Court said. Police had alleged that high-grade military explosives used to make the bomb were sent by air cargo from Turkey as part of a plot “inspired and directed” by Daesh. Khaled’s sentence hearing has been set for July 26. The charges carry a maximum punishment of life in prison.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in November the likelihood of a terror attack in Australia remained at the “probable” level, after a fatal stabbing in Melbourne that police said was inspired by Daesh. Australia has a five-level terror threat ranking system and “probable” is its midpoint. The threat likelihood has been set at probable since the system was introduced in 2015. In December 2014, two hostages were killed during a 17-hour siege by a “lone wolf” gunman, inspired by Daesh militants, in a cafe in Sydney. --- Reuters

Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous Reports & News published on May 01-02/19
Iran’s Al Qods Brigades and Hizballah on battle alert on day before next US sanctions
موقع دبيكا: كتائب القدس الإيرانية وحزب الله في حالة تأهب قتالية وذلك قبل يوم واحد من سريان العقوبات الأمريكية على إيران
DEBKAfile/May 01/2019
The day before new US oil sanctions against Iran go into effect on May 2, DEBKAfile reports heightened war preparations by Al Qods units in Iraq and Syria, and by Hizballah in Lebanon.
Iran’s Al Qods Brigades fighters have disappeared from their regular bases in Syria and Iraq – whether having gone to ground in prepared hideouts or scattered across wide spaces to elude possible attack. In Lebanon, Hizballah, according to DEBKAfile’s military sources, has replaced the veteran war commanders of its contingents in southern Lebanon opposite Israel with younger men, better able to lead the units which have been recast in new, more mobile array.
Two additional steps by Tehran are revealed here:
1-The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have called off plans to deploy a line of surface missiles in western Iraq. The plan was to unleash a missile attack on Israel in coordination with a parallel Hizballah barrage from western Syria and Lebanon. There are at least two reasons for cancelling this operation. One is Tehran’s acute shortage of funds, even after slashing the paychecks of serving officers and men. Iran may also have run up against opposition in Baghdad and its reluctance to lay Iraq open to American or Israeli payback.
2. DEBKAfile’s exclusive sources also reveal that Iran has suspended its supply of missile components to Yemen’s Houthi insurgents for them to assemble and arm with precision guidance gear. This is good news for Saudi Arabia, since it means that the Houthis will have to cut down on their surface missile strikes against the oil kingdom’s cities in order to reserve enough for their own use in decisive battles. Once again, Iran may be pulling in its horns because it is strapped for cash. Tehran may have found that in its present dire financial straits it can’t afford to both prepare for a war escalation with the US and Israel and at the same time keep up its military assistance to its Yemeni ally. Another less optimistic theory is that Iran is scraping together those missile components for its own use and that of Hizballah, in readiness for major military confrontations in Syria and Lebanon.

Rouhani Signs Law Blacklisting U.S. Troops in Middle East
Kataeb.org/Wednesday 01st May 2019/Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday signed a bill designating all U.S. forces in the Middle East, known as the Central Command (CENTCOM), as terrorists in retaliation for President Donald Trump's blacklisting of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a foreign terrorist organization. The bill, ratified by the parliament last week, also describes the U.S. as a sponsor of terrorism. “These two forces (Guards and CENTCOM) that are designated as terrorist groups reciprocally might confront (each other) in the Persian Gulf or any other region. The United States will surely be responsible for such a situation,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

Iran’s Rouhani Decries US Policy of Maximum Pressure
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 1 May, 2019/Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivered Tuesday a vocal defiance to Washington’s latest measure to bring Iranian oil exports to zero.“We will bring the US to its knees,” said Rouhani two days ahead of US decision to end waivers for country’s buying Iranian oil goes into effect. Rouhani’s bellicose words followed an even tougher speech delivered by Qassem Soleimani, who commands the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force. “Enemies are looking to harm us through coercion, sanctions and threatening the country’s stability,” Soleimani said, while stressing that the US is going full-throttle in its attempt to trigger regime change in Tehran. Last week, Washington announced it will no longer exempt eight countries that mainly import oil from Iran from economic sanctions. The move is set to place maximum pressure on Tehran so that it returns to negotiations and complies with 12 demands which include ending its support for regional militias, as well as freezing its development of ballistic missiles. Since then, Rouhani and Iran’s top diplomat, Mohammad Javad Zarif, have signaled willingness to reopen negotiation channels. But Soleimani blasted any talks under the pressure of economic sanctions as “degrading, capitulation and surrender.”The country’s ultra-conservative Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, for his part, deemed returning to the roundtable a “strategic blunder.” “America's decision that Iranian oil exports should reach zero is wrong and incorrect, and we will not allow this decision to be implemented,” Rouhani said. "In the coming months, the Americans themselves will see that we will continue our oil exports," Rouhani said, taking pride in Tehran having “six methods” to circumvent US sanctions. Rouhani and Iranian officials have threatened to disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz if Washington tries to halt Iranian oil exports. The Strait of Hormuz links the crude-producing countries of the Middle East and markets in Asia and the Pacific, Europe, North America and beyond, and a third of the world's sea-transported oil passes through it every day. Iran has also threatened to pull out of the nuclear deal itself if European powers do not succeed in ensuring Tehran's economic benefits. European countries have said they would help companies keep their operations with Iran as long as they are committed to the deal, but Tehran has criticized what it sees as a slow pace of progress in the implementation of a payment mechanism for trade settlement between Iran and Europe.

Syria Regime Barrel Bombs Batter Idlib for First Time in 6 Months
Damascus, London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 1 May, 2019/Syrian regime forces dropped on Tuesday dozens barrel bombs on southern Idlib and northern Hama, after a halt of six months when Moscow and Ankara signed a de-escalation zone on the northwestern province. Russian warplanes took part in the attack. Some 48 explosive barrels were dropped by the regime's helicopters on 16 areas in both Hama and Idlib countryside included in the Russian-Turkish demilitarized zone, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Right. The monitor said a total of three regime forces and allied foreign groups were killed Tuesday after they were attacked by factions in Sahl Al-Ghab, in the countryside of northwestern Hama. Last September, Russia and Turkey inked a buffer zone deal to prevent a massive regime offensive on the Idlib region, near the Turkish border. However, the zone became under increasing bombardment since January when former al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took full control of it. Tuesday’s military escalation came as a meeting of representatives of the three guarantor countries - Turkey, Russia and Iran – failed to reach any agreement on Idlib during their round of talks in Kazakhstan last week. A leader in the Syrian opposition said Tuesday that the Russian and Syrian military escalation on opposition-controlled areas is a prelude to a wider military operation, especially since the regime pushed military reinforcements to the provinces of Hama and Idlib. The regime has its sights set on Idlib and the Hama countryside after it seized the countrysides of Damascus, Homs and Daraa from the opposition, he said. The Syrian regime delegation worked on foiling the Astana talks to justify attacks on the two provinces despite a de-escalation agreement in the area, he explained.

