English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For February 22/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Giving to the Needy/Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of
others to be seen by them
Matthew 06/01-04: “Be careful not to practice your
righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no
reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not
announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the
streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their
reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know
what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 21-22/2023
Ash Monday: Repentance Prayers & Forgiveness/Elias Bejjani/February
20/2023
2 minor tremors hit off Sidon hours after new Turkey quake
Bassil discusses presidential file with Russian ambassador
FPM MP says Hezbollah has ended MoU with his movement
Bakhoun Municipality orders evacuation of cracked residential buildings
Bank of Beirut branch sealed with red wax
3.5 magnitude quake strikes off Lebanon’s southern coastline this morning
Rahi broaches developments with Bkerki visitors
Bishop Abu Najm in Maarab delegated by Rahi
Berri tackles general situation with Ain El-Tineh visitors, meets former
Minister Elias Murr, MP Ahmed Khair
Bassil broaches developments with Russian Ambassador
Minister Sleem discusses cooperation means with European Parliament member
Castaldo
Army Commander tackles refugee affairs with UNHCR’s Freijsen
UNHCR-installed solar streetlights in Sebline bring light and safety to
residents
Hamieh discusses public utilities’ projects with European Parliament member
Castaldo
Mikati chairs meeting for ministerial following up on repercussions of financial
crisis on the public sector
Othman broaches developments with Saudi military attaché, Former MP Boulos
18 money changers interrogated by Beirut Investigative Judge
In homage to Etel Adnan: a symposium at the American University of Beirut
Labor Minister discusses bilateral ties with Iraqi President
Makary discusses media cooperation with UNESCO in Paris
In Lebanese mountains, hatmaker keeps ancient skill alive
HRW: Tech giants 'not doing enough' to protect LGBTQ people in Lebanon, region
Lebanon heading to oblivion: Head of economic, social advisory body
Islamic Ummah expects effective solutions from scholars to contemporary life
problems, IIFA SG
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February
21-22/2023
Death toll rises to 8 from new Turkey-Syria earthquake
Mounting death toll as new quake hits battered Turkiye, Syria
Blinken says ball in Iran's court over nuclear programme
US Navy Mideast chief says Iran has 'attention of everyone'
Calls for change in Iran reach even Shiite heartland of Qom
Iran sentences alleged US-based militant leader to death
EU Hits Two Iran Ministers in New Sanctions over Crackdown
Britain Summons Iranian Envoy, Launches Security Review
Iranian-German national Jamshid Sharmahd sentenced to death - Mizan
Treasury deputy: Russia sanctions are degrading its military
Russia announcement on New START 'deeply unfortunate and irresponsible' -Blinken
Putin suspends last nuclear arms control treaty
What Can Vladimir Putin's Latest Speech Tell Us About Russian And The Ukraine
War?
More Than 16,000 Civilians Have Likely Been Killed In Ukraine War, Says UK
Opinion: How long will Russians tolerate Putin's costly war?
US Supreme Court won't upset Arkansas anti-Israel boycott law
Israel president pleads for unity after controversial legal changes: ‘Many are
fearful’
Greece and Turkey can make region one of cooperation - Blinken
Iraq: US Did Not Impose Conditions over Dollar Crisis
Assad visits Oman in 1st trip abroad since quake
Titles For
The Latest
English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 21-22/2023
Iran enriched uranium to 84 percent — but can it make a nuclear
bomb?/Simon Henderson/The Hill/February 21/2023
Why Arabs Should Learn About the Holocaust/Robert Satloff/The Washington
Institute/Februar 21/2023
Changing Egyptian-Turkish Dynamics May Create Opportunities for Libya/Ben
Fishman/The Washington Institute/Februar 21/2023
Killing Jews Brings Light into The Hearts of Palestinians/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone
Institute/February 21, 2023
Defenders of Faith and Family: ‘Like Leftists, Turks Turned Christian Children
Against Their Parents’/Raymond Ibrahim/February 21/2023
Three Kings And One Joker: The 'Return' Of Arab Diplomacy/Amb. Alberto M.
Fernandez*/MEMRI Daily Brief No. 458/ February 21, 2023
Real journalism asks tough questions/James J. Zogby/The Arab Weekly/February
21/2023
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 21-22/2023
Ash Monday: Repentance Prayers &
Forgiveness
Elias Bejjani/February 20/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/72716/elias-bejjani-what-is-the-ash-monday/
Before Christianity, The Jews used to scatter
ashes on their heads and bodies while weeping and wailing over their sins, in
order to purify their bodies from sins, and to remind themselves that they came
from dust and to dust they will return. The Jews used to practice this ritual
before starting any fasting, in a bid to atone for their sins. Christians kept
on performing this ritual, but the ashes used were taken from the olive branches
burned on the Palm Sunday. These ashes were used the next year on the first lent
Monday to wipe the foreheads of the repentant fasting believers, with a cross
symbol so that they begin the lent forty period with true repentance befitting
their Christian faith …”Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return
(genesis03/19)”.
Ash Monday is the first day of Lent ,and It is a moveable feast, falling on a
different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It
derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of
adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. On The Ash Monday the
priest ceremonially marks with wet ashes on the worshippers’ foreheads a visible
cross while saying: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return
(genesis03/19)”.
Worshippers are reminded of their sinfulness and mortality and thus, implicitly,
of their need to repent in time.
Ash Monday (Greek: Καθαρά Δευτέρα), is also known as Clean and Pure Monday. The
common term for this day, refers to the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and
non-fasting foods.
Our Maronite Catholic Church is notable amongst the Eastern rites employing the
use of ashes on this day.
(In the Western Catholic Churches this day falls on Wednesday and accordingly it
is called the “Ash Wednesday”).
Ash Monday is a Christian holy day of prayer, fasting, contemplating of
transgressions and repentance. It is a reminder that we should begin Lent with
good intentions, and a desire to clean our spiritual house. It is a day of
strict fasting including abstinence, not only from meat, but from eggs and dairy
products as well. Liturgically, Ash Monday—and thus Lent itself—begins on the
preceding (Sunday) night, at a special service called Forgiveness Vespers, which
culminates with the Ceremony of Mutual Forgiveness, at which all present will
bow down before one another and ask forgiveness. In this way, the faithful begin
Lent with a clean conscience, with forgiveness, and with renewed Christian love.
The entire first week of Great Lent is often referred to as “Clean Week”, and it
is customary to go to Confession during this week, and to clean the house
thoroughly. The Holy Bible stresses the conduct of humility and not bragging for
not only during the fasting period, but every day and around the clock.
It is worth mentioning that Ashes were used in ancient times to express grief.
When Tamar was raped by her half-brother, “she sprinkled ashes on her head, tore
her robe, and with her face buried in her hands went away crying” (2 Samuel
13:19).
Examples of the Ash practices among Jews are found in several other books of the
Bible, including Numbers 19:9, 19:17, Jonah 3:6, Book of Esther 4:1, and Hebrews
9:13.
Jesus is quoted as speaking of the Ash practice in Matthew 11:21 and Luke 10:13:
“If the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would
have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
2 minor tremors hit off Sidon hours after new
Turkey quake
Naharnet/February 21/2023
Minor 4.0- and 3.5-magnitude earthquakes struck off Lebanon’s southern coast on
Tuesday, only hours after new 6.4- and 5.8-magnitude quakes rocked southern
Turkey and were felt across Lebanon. Lebanon’s National Center for Geophysics
said the first quake hit 64 kilometers off the southern city of Sidon at 4:23
am. It was followed by a 3.5-magnitude tremor at 9:30 am, which struck 70
kilometers off Sidon. Lebanese geology expert Tony Nemer meanwhile tweeted that
similar quakes had been recorded off Lebanon's southern coast prior to Turkey's
Feb. 6 earthquake and that the Tuesday morning tremors had nothing to do with
the current seismic activity in Turkey. Some panicked residents had fled their
buildings when the powerful earthquake jolted southern Turkey on Monday evening.
Lebanon’s residents have been jittery since a devastating 7.8-magnitude
earthquake rocked southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6 and was
strongly felt in Lebanon. The deadly Turkey-Syria earthquake was followed by
hundreds of aftershocks and some of them were also felt in Lebanon. Caretaker
Education Minister Abbas al-Halabi had overnight ordered the precautionary
closure of all public and private schools and universities in Lebanon, as many
families slept in public parks or in their cars.
Bassil discusses presidential file with Russian ambassador
Naharnet/February 21/2023
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Tuesday met with Russian
Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Rudakov. A statement issued by Bassil’s office
said the talks tackled “the raging war in Ukraine, the developments of the
situation in Lebanon and the presidential file.”Bassil had stressed Sunday that
no one can impose a president on the Lebanese. "We either choose the president
with our own will or no one can impose him on us. A president who comes on the
back of chaos is like a president who comes on the back of an Israeli tank,"
Bassil said.
FPM MP says Hezbollah has ended MoU with his movement
Naharnet/February 21/2023
Hezbollah has “preferred to end the memorandum of understanding with the Free
Patriotic Movement,” an FPM MP said on Tuesday. Hezbollah “took the decision
after considering that there was no need anymore for the alliance with the FPM,”
MP Jimmy Jabbour said.
“Nothing is left of the Mar Mikhail Agreement except for the protection of the
back of the resistance and there is no partnership anymore. The detachment
between the FPM and Hezbollah has taken place and the separation has become a
fact,” Jabbour added. Separately, Jabbour said that “the political forces are
aware that there will be no election of a president in the foreseeable
future.”“The FPM will not take part in a parliament session should 65 votes be
secured for Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh,” the MP added, stressing
that “the FPM is coherent and so are all its MPs.”
Bakhoun Municipality orders evacuation of cracked
residential buildings
Naharnet/February 21/2023
Municipal police in the Dinniyeh town of Bakhoun ordered the immediate
evacuation of a number of residential buildings in the wake of Monday’s new
earthquake in Turkey that was strongly felt in Lebanon, media reports said. The
move was taken after “the Municipality conducted an inspection and discovered
cracks in the foundations of the buildings,” the reports said. The aim was to
“avoid any development or tremor that might aggravate the damages, but the
evacuation decision drew objections from some residents due to the absence of
alternatives and the dire financial and social situations,” the reports added.
Lebanon’s residents have been jittery since a devastating 7.8-magnitude
earthquake rocked southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6 and was
strongly felt in Lebanon. The deadly Turkey-Syria earthquake was followed by
hundreds of aftershocks and some of them were also felt in Lebanon.
Bank of Beirut branch sealed with red wax
Naharnet/February 21/2023
The Mansourieh branch of Bank of Beirut was on Tuesday sealed with red wax at
the orders of Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun, media reports said. Al-Jadeed
television said Aoun ordered that the “servers” of the bank be sealed with red
wax to prevent any “manipulation of data” pending the return of the bank’s
chairman Salim Sfeir from abroad.
3.5 magnitude quake strikes off Lebanon’s
southern coastline this morning
NNA/February 21/2023
The National Geophysics Center published on the Lebquake application that a
second quake occurred at 9:30 am Beirut local time off the Lebanese southern
coastline, 70 km from Sidon, with a magnitude of 3.5 on the Richter scale.
Rahi broaches developments with Bkerki visitors
NNA/February 21/2023
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi, on Tuesday welcomed at
the Patriarchal Palace in Bkerki a “Sovereign Front" delegation headed by MP
Camille Douri Chamoun. The meeting reportedly touched on the latest developments
in Lebanon, most importantly the presidential file. Rahi separately welcomed MP
Jamil Al-Sayyed and Bishop Boulos Matar, as well as former minister, Ibrahim Al-Daher.
Bishop Abu Najm in Maarab delegated by Rahi
NNA/February 21/2023
Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea, met, at his Maarab residence on Tuesday,
with Antelias Maronite Archbishop, Antoine Abu Najm, delegated by Patriarch
Beshara Rahi. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Abu Najm described the one-hour
meeting as "good," adding that it touched on an array of affairs.
Berri tackles general situation with Ain El-Tineh visitors,
meets former Minister Elias Murr, MP Ahmed Khair
NNA/February 21/2023
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Tuesday welcomed at the Second Presidency in Ain
El-Tineh, former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of Defense and
Interior Elias Murr, in the presence of MP Michel Murr. Discussions reportedly
touched on the current general situation and the latest political developments.
On emerging, former Minister Murr highlighted the sire need for the election of
a president of the republic, and called for halting the current outbidding. On
the other hand, Speaker Berri met with MP Ahmed al-Khair, with whom he discusses
the current general situation and an array of legislative affairs and relevant
demands.