UN Condemns Shelling of Medical Facilities in Syria
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 1 May, 2019/The United Nations condemned on Tuesday the shelling of medical facilities in northwestern Syria in the past three days. "The UN is deeply disturbed by three separate reported attacks on hospitals and health facilities in northwestern Syria, depriving thousands of people of their basic right of health," said David Swanson of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The shelling targeted the opposition-held Idlib province and damaged a medical center and put two hospitals out of service. "Such violence is completely unacceptable," Swanson told AFP. The UN did not specify who was behind the attacks but the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights blamed the Syrian regime and its ally Russia. On Tuesday, a medical center in the town of Hbeit in the south of Idlib was "severely damaged" in artillery shelling, Swanson said. Regime shelling blew a crater into the walls of the center, said an AFP correspondent who visited the facility. Its interior was littered with rubble, he said. Earlier on Monday, an air strike hit a hospital in the town of Latamna in neighboring Hama province, putting it out of service, Swanson said. The hospital used to carry out 1,300 outpatient consultations and more than 300 operations a month before it was attacked, he said. A third facility -- The Madiq Castle hospital in Hama-- was also put out of service when it was hit by an air strike two days ago, causing heavy damage to its outpatient clinic, pharmacy and laboratory, Swanson said.
The hospital had served about 8,000 people a month, he added. "All three incidents further limit civilians' access to basic health care in northwest Syria," he said. "The UN continues to call on all the parties to the conflict to end the destruction of hospitals and other civilian infrastructure that is essential for the civilian population."Russia and opposition-backer Turkey in September inked a buffer zone deal to prevent a massive regime offensive on the Idlib region, near the Turkish border. But the region of some three million people has come under increasing bombardment since former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took full control of it in January. The escalation has killed more than 200 civilians since February, the UN said last week. The Observatory said two civilians were killed in Tuesday's shelling on Idlib and neighboring Hama. Despite the low casualty count, it said Tuesday's attacks were the most intense since the September truce. The war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it began with the bloody repression of anti-regime protests in 2011.

Muslim World League Condemns Attack on San Diego Synagogue
New York - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 1 May, 2019/Muslim World League chief Mohammad Al-Issa condemned on Tuesday that attack against a synagogue in California, US, labeling it an appalling terrorist attack. Drawing parallels between the recent Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka and the mosque shootings in New Zealand, Issa said: “Evil prevails in the absence of the responsible and influential role of good, in its humanitarian understanding, which reflects human values, wisdom and tolerance.”Issa was in New York where he relayed condolences on behalf of the MWL during his visit to a number of Jewish religious leaders in the city. He was accompanied by a number of Islamic, Christian and Jewish religious leaders and Sri Lanka and New Zealand’s envoys to the United Nations. Issa stressed the importance of protecting followers of all religions and their respective places of worship. He also pointed out that incitement to violence are wrong and do not reflect values of tolerance found in religious teachings. Separately, Issa inked a historic memorandum of understanding with American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO David Harris at the AJC headquarters. The MoU codifies the commitment of the two global institutions to further Muslim-Jewish understanding and cooperate against racism and extremism in all its forms.

Israel Bars Officials from Meeting with Prominent French Diplomat
Tel Aviv - Nazir Magally/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 01 May/ 2019/Israel’s foreign ministry summoned France’s ambassador Helene Le Gal to protest comments by outgoing French Ambassador to the US Gerard Araud, who was highly critical of current Israeli policies against Palestinians.
Israel, enraged by the diplomat’s accusations of apartheid, has gone as far as ordering its government officials not to meet with Araud during his upcoming visit. Le Gal said that Araud’s comments were not made in an official capacity and that they were not directed at Israel’s mainland policy, but rather to its conduct in the West Bank. Tel Aviv, however, shunned the statement and warned any Israeli government official from meeting with Araud, who was expected to arrive in Israel within days. Known as one of France's most prominent diplomats and a close ally of senior advisor to the US president, Jared Kushner, Araud just this month concluded five-year tenure as ambassador to Washington. In a mid-April interview with “The Atlantic,” Araud admitted that the US’ championed peace plan for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, dubbed “deal of the century,” leverages Israeli interests and is likely to fail.
“Everywhere in the history of mankind, when there is a negotiation between two sides, the more powerful [party] is imposing terms on the weaker party,” he said, adding that this statement constitutes “the basis of Jared Kushner’s [peace plan]—it will be a proposal very close to what the Israelis want.”
“Is it doomed to fail? I should say 99 percent yes, but 1 percent, you never forget the 1 percent. Trump is uniquely able to push the Israelis, because he is so popular in Israel,” the former diplomat said. Speaking on the wagers the White House is taking in order to secure success for the plan, Araud highlighted US President Donald Trump’s popularity among Israelis. “He is more popular than [Benjamin] Netanyahu in Israel, so the Israelis trust him. That’s the first bet, Kushner told me,” he told The Atlantic. Highlighting Israel’s strong position, Araud said: “The problem is that the disproportion of power is such between the two sides that the strongest may conclude that they have no interest to make concessions.” “So they will have to make it official, which is we know the situation, which is an apartheid. There will be officially an apartheid state,” he added. As for the raging Israeli-French diplomatic spat, Araud’s comments are only the tip of the iceberg. Last week, France decried Israel’s decision to deduct money from the monthly tax funds it transfers to the Palestinian Authority, France demanded that Israel renew the transfer of the funds. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded in a letter to the French, according to the report, that the request was “morally and politically incorrect” and contrary to the European principles of how to fight terrorism. He also said that Israel will “continue to act in accordance with the law of the Knesset.”

UN Envoy Optimistic over Formation of Syria Constitutional Committee
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 1 May, 2019/UN special envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen was optimistic Tuesday that an agreement could be reached over the formation of a constitutional committee for the war-torn country. The committee would be tasked with drafting a constitution for post-war Syria that could be up and running in the coming months. Pedersen, who took up the post in January, told the Security Council that the constitutional committee would be "a first sign of real movement" toward ending the eight-year war that has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions. Discussions on the committee have been bogged down in disagreements over the composition of three lists of members from the regime, opposition and civil society and religious groups, explained AFP. But after a meeting in Kazakhstan of Russia, Iran and Turkey last week and other discussions, Pedersen said he believed differences had been narrowed and that agreement was within reach. Asked whether the committee could hold its first meeting this summer, Pedersen told reporters: "Yes, I'm hopeful. I believe it should be possible to move forward. We have made tangible progress." While he cautioned that there was "no agreement before everything is agreed", he nevertheless said: "Yes, I'm optimistic." In a sign of movement, six Syrian civil society representatives have been dropped from the lists of delegates to the proposed constitutional committee and new names will be put forward. Pedersen, a Norwegian diplomat who took over the Syria file from Swedish-Italian envoy Staffan de Mistura, has traveled to Damascus for talks and worked hard to establish good relations.

Sri Lanka President Urges ISIS to ‘Leave My Country Alone’
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 1 May, 2019/Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena urged on Wednesday the terrorist ISIS group to “leave my country alone” as his country continues to reel from a series of deadly Easter Sunday bombings. He said a foreign mastermind may have planned the attacks and that ISIS may have launched a “new strategy” by targeting smaller countries, Sky New said on Wednesday. Sri Lankan authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections aren’t known. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, as well as other undisclosed foreign agencies, are helping Sri Lanka with the probe. A government source told Reuters on Tuesday police and other security forces across the country had been ordered to remain on high alert because the militants were expected to try to strike again, before the holy month of Ramadan which starts on Monday. Sri Lanka stepped up security Wednesday as political parties staged low-key May Day commemorations after calling off scheduled rallies following fears more bomb attacks. Officials said more police were deployed for cordon-and-search operations in many parts of the country, while the military also reinforced road blocks and patrols. Several roads in the capital were closed as Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe attended a tightly guarded public ceremony marking the 26th anniversary of president Ranasinghe Premadasa assassination. Officials said police used extraordinary security measures for Sirisena's public appearance to commemorate Premadasa, who was killed by a suicide bomber during a May Day rally in 1993. Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) canceled its May Day celebrations and instead was holding a closed-door meeting with senior stalwarts later in the day, officials said. Sirisena said authorities were aware of “a small group” of Sri Lankans who had traveled abroad to receive training from ISIS over the past decade. Investigations revealed the bombs used in the Easter attacks were made locally, the president told Sky News. Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island country, may have been a key player in plotting the Easter bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers. The suicide bombings on hotels and churches killed more than 250 people, including 40 foreign nationals. Police suspect members of two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - of carrying out the attacks. Police say they have arrested over 150 people suspected of links to the extremists who carried out the bombings. Wickremesinghe said Tuesday that some suspects remained at large. On Monday, ISIS’ media network published a video message purporting to come from its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which would be his first appearance in five years. In the video, a bearded man with Baghdadi’s appearance says the Sri Lanka bombings were ISIS’ response to losses in its last territorial stronghold of Baghouz in Syria.