Bassil broaches developments with Russian Ambassador
NNA/February 21/2023
Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) Chief, MP Gebran Bassil, on Tuesday received
Russian Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Rudakov, accompanied by his Political
Advisor, Maxim Romanov, in the presence of former MP Amal Abou Zeid and FPM’s
International Relations Bureau member, Bashir Haddad. As per a statement from
Bassil's office, discussions between the two sides reportedly touched on the
current situation in Lebanon and the presidential dossier, as well as on the
Ukrainian-Russian war developments.
Minister Sleem discusses cooperation means with European
Parliament member Castaldo
NNA/February 21/2023
Caretaker Minister of National Defense Maurice Sleem, on Tuesday received at his
Yarzeh office, member of the European Parliament and member of Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, Fabio Massimo
Castaldo. The pair reportedly discussed the existing cooperation between Lebanon
and the European Union and the additional support it can provide to Lebanon in
light of the current circumstances. Caretaker Minister Sleem expressed his
appreciation for the continued support of the European Union to Lebanon,
stressing the importance of supporting Lebanon in its endeavor to return the
displaced Syrians to their homeland. Sleem also valued the close cooperation
between Italy and Lebanon in the various fields, especially the military ones.
Army Commander tackles refugee affairs with UNHCR’s
Freijsen
NNA/February 21/2023
Lebanese Armed Forces Commander, General Joseph Aoun, on Tuesday welcomed at his
office in Yarzeh United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Representative in Lebanon, Mr. IVO Freijsen, with whom he discussed the
conditions Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
UNHCR-installed solar streetlights in Sebline bring light
and safety to residents
NNA/February 21/2023
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and its partner INTERSOS, today handed over 201
solar-powered streetlights that were installed in the town of Sebline, Mount
Lebanon, in the presence of the mayor of the town, Mr. Mohammad Younes, and
other officials. The project is providing sustained electricity supply to more
than 10,000 Lebanese and refugees living in the area. “Something as essential as
street-lighting has become out of reach for many due to lengthy electricity
outages in the country. As streetlights are essential to keep the residents of
Sebline safe, this project has been a priority for UNHCR,” said Frederic Cussigh,
UNHCR Head of Office in Mount Lebanon. “This project is an example of the
positive impact that UNHCR interventions aim to have on all people across
Lebanon,” he added. As part of its support to communities across Lebanon,
throughout 2022, UNHCR and partners have implemented innovative solutions to the
country’s energy crisis through over 74 community support projects. These
projects have increased Lebanese and refugees’ access to sustainable energy by
providing solar-powered electricity to primary healthcare centres, governmental
hospitals, and water establishment stations, benefiting over 1.5 million persons
in more than 84 villages across the country. In 2022, over 480,000 individuals
benefited from UNHCR projects in the Beirut and Mount Lebanon regions alone. In
addition to Sebline, UNHCR-installed solar streetlights in Naameh, Sad El
Baushrieh and the old airport road have increased the protection of residents
from road accidents, thefts, and other risks.Small businesses have also
benefited from the streetlights as they can now operate for longer hours. “This
project gave us hope. We feel safe now,” says Mohammad Younes, Mayor of Sebline.
“The streetlights project in Sebline is vital and it covers over two-thirds of
the village. The residents of the town feel safer when they walk outside after
dark.” Other UNHCR-supported projects in Beirut and Mount Lebanon include the
installation of five solar-powered systems in the towns of Aramoun, Barja,
Damour, the Union of the Southern Suburbs of Beirut and Shoueifat, ensuring
uninterrupted access to clean water for almost 100,000 residents. UNHCR also
supported the Chiyah primary healthcare centre with a solar-powered system which
has enhanced access to essential services for patients.
UNHCR has been supporting Lebanese institutions and communities since 2011,
including 655 community support projects to upgrade public infrastructure in
towns and villages across Lebanon. -- UNHCR Lebanon
Hamieh discusses public utilities’
projects with European Parliament member Castaldo
NNA/February 21/2023
Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Dr. Ali Hamieh, on
Tuesday met in his office with Italian member of the European Parliament and
member of Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Subcommittee on Security and Defence,
Fabio Massimo Castaldo.
The pair discussed projects related to public utilities, including: Beirut Port,
Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport and railways. Discussions also
touched on the promising oil and gas wealth in the exclusive economic waters of
Lebanon. Castaldo expressed his readiness "to urge the European Union countries
to help Lebanon.
Mikati chairs meeting for ministerial following up on
repercussions of financial crisis on the public sector
NNA/February 21/2023
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, is currently chairing a meeting for the
ministerial committee tasked with addressing the repercussions of the financial
and economic crisis on the functioning of the public sector, our correspondent
reported on Tuesday.
The meeting is attended by Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Chami, as well as
caretaker ministers of education, justice, finance, administrative development
affairs, telecoms, tourism, and interior, in addition to the Secretary General
of the Council of Ministers, the President of the Civil Service Council, and the
Director General of the Ministry of Finance.
Othman broaches developments with Saudi military attaché,
Former MP Boulos
NNA/February 21/2023
Internal Security Forces General Director, Major General Imad Othman, on Tuesday
welcomed Saudi military attaché in Lebanon, Colonel Fawaz Al-Mutairi, with whom
he discussed the country’s general situation. Colonel Al-Matairi also
bestowed upon Major General Othman a commemorative shield in appreciation of the
efforts made by the Internal Security Forces in maintaining national security
amid the delicate conditions that the country is going through. Othman
separately received former MP Jawad Boulos, with whom he discussed general
developments.
18 money changers interrogated by Beirut Investigative
Judge
NNA/February 21/2023
Beirut Investigative Judge, Charbel Abu Samra, on Tuesday interrogated over a
period of six hours 18 illegal money changers who were arrested and accused of
“money laundering” crimes, violating the money exchange law, insulting the
state’s financial position, and speculating on the national currency.
In homage to Etel Adnan: a symposium at the American
University of Beirut
NNA/February 21/2023
The American University of Beirut (AUB) is organizing the Etel Adnan Symposium:
“in the night in the night we shall find knowledge love and peace.” The event
will take place on campus at the IFI Auditorium (Basile Antoine Meguerdiche
Conference Hall), on Feb. 23-24, 2023. In homage to Etel Adnan, this symposium
brings together academic research with personal testimonies and cultural
practices to explore her life and work across languages, cultures, and exiles.
Etel Adnan received significant international acclaim as a visual artist over
the past decade for work in a range of mediums, including painting, drawing and
tapestry. However, she was also a powerful master of words, experimenting in a
wide array of forms – as a journalist, novelist, essayist, activist, and poet
philosopher. All of her work is deeply grounded in a humanistic approach,
embracing the universe in critical yet joyful and visionary ways. This symposium
is accompanied by an exhibition of Etel Adnan’s private papers, which she
generously bequeathed to the American University of Beirut, film screenings, a
staged reading, and a music concert. This event is open to the public, all are
welcome.
Labor Minister discusses bilateral ties with Iraqi
President
NNA/February 21/2023
President of Iraq Abdul Latif Rashid on Tuesday received Caretaker Minister of
Labor, Mostafa Bayram, and the accompanying delegation. During the meeting,
Rashid hailed "the deep relations between the two brotherly countries" and
stressed the necessity to develop them at the economic, commercial and cultural
levels. "Iraq stands by the side of Lebanon," he underlined, expressing
confidence that the Lebanese are capable of overcoming the current critical
stage.
Makary discusses media cooperation with UNESCO in Paris
NNA/February 21/2023
Caretaker Minister of Information, Ziad Makary, met in Paris with UNESCO
Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Tawfik Jelassi, in
the presence of Lebanese Ambassador to UNESCO Sahar Baasiri, and Lebanon's
deputy permanent representative to the UNESCO Nadim Sourati, among others. Talks
reportedly touched on the ongoing cooperation between Lebanon and the UNESCO, in
addition to the Information Ministry's efforts to combat fake news and hatred
speech.
In Lebanese mountains, hatmaker keeps ancient skill alive
Agence France Presse/February 21/2023
High in Lebanon's rugged mountains, hatmaker Youssef Akiki is among the last
artisans practicing the thousand-year-old skill of making traditional warm
woolen caps once widely worn against the icy winter chill. Akiki believes he may
be the last commercial maker of the sheep wool "labbadeh" -- a named derived
from the Arabic for felt, or "labd" -- a waterproof and warm cap colored
off-white, grey, brown or black. "The elders of the village make their own
labbadehs," said Akiki, who also dresses in the traditional style of baggy
trousers. Akiki, 60, from the snow-covered village of Hrajel, perched more than
1,200 meters (4,000 feet) up in the hills back from Lebanon's Mediterranean
coast, said making the hat requires a careful process. After drying sheep's wool
in the sun, he molds it with water and Aleppo soap -- which includes olive oil
and laurel leaf extracts -- to turn it into felt with his hands. "It helps the
wool shrink, so it becomes malleable like dough," he said, showing his hands,
rough with years of work. It is a slow process that allows him to fashion "three
labbadehs in one day, at most," he said. Though the hats are practical and warm,
few people wear them today. Those buying the caps are mainly tourists -- or
Lebanese nostalgic for their childhood -- and they often buy them not to wear
them but to display them at home. "The state should guarantee us markets and
places to exhibit," the craftsman said. Income from the hat trade is not enough
to survive on, and Akiki also works as a farmer, especially given the dire
economic crisis that has gripped Lebanon in recent years. Lebanon's economic
turmoil has left many struggling to make ends meet, and the poverty rate has
reached 80 percent of the population, according to the United Nations. Akiki
believes the labbadeh design is rooted in the caps worn by the ancient
Phoenicians, although their style was "more elongated."Today, in order to
encourage more customers, he is dabbling with more modern designs and, to keep
the skills alive, is training his nephews in the time-honored craft.
HRW: Tech giants 'not doing enough' to protect LGBTQ people
in Lebanon, region
Agence France Presse/February 21/2023
Human Rights Watch called Tuesday on tech companies to better protect LGBTQ
communities from "digital targeting" by authorities in Iraq, Tunisia, Egypt,
Jordan and Lebanon. Discrimination against LGBTQ people is widespread across the
Middle East, and even in countries where homosexuality is not expressly
outlawed, it is often punished under vague laws prohibiting "debauchery",
"prostitution" or "cybercrime". In a 135-page report, the New York-based rights
watchdog identified cases of online entrapment by security forces which led to
the "arbitrary detention and torture" of LGBTQ people in the region. "The
authorities in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia have integrated
technology into their policing of LGBT people," Rasha Younes, senior researcher
at HRW, told reporters on Tuesday. The report concludes that "digital platforms,
such as Meta (Facebook, Instagram), and Grindr, are not doing enough to protect
users vulnerable to digital targeting."HRW recommended increased content
moderation in Arabic and "human rights due diligence." The report lists 20 cases
of "online entrapment by security forces" in Egypt, Iraq and Jordan through a
practice known as "catfishing". Ayman, a 23-year-old Egyptian identified in the
report only by first name, told HRW he was "chatting with a man on Grindr," a
popular LGBTQ dating app. They had agreed to meet, but when Ayman arrived at the
location he found "five police officers in civilian attire" who then used
"private photos" to charge him with "debauchery and indecency." Amar, 25, a
transgender woman, told HRW she had been entrapped, detained and raped by
security forces in Jordan, under a supposed drug bust that turned into a
prostitution case. "Online abuses against LGBT people have offline
consequences," said researcher Younes, calling for both governments and tech
companies to ensure the safety of LGBTQ people.
Lebanon heading to oblivion: Head of economic,
social advisory body
Arab News/February 21/2023
BEIRUT: Lebanon could be headed to oblivion, the head of the country’s
independent advisory body warned on Monday.
Charles Arbid, president of the Economic and Social Council, told an emergency
meeting at the headquarters of the General Labor Union that with no savior on
the horizon, the nation risked spiralling out of control. He said: “We fear that
Lebanon as we know it is changing under the leaders who could not care less
about its fate.“Many countries have been forgotten and left to their fate.
Poverty and violence prevailed after the world lost interest in them.”The
council, a product of the Taif Agreement, is tasked with conveying the opinion
of sectors involved in the formulation of economic and social policies in
Lebanon.
The meeting, titled “Save the homeland,” came as a strike by Lebanese banks over
judicial prosecutions against them and the non-approval of the Capital Control
Bill entered its third week. Also, on Monday, the Lebanese pound dropped to
81,000 to the dollar. Central bank financial operations fell to $10 million per
day as the platform lost its influence on the currency market, specifically the
black market. A source in the Lebanese prime minister’s office told Arab News:
“Measures to resolve this impasse must be taken by the Ministry of Justice and
the Supreme Judicial Council. The prime minister cannot intervene, even though
he wishes he could since the issue is affecting Lebanon’s stability.”