Algeria Army Chief Says Military Will Prevent Country from Plunging into Chaos
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 1 May, 2019/Algeria’s army chief of staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah said on Wednesday the military will ensure the country does not descend into violence, state TV said, as mass protests that prompted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to quit on April 2 continue.
Bouteflika’s exit has not quieted protesters, who are now demanding the dismantling of an entire ruling elite entrenched for decades, a shift towards more democracy and a crackdown on systemic corruption and cronyism.
Salah said the ongoing marches showed there was consensus on how to get out of the crisis, the station said. He did not elaborate but some protesters have welcomed a push by Salah to prosecute members of the ruling elite close to Bouteflika, reported Reuters. The army remains the most powerful institution in Algeria, which produces oil and gas, having swayed politics from the shadows for decades. It has so far patiently monitored the mostly peaceful protests that at times have swelled to hundreds of thousands of people.
On Tuesday, Salah — who helped push out Bouteflika after having him declared unfit for office — said several big corruption cases would come to light in a crackdown on graft, the private Ennahar TV station said. Hundreds of people demonstrated again in Algiers on Wednesday for more reforms, TV footage showed.

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 01-02/19
A Greek Inquiry about Islam in Europe
Raymond Ibrahim/May 01/19
Note: Fotini Mastroianni, a Greek journalist and blogger, whose stories are reproduced by over 200 Greek and European websites and blogs, recently interviewed me. Greek version here; English follows:
Mastroianni: European churches are vandalized. This is an ongoing phenomenon. Mass media “hide” the vandalisms. Why do you think there is such secrecy on the matter?
Ibrahim: Because if the truth gets out, the official “narrative”—that Muslims are moderate and tolerant and that migrants need help and welfare—will be overturned. After all, people who willfully desecrate the sacred sites of their host country, and engage in all sorts of religiously (that is, “Islamicly”) inspired criminal activity, are not exactly the sort of people deserving of sanctuary or a helping hand.
Mastroianni: Islamic population in Europe has become aggressive to Christian symbols. However, European authorities are extremely tolerant of these actions. Why? Do you think there is a political agenda regarding this tolerance?
Ibrahim: Yes: although aggressive secularists, atheists, liberals, and leftists—and whatever other labels they go under—and Muslims have very different values, when it comes to the cross of Christ, they are often in agreement—that is, they dislike it. Therefore, European authorities turn a blind eye to Islamic attacks on Christian symbols, from churches to crosses, since they themselves have disdain for them. Remember: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. For militant secularists, the true enemy is not Islam—which still seems foreign, distant, and maybe manageable—but rather the Christian heritage and mores that surround—and apparently judge and convict—them.
Mastroianni: Europe has accepted massive immigration flows from Asia and Africa, mostly Islamic. Greece, as one of the first entrance to Europe countries, has turned into a massive immigrant camp. At the same time, a number of European countries close their borders. What do you think will be the evolution of this situation?
Ibrahim: Certainly not good for Greece; under such circumstances it will soon become inundated with Muslim migrants. Here’s the irony: for nearly a millennium, from the start of the Islamic conquests in the 630s until 1453, Greece—in the guise of the walls of Constantinople—was responsible for keeping the sword of Islam out of Eastern Europe. Yet today, it willingly takes in growing numbers of Muslims—not a few of whom exhibit and exercise that old Islamic hostility for Christian/European “infidels.”
Mastroianni: Have Christians become an animosity target? First 6,000 dead Christians in Nigeria, then the massacre in Sri Lanka, make us think that Christians have become a target. Even the American Christian Orthodox priest Rod Dreher in his book “The Benedict Option” has written that Christians have become an animosity target even in the USA. Do you think that this is a correct perception?
Ibrahim: Yes it is. As mentioned above, Christians have historically had many more enemies than Muslims. These enemies have often and continue to make common cause with Muslims—due to their shared aversion for Christianity. This even has historical precedents; the primary reason that Christ-hating pagan Vikings enslaved Christians was to sell them to well-paying Muslim caliphates. Moving to contemporary America, liberals and progressives who forever whine about traditional (“oppressive”) Christianity habitually make common cause with Islam—despite the latter’s truly oppressive qualities. Feminists denounce the Christian “patriarchy”—but say nothing against the Muslim treatment of women as chattel. Homosexuals rage against Christian bakeries for declining to make them a cake—but say nothing against the Muslim execution of homosexuals. Multiculturalists denounce Christians who refuse to suppress their faith to accommodate the religious sensibilities of Muslim minorities—but say nothing against the entrenched and open Muslim persecution of Christians around the world. As mentioned, the reason for these discrepancies is simple: For anti-Christian secularists in the West, “the enemy [Islam] of my true enemy [Christianity] is my friend.”
Mastroianni: You are a Coptic Orthodox Christian of Egyptian origin. What is the current situation of Copts in Egypt?
Ibrahim: While Copts all throughout Egypt live daily with discrimination and minor humiliations, those in Upper Egypt are persecuted. They do not have enough churches and whenever a rumor arises that a new church may be opened—or that an old church might be renovated, or even that a home is being used as a church—local Muslims riot, attacking Copts and burning their homes. The abduction and forced conversion of Coptic girls is also a problem in many of these villages. Then, of course, there are the increasingly common Islamic terror attacks on Coptic churches and monasteries, which in recent years have left several hundred dead and/or maimed—and exponentially more terrorized.
Mastroianni: Islam had had military encounters with Byzantium. The result was the Ottoman Empire which has resulted in an approximate 400 years suppression of Balkan countries which were mostly Christian Orthodox. The Ottomans wanted to conquer Western Europe. Do you think that Islamic population aggression towards Christian Europe stems from these times or is it a result of economic suppression of Asian and African countries by Western Europe’s colonization?
Ibrahim: It stems from those times. Present day Muslim hostility—not to mention the pattern of attacks on Christians and churches—virtually mirrors Muslim hostility of the past. The continuity is unwavering; economics and other “material” factors are not necessary to explain the hate and violence. This is documented on virtually every page of my recent book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West. For over a millennium, Muslims attacked Christians and Europeans, destroyed their churches, crosses, and icons, and enslaved and raped their women and children. And they did it all—and openly said they did it all—in the name of Islam, not economics or grievances. Today, plain-speaking Muslims, such as those of the Islamic State, also make clear that their hate and violence for Christians and other non-Muslims is a product of Islamic teachings, not economics, colonization, or other “grievances.” It is primarily Western politicians and media that cite those factors to explain away Islamic hostility and violence.

Striving for Humanitarian Tendencies
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/ May 01/2019
The massacre at two mosques in New Zealand and then the massacre at the Sri Lanka churches. With its customary frankness, ISIS said the latter was retaliation to the former. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi then altered the story to claim it was retaliation to his defeats in Syria. Six months ago, a massacre at a Pennsylvania synagogue took place in the United States. These events took up major headlines, while small ones covered a shooting, just days ago, near a synagogue in San Diego in the US.
Many people have spoken about and continue to talk about a religious war, or rather one about religious identities with the universe as its battlefield. New Zealand, Sri Lanka, the US, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, India, Iraq, France and the list goes on. This is a radical and absolute war.
The world must not narrow down the blame for these attacks on two excuses. One good one and another horrible. Excuses take on many colors and they can become countless when they are mixed together. Sometimes very small nuances are enough to alter an excuse and create a whole new one. Reservations, revisions and criticisms also come into the picture. Words like “maybe”, “but” and “perhaps” often make a huge difference.
We are also confronted with a globalized identity war. It is based on hatred, which is based on glorifying the self and hating the other. This hatred is based on skewed understanding of history, creating intolerance. Perpetrators resort to disputes between religions that are impossible to resolve, which fuels the “need” to eliminate those who “differ” with their beliefs.
While intolerant killers focus on texts and their “understanding” of them, let us here remember the “manifesto” of the Australian murderer in New Zealand. It is best to remind ourselves of human values or work on bolstering them. A response to the approach of compartmentalizing people according to their inherited backgrounds lies in focusing on humans as one of many in a the universe. Research and liturgical students can tackle the differences and common factors between religions and histories. The oppression and torture of people regardless of their religion or race should be the foundation of a culture that opposes murder.The Holocaust should have a been an appropriate development to globalize human solidarity and humanitarian tendencies. This took place, to an extent, in the West where the Nazi crime was committed. Here, however, and due to the Arab-Israeli conflict, something else happened: Israel, instead of dealing with it as a universal humanitarian issue, used it as a war tactic in the above-mentioned conflict. It monopolized the holocaust. Muslims and Arabs, in turn, largely refused to recognize it.
We must at this point take a moment to critique ourselves. We have noticed a marked difference in their solidarity with us in wake of the New Zealand attack and between our solidarity with them after the Sri Lanka attacks. This reflected the weak humanitarian tendencies in us. This weakness should push us towards self-reflection.
It should also lead us to question the mass loyalties dictated by our culture, which has led to the weakening of our loyalty to man. This environment fueled and justified the compartmentalization of humans and violations against them became more and more justified. This process was driven by exaggerating the idea of enmity, which sometimes took on religious turns. Dualities of hatred and division came to be and spread: Ruler and ruled. Arab and Jew. Arab and Kurd. Muslim and Christian. Sunni and Shiite. Sunni and Alawite. Arab and Amazigh. North and South in Sudan.
This was all compounded by societies where freedoms and justice are lacking. The absence has led to corrupt morals and violence. It is through freedom and justice that we can think better and rise up to the humanitarian and moral levels. The demand for freedom and justice is what binds people together the most.