The Association of Banks in Lebanon said it would only end its strike when
judicial prosecutions carried out by Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Ghada
Aoun stopped. And it urged the Supreme Judicial Council to suspend prosecutions
by some judges and block lawsuits against banks by depositors.
The association has refused to be held fully responsible for the country’s
financial crisis. Central bank governor, Riad Salameh, told Al-Qahera News: “The
black market in Lebanon is outside the control of the central bank, which has
become unable to solve crises because solutions require a concrete national
project.”Meanwhile, The People Want to Reform the System — an association to
fight corruption — announced that judge Aoun had decided on Monday to prosecute
Societe Generale and its chairman, Antoun Sehnaoui, on charges of money
laundering, while freezing the bank’s funds. The judge was acting based on a
complaint submitted by the association.
The group said Aoun had referred the case to Nicolas Mansour, the first
investigative judge in the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal, requesting an inquiry
and the issuance of necessary arrest warrants. On Monday, the Parliamentary
Bureau failed to set a date for a legislative session to discuss and approve the
Capital Control Bill.Parliament’s Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab said: “We
recognize the parliament’s right to legislate, as happened previously, but the
capital control draft, according to what was issued by the joint committees,
must be accompanied by a comprehensive plan.”
Dozens of MPs have refused to hold a legislative session until a new president
is elected. MPs Melhem Khalaf and Najat Saliba have been staging a parliament
sit-in for more than a month in protest over the presidential election
stalemate. Addressing their fellow MPs over Zoom, they urged them to, “face
those who are squabbling over the presidential election and delaying it, in
search for a president that serves their personal criteria.”They said the
situation violated the provisions of the constitution and added: “It is a mass
suicide; rather a deliberate killing and extermination of an entire people.”
Tensions between the Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah have intensified
after FPM head Gebran Bassil on Sunday criticized Hezbollah Secretary-General
Hassan Nasrallah for his party’s support of Marada Movement leader Suleiman
Franjieh for the presidency.
Bassil said: “We choose a president based on conviction. No one can impose
anyone on us, and no one can threaten us with chaos.”
Islamic Ummah expects effective solutions from
scholars to contemporary life problems, IIFA SG
NNA/February 21/2023
The Secretary-General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA),
Professor Koutoub Moustapha Sano, affirmed that the Islamic Ummah everywhere is
waiting for effective solutions from scholars to the accumulated problems and
challenges of contemporary life as well as satisfactory answers to the
developments and current issues (nawazil) that have been emerging in their
societies. This came during his speech at the opening ceremony of the
twenty-fifth session of the IIFA Council, held yesterday, Monday (February 20,
2023), in Jeddah, under the auspices of Prince Khalid Al Faisal, Advisor to the
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Governor of Makkah Al-Mukarramah Region,
represented by Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Jalawi, Governor of Jeddah. "The
current session comes after four years, during which humanity suffered
unprecedented calamities and pains and experienced different forms of challenges
and changes, especially with the emergence of new issues and problems that the
world has never been familiar with," Sano said. He expressed the Academy's
gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz,
and HRH Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Prince Muhammad bin Salman, for the
permanent care of the Academy and the support given to this session through the
Saudi Permanent Mission to the OIC.
For his part, the IIFA President, Sheikh Dr Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid,
stressed that the current session is diverse in terms of participation, topics,
and the volume of research presented to it, indicating that the participants in
the session represent the Ummah's best scholars and thinkers.
He explained that the current session investigates fifteen topics that cover
critical, contemporary issues concerning worship, the challenges to the family
institution, sociology, education, and developments in finance and business.
"The hope is that you, the scholars and experts, undertake the obligation
enjoined upon you by Allah to clarify (shariah rulings on contemporary issues)
based on the Nobel Quran that Allah has sent as an explanation of everything,
guidance and mercy; and following the guidance of the best of mankind and
adhering to the approach of moderation, followed by the righteous predecessors
(al-salaf al-ṣaliḥ) of the honourable Companions," Sheikh Saleh bin Humaid said.
The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hissein Brahim
Taha, explained that the themes of the current session are among the matters
that impose themselves on the Islamic Ummah and its intellectual and religious
think tanks, especially the IIFA.
He stressed that contemporary challenges invite scholars and thinkers to deal
with them and work to educate societies in a way that preserves their religion
and contributes to enhancing security and stability in their countries and the
world.
"The OIC General Secretariat affirms support for the IIFA's activities and calls
on all Member States to support it. The General Secretariat also stresses the
importance of supporting the IIFA Endowment Fund to achieve its noble goals and
various initiatives," Taha said.
The OIC Secretary-General emphasized that the teachings of the true Islamic
religion encourage the education of girls and ensure the right to education for
both females and males, pointing out that this issue, unfortunately, has
returned to the discussion table again due to the misconception adopted by some
groups in this era. At the end of the ceremony, Prince Saud bin Jalawi, Governor
of Jeddah, honoured the session's sponsors. The first day of the session
witnessed the convening of 3 panel discussions. The first dealt with "clarifying
the shariah ruling on compulsory education (religious and worldly) for both
males and females in Islam". While the second was dedicated to studying "The
impact of Corona pandemic on the Shariah rulings on worships, family and crime"
and "The impact of Corona pandemic on the legal rulings on contracts,
transactions, and financial liabilities".
The third panel discussion investigated the ruling on performing prayer (Salah)
in a language other than Arabic with or without excuse and the ruling on
following a prayer by listening to the mobile phone or the radio. It is expected
that the IIFA will issue resolutions dealing with these emerging issues within
the framework of the authentic collective jurisprudential reasoning (ijtihad) of
the scholars of the Islamic world in the current era. The current session
witnesses the participation of 200 scholars from the OIC member states with
expertise and specialization in Sharia disciplines, economics, medicine, and
sociology to discuss 160 research papers on the issues and topics of the
session.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on February 21-22/2023
Death toll rises to 8 from new
Turkey-Syria earthquake
Associated Press/Tue, February 21, 2023
The death toll in Turkey and Syria rose to eight in a new and powerful
earthquake that struck two weeks after a devastating temblor killed nearly
45,000 people, authorities and media said Tuesday.
Turkey's disaster management authority said six people were killed and 294
others were injured with 18 in critical condition after Monday's 6.4-magnitude
quake. In Syria, a woman and a girl died as a result of panic during the
earthquake in the provinces of Hama and Tartus, pro-government media outlets
said. The earthquake's epicenter was in the town of Defne, in Turkey's Hatay
province, which borders Syria. It was also felt in Jordan, Cyprus, the
Palestinian territories, Israel, Lebanon and as far away as Egypt, and followed
by a second, magnitude 5.8 temblor, and dozens of aftershocks. Hatay was one of
the worst-hit provinces in Turkey in the magnitude 7.8 quake that struck on Feb.
6. Thousands of buildings were destroyed in the province and Monday's quake
further damaged buildings. The governor's office in Antakya, Hatay's historic
heart, was also damaged. Officials have warned quake victims to not go into the
remains of their homes, but people have done so to retrieve what they can. They
were caught up in the new quake. The majority of deaths in the massive Feb. 6
quake, which was followed by a 7.5 temblor nine hours later, were in Turkey with
at least 41,156 people killed. The epicenter was in southern Kahramanmaras
province. Authorities said more than 110,000 buildings across 11 quake-hit
Turkish provinces were either destroyed or so severely damaged that they need to
be torn down. In government-held Syria, a girl died in the western town of
Safita, Al-Watan daily reported while a woman was killed in the central city of
Hama that was already affected by the Feb. 6 earthquake, Sham FM radio station
said. The White Helmets, northwest Syria's civil defense organization, said
about 190 people suffered different injuries in rebel-held northwest Syria
mostly cases or broken bones and bruises. It said that several flimsy buildings
collapsed adding that there were no cases in which people were stuck under the
rubble.
Mounting death toll as new quake hits battered
Turkiye, Syria
AP/February 20, 2023
Quake felt in Syria, Jordan, Cyprus, Israel and as far away as Egypt
ANKARA, Turkiye: A new 6.4 magnitude earthquake on Monday killed three people
and injured more than 200 in parts of Turkiye laid waste two weeks ago by a
massive quake that killed tens of thousands, authorities said. More buildings
collapsed, trapping some people, while scores of injuries were recorded in
neighboring Syria too. Monday’s earthquake was centered in the town of Defne, in
Turkiye’s Hatay province, one the worst-hit regions in the magnitude 7.8 quake
that struck on Feb. 6. It was felt in Syria, Jordan, Cyprus, Israel and as far
away as Egypt, and followed by a second, magnitude 5.8 temblor.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said 6 people were killed and 213
injured. Search and rescue efforts were underway in three collapsed buildings
where six people were believed trapped.
In Hatay, police rescued one person trapped inside a three-story building and
were trying to reach three others inside, HaberTurk television reported. It said
those trapped included movers helping people shift furniture and other
belongings from the building that was damaged in the massive quake. Syria’s
state news agency, SANA, reported that six people were injured in Aleppo by
falling debris. The White Helmets, northwest Syria’s civil defense organization,
reported more than 130 injuries, most of them non-life threatening, including
fractures and cases of people fainting from fear, while a number of buildings in
areas already damaged by the quake collapsed. The Feb. 6 quake killed nearly
45,000 people in both countries — the vast majority of them in Turkiye, where
more than a million and a half people are in temporary shelters. Turkish
authorities have recorded more than 6,000 aftershocks since. HaberTurk
journalists reporting from Hatay said they were jolted violently by Monday’s
quake and held onto to each other to avoid falling. In the Turkish city of Adana,
eyewitness Alejandro Malaver said people left homes for the streets, carrying
blankets into their cars. Malaver said everyone is really scared and “no one
wants to get back into their houses.” Mehmet Salhaoglullari, from a village near
Samandag, said he was eating at a restaurant when the building began to shake.
“We all threw ourselves outside and we continued to shake outside,” he said. In
the Syrian city of Idlib, frightened residents were preparing to sleep in parks
and other public places, while fuel lines formed at gas stations as people
attempted to get as far as possible from any buildings that might collapse. The
Syrian American Medical Society, which runs hospitals in northern Syria, said it
had treated a number of patients — including a 7-year-old boy — who suffered
heart attacks brought on by fear following the new quake. President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan visited Hatay earlier on Monday, and said his government would begin
constructing close to 200,000 new homes in the quake-devastated region as early
as next month. Erdogan said the new buildings will be no taller than three or
four stories, built on firmer ground and to higher standards and in consultation
with “geophysics, geotechnical, geology and seismology professors” and other
experts. The Turkish leader said destroyed cultural monuments would be rebuilt
in accordance with their “historic and cultural texture.”
Erdogan said around 1.6 million people are currently being housed in temporary
shelters.
The Turkish disaster management agency AFAD on Monday raised the number of
confirmed fatalities from the Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkiye to 41,156. That
increased the overall death toll in both Turkiye and Syria to 44,844. Search and
rescue operations for survivors have been called off in most of the quake zone,
but AFAD chief Yunus Sezer said earlier that search teams were continuing their
efforts in more than a dozen collapsed buildings — mostly in Hatay province.
There were no signs of anyone being alive under the rubble since three members
of one family — a mother, father and 12-year-old boy — were extracted from a
collapsed building in Hatay on Saturday. The boy later died. Authorities said
more than 110,000 buildings across 11 quake-hit Turkish provinces were either
destroyed or so severely damaged by the Feb. 6 quake that they need to be torn
down. The European Union’s health agency warned Monday of the risk of disease
outbreaks in the coming weeks. The Centre for Disease Prevention and Controls
said that “food and water-borne diseases, respiratory infections and
vaccine-preventable infections are a risk in the upcoming period, with the
potential to cause outbreaks, particularly as survivors are moving to temporary
shelters.” “A surge of cholera cases in the affected areas is a significant
possibility in the coming weeks,” it said, noting that authorities in
northwestern Syria have reported thousands of cases of the disease since last
September and a planned vaccination campaign was delayed due to the quake.
Blinken says ball in Iran's court over nuclear
programme
ATHENS, Feb 21 (Reuters)/Tue, February 21, 2023
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday it was up to Iran to
engage to resolve a deadlock over its nuclear programme, and accused it of
enabling Russian aggression in Ukraine. Blinken, who was visiting Athens, said
the United States was committed, together with Israel, to ensuring that Tehran
"never acquire a nuclear weapon". "That's not exactly news. The president (Joe
Biden) has been very clear that every option is on the table to do that,"
Blinken told a news conference alongside his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias. A
2015 agreement limited Iran's uranium enrichment programme to make it harder for
Tehran to develop nuclear arms, in return for international sanctions being
lifted. Iran consistently denies harbouring any nuclear weapon ambitions.