Dark Days in Hong Kong
Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/May 01/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14166/hong-kong-dark-days
The continued defiance of Hong Kong's people in the face of Chinese repression is inspiring resistance in Taiwan.
"In the early 1980s the 'one country, two systems' concept was created for Taiwan, not for Hong Kong," said Ma Ying-jeou to Al Jazeera when he was Taiwan's president in September 2014. "But Taiwan has sent a clear message that we do not accept the concept."
Xi Jinping, the current Chinese ruler, once held the Hong Kong portfolio in the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee. He certainly knows that one of the signs of Chinese regime failure is trouble on the periphery, and he is determined that the open defiance in Hong Kong does not spread to other areas far from the center of Chinese power. Xi has no effective response to Hong Kong, however.
A court in Hong Kong on Sunday sentenced eight of nine democracy activists for their role in the massive "Occupy Central" protests in 2014. The prosecution was seen, both in Hong Kong and elsewhere, as a sign of Beijing tightening its control over the city. Pictured: Democracy protesters hold umbrellas to support the arrested activists of the "Occupy Central" movement, on December 3, 2014 in Hong Kong. (Photo by Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Hong Kong on Sunday to protest planned changes to the city's extradition law. Many believe new rules facilitating the sending of suspects to China would effectively allow Beijing to grab people at will and thereby completely control the city. "You will be screwed," said a marcher, a law clerk, to Reuters.
The turnout was high — organizers said 130,000 people took part — in part because the demonstration followed the sentencing of democracy activists for their role in the massive "Occupy Central" protests in 2014. On Wednesday, a lower court handed out prison terms of between eight to 16 months to four of the "Umbrella Nine." Three others received suspended sentences. One person was given 200 hours of community service.
The eight individuals — the sentencing of a ninth person was postponed for medical reasons — were convicted of public nuisance offenses in a closely watched proceeding on April 9. The prosecution of the 9 figures was seen, both in Hong Kong and elsewhere, as a sign of Beijing tightening its control over the city."It's indeed one of the darkest days in Hong Kong history," Tak Ho Fong, host of "Peking Hotel" on Hong Kong-based digital radio station D100, told the Gatestone Institute in e-mail comments.
Dark indeed. Nobody strangles democracies like communists, and no communists are more relentless in this regard than Chinese ones. Beijing, with methodical ruthlessness, is trying to bring Hong Kong to heel, and this is a hint of weakness at the center of Chinese politics and governance. China's communists, whether or not they succeed in Hong Kong, will undermine their efforts to win over Taiwan.
Hong Kong, once a British colony, was "handed back" to China on July 1, 1997 pursuant to the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984. In the Joint Declaration, a treaty with Britain, Beijing promised to afford Hong Kong a "high degree of autonomy" for 50 years. Hong Kong since July 1997 has been designated a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and governed under the "one country, two systems" formula. Pursuant to this formula, Hong Kong governs itself, except it does not maintain diplomatic relations and does not provide for external defense.
Beijing this month proved it could put activists in jail — prison sentences of other Occupy Central activists were earlier overturned — and in response to the Wednesday sentences human rights organizations issued warnings. "The long sentences send a chilling warning to all that there will be serious consequences for advocating for democracy," noted Maya Wang of Human Rights Watch.
Relief was nonetheless evident when Judge Johnny Chan Jong-herng of the West Kowloon Court handed down his decision. The activists could have received seven-year prison terms stemming from the 79-day "Umbrella" demonstration, so named because protestors used umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas. Many of the extradition marchers on Sunday carried umbrellas, not only to block out the sun.
A total of 1.2 million people participated in the 2014 demonstration — peak numbers exceeded 100,000 at times — to stand against Beijing severely restricting the field of candidates for the office of chief executive, the successor post for the colonial governor. As a result of Beijing effectively dishonoring promises of universal suffrage, none of the chief executives — Carrie Lam, the current one, is the fourth since the handover — has been considered legitimate except by supporters of Beijing.
The perceived lack of legitimacy has made the chief executives ineffective. Beijing has responded by infringing on the self-rule it had promised. For one thing, it has rejected, despite the clear wording of the agreement with Britain, the notion that there are any restrictions on its power over Hong Kong like its promise of autonomy for the city. "The Sino-British Joint Declaration, as a historical document, no longer has any realistic meaning," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang in June 2017. "It also does not have any binding power on how the Chinese central government administers Hong Kong."
Moreover, China, from behind the scenes, has infringed on Hong Kong's autonomy by, for instance, arranging the removal of legislators, disqualifying candidates, even outlawing a political party.
Moreover, Beijing, represented in the city by its "Liaison Office," is now pushing for a law to punish disrespecting the "March of the Volunteers," the Chinese national anthem.
Beijing's heavy-handed tactics have not been particularly effective, however. The more it has clamped down, the less popular it has become.
Polls on self-identification carry a chilling message for Beijing. Less than four percent of Hong Kong's young self-identify as "Chinese" or "broadly Chinese." That's down from around 30 percent in 1997. The widely followed Hong Kong University poll shows that fewer people in Hong Kong are proud of their new Chinese nationality than at the handover — 38 percent versus 46.4 percent — and that younger age cohorts are less proud than the population as a whole.
Senior Chinese leaders, by overreaching, have managed to create both an independence movement in Hong Kong and a campaign to return the city to British rule. For now, Hong Kong people express this latter sentiment by, among other things, carrying colonial-era flags and sporting Union Jack-adorned clothing. All this suggests increased activism in Hong Kong.
The continued defiance of Hong Kong's people in the face of Chinese repression is inspiring resistance in Taiwan. Beijing maintains that the self-governing island is part of the People's Republic and, going back to the era of Deng Xiaoping, has proposed to rule it under the same "one country, two systems" approach. Yet as Chinese leaders smother Hong Kong, 1C2S, as the plan is known, becomes even less attractive to Taiwan.
"Today's Hong Kong, tomorrow's Taiwan" has become the rallying cry of young Taiwanese. The 1C2S idea has united most of Taiwan, including the pro-China elements there, in the belief that becoming part of the People's Republic would be a nightmare. "In the early 1980s the 'one country, two systems' concept was created for Taiwan, not for Hong Kong," said Ma Ying-jeou to Al Jazeera when he was Taiwan's president in September 2014. "But Taiwan has sent a clear message that we do not accept the concept."
Xi Jinping, the current Chinese ruler, once held the Hong Kong portfolio in the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee. He certainly knows that one of the signs of Chinese regime failure is trouble on the periphery, and he is determined that the open defiance in Hong Kong does not spread to other areas far from the center of Chinese power.
Xi has no effective response to Hong Kong, however, and the growing rejection of China there must be of great concern, especially since harsh rule has already lost hearts and minds in China's west, in both Tibet and what the Chinese call the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Traditional inhabitants of Xinjiang, the Muslim Uighurs, say their land is a separate country, East Turkestan.
"We do not give up," Chu Yiu-ming, one of the Umbrella Nine, declared from the defendant's dock on April 9. Chinese dynasties unravel at the edges, and Beijing looks desperate to keep the increasingly resistant Hong Kong, at China's southern edge, from drifting too far from its control.
*Gordon G. Chang is the author of The Coming Collapse of China and a Gatestone Institute Distinguished Senior Fellow. Follow him on Twitter @GordonGChang.
* 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Turkey: On Anniversary of Genocide, Armenians Still under Attack
أوزاي بولوت/معهد جيتستون: في الذكرى السنوية للإبادة الأرمنية على يد العثمانيين لا تزال تركيا تضايق وتهاجم الأرمن
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/May 01/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/74413/%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%87%D8%AF-%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B0%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3/
It is estimated that between one and one and a half million Armenians perished.
The government-funded Turkish Institute of History just announced that it is preparing to publish 25 volumes "refuting Turkey's involvement" in the Armenian Genocide.
"[I]t's obvious that the recognition and condemnation of genocides are the most effective tools for the prevention of new genocides." — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, February 13, 2019, ArmenPress.com
Since the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, Turkish authorities have aggressively denied that the genocide even took place, or that Turks carried it out, and penalized those who dare to assert otherwise.
April 24 marked the 104th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by Ottoman Turkey. It was on this date in 1915 that Armenian intellectuals and community leaders were arrested in Constantinople and later murdered. It is estimated that between one and one and a half million Armenians perished.
Since then, Turkish authorities have aggressively denied that the genocide even took place, or that Turks carried it out, and penalized those who dare to assert otherwise.
The government-funded Turkish Institute of History (TTK) recently announced that it is preparing to publish 25 volumes "refuting Turkey's involvement" in the genocide. The TTK also has produced a documentary -- "The Armenian Rebellion Against the Ottoman State, Terrorism and Propaganda" -- claiming that the Armenians started committing "atrocities" against Muslims in 1915, to which Turks responded by "relocating and resettling" them. As a result, according to the documentary, the Armenian diaspora proceeded to spread "lies about the so-called Armenian genocide."
In addition to the Turkish government's ongoing genocide-denial, there is also an attempt by many members of the Turkish public to wipe out all vestiges of Armenian religion and culture.
Functioning Armenian churches in Istanbul – which are few and far between -- have been vandalized on several occasions. In February, for instance, the Surp Hreshdagabed church in Istanbul's Balat District was spray-painted with the graffiti warning: "You are finish [sic]."
Last year, the Surp Takavor church in Istanbul was spray-painted with graffiti reading: "This homeland is ours."
In 2016, the Bomonti Mkhitarian Armenian School was painted with graffiti calling to "torture Armenian[s]."
Meanwhile, non-operational Armenian churches, whose congregants were murdered or forcibly deported during the genocide, frequently fall prey to "treasure hunters" on looting sprees. Some of these "treasure hunters" even film themselves digging up church property, including cemeteries, and posting the footage on social media to boast about their quest for gold and other valuables. One historic Armenian church in Kars has been targeted by looters so often that many of its walls have collapsed.
Congregants of the Armenian Surp Giragos Apostolic Church in Diyarbakir -- which was damaged as a result of clashes between the Turkish military and Kurdish militants five years ago, and has not been open to public since then -- celebrated Easter this year at a café.
In February, the house where the late Armenian poet, Yeğişe Çarents, was believed to have lived in Kars was recently destroyed. According to the newspaper, Agos, since a number of other houses in the area suffered the same fate, the demolitions were thought to have been carried out by the Kars municipality or governorship.
The current population of the Armenian community in Turkey is approximately 60,000 -- and shrinking, as a result of the "tense political atmosphere and violence" in the country. One Armenian from Turkey, who moved his family to Europe, told Agos:
"We wanted our child to live in more civilized conditions. Turkey hasn't been peaceful at least for 5 generations. Turkey cannot manage to reach 'the level of contemporary civilizations' and it seems that it won't in the next 30 years."
Continuing to deny the Armenian Genocide, particularly at a time when Christians are being persecuted and slaughtered across the world, is one way for Turkey to remain backward, uncivilized and ill-deserving of its aspirations to become a part of Europe.
As Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recently said:
"We do not view the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the context of purely Armenian-Turkish relations. We see that in the context of global prevention of genocides and ensuring global security because it's obvious that the recognition and condemnation of genocides are the most effective tools for the prevention of new genocides."
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14163/turkey-armenian-genocide-anniversary
*Uzay Bulut, a journalist born and raised a Muslim in Turkey, is currently based in Washington D.C.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
**Pictured: Armenian civilians, escorted by Ottoman soldiers, marched through Harput to a prison in nearby Mezireh (present-day Elazig), April 1915. (Image source: American Red Cross/Wikimedia Commons)