Biden's administration had been trying to resurrect the 2015 agreement, the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was abandoned by Biden's
predecessor Donald Trump in 2018, but talks deadlocked in September. Blinken
accused Tehran of failing to engage and said the JCPOA was not on the table now.
"We continue to believe that, with regard to the nuclear programme, the most
effective, sustainable way to deal with the challenge it poses is through
diplomacy. But in this moment, those efforts are on the backburner because Iran
is simply not engaged in a meaningful way," Blinken said. "A lot depends on what
Iran says and does and whether or not it engages." Blinken added: "In the
meantime, of course, we've seen provision by Iran of drones to Russia to enable
its aggression in Ukraine." He called the invasion a "strategic failure in every
way" for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
US Navy Mideast chief says Iran has 'attention of everyone'
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP)/Tue, February 21, 2023
Iranian attacks in the waterways of the Middle East and elsewhere in the region
“have the attention of everyone” as tensions rise over Tehran's advancing
nuclear program, the head of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet said Tuesday. Vice Adm.
Brad Cooper also told The Associated Press that he's seen a rise in what he
described as Iran's “malign activities” in the region over his two years leading
the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet. While Cooper pointed to recent seizures of weapons
by American and allied forces in the region as a success, he acknowledged that
Iran has been able to carry out drone attacks targeting shipping in the Mideast
and other assaults in the region. “We’re focused on expanding our partnerships,"
Cooper said on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi's International Defense Exhibition and
Conference. "The short answer is the Iranian actions have the attention of
everyone.”Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a
request for comment over Cooper's remarks.
The 5th Fleet patrols the crucial Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the
Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil transits. Its region also stretches as
far as the Red Sea up to the Suez Canal, the waterway in Egypt linking the
Mideast to the Mediterranean Sea, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Yemen.
Under Cooper's command, which will end with the upcoming arrival of Rear Adm.
George Wikoff in Bahrain, likely later this year, the 5th Fleet vastly expanded
its use of drones and artificial intelligence to patrol those waterways. Cooper
said the Navy has reached the halfway mark of his goal to have 100 unmanned
drones, both sailing and submersible, operating in the region with America's
allies. The Navy also conducted a drill Monday with the United Arab Emirates
with the systems, he added. But concerns about Iran have only grown in recent
months as Tehran enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels and
has enough fissile material for several nuclear bombs if it chooses to build
them. There have been several Iranian attacks on commercial shipping the region,
including a still-murky drone assault on the tanker Campo Square on Feb. 10
that's been cited by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Iran carried out
that attack, which wounded no one on board, according to a U.S. defense official
who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
Iran has denied targeting the vessel, though it has denied other attacks
attributed to it since the collapse of the nuclear deal following America's
withdrawal from the accord in 2018. “Obviously the nuclear component is all
being handled via diplomatic means," Cooper said. "I think over a two-year
period, we have for sure seen an increase in the number of malign activities,
much of which we’ve been catching just in the last 60 to 90 days.”
The United States has, however, interdicted a number of ships carrying weapons
bound for Yemen's Houthi rebels from Iran, and France as well as seized one. A
United Nations arms embargo has prohibited weapons transfers to the
Iranian-backed Houthis since 2014.
Cooper declined to say whether the increase in seizures represented new
intelligence obtained by the U.S. or an increasing number of vessels heading to
Yemen.
“I won’t be able to get to the intelligence piece of it other than to say it’s
an area that we’re clearly focused on with our partners," Cooper said. "We’ve
had a lot of success and we’re our job is to just remain vigilant and keep at
the mission.”Iran also has briefly seized several of the American drones being
tested in the region in late August and early September. However, Cooper said
Iran hadn't made an attempt to do so again. “The Iranian attempted seizures were
flagrant. They were unwarranted. They were certainly unprofessional, but most
importantly, they were a gross violation of international law,” Cooper said.
“Since then, we’ve had six exercises of varying scale, bilaterally and
multilaterally. We’ve had no issues with Iran attempting to do anything with the
drones.”Cooper added that with Israel now working directly with the U.S.
military’s Central Command — as Arab nations in the region do — also offered
additional support to counter Iran. “The perspective among regional leaders that
the No. 1 threat, or the most-serious threat, is from Iran has allowed us to
work more closely with Israel,” he said.
Calls for change in Iran reach even Shiite heartland of Qom
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)/Tue, February 21, 2023
Iran’s city of Qom is one of the country’s most important centers for Shiite
Muslim clerics, packed with religious schools and revered shrines. But even
here, some are quietly calling for Iran’s ruling theocracy to change its ways
after months of protests shaking the country.
To be clear: Many here still support the cleric-led ruling system, which marked
the 44th anniversary this month of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. This includes
support for many of the restrictions that set off the protests, such as the
mandatory hjjab, or headscarf, for women in public. They believe the state’s
claims that Iran’s foreign enemies are the ones fomenting the unrest gripping
the country. But they say the government should change how it approaches
demonstrators and women’s demands to be able to choose whether to wear an
Islamic head covering or not.
“The harsh crackdown was a mistake from the beginning,” said Abuzar Sahebnazaran,
a cleric who described himself as an ardent backer of the theocracy, as he
visited a former residence of the late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini. “And the youth should have been treated softly and politely. They
should have been enlightened and guided.”Qom, some 125 kilometers (80 miles)
southwest of Iran’s capital, Tehran, draws millions of pilgrims each year and is
home to half of the country’s Shiite clerics. Its religious institutions
graduate the country’s top clerical minds, making the city a power bastion in
the country. The faithful believe the city’s dazzling blue-domed Fatima Masumeh
Shrine represents a route to heaven or a place to have prayers answered for
their woes.
For Iran today, the woes are many.
Protests have rocked the country since September after the death in custody of
Mahsa Amini, an Iranian-Kurdish woman who had been detained by morality police
over alleged improper dress. The demonstrations, initially focused on the
mandatory hijab, soon morphed into calls for a new revolution in the country.
Activists outside the country say at least 528 people have been killed and
19,600 people detained in a crackdown that followed. The Iranian government has
not provided any figures. Meanwhile, Iran faces increasing pressure abroad over
enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels following the
collapse of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Renewed sanctions worsen
longstanding financial problems, pushing its currency — the rial — to historic
lows against the dollar. “Many protesters either had economic problems or were
influenced by the internet,” Sahebnazaran said from inside Khomeini’s former
home, which bore pictures of the ayatollah and Iranian flags. Protesters have
even vented their anger directly at clerics, whom they see as the foundations of
the system. Some videos circulated online show young protesters running up
behind clerics on the street and knocking off their turbans, a sign of their
status. Those wearing a black turban claim descent directly from Islam’s Prophet
Muhammad.
The scattered videos are a sign of the alienation felt by some toward the clergy
in a nation where, 44 years ago, clerics helped lead the revolution against Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. “This was part of enemy plans, they wanted to tell people
that the clerics are the reason behind all problems and high prices,”
Sahebnazaran said. “But the clergy are being impacted by the inflation like the
rest of the people. Many clerics live on tuition fees at the lowest economic
level of society. The majority of them face the same problems as the people
do.”Seminary students receive some $50 a month, with many working as laborers or
taxi drivers. Fewer than 10% of Iran’s 200,000 clerics have official posts in
the government. Sakineh Heidarifard, who voluntarily works with the morality
police in Qom and actively promotes the hijab, said arresting women and
forcefully taking them into police custody isn’t a good idea.
She said the morality patrols are necessary, but if they find violators they
should give them a warning. “Use of force and coercion is not correct at all. We
should talk to them with a soft and gentle tone, with kindness and care,” she
said. Still, she sees the hijab as a central tenet of the Islamic Republic. “We
have sacrificed a lot of martyrs or blood to keep this veil,” she said. “God
willing, it will never be removed from our heads.”Changes in approach, however,
are not likely to satisfy those calling for the wholesale rejection of the
cleric-run government. Politicians in the reform movement for years have been
urging change within the theocratic system to no avail, and many protesters have
lost patience. Also, the ever-growing economic pressure on Iran’s 80 million
people may one day explode across all of society, said Alireza Fateh, a carpet
salesman standing next to his empty shop in Qom’s traditional bazaar.
“Economic collapse is usually followed by political collapse ... and
unfortunately this is what is happening here,” he said. “The majority of the
population ... still have a little left in their bank accounts. But someday they
will take to streets too, someday soon. Soon the poor, those who can’t make ends
meet, will take to streets definitely.”
Iran sentences alleged US-based militant leader to death
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)/Tue, February 21, 2023
A senior member of a U.S.-based Iranian opposition group accused of
orchestrating a deadly 2008 mosque bombing has been sentenced to death in Iran,
authorities said Tuesday. Iranian authorities say Jamshid Sharmahd, an
Iranian-German national and U.S. resident, is the leader of the armed wing of a
group advocating the restoration of the monarchy that was overthrown in the 1979
Islamic Revolution. His family has said he was merely the spokesman for the
opposition group and accuses Iranian intelligence of abducting him from Dubai in
2020. His hometown is Glendora, California. The death sentence, which can be
appealed, comes against the backdrop of months of anti-government protests in
Iran and a fierce crackdown on dissent. Monarchists based outside Iran support
the protests, as do other groups and individuals with different ideologies. The
official website of Iran's judiciary said he was convicted of plotting terrorist
activities. He was tried in a Revolutionary Court, where proceedings are held
behind closed doors and where rights groups say defendants are denied due
process. Iranian authorities have accused him of planning a series of attacks,
including the mosque bombing, in which 14 people were killed and more than 200
were wounded. He has also been accused of working with U.S. intelligence and
spying on Iran's ballistic missile program.
EU Hits Two Iran Ministers in New Sanctions
over Crackdown
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 20 February, 2023
The European Union imposed asset freezes and visa bans on Iran's education and
culture ministers on Monday, in a fifth round of sanctions against Tehran over
its crackdown on demonstrators. The new measures targeted 32 individuals and two
entities, and were largely aimed at lawmakers, judiciary officials and prison
authorities accused of involvement in the repression, according to the EU's
official journal. Iran was rocked by months of nationwide protests last year
after the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September following her
arrest for an alleged breach of the dress code. Iran has arrested at least
14,000 people in the wave of protests, according to the United Nations. Iranian
authorities have executed four people for their role in the unrest and imposed
the death penalty on a total of 18, triggering widespread international outrage.
The latest round of sanctions from the EU included Iran's Minister of Culture
and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili for persecuting artists and
filmmakers who did not support the government. Education Minister Yousef Nouri
was added to the blacklist for the targeting and detention of school pupils
engaged in the protests. Judges, prosecutors and senior prison officials were
also included in the new sanctions over their involvement in alleged abuses. The
EU had already imposed sanctions on more than 70 Iranian officials and entities
over the crackdown on protestors, including the "morality police", Revolutionary
Guard Corps commanders and state media. But the 27-nation bloc has so far
stopped short of blacklisting the Revolutionary Guards themselves as a terror
group, despite calls from Germany and the Netherlands to do so. The new round of
sanctions came as thousands of opponents of Iran's government protested across
the street from the EU headquarters in Brussels as the bloc's foreign ministers
met. Demonstrators waved Iran's monarchist-era tricolor flag and called on the
bloc to impose tougher measures against the Revolutionary Guards.
Britain Summons Iranian Envoy, Launches Security Review
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 20 February, 2023
The British government summoned Iran's most senior diplomat in London on Monday
to protest what it said were serious threats against journalists living in
Britain, as ministers launched a new security review into Iranian activities. On
Saturday, a London-based television station critical of the Iranian government
said it was moving its live broadcasting studios to the United States after
threats it faced in Britain. "I am appalled by the Iranian regime’s continuing
threats to the lives of UK-based journalists and have today summoned its
representative to make clear this will not be tolerated," Foreign Secretary
James Cleverly said in a statement. The foreign office said the Iranian Charge
d’Affaires had been told in a meeting with British officials that Britain would
not accept such threats to life and media freedom. Earlier, the government
imposed sanctions on three Iranian judges, three members of Iran's Revolutionary
Guard Corps and two regional governors over what it said were human rights
violations. Britain, along with the European Union and the United States, has
strongly criticized a widespread and often violent crackdown on popular protests
after the death of young Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in police custody in
September.
Tehran accuses Western adversaries of stoking the nationwide unrest ignited by
Amini's death. In a separate statement, British security minister Tom Tugendhat
said he had ordered a government review led by the interior ministry into state
threats coming from Iran.
"We will target the full spectrum of threats that we see coming from Tehran,"
Tugendhat told parliament. "I'll be asking our security agencies to explore what
more we can do with our allies to tackle threats of violence. But we will also
address the wider threat; from economic security and illicit finance to the
malign interference in our democratic society." In November, Britain's domestic
spy agency head said Iran's intelligence services have tried on at least 10
occasions to kidnap or even kill British nationals or individuals based in the
United Kingdom regarded by Tehran as a threat.
Iranian-German national Jamshid Sharmahd sentenced to death
- Mizan
DUBAI (Reuters)/February 21, 2023
Iran's judiciary sentenced Iranian-German national Jamshid Sharmahd to death on
charges of "corruption on earth", the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported on
Tuesday. Sharmahd, who also has U.S. residency, is accused by Iran of heading a
pro-monarchist group accused of a deadly 2008 bombing and planning other attacks
in the country. "His verdict can still be appealed in the supreme court," the
agency added. Sharmahd's arrest was announced in 2020 through an intelligence
ministry statement that described him as "the ringleader of the terrorist Tondar
group, who directed armed and terrorist acts in Iran from America."Based in Los
Angeles, the little-known Kingdom Assembly of Iran, or Tondar, says it seeks to
restore the Iranian monarchy that was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution.
It runs pro-Iranian opposition radio and television stations abroad.
Treasury deputy: Russia sanctions are degrading its military
WASHINGTON (AP)/Tue, February 21, 2023
American and allied sanctions and export controls are constraining Russia’s
ability to wage war on Ukraine by degrading its military, a top Treasury
Department official says. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo says in
prepared remarks that as the war on Ukraine nears the one-year mark U.S.
sanctions are proving to mount military losses as intended on the Kremlin and
its military machine. Adeyemo is set to deliver the speech Tuesday at the
Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. The financial penalties imposed by
the U.S. and its allies “have degraded Russia’s ability to replace more than
9,000 pieces of military equipment lost since the start of the war,” Adeyemo
says in the prepared remarks, adding, “Russia has also lost up to 50% of its
tanks.”More than 30 countries, including the U.S., the EU nations, the United
Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and others — representing more than half the
world’s economy — have imposed price caps on Russian oil and diesel, instituted
export controls, frozen Russian Central Bank funds and restricted access to
SWIFT, the dominant system for global financial transactions. “While we have far
more to do, we are succeeding in reversing the course of Russia’s budget and
undercutting its military-industrial complex,” Adeyemo says. Adeyemo's defense
of sanctions effectiveness follows President Joe Biden's unannounced visit to
Ukraine on Monday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Friday
anniversary of the Russian invasion. “One year later, Kyiv stands,” Biden said
after meeting Zelenskyy at Mariinsky Palace. “And Ukraine stands. Democracy
stands. The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.”As the
invasion enters its second year, the U.S. will intensify its efforts to boost
sanctions, Adeyemo says in the prepared remarks, including cracking down on
sanctions evasion and putting economic pressure on countries and firms that
continue to do business with Russia. He acknowledges recent reports that
Russia's economy is performing better than expected. This year, its economy is
projected to outperform the U.K.’s, growing 0.3% while the U.K. faces a 0.6%
contraction, according to the International Monetary Fund. “While Russia’s
economic data appears to be better than many expected early in the conflict,"
Adeyemo says, "our actions are forcing the Kremlin to use its limited resources
to prop up their economy at a time where they would rather be investing every
dollar in their war machine.”
Russia announcement on New START 'deeply unfortunate and
irresponsible' -Blinken
Reuters/Tue, February 21, 2023
Russia's decision to suspend participation in a nuclear arms control treaty was
irresponsible and the United States will watch carefully to see what Moscow
actually does, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday. "The
announcement by Russia that it's suspending participation is deeply unfortunate
and irresponsible," Blinken told reporters in Athens. "We'll be watching
carefully to see what Russia actually does. We’ll of course make sure that in
any event, we are postured appropriately for the security of our own country and
that of our allies." President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday delivered a nuclear
warning to the West over Ukraine, suspending a bilateral nuclear arms control
treaty, announcing new strategic systems had been put on combat duty and warning
that Moscow could resume nuclear tests. Putin said that Russia was suspending
participation in the New START Treaty, the last major arms control treaty
between Moscow and Washington. It limits the number of nuclear warheads the
world's two biggest nuclear powers can deploy and is due to expire in 2026.
Blinken left the door open to resuming negotiations at any time.
"We remain ready to talk about strategic arms limitations at any time with
Russia, irrespective of anything else going on, in the world or in our
relationship," Blinken said. The world expects the two largest nuclear powers to
act responsibly, he added.
Putin suspends last nuclear arms control treaty
Nataliya Vasilyeva/The TelegraphTue, February 21, 2023
Vladimir Putin has walked away from the world’s last remaining nuclear arms
control treaty, sparking fears of a new global arms race.
In his first state-of-the-nation address since unleashing the war in Ukraine,
the Russian president said he would suspend the New START treaty, calling
efforts to make him follow its cap on weapons a "theatre of absurdity". The
announcement follows months of bickering between Russia and the United States as
the two accused each other of blocking inspections to make sure each country is
sticking to a limit of 1,550 strategic warheads. The Russian president told a
gathering of Russian MPs, members of his cabinet, governors and religious
leaders it would not let American experts visit Russia’s nuclear sites “during
the current confrontation”. “The US and Nato openly say that their goal is
Russia’s strategic defeat: And now they want to cruise around our military
bases?” he said. The New START treaty expires in 2026 but on-site inspections
stopped in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Putin's decision to suspend
the treaty came at the end of a long speech in which he blamed the West and the
US for triggering war in Ukraine. “It was them who unleashed the war,” he said,
referring to the West. “We have been using force to stop it.” The Russian
president claimed that Moscow launched the invasion as it was expecting the Kyiv
government to attack eastern Ukraine and potentially Crimea that Russia annexed
in 2014. He accused the West of plotting to achieve "limitless power". China:
'We urge certain countries to stop fuelling the fire' His remarks came shortly
after China blamed the US for escalating war in Ukraine by pumping weapons into
the country. Beijing’s foreign minister arrived for talks in Moscow, saying he
was “deeply worried” that the situation could spiral out of control in Ukraine.
“We urge certain countries to immediately stop fuelling the fire,” he said, in
remarks pointed at the US. He added that the US should “stop hyping up ‘today
Ukraine, tomorrow Taiwan’”. The US warned on Sunday that China is considering
sending arms to Russia to support its war in Ukraine.
A grinding war of attrition
Almost exactly a year since he ordered troops into the neighbouring country, Mr
Putin still appears unable to present concrete results of the disastrous
invasion - something that even his supporters criticise him for. In his speech,
the Russian leader made no mention of the country’s staggering battlefield
losses or the fact that Russia had already been pushed out some of the territory
it formally annexed in Ukraine last year. He merely said the goal of the war was
to “defend our own home” and prevent attacks on “historic” Russia territory
which he claims to be parts of southern and eastern Ukraine.
As something conceived as a blitz has now morphed in a grinding war of
attrition, Mr Putin chose to devote most of his speech that lasted almost two
hours to domestic affairs. The president spoke at length about an array of
mundane topics from supplying natural gas to rural areas, cleaning Russia’s
rivers to dealing with landfills, in a bid to show that Russians need to focus
on improving their lives at home instead of waiting for the disastrous war to
end.
What Can Vladimir Putin's Latest Speech Tell Us About
Russian And The Ukraine War?
Kate Nicholson/HuffPost UK/Tue, February 21, 2023
Vladimir Putin delivered a major speech to the Russian parliament on Tuesday, in
an effort to rouse more support for the war in Ukraine. During the one hour and
45 minute speech to the joint houses of the Russian parliament, he redeployed
many of the lines of attack he has used in the past, including attacking the
West. The annual speech was originally meant to go ahead in December, but it was
delayed as Russia had just faced a series of military setbacks. Today, just
three days before the official one-year anniversary since Putin ordered the
invasion of Ukraine, the Russian president sidelined these failures. Throughout
the whole speech, the main bit of new information was that he planned to suspend
Russia’s participation in the New Start nuclear treaty in the US.
Here’s what you need to know.
How does Putin think the war is going?
Putin admitted that he was giving the speech “during a complicated and frontier
time for our country during a time of drastic changes in our world”. But, he is
still calling his invasion of Ukraine a “special operation” and alleging that
there is a Nazi threat within the “Kyiv regime” making nuclear threats.
He claimed Ukrainian civilians had been waiting for Russia to help, and
announced that Moscow had no plans to pull out of the conflict.
What does he think of the West?
Putin revived an old line claiming that the West had provoked the current
conflict by making Ukraine anti-Russian. The Russian president claimed that the
West had somehow “let the genie out of the bottle” through the war and was
responsible for the current battle.
The West’s commitment to peace is a “fraud” and “cruel lie”, he said – and now
it has trillions of dollars at stake through the war, after sending Ukraine
investment and weaponry to help it fight off the Russian armed forces. The
Russian president continued: “We were doing everything possible to solve this
problem peacefully, negotiating a peaceful way out of this difficult conflict,
but behind our backs a very different scenario was being prepared. “They [the
West] were just playing for time, closing their eyes to political
assassinations, mistreatment of believers.” Both Ukraine and the West have
denied all of these claims, and say the Nato expansion is not a justification
for Putin’s war. The Russian president also said: “They intend to transform a
local conflict into a phase of global confrontation. This is exactly how we
understand it all and we will react accordingly, because in this case we are
talking about the existence of our country.” He has always maintained that if
Ukraine’s allies got too close to the war effort, he would not hesitate to
attack. Putin dived into a history lesson at some points, claiming the West
enabled Nazism to emerge in the 1930s, while also attacking same-sex marriage
and the Church of England’s plan to consider a gender-neutral God.
A move towards Asia?
Putin said Russia was going to turn away from the “wolfish” habits of the West
and towards Asia instead. China’s top diplomat Wang Yi will be in Moscow on
Tuesday and may meet with Putin – prompting concerns that the country might be
thinking about offering weapons to Russia. The US has expressed worries that
Beijing could supply Moscow with weapons, thus escalating the war and putting
Ukraine and Nato allies on one side, with China and Russia on the other.
China has notably never condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
But, in response to US worries, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin
said: “We do not accept the United States’ finger-pointing on China-Russia
relations, let alone coercion and pressure.”
What did he say about Russia?
In an effort to shore up domestic support, Putin claimed that defeating Russia
was impossible and that it would never give in to Western attempts to divide
society through the war. Polling by the Lavada Centre suggest 75% of Russians
support the war, with just 19% being against it and 6% being unsure.
Another 75% think Russia will be victorious, but these figures have been
criticised by analysts for potentially not being accurate. Putin also paid
tribute to those who died on the battlefields – according to the Ukrainian
general staff, 824 have died each day in the first few weeks of February, the
highest number since the war began last year.
He said there would be a special fund for the families of victims.
The Russian president lashed out at the sanctions from the West too, suggesting
that Russia was doing just fine. He said: “The Russian economy and the
management turned out to be much stronger than they thought.”“We must not repeat
our mistakes. We must not destroy our economy,” and instead claimed the share of
Russian roubles in international transactions have “doubled”. He also said it
was a “record harvest” year – but Ukrainian advisers said that it was stolen
Ukrainian grain, transported via freight trains. Putin also addressed the
Ukrainian regions which were subject to sham referendums and annexations last
September. He said: “You yourself determined your future. You made your choice
despite the threats of terror of the Nazis. Next to you there were military
actions taking place, and you made the choice to be together with Russia. To be
together with your motherland.”
None of these four regions – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporzhzhia and Kherson – have
fallen completely to Russia.
What is happening with the nuclear power?
Putin announced that he was suspending Russia’s role in the New Start nuclear
treaty with the US. It was signed in Prague in 2010, came into force in 2011,
and was extended in 2021 for five more years. It is meant to stop how many
strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy, and the deployment
of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them. Russia has
the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world – close to 6,000 warheads,
according to Putin. While this is not the same as leaving the treaty, it still
caused worry among world leaders.
However, he added that Russia would only carry out new nuclear tests if the US
did it. “Of course, we will not be the first to do this. But if the United
States tests, then we will. No one must be under any dangerous illusions that
global strategic parity can be destroyed.”Between the US and Russia, they have
nearly 90% of the world’s nuclear warheads. Nato’s secretary-general Jens
Stoltenberg said that Russia’s decision makes the world “more dangerous”, and it
was “just another example” of Moscow shift away from the international
rules-based order. It’s worth noting that Joe Biden was also delivering a speech
just hours after Putin’s, in Warsaw, Poland, and had made a surprise trip to
Kyiv this week (which appears to have buoyed Ukrainians) the day before the
Russian president took to the stage.