Making Sense of Iraq's PMF Arrests
Phillip Smyth/The Washington Institute/May 01/2019
By highlighting the hypocrisy of recent ‘housecleaning’ campaigns, Washington can show the Iraqi public that Iran’s Shia militia networks offer no genuine solution to rampant corruption.
On February 8-12, the central office of Iraq’s militia umbrella organization al-Hashd al-Shabi (the Popular Mobilization Forces) launched the latest phase in its ongoing anticorruption campaign, arresting various militia leaders and shutting down 100 “fake” PMF groups. The move highlighted continuing tensions within Iraq’s Shia-dominated, Iranian-backed militia network, and these issues extend into Syria.
IRAQ’S UN-UNTOUCHABLES
Despite their claims of being incorruptible, many PMF brigades have rap sheets loaded with fraud, theft, and other criminal activities. In March 2018, officially recognized PMF militias were given salaries equal to those of army personnel, which many elements took as a cue to siphon off state funds. PMF groups have also sold special IDs and paperwork allowing purchasers to carry small arms.
Even the largest PMF militias regularly turn to crime. Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) has stolen equipment from the Bayji oil refinery, then had the audacity to try selling it back to the government. And in February, Reuters reported that Shia PMF groups had cornered the scrap metal market near Mosul, impeding local reconstruction efforts while helping the militias earn millions of dollars.
The PMF launched their first campaign to curb such activities last September. According to Iraqi news site Al-Sumaria, an unnamed figure was arrested amid great fanfare and sentenced to ten years in prison; he was charged with opening a bogus headquarters for a group he claimed was under PMF control, then using it as a front to sell fake identity cards. The aim of that arrest and subsequent crackdowns was to convince the public that criminality is limited to “fake” organizations, while simultaneously demonstrating the PMF’s commitment to their core anticorruption message—even as top PMF groups continue their fraudulent activities.
BRAND LOYALTY
Many Iranian-backed militias have struck a careful balancing act between cultivating fear and respect on the one hand, and integrating themselves into Iraq’s social and political fabric on the other. Protecting their image and name is extremely important to those goals.
One such militia is Kataib Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization with three PMF brigades (the 45th, 46th, and 47th). In 2014-2015, it posted lists of “fake” KH groups on its television networks and social media, asserting that they were improperly using its name and directing Iraqis to verify all affiliates with KH officials by phone.
In April 2015, KH claimed to arrest a “spy” named Karim al-Shahmani near Jurf al-Sakhar. The militia accused him of receiving money from the CIA and Kuwaiti intelligence to start the group Kataib Hezbollah al-Khaledoun, with the aim of harming KH’s reputation. True or not, the accusation showed the tensions created by militia branding issues.
Among the 100 “fake groups” raided this February, one claimed to represent Kataib al-Imam Ali (the PMF’s 40th Brigade), another marketed itself as part of the KH-controlled Saraya al-Difa al-Shabi (the 47th Brigade), and yet another claimed to represent Harakat al-Abdal (the 39th Brigade). These brigades form core Iranian-controlled sections of the PMF.
SADRIST SPLINTERS ARE SPLINTERED
From AAH to Kataib al-Imam Ali, splinters from Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr’s camp have been particularly attractive for Iran. By cultivating them, Tehran has sought to weaken a major Iraqi religious and political competitor, cement its influence and its recruiting networks, and further its regional goals.
Even so, the latest PMF crackdown targeted two smaller Sadrist splinter groups that were previously under Iran’s wing: Quwat Abu Fadl al-Abbas (QAFA) and Jaish al-Muwamal. Both groups had been accused of criminality in 2017-2018, but the PMF did not follow up on those charges at the time. Although neither of the groups was as large as the top PMF militias, they maintained an outsize presence on social media and established the earliest networks of Iraqi Shia fighters to enter the Syria war at Iran’s behest.
QAFA, THE “IMAGINARY” PROXY
Once a top figure in Sadr’s camp, Sheikh Auws al-Khafaji saw his reputation begin to change in 2012, with Sadr publicly distancing himself from the commander. By year’s end, Khafaji was engrossed in creating a loose network of Iraqi Shia fighters for deployment to Syria. This network became more formalized after the Islamic State’s conquest of Mosul. In June 2014, Khafaji announced the creation of Qaeda Quwat Abu Fadl al-Abbas (the “Qaeda” was eventually dropped). At its height in late 2014-early 2015, QAFA boasted around 2,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria. While the militia never received an official PMF brigade designation, Khafaji has been widely featured as a PMF spokesman and commander during television appearances.
On February 7, Khafaji took to the airwaves and blamed Iran for the February 2 assassination of Iraqi novelist Alaa Mashzoub by “unknown gunmen.” A day later, PMF personnel arrested Khafaji; as of this writing, he is still being held incommunicado at an unknown location. Following his arrest, members of his namesake Shia Arab tribe protested in Baghdad and southern Iraq, warning that they may use force if he is not freed.
Previously, Khafaji had been quite outspoken about his links to Tehran. During his December 2018 visit to Lebanon, he met with officials from Iran’s top regional proxy, Hezbollah, and praised the group for its support. Afterward, he received a glowing review in the Hezbollah news outlet al-Ahed. Following his arrest, however, such links were quickly forgotten. Karim al-Nouri, a senior figure in the Iranian-controlled Badr Organization, told Asharq al-Awsat that the arrest was one of many aimed at shutting down “fake headquarters” that engage in extortion, provoke the populace, and otherwise create problems.
Whether or not the criminal accusations are true, the claim that QAFA and its office were “imaginary” seems blatantly hypocritical. Nouri himself once posed for a photo with Khafaji in the same “fake” headquarters he cited as the reason for the arrest. QAFA supporters have also posted photos of Khafaji being warmly greeted by top PMF leaders, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (a U.S.-designated terrorist who founded KH and serves as the PMF’s second-in-command) and Ahmed al-Asadi. Complaints about Khafaji’s arrest and the PMF’s perceived hypocrisy continue to appear in QAFA messaging, primarily in Syria.
JAISH AL-MUWAMAL, THE LOST BRIGADE
Also reportedly swept up in the February PMF arrests was Saad al-Suwar, head of the group Jaish al-Muwamal (though some social media sources claim he was detained the previous month). His arrest spurred some members to double down on their praise for Iran, while others actively distanced themselves.
During and after the 2003 Iraq war, Suwar led Iranian-backed radical Shia cells in northern Baghdad and was arrested by American and Iraqi forces. Following his escape from jail in 2011, he sought refuge in Iran and expanded his links there. In 2012, he traveled to Syria and became a recruiter and commander for a number of loosely connected Sadrist splinters, including the Damascus-based Rapid Reaction Forces and Liwa Abu Fadl al-Abbas. After returning to Iraq in 2014, he established Jaish al-Muwamal in summer 2016. The group soon received training from the established network of Iranian-controlled Shia militias in Iraq. Like Khafaji, Suwar’s connection to Iranian proxies was an open fact—photos of him posing with Muhandis and AAH leader Qais al-Khazali can be easily found on Facebook.
Jaish al-Muwamal was eventually given official PMF designation as the 99th Brigade. Yet by 2018, leading members of the group had left Iraq and set up shop in Syria, where many had previously fought as part of other groups. A large portion of these fighters and commanders reintegrated themselves with Shia militias ostensibly controlled by the Syrian army (e.g., Liwa Dhulfiqar; Liwa al-Imam al-Hussein).
Despite their strong connections with Iranian networks, Jaish al-Muwamal and QAFA were essentially dissolved after the February crackdown. The situation has created a great deal of bad blood between their supporters and their former benefactor.
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
At first glance, the recent PMF arrests seemed like further evidence that the militias are simply formalizing their role as a unified national organization by cleaning house, eliminating uncontrollable elements, and taking action against fraud. The PMF have also attempted to demonstrate their utility and protect their brand by helping with police work, social service provision, and infrastructure projects. Yet when it comes to the core Iranian-controlled groups that run the PMF, criminality remains widespread, conveying the message that corruption is acceptable for Tehran’s favorites.
Meanwhile, the continued presence of Iraqi Shia fighters in Damascus may indicate that the Assad regime is beginning to chafe at how much access and power Iran has acquired there. The regime’s relationship with Tehran is still very close, but Syrian officials could be seeking to develop a more ideologically diverse Shia presence in order to reestablish some level of equilibrium with Iran.
The PMF arrests also give the U.S. government another way to demonstrate that Iran is an unreliable patron for Iraqi Shia. Tehran’s unyielding approach to its proxies allows for no dissent, encourages rampant corruption that stunts Iraq’s development, and treats even dedicated foreign Shia who promote its ideology as sacrificial lambs to be discarded on a whim. Playing on these themes could help Washington isolate problematic groups, pressure Tehran, and reiterate U.S. commitment to Prime Minister Adil Abdulmahdi’s anticorruption drive. The State Department’s recent listing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a Foreign Terrorist Organization might also be leveraged toward those ends, since the designation announcement mentions Kataib Hezbollah by name.
To be sure, some of these Shia groups would be happy to be on the receiving end of direct U.S. criticism. Washington should therefore focus on encouraging regional media outlets to get this message across, in addition to advancing it via social media and U.S. meetings with Iraqi officials. Corruption is hardly a new phenomenon in Iraq, but the criminal activities being carried out by Iranian-backed militias tap into major concerns held by much of the Iraqi public. Spreading information about these activities far and wide is a great way to drive wedges between Iran, its regional network of fighters, and average Iraqi citizens tired of rampant corruption. By highlighting the hypocrisy of PMF housecleaning campaigns, Washington can definitively show that Iranian proxies offer no genuine solution to Iraq’s most pressing problems.
*Phillip Smyth is a Soref Fellow at The Washington Institute, specializing in Shia militias and Iranian proxy groups.