More Than 16,000 Civilians Have Likely Been Killed In
Ukraine War, Says UK
Kevin Schofield/HuffPost UK/Tue, February 21, 2023 EST
A Ukrainian firefighter grabs a burning part in a house in flame following
Russian shelling in the city of Kherson on January 29. More than 16,000
civilians may have been killed since the start of the Ukraine war, according to
UK intelligence.Indiscriminate Russian shelling, which has seen severe damage to
hospitals and schools, has contributed to the grim death toll, the Ministry of
Defence (MoD) said. The latest MoD update came as the first anniversary of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin is set to
address the Russian people in a major speech on the conflict. The MoD said that
as of February 13, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) had recorded 18,955 civilian casualties since the start of the
war on February 24 last year. That was made up of consisted of 7,199 deaths and
11,756 injuries. Some 697 of the civilian casualties occurred last month alone.
But the MoD added: “The OHCHR has stated it believes that the actual figures are
considerably higher. “Based on other, independent analysis, over 16,000
civilians have likely been killed.”Last month saw a “worsening trend, of damage
being inflicted on both medical and educational facilities”, the MoD said.
“These incidents, and continued civilian casualties are likely largely due to
Russia’s lack of discrimination in the use of artillery and other area weapon
systems.”US president Joe Biden yesterday made a surprise visit to Ukraine to
pledge his country's ongoing support to the country.
“When [Russian President Vladimir] Putin launched his invasion nearly one year
ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided,” Biden said in a
statement released by the White House.
“He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong.”
Opinion: How long will Russians tolerate Putin's costly
war?
Alexander J. Motyl/Los Angeles Times/ February 21, 2023
How much punishment will the Russians take?
Close to a thousand Russian soldiers are dying every day in Ukraine. Victory is
nowhere in sight, and tens of thousands — or possibly even hundreds of thousands
— more will die before the war ends.
The economy is sputtering, living standards are progressively declining, young
professionals have either left in droves or are planning to do so, and every
passing day reduces Russia’s prospects of modernization and development.
Russian responsibility for the brutal Putin regime and its genocidal war against
Ukraine grows with every arrest of a dissident or draft resister at home and
with every Ukrainian death abroad. At some point, collective indifference to
suffering and mass murder will begin to register on Russian civilians as
collective guilt. Russia has become a rogue state. Most countries that have
historically harbored Russians have closed their doors, and Russian language and
culture — traditionally sources of great pride for Russians — have been demoted
to instruments of imperial oppression, as Putin has weaponized both.
And yet, almost a year after the invasion of Ukraine, Russians continue to
support strongman Putin and the war.
Setting aside the immorality of such a stance, let’s consider only what it says
about the Russian people’s will to pursue their own survival. Russia is headed
for Armageddon, and yet most Russians, instead of sounding the alarm and doing
everything possible to save their country and themselves from destruction, are
either busy attending Putin’s rallies or are hiding their heads in the sand. If
Russia does in fact collapse, as many experts in Russia and the West expect it
to do, Russians will have themselves to blame. Except for recurrent protests in
Moscow and St. Petersburg, they have watched since 1999 as Putin constructed a
fascist dictatorship — seizing territory in Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014,
and launching a full-scale invasion of the latter in 2022. Putin made them feel
great again. Putin and his propaganda persuaded them that the West was a
monster, that Ukrainians were Nazis, that Russians were helpless victims. Two
decades of authoritarian rule by a charismatic leader inured them to
non-resistance, to self-doubt, to self-delusions. Centuries of a political
culture that fostered just these very attitudes didn’t help. The Russian
citizenry became, as many liberal oppositionists in Russia and Ukraine like to
say, “zombified” — the living dead. That metaphor has been taken to a horrific
extreme as wave after wave of inexperienced Russians who should not be on the
front keep attacking even as Ukrainian troops mow them down. Putin has also
terrified Russians, making it clear that any act of public protest will
immediately lead to incarceration or worse. In the past year, the secret police
has devastated the small bits of civil society — the autonomous social,
political and cultural institutions that promote collective action — that had
barely survived two decades of Putin’s iron rule.
As one independent Russian journalist has written using a pseudonym, “in Russia
there is no heroism left, whether you stay or leave or go to prison or remain
free. Everyone is going into 2023 alone, no matter how many people are around.”
The picture is dispiriting, but not entirely hopeless. Thousands of Russians did
take to the streets in the immediate aftermath of the invasion. Russians have
firebombed scores of draft offices. The pseudonymous journalist wrote last
month: “Many people continue to do important work. Helping the millions of
Ukrainians who have ended up in Russia as a result of the invasion — something
that I’m involved in. Or feeding the homeless. Supporting one another. Defending
political prisoners and writing letters to them.”
The problem is that, as she says, these tens of thousands of people “have no
representation.” And Putin, the career KGB officer, knows full well that
preventing a vigorous Russian civil society from emerging is the key to his
continued misrule in Russia. If the only thing that promoted civil societies
were democratic political cultures, Russia would be hopeless. But, as the
post-Stalin “thaw” and Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika demonstrate, Russians can
act collectively and autonomously when repression is reduced and the threat of
immediate arrest recedes. And that’s partly because, even today, many Russians
continue to harbor views that are critical of Putin and the regime. Andrei
Kolesnikov of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace wrote two weeks
ago: “Notably popular in Russia right now are classic works of literature that
contain subtle antiwar messages. The most read book at the beginning of last
year was George Orwell’s '1984.' Other books selling well include those about
everyday life in 1930s Germany, in which people recognize themselves and their
fears.”Anti-regime collective action will happen in Putin’s Russia only if he
goes and a power struggle reduces the regime’s ability to crack down — or if
Russia gets a beating in the war. In both cases, the “forces of coercion” will
have been weakened and popular protest would become possible. And in both cases,
Russia’s defeat in the war would serve to hasten Putin’s exit and would weaken
the army and secret police. Ukraine’s victory would not only be good for Ukraine
and the world. It would also be Russia’s salvation.
*Alexander J. Motyl, a specialist on Ukraine, Russia and the U.S.S.R., is a
professor of political science at Rutgers University.
US Supreme Court won't upset Arkansas
anti-Israel boycott law
Associated Press/February 21, 2023
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to step into a legal fight over state
laws that require contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel. The justices
rejected an appeal on behalf of an alternative weekly newspaper in Little Rock,
Arkansas, that objected to a state law that reduces fees paid to contractors
that refuse to sign the pledge. The full federal appeals court in St. Louis
upheld the law, overturning a three-judge panel's finding that it violated
constitutional free speech rights. Similar measures in Arizona, Kansas and Texas
were initially blocked by courts, prompting lawmakers to focus only on larger
contracts. Arkansas' law applies to contracts worth $1,000 or more. Republican
legislators in Arkansas who drafted the 2017 law have said it wasn't prompted by
a specific incident in the state. It followed similar restrictions enacted by
other states in response to a movement promoting boycotts, divestment and
sanctions of Israeli institutions and businesses over the country's treatment of
Palestinians. Israeli officials said the campaign masked a deeper goal of
delegitimizing and even destroying their country.
Israel president pleads for unity after controversial legal
changes: ‘Many are fearful’
Ilan Ben Zion/The Independent/February 21, 2023
Israel's president on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
coalition to seek dialogue and compromise after it pushed ahead with
controversial judicial overhaul in a turbulent parliamentary session overnight.
Isaac Herzog said it was a “difficult morning” following the late night
parliamentary vote that saw two contentious pieces of legislation — part of
sweeping changes that have prompted vocal criticism in Israel and abroad — pass
a preliminary hurdle. Critics say the judicial overhaul underway will
concentrate power in the hands of the ruling coalition in Israel's parliament,
the Knesset, and erode the democratic system of checks and balances. Netanyahu
and his allies insist the changes will better curb an overly powerful Supreme
Court. "Many citizens across Israeli society, many people who voted for the
coalition, are fearful for national unity,” Herzog said at a conference
organized by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. He urged Netanyahu and his allies
to enable dialogue to reach a consensus on judiciary reform. Herzog's remarks
came the morning after tens of thousands of Israelis protested outside the
parliament ahead of the vote, the second mass demonstration in Jerusalem in
recent weeks. After a more than seven hours of debate that dragged on after
midnight, Netanyahu and his allies passed two clauses in the package of proposed
changes that seek to weaken the country's Supreme Court and further empower
ruling parliamentary coalitions. With a 63-47 vote, the Knesset approved
measures that give the governing coalition control over judicial appointments
and curtail the Supreme Court’s ability to review “Basic Laws” that have a
quasi-constitutional role in Israel, which doesn't have a formal constitution.
The bills still require two additional readings in parliament to pass into
law.Also planned are proposals that would give the parliament the power to
overturn Supreme Court rulings and control the appointment of government legal
advisers. The advisers currently are professional civil servants, and critics
say the new system would politicize government ministries. According to a survey
by the Israel Democracy Institute think tank published Tuesday, 66% of
respondents think the Supreme Court should have the authority to strike down
laws incompatible with the Basic Laws, and 63% think the current system for
picking judges — a panel made up of politicians, judges and attorneys — should
be maintained. Almost three-quarters of the 756 respondents — 72% — said there
should be compromise between the opposing political camps about proposed
judicial changes. Herzog, who serves as the largely symbolic head of state, has
tried to broker dialogue between the increasingly polarized camps and has called
on Netanyahu and his allies to delay the contentious judicial overhaul.
Netanyahu's governing coalition is made up of ultranationalist and
ultra-Orthodox parties and took office in late December, after the country's
fifth parliamentary elections in less than four years. The political deadlock
was largely over the long-time leader's fitness to serve as prime minister while
on trial for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes, charges Netanyahu has
denied.
Greece and Turkey can make region one of cooperation -
Blinken
ATHENS, Feb 21 (Reuters)/Tue, February 21, 2023
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday urged Aegean Sea rivals Greece
and Turkey to engage to resolve differences and avoid unilateral actions that
could increase tension. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and
neighbours are at odds over a host of issues from mineral rights in the Aegean
to airspace, and over ethnically split Cyprus. Tensions have flared recently,
but Greece was one of the first countries to send rescue workers to help pull
survivors from the rubble after a devastating earthquake hit Turkey this month,
killing tens of thousands. "It is in the interest of both Greece and Turkey to
find ways to resolve longstanding differences, to do it through dialogue,
through diplomacy - and in the meantime to not take any unilateral actions or
use any charged rhetoric that would only make things more difficult and more
challenging," Blinken told a news conference in Athens. Blinken had met Turkish
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara on Monday. Greek Foreign Minister
Nikos Dendias, alongside Blinken, said Athens was not expecting anything in
exchange for the support it had sent Turkey, which included tents, beds and
blankets to support the hundreds of thousands left homeless.
"It is our duty to help our fellow humans who are suffering and we will continue
to do so," Dendias said. "If through the communication between both societies
the climate of our relations improves, this of course has political
consequences. But I repeat: Greece is not seeking trade-offs from the Turkish
side via the aid it is providing the earthquake victims." Blinken praised Greece
for its role as an energy hub in southeastern Europe and said there was an
"enormous appetite among American companies to invest in Greece's very
significant move toward renewables". He said Athens and Washington were working
together to strengthen energy security across the region and reduce reliance on
Russian gas, and that Greece and Turkey could only benefit from resolving their
differences. "I do believe that there is an interest and an intent in both
countries to find ways to resolve longstanding differences, to find ways to make
this part of the world that that they share an area of cooperation not of
conflict," Blinken said. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou, Renee Maltezou,
Karolina Tagaris and Michele Kambas; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Iraq: US Did Not Impose Conditions over Dollar Crisis
Baghdad - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 21 February, 2023
Iraq denied claims that the US had imposed conditions on its delegation, which
recently visited Washington, regarding the dollar exchange issue. An Iraqi
delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, had visited Washington and
met with Secretary of the State Antony Blinken earlier this month. During a
press conference in Baghdad on Monday, Hussein denied that conditions were
imposed on the delegation, noting that the electronic platform launched by the
Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) would determine benefit from the dollars and help end
smuggling. He explained that the delegation included officials from various
sectors, including senior officials from the financial and banking industries.
He added that the visit addressed political issues, but mainly focused on the
economy, fighting corruption, and combating ISIS terrorism. He assured the Iraqi
people "the financial and oil cover proves that the Iraqi currency is strong,"
adding that the dollar crisis occurred because of the electronic financing
system. Moreover, he revealed that the SWIFT platform had uncovered many
manipulations and counterfeit bills. It will help stop and prevent dollar
smuggling and determine the number of dollar bills in the market. Hussein
indicated that Iraq is a "consumer society" and imports many of its needs, which
requires the availability of dollars, noting that Iraqi reserves exceeded $100
billion. He added that it is only a matter of time before the exchange rate
stabilizes. The minister also denied reports that Iraq was seeking to normalize
relations with Israel, asserting that it was not discussed with the US officials
or any political blocs. Meanwhile, the US Treasury announced that Iraq's
possession of US bonds rose to more than $40 billion. The Treasury said Iraq's
possession of US Treasury bonds surpassed $40 billion, rising from $39.717
billion in October 2022. This marked an increase of 81.4 percent compared to the
same month in 2021. Iraqi bonds, including long-term guarantees, amounted to
$28.239 billion, and short-term guarantees amounted to $12.575 billion,
representing 0.55 percent of the world's bonds.
Assad visits Oman in 1st trip abroad since
quake
Associated Press/Tuesday, 21 February, 2023
Syrian President Bashar Assad visited the Gulf nation of Oman on Monday on his
first official visit since the deadly Feb. 6 earthquake, his office said. Oman
is one of a few Arab countries that kept normal relations with Damascus after
Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over its crackdown on Arab
Spring protests. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake which struck on Feb. 6 has killed
nearly 45,000 people in Turkey and Syria and has brought a further thawing in
relations between Assad and other Arab states. Assad's office said that during
the visit, the president was received by Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, Oman's
leader. It quoted Assad as saying that Oman preserved "its balanced policies and
credibility" adding that the region needs the role of Oman to strengthen
relations between Arab countries based on "mutual respect and noninterference in
other countries' affairs."In the past few years, Assad has visited Russia, Iran
and the United Arab Emirates. Since the quake, United Arab Emirates Foreign
Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Assad, while other Arab countries
that had cut relations with Syria during the war — most notably Saudi Arabia and
Egypt — have delivered aid to Damascus. Jordan's foreign minister met last week
with Assad in Damascus, the first Jordanian official to visit since the start of
the conflict. In 2020, Oman sent an ambassador to Syria after an eight-year
hiatus making Oman the first Gulf Arab state to reinstate its ambassador to
Syria since the eruption of the country's conflict. In 2012, Oman and other Gulf
Arab countries withdrew their ambassadors in protest of the Syrian government's
violent suppression of a year-old uprising. Other Arab states shuttered their
embassies but Oman, known for its neutrality and diplomacy between regional
foes, kept its open throughout the years of conflict. Syria was expelled from
the 22-member Arab League in 2011, and Arab countries have sanctioned Damascus
and condemned its use of military force against the opposition.
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on February 21-22/2023
Iran enriched uranium to 84
percent — but can it make a nuclear bomb?
Simon Henderson/The Hill/February 21/2023
Iran appears to have made a new and worrying advance in its nuclear program.
Bloomberg reported on Sunday that it has reached the level of 84 percent
enriched uranium, a significant advance on the 60 percent previously announced.
The magic number needed for making an atomic bomb is 90 percent.
The new figure was discovered by monitoring equipment operated by the world’s
nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). But the
Bloomberg report did not reveal how much uranium enriched to this extent Iran
has produced. The amount needed for a nuclear bomb is about a grapefruit-sized
worth, which would weigh around 33 pounds. (Uranium metal is even more dense
than lead.)
This latest revelation comes just a few days after news emerged that Iran had
altered the piping joining two groups of centrifuges in its Fordow plant, a
change that would allow faster enrichment to higher levels.
That change was discovered by chance. The IAEA can carry out three types of
inspections: “announced” (i.e., planned in advance with Iran’s cooperation),
“unannounced” (inspectors suddenly turning up and demanding access), and
“random” (a variation of unannounced but much rarer). The piping alteration at
Fordow caught the eye of an experienced inspector on such a random inspection, a
detail that his well qualified but less experienced colleagues may have missed.
The Bloomberg report suggests the higher enrichment level may not be definitive.
Was it reached on purpose or accumulated by accident? An Iranian nuclear
scientist has claimed, correctly, that it is in the nature of the enrichment
process that the spinning centrifuges produce a range of enrichment values above
and below the target level.
Even at a notional 6 percent less than the level needed for a nuclear bomb, the
84 percent figure is worrying. Uranium enrichment 101 is that the process is all
about the separation of two isotopes of uranium, the slightly lighter U235
isotope from the heavier but more numerous U238 isotope. The ratio of such
isotopes in natural uranium is 993 U238 atoms to just 7 U235 atoms. The
enrichment process alters the ratio. The 90 percent level is when the ratio is
just 1:7 — i.e., 992 atoms of U238 have been stripped out. Eighty-four percent
is roughly this ratio, so a workable bomb may need just a pound or two more of
U235 to function. And Twitter feeds, milking the Bloomberg story, are reminding
us that the first U.S. bomb, dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945,
used material of roughly the 84 percent level.
So, the new level that Iran reportedly has reached is well beyond most people’s
“red line” of concern. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Iran is close to
actually making a nuclear bomb. Officials say that Iran still seems to be
challenged when it comes to making the gaseous uranium hexafluoride used in
centrifuges into solid metal and casting it into hemispheres that, when placed
together as a sphere, could be the explosive core of a nuclear bomb.
But officials also acknowledge that their level of confidence in knowing what
Iran is doing on weapon design is significantly less than its enrichment
activities. And if Iran were to settle for a bomb delivered by an aircraft,
rather than on a long-range missile, the sophistication of design needed could
be less. Of course, if Iran were to test a device in a remote desert area, it
could be much cruder than a deliverable bomb.
A reminder for the fight against despots: Citizens are victims
How historic infrastructure investments can benefit women workers
A new additional concern for officials is that the Russian military may slip
Iran a critical mass or two of 90 percent enriched uranium, as China did to
jump-start Pakistan’s program in the early 1980s. Moscow’s historical record
against such proliferation has been exemplary. But the Ukraine war and Iran’s
supply of drones to Russia may prompt some elements to give Tehran a special
“thank you.”
More details may emerge in the next few days. The IAEA, headquartered in Vienna,
said Sunday that it is “discussing with Iran the results of recent Agency
verification activities.” The issue probably will figure high on the agenda of
the next meeting of its board of governors, due on March 6.
*Simon Henderson is the Baker Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on
Gulf and Energy Policy at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Follow
him on Twitter @shendersongulf.
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/3865793-iran-enriched-uranium-to-84-percent-but-can-it-make-a-nuclear-bomb/
Why Arabs Should Learn About the Holocaust
Robert Satloff/The Washington Institute/Februar 21/2023
The vow of “never again” taken by virtually all nations after the Second World
War remains unfulfilled.
Irecently left Cairo with a team from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum after
convening a series of Holocaust remembrance events in the region. These events
were held with Emirati and Egyptian partners in the context of the official
Holocaust commemoration day set by the UN.
At one of the events, organized with the Egyptian group Drop of Milk, Ruth
Cohen—a spry 92-year-old survivor of the Auschwitz death camp—told her story of
courage, resilience and hope to a group of 40 Egyptian students at the historic
Adly Street Synagogue. At another event, co-sponsored by the American and German
embassies, Cohen was joined by celebrated Egyptian physician Dr. Nasser Kotby,
who told the audience the inspiring story of his uncle, Dr. Mohammed Helmy, the
only Arab officially recognized for risking his life to save Jews during the
Holocaust.
These events in Egypt followed two others in the UAE. One was in Abu Dhabi,
where the minister of culture hosted the Emirates’ second annual Holocaust
remembrance event with students at Zayed University. The other was in Dubai,
where Cohen shared her personal story with members of the small but growing
Jewish community at a festive Sabbath dinner in a prominent hotel.
Indeed, these events are the latest in more than a decade of effort by the
museum to build partnerships across the Middle East to engage local Arab
communities in discussion of the relevant lessons of the Holocaust. From Morocco
to Saudi Arabia, the museum has worked with scholars, experts, journalists,
government officials and civil society leaders to make sure that Arabs are part
of the vibrant global conversation about the continuing relevance of one of
history’s greatest crimes.
Why? Why should Arabs today care about terrible events that occurred long ago in
a faraway place? This is a reasonable question, one that parents and teachers
are themselves asking in light of announcements that the UAE and Morocco are now
preparing to include discussion of the Holocaust, alongside other genocides, in
their educational curricula.
The answer is simple yet profound. In my view, the reason Arabs should learn
about the Holocaust—the effort by Nazi Germany to exterminate the Jewish people,
which led to the killing of 6 million innocents, including 1.5 million
children—is that its lessons apply to all peoples. Here are three.
First, the fact that one of the world’s most advanced, cultured and developed
nations—the nation of Beethoven and Goethe—could commit genocide on an
industrialized scale is a bracing warning that any society could lose its anchor
and replace law and morality with hatred and senseless violence. It is a
reminder that every society, every culture, every nation needs strong guardrails
to ensure that it never falls into the abyss as did Germany and its fascist
partners less than a century ago.
Second, the Holocaust did not happen overnight. What ended with the
industrialized murder at Auschwitz began years earlier, with politicians,
editors and civic leaders blaming the Jews for Germany’s severe economic
problems. Then came discriminatory laws, expulsions from schools, confiscation
of property, deportations to labor camps—the drip, drip, drip of hatred that
moved neither the good people of Germany nor the good people of other
“civilized” countries to collectively intervene at some point and shout “Stop.”
The Nazis took this silence for consent, moving on from bias to persecution to
murder. As the vast majority remained silent, millions were shot in mass graves,
starved in ghettos, worked to death in labor camps and exterminated in gas
chambers. It is a reminder of the need to speak up early, whenever societies
respond to difficult social and economic problems with racial, religious or
ethnic hatred. The Holocaust shows that waiting can be fatal.
Third, the Holocaust may have been a unique moment in terms of the enormity and
depravity of Nazi evil, but it was regrettably not unique in terms of blinding
hatred leading to mass atrocity. Out of the Holocaust a new word was
coined—“genocide,” the purposeful effort to exterminate a people—to describe an
idea so heinous that special international law was developed to prevent it from
happening to other people in other parts of the globe. Sadly, evil has so far
proved resilient, as the tortured Tutsis, Rohingya and others can attest.
The Arab world itself has seen the gassing of the Kurds in Halabja, the burning
of villages of Darfur and the merciless Daesh campaign to annihilate Yazidi men
and enslave their women. The commitment that virtually all nations took when the
horrors of the Holocaust were fully revealed—the vow of “never again”—remains
unfulfilled. Learning about the Holocaust is necessary for Arabs to join with
the rest of the world in efforts to keep that profound promise.
But, say many Arabs, other crises, closer to home, make a more urgent claim to
our attention. From Syria to Yemen, millions of Arabs are suffering unspeakable
horrors; from Libya to Lebanon, states have collapsed and chaos reigns; and the
list of victims of the Israel-Palestine conflict, which is now nearly a century
old, continues to mount. All of that is true and accurate. All of that demands
action. But none of that gives Arabs an exemption from their responsibilities as
global citizens. There are enough hours in the day—and enough days in the school
calendar—to address both the Middle East’s issues and the world’s; human issues
that cry out for our collective attention.
For the past 20 years, both independently and with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum, I have traveled across the Middle East to provide opportunities for
Arabs to join the global campaign to counter ethnic, religious or racial hatred
by learning about the Holocaust and the genocides that have occurred since. I
have traveled from Arab capital to capital to listen to young people and
high-ranking leaders, engaging openly and directly with their questions and
concerns.
Despite the often-bloody images that come from the Israel-Palestine conflict, I
remind them that the fight between Israelis and Palestinians is, at its core, a
political conflict. I further remind them of something that most know but rarely
speak about—that, despite today’s bleak reality, this is a conflict that leaders
could eventually resolve with a political solution. Genocide, a fate that has
taken the lives of hundreds of thousands in Arab lands, is something very
different—it is irrational, senseless murder, born of irrational, senseless
hatred. We should not confuse the two.
Thankfully, more and more Arabs are agreeing with this view. From the Atlantic
to the Gulf, partners are working with us to present Holocaust remembrance
events; young people are reading Holocaust books, watching Holocaust films, and
going online to learn Holocaust history. As a result, they are increasingly
questioning the racial, ethnic or religious hatred they see around them. They do
this without sacrificing their commitment to the other causes they defend. They
have come to realize that one does not undermine the other.