Op-Ed In Saudi Daily 'Arab News': The Lessons Of The Holocaust Must Be Learned By Everyone, So That Such Atrocities Will Never Recur
Dr. Ellen R. Wald,/MEMRI/May 01/2019
On April 30, 2019, one day before Israel's Holocaust Day, the Saudi English-language daily Arab News published an op-ed titled "Remember the Holocaust So Its Horrors Are Not Repeated," by Dr. Ellen R. Wald, a historian and consultant on geopolitics and the energy industry who writes for the paper on a regular basis. In the article, Wald writes that it is important to commemorate the various horrific acts of genocide and savagery that occurred throughout the 20th century, including the Armenian genocide, the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, the slaughter of the Tutsi by the Hutu in Rwanda, and many others. However, she says, amid the atrocities of that century, there is one genocide that must never be forgotten, namely the Holocaust, which stands out for its scope and the character of its perpetrators. Presenting many details about the unfolding of the Holocaust, she notes that this genocide was different from the others not only because of the number of people slaughtered, but because it was planned, organized and implemented by a supposedly civilized, modern society. She adds that antisemitism is one of the most ancient hatreds in the world, for Jews have been the object of persecution and bigotry for millennia, in many parts of the world. She concludes that the Holocaust should be studied by everyone, not only by those who have a personal connection to it, because antisemitism and all other forms of irrational hatred can lead to terrible horrors. "The fight against bigotry, hate and persecution is constant, and we must learn and remember what was done in the past so that we never repeat it," she writes.
The following is the article, as it appeared in Arab News.[1]
"Sometimes it appears as though hate and bigotry are overwhelming societies across the globe. This past weekend, there was another deadly shooting at a synagogue in the US and an anti-Semitic cartoon printed in the international edition of the New York Times. Last week, terrorists killed 250 people in attacks largely targeting Christians in Sri Lanka. In March, 50 Muslims were killed during Friday prayers in New Zealand. At about the same time, 280 Nigerians were murdered because they were Christian.
"We recently marked 104 years since the Ottomans began the Armenian genocide, in which 1.5 million Armenians were killed. In Cambodia in the 1970s, up to 2.5 million people died and most of the population was enslaved by the Khmer Rouge, a government that particularly despised intellectuals and professionals. In just three months in 1994, Hutu Rwandans slaughtered up to 1 million of their Tutsi neighbors and raped as many as half a million Tutsi women in an unprecedented explosion of ethnic rage. In the 1990s, when Yugoslavia was dividing into independent countries, thousands of Bosnian, Croat and other civilians were murdered or forcibly relocated.
"It is important that we commemorate and acknowledge all of these periods of savagery. However, there is one particular 20th century genocide, the lessons of which we can never forget. This Thursday is designated for Holocaust remembrance. In Israel, they call the day Yom Hashoah. In the 20th century, when the world was often overwhelmed by hate and violence, the Holocaust stood out because of its scope and the character of its perpetrators.
"The Holocaust should be studied by everyone, not just those with personal connections. Between 1939 and 1945, the Nazis killed 6 million Jewish civilians. They also persecuted and killed Romas, homosexuals, the disabled, and political prisoners. In all, the Nazis are believed to have exterminated about 11 million civilians. These murders were not committed in fits of rage or hysteria. The Holocaust was a planned, detailed and organized slaughter, in which Nazi Germany and its collaborators across Europe and parts of North Africa used the most sophisticated modern logistics and technology to murder human beings.
"Germany was a modern country at the time of the Holocaust. It was the home of Bach and Beethoven, Kant and Goethe. Germany had been at the center of the Enlightenment. Its universities, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, were among the finest in the world and set the standard for American schools. From 1901 until the start of the Holocaust in 1939, Germany produced 44 Nobel Laureates, more than any other country.
"The Nazis took Germany’s state-of-the-art technology and industrialized genocide. They began by stripping Jews of their rights, mandating that they wear yellow badges that identified them as different, closing their businesses and confiscating or destroying their property. Eventually, Jews were rounded up. In cities like Warsaw and Vilnius, Jews were forced into crowded ghettos to starve before the Nazis could implement their 'Final Solution.'
"In other cities, like Kiev and Paris, the outcome came quicker. At Babi Yar, a ravine in Kiev, 33,771 Jews were killed in just two days and, ultimately, up to 150,000 Jews, Soviets and Roma died there over the course of the Nazi occupation of Ukraine. In the summer of 1942 in Paris, more than 13,000 Jews were forced into an indoor stadium for bicycle races called the Velodrome d’Hiver, where they waited without food or water before ultimately being transported by cattle car to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
"In September 1941, the Nazis began the systematic, mass killing of Jews and other prisoners at Birkenau, a death camp that was part of Auschwitz. Typically, prisoners were forced to strip naked in large groups and taken into a shower room. However, the showers were not functional and instead a poison gas was released that killed everyone in the room. The bodies were then scavenged for gold fillings in their teeth before being burned in furnaces.
"It is believed that 960,000 Jews were killed in Auschwitz — one out of every six Jews killed in the Holocaust. This was the mass production of death, and the efficiency rivaled that of the best factories. The Nazis kept detailed records of the process, providing historians with an archive of the particular evils they perpetrated.
"For millennia, Jews have been the object of persecution and bigotry. Hatred of Jews is the most ancient hate in the world, not just because Judaism is the oldest major religion. Like all bigotry, anti-Semitism is an irrational feeling. There is no one cause, since it has festered in various societies among various peoples and with various excuses. What we do know — what we have seen — is that such hate can lead to the most horrible evils.
"Nazism was a barbarity created by the world’s most sophisticated society. German states were among the first to grant rights to Jewish citizens in the early 19th century but, by the middle of the 20th century, Germany was trying to eradicate Jews and other undesirables from the world. From this history we learn that we cannot complacently believe that humanity necessarily becomes better and more enlightened; we must always strive to improve. The fight against bigotry, hate and persecution is constant, and we must learn and remember what was done in the past so that we never repeat it."
[1] Arab News (Saudi Arabia), April 30, 2019.

Russia’s worrying involvement in Iran’s nuclear program
Zaid M. Belbagi//Arab News/May 01/19
Quietly, in southwestern Iran, something is taking place that risks destabilizing any number of the world’s political fault lines. Ostensibly with a mission to construct two nuclear reactors, Russian companies are providing hard and soft technical support to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. As the activity continues, the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant — the site of Iran’s first commercial nuclear reactor — is once again at the center of questions about the nature of the regime’s nuclear plans.
After years of painstakingly precarious negotiations, Iran and six international mediators (the five permanent UN Security Council members — Russia, the UK, China, the US and France — plus Germany) agreed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015. Known as the Iran nuclear deal, it has come into jeopardy since the White House sought to renege on its promises, unsatisfied with Iran’s compliance and the enforceability of the agreement. However, more damningly, Russia’s almost immediate involvement in Iran’s nuclear program after the deal was signed is also putting the entire concept of the agreement in jeopardy.
Spectacularly, in September 2016, Iran and Russia signed an agreement to begin the second phase of construction of the Bushehr plant, which would see two more 1,000 megawatt reactors added at the site, with a further six in the pipeline. Russia’s involvement at Bushehr is not new: The project was launched in 1975 under the shah’s government, but it ground to a halt after the Islamic revolution following the withdrawal of German manufacturers.
Russia’s nuclear construction company Atomstroyexport took over the project in the 1990s and now Rosatom and its subsidiary ASE are engaged. The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, announced in March that his country had started constructing two new nuclear power plants, Bushehr-2 and Bushehr-3. Costing more than $8.5 billion and again built with Russian assistance, the announcement reflected the growing scope of the bilateral cooperation.
Such has been the success of Iran’s nuclear program since the signing of the JCPOA that, earlier this month, President Hassan Rouhani publicly unveiled 114 new achievements in nuclear technology at an exhibition marking the National Day of Nuclear Technology. He declared: “You are completely mistaken if you think you can prevent Iran from making progress in the area of nuclear technology. What have you (the US) achieved with your sanctions? If you want to limit Iran’s military power, you know that we have developed missiles since last year that you wouldn’t even imagine.”
Such pronouncements are particularly worrying since they come at a time when Iran has claimed that its nuclear activity is for civilian purposes and will provide 10 percent of the country’s electricity once these plants come online. Furthermore, Iran has simultaneously sought the acquiescence of the UN Security Council to obtain enriched uranium for civilian nuclear power directly from Russia. In theory, this would obviate the need for Iran to enrich uranium, which many fear could be used to create fuel for nuclear weapons, on its own soil. Therefore, how far Russian support goes is of great concern to Tehran’s neighbors and should be of even greater concern to the JCPOA signatories.
Following Russian and Iranian agreements furthering their cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy at Bushehr, the international community must act. The construction of the two new nuclear power plants has begun in the southern city of Bushehr, posing a clear threat to Iran’s neighbors and the wider international community, as a nuclear-powered Iran would exacerbate existing tensions.
Following Russian and Iranian agreements furthering their cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy at Bushehr, the international community must act.
The effects of Russian cooperation on increasing Iran’s nuclear capability must be brought to the attention of international partners so as to bring about an eventual disengagement. This is especially important given Russia is a signatory to the JCPOA, and any potential circumvention of it or indeed its support of Iran, leading to unintended consequences, could spell disaster for international efforts to work with Iran as opposed to against it.
There is, however, another very important consideration. Recent natural disasters in and around Bushehr have brought to light the danger that Iranian nuclear activity brings to the wider Gulf and Arabian Sea. In the most water-scarce region of the world, a nuclear disaster at Bushehr would have significant ecological consequences.
While diplomacy should take center stage in efforts to constrain Iran’s future nuclear capabilities, diplomacy alone is not enough. Iranians say they will remain in the JCPOA as long as they receive the economic benefits they are entitled to under the terms of the agreement. They are waiting to see how much revenue they can preserve from oil exports and how effective the Europeans and others will be in protecting Iran’s commercial links to the world. It is, therefore, critical that a mutually beneficial arrangement be sought and that short-term Russian goals do not jeopardize the longer-term benefits of limiting Iran’s ambitions.
* Zaid M. Belbagi is a political commentator, and an adviser to private clients between London and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Twitter: @Moulay_Zaid

Palestinians can use Trump’s peace plan as a launchpad
Ray Hanania/Arab News/May 01/19
Sometime after Ramadan, US President Donald Trump will unveil his “deal of the century” plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace. It is clear from the rhetoric from Trump’s advisers that the plan will pander to Israel’s most extremist desires while further marginalizing Palestinian rights.
But have Palestinians marginalized themselves through their rejectionism, handing Israel a clear path to pursue its one-sided objectives with little or no resistance? Through rejectionism, the Palestinians have allowed themselves to be boxed-in, giving extremist voices the power to bully and silence pro-compromise moderates into non-engagement. Should Palestinians continue to play the rejectionism card, with no voice to affect change?
Alternatively, they can engage the process and have a voice — a voice that can expose Israel’s anti-peace policies. Engaging in the peace process, even one as flawed as this, is a powerful strategy that would allow Palestinians to more forcefully and effectively challenge Israel’s racist policies. It would also allow Palestinians to proactively assert a reasoned alternative peace plan that can attract widespread support, including from the American Jews who are disenchanted with Israel’s extremist government policies.
The worst thing Palestinians can do is snub Trump’s peace plan, as flawed as it might be, without engaging in the process.
First, Palestinians need to stop coddling extremists and enforce a policy of one-government rule. Palestine cannot exist as two separate political entities, one in the West Bank, where the majority of Palestinians live under occupation, and another in the Gaza Strip. There is no place for Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood in the future of Palestine. Religion and politics should not be mixed; when they are, it results in calamity. The Palestinian Authority must assert itself as the true and only voice of Palestinians.
But, more importantly, Palestinians also need to redefine their vision of a future peace. Instead of starting the negotiations from compromise, based on the two-state solution, they should start from their ultimate objective. Their broad peace narrative should call for the creation of one state, in which Christians, Muslims and Jews live as equals. Palestinians need to define their own vision and assert it at every opportunity, rather than be defined by Israel, which has rejected the one-state solution, the two-state solution and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Rejecting Trump’s peace plan out of hand gives Israel a “license to kill.” Israel’s right-wing leadership understands that it can impact the Palestinians simply by making extremist declarations. This rhetoric becomes a weapon that undermines Palestinian rights. Every time Palestinians turn away from the peace process or a difficult discussion, they surrender rights and empower Israel to do what it wants. That needs to stop.
Every time Palestinians turn away from the peace process or a difficult discussion, they surrender rights and empower Israel to do what it wants. That needs to stop.
Palestinians need something more; something new to add to the negotiations. They need to push back and call Israel’s bluff. By calling for a single state as their starting point, they are advocating equal rights for all in both the Occupied Territories and in Israel.
How do they empower that proposal? By demanding that Israel’s illegal settlements — the foundation of its vision for apartheid — be opened up to Palestinians. They should demand that every illegal Israeli settlement be “legalized” by embracing a democratization process that would allow non-Jews to move in and eventually achieve population parity.
This proposal borrows from the strategy used by African-Americans who fought segregationist racism in America. They demanded equality not by creating separate municipalities for black people only, but by demanding equality through integration. It was a difficult and drawn-out process, but it succeeded. A Palestinian civil rights movement can succeed in Israel too. The plan to integrate Israeli settlements would redefine peace and give Palestinians leverage.
Palestinians need to ignore the rejectionists and Hamas, the religious extremists who have undermined the majority. They must push for the creation of a secular state in which all people are equal. Religious political parties need to be banned.
Extremists are louder, more aggressive and often use violence to block the peace process. Moderates must step up their own activism and confront the rejectionists. The Palestinian people deserve peace and justice; they repudiate violence and have embraced democracy. Moderates need to become louder and stronger, and take control.
Rejectionism has empowered Israel and fueled an erosion of Palestinian rights, not just in Israel but in the Occupied Territories too. It has allowed Israel’s right-wing governments to achieve many of the discriminatory policies and practices that exist today purely through persistence and the absence of effective Palestinian push-back.
Trump’s peace plan may be incompatible with the goals of peace and justice, but it can be exploited as a starting place for moderate Palestinian voices, in collaboration with the moderate voices in America — including many American Jews — Europe and Israel that reject Tel Aviv's growing extremism.
*Ray Hanania is an award-winning former Chicago City Hall political reporter and columnist. He can be reached at his personal website at www.Hanania.com. Twitter: @RayHanania