My hope is that this view eventually becomes common across Arab societies. Until
then, we and our local partners will continue to convene these special events in
cities across the Arab world and provide more opportunities for Arabs to join
the global campaign of “never again.”
*Robert Satloff is the executive director of The Washington Institute and the
author of Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust’s Long Reach into
Arab Lands. This article was originally published on the Arab News website.
Changing Egyptian-Turkish Dynamics May Create
Opportunities for Libya
Ben Fishman/The Washington Institute/Februar 21/2023
Turkey’s tragic earthquake and Egypt’s economic crisis may lead both governments
to ease their conflicts over Libya.
On February 23, representatives from the United States, Britain, Egypt, France,
Germany, Italy, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates will meet in
Washington for a periodic discussion on how to break Libya’s political logjam.
Although such meetings have not produced much in the way of progress or
international unity of late, major developments in Egypt and Turkey—longtime
arch-rivals over Libya—present a rare opportunity to move the needle.
Forging International Consensus
Over the years, several permutations of Libya-focused international groupings
have emerged, from heads-of-state conferences hosted in France, Italy, and
Germany, to ministerial-level talks on the sidelines of international meetings,
to the latest envoy-level gatherings. At each of these stages, participants have
usually sounded united yet disagreed over key issues, such as which Libyan
factions to support and when to hold the elections that have been postponed
since December 2021.
When the previous envoy-level meeting took place in London last October,
attendees did not produce an agreed statement because Egypt refused to go along
with the consensus draft—even though the text essentially reflected previous UN
statements recognizing the importance of an agreed constitutional basis to push
elections forward. Cairo preferred the status quo, in which it held considerable
influence over east Libya; if elections were held, the results could shake up
its favored actors among the entrenched elite and empower its political or
ideological rivals, perhaps expanding Turkey’s influence in the west.
The February 23 meeting is the first to be held in Washington, enabling U.S.
officials to drive the agenda and work toward a broader international consensus.
Expanding the group to include former rivals Qatar and the UAE plays into the
latter goal, since the Gulf states maintain significant influence in Libya,
Egypt, and Turkey. On February 15, for example, Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dabaiba
of the western-based Government of National Unity (GNU) met with Emirati
president Muhammad bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi, suggesting the UAE’s renewed
interest. Three other important developments have likewise created opportunities
to advance progress on Libya: the new UN special representative’s efforts,
Turkey’s tragic earthquake, and Egypt’s growing economic crisis.
The New SRSG
In September, Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily was appointed as the seventh
special representative of the secretary-general (SRSG) for Libya since 2011.
Previously, American diplomat Stephanie Williams had served as acting SRSG and
later as special advisor to the secretary-general while the Security Council
debated a successor.
Although some SRSGs have essentially dithered during their terms, others have
developed their own political plans to address Libya’s morass. For example,
Ghassan Salame presented a proposal to the Security Council very early in his
tenure in September 2017. Bathily is expected to do the same in New York on
February 27. After visiting European capitals this week, he will likely preview
his initiative in Washington to build support for a Security Council resolution
backing his efforts the following week.
For Washington and its European partners, the main goal should be to ensure that
Bathily’s plan is realistic and offers the best chance of producing an agreed
constitutional basis to hold elections, hopefully before year’s end. Two
elements are essential in this regard.
First, Bathily should abandon the track that leaves key issues in the hands of
Libya’s rival chambers (the House of Representatives and the High State Council)
and their respective leaders (Aguila Saleh Issa and Khalid al-Mishri, who have
drawn out negotiations for years to retain their positions and influence).
Second, whatever grouping of Libyans Bathily chooses to facilitate
constitutional dialogue with, he should produce a timeline for an agreed
constitutional basis, electoral law, and code of conduct, and ask major factions
to sign onto a well-defined set of campaign and election procedures. The gist of
these codes and procedures should be clear—factions must commit to avoiding
violence or incitement and respecting the election results. The United States
and its partners should encourage Bathily’s efforts and reinforce them with
Libyan interlocutors.
Turkey and Egypt’s Role
In addition to assessing the full human toll of the catastrophic February 6
earthquake, it will take some time to determine how the Turkish government’s
preoccupation with rescue and relief efforts will affect its policy in Libya. So
far, Turkish military support and training for the GNU appear to be continuing.
Turkish economic investments in Libya may be curtailed as infrastructure
companies begin to focus on post-earthquake reconstruction, but most of Ankara’s
strategic interests in maintaining economic and security influence there will
likely remain.
For its part, Egypt may now have greater motivation to help stabilize Libya
given its increasingly dire economic crisis back home, which has included
extreme currency devaluation, rising inflation, and shortages of basic goods.
The question is whether Cairo still prefers to maintain the east Libyan
political status quo or reap the economic benefits of a stable Libyan
government—most notably in the form of hundreds of thousands of jobs for
Egyptian workers, as was the case before the 2011 revolution. Libya has also
reportedly offered to stabilize the Egyptian pound by providing deposits in its
central bank.
At the same time, the longstanding rift between Egypt and Turkey has shown signs
of easing lately. During last year’s World Cup, President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi
met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Qatar. And after the earthquake, Sisi
made the rare move of calling the Turkish leader, offering condolences and
promising aid that was delivered soon thereafter. In an apparent follow-up move,
Egyptian prime minister Mostafa Madbouly hosted a group of Turkish
businesspeople in Cairo on February 15 to discuss planned investments of $500
million—the first such meeting in a decade. Egypt is in the process of
privatizing several state-run firms, and Turkey could play a role in that
process alongside heavy investments by Gulf states.
Each of these steps could contribute to Egyptian-Turkish reconciliation
regarding their strategic disagreement over Libya, which includes a maritime
dispute, various military concerns, and ideological differences over Islam and
politics. The United States now has a significant opportunity to broker
bilateral or even trilateral discussions with Cairo and Ankara in order to
explore whether their changing priorities will allow for relaxing tensions over
Libya. The presence of the UAE and Qatar could further improve the chances of
progress. Even modest progress would significantly improve the chances of
reaching an agreement to move Libya forward.
Limitations of the Current Meeting
Aside from the difficulties of negotiating a united, substantive statement among
nine actors, envoy-level discussions are rarely the place to break new policy
ground given the lack of seniority. The foreign ministry representatives who
tend to participate in these discussions are also at a disadvantage because
intelligence and security entities currently play a much more significant role
in determining Libya policy among the regional governments.
Another challenge for Washington is that Libya remains a secondary issue in U.S.
bilateral discussions with Egypt and Turkey, so elevating it may prove
difficult. With Egypt, the Biden administration should be able to talk seriously
about Libya while maintaining a productive dialogue on other pressing
issues—most notably, Cairo’s contribution to de-escalating renewed
Israeli-Palestinian violence. With Turkey, Washington can surely find a way to
substantively address Libya while still advancing vital earthquake assistance,
NATO discussions, military sales, and Russia policy—even though Turkey’s
bandwidth for issues beyond humanitarian relief is now more limited.
With deft diplomacy, Washington can use this week’s Libya meeting to build on
the apparent thaw in Egypt-Turkey relations, creating momentum for further
conversations about how they can mutually benefit from relaxing their friction
over Libya. At the same time, such efforts could facilitate the most important
change in the Libyan landscape in months, giving Bathily the space he needs to
create an elections timeline.
*Ben Fishman is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute and former director
for North Africa on the National Security Council.
Killing Jews Brings Light into The Hearts of
Palestinians
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/February 21, 2023
Just last week, the head of [Fatah], Mahmoud Abbas, received a phone call from
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who reportedly promised to put pressure on
Israel to halt its "unilateral measures." Needless to say, Blinken did not
complain to Abbas about Fatah's incitement or the celebration of terror attacks
by many Palestinians.
What makes a human being say intentionally crushing an infant beneath the wheels
of a car makes the perpetrator a "hero"? What makes them call the car-ramming
murder of 8- and 6-year-old brothers a "heroic commando operation"?
This is the result of decades of anti-Israel incitement and brainwashing by
Palestinian leaders, which their funders have never told them to stop. As far as
most Palestinians are concerned: 1) All Jews are "settlers," and 2) Israel is
one big settlement that must be eliminated.
Furthermore, finding humor in a cartoon of a terror attack victim's head on a
platter about to be eaten as part of a traditional Palestinian feast is hard to
comprehend. Why do we keep hearing Palestinians claim that terror and
glorification of the murder of innocent civilians is a "natural response"?
There is nothing "natural" about murdering Jewish children waiting at a bus
stop. There is nothing "natural" about murdering unarmed civilians outside a
synagogue. There is nothing "natural" about dancing and handing out candy to
celebrate terrorism and the murder of Jews, or of anyone.
The EU, the US, and other international funders of the Palestinians continue to
finance a government that refuses not only to condemn terror, but that actually
grows it like a lucrative slave-farm for terrorists. For some Palestinians, such
as the leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, that even includes
sending women and children to blow themselves up and using babies as human
shields. The leaders do not, of course, send out members of their own families
for this "achievement."
Sadly, these funders do not even ask the Palestinian leaders, as a condition of
their funding, to stop calling for violence and to stop rewarding murder. One
has to ask: Why not? If you go to a bank and request a mortgage, the bank will
stipulate conditions. That is "natural."
Considering the undisguised vitriol of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority in
support of terrorism -- with both words and money -- how could Israel seriously
be expected to engage in any fruitful peace talks with the Palestinians?
In what has come to be known as "Pay for Slay," Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas has been adamant about continuing to pay large benefits to
terrorists and their families. Pictured: Abbas speaks at a ceremony honoring
Palestinian terrorists on July 23, 2018. He said: "We will neither reduce nor
withhold the allowances of the families of martyrs, prisoners, and released
prisoners... if we had one single penny left, we would spend it on the families
of the martyrs and the prisoners." (Image source: MEMRI)
After the recent wave of terror attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank,
Palestinians again took to the streets to celebrate the murder of Jews. As part
of the celebrations, the Palestinians danced, chanted slogans in support of the
terrorists and handed out sweets to passersby.
Whether intentionally or not, the world media continues to bypass a lot of the
celebrations, including the unrestrained Palestinian rejoicing after 9/11, when
some media outlets revealed footage of Palestinians dancing, handing out sweets,
and celebrating the murder of thousands of Americans.
Americans and others around the world who were reeling from the horror of 9/11
were outraged when the footage of the Palestinian celebrations came to light.
For Israelis, this revelry in response to terror has been a nightmare that they
have contended with for decades.
In one of the most recent attacks on Israeli civilians, a Palestinian terrorist
murdered seven Jews just after Sabbath prayers at a synagogue. Palestinians
rejoiced in the streets, celebrating with dancing, sweets, and fireworks.
In some instances, senior officials from the ruling Fatah faction, headed by
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, have been documented
participating in the celebrations over the murder of Jews.
On January 28, Ata Abu Rumaileh, the head of Fatah in the city of Jenin in the
northern West Bank, attended a march celebrating two terror attacks in
Jerusalem.
At the march, Abu Rumaileh, brandishing an M-16-style assault rifle, was
surrounded by dozens of armed and masked terrorists. He praised the "righteous
martyrs" who carried out the attacks and called for more terrorism against
Israel.
Weapons and bullets, he said, should be the only language used with Israel. The
intifada (uprising), he continued, has "turned into a war" that will not end
until the blood of the "martyrs" is avenged. "May these attacks send their [the
Jews'] corpses to Hell. Today, we are handing out sweets... in congratulation of
our heroic martyrs."
It is worth noting that Abu Rumaileh represents the Fatah faction that is often
described by Westerners as the "moderate" party.
Just last week, the head of this party, Mahmoud Abbas, received a phone call
from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who reportedly promised to put
pressure on Israel to halt its "unilateral measures." Needless to say, Blinken
did not complain to Abbas about Fatah's incitement or the celebration of terror
attacks by many Palestinians.
Jamal Al-Huwail, another senior member of Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, also
praised the murder of Jews. A few months ago, Al-Huwail said that Diaa Al-Hamarsheh,
the terrorist who murdered five Israelis in the city of Bnei Brak "brought light
into the hearts of the Palestinians."
"The people in Jenin took to the streets to celebrate," he added. "Al-Hamarsheh
and his family restored the glory of Fatah, Hamas, PFLP [Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine] and Islamic Jihad."
The terror attack in Bnei Brak indeed produced gleeful mobs of dancing
Palestinians in Jenin and elsewhere, who chanted, "Millions of martyrs are
marching to Jerusalem!" and hailed the terrorist as a "heroic martyr leader."A
little more than a month later and a few miles away in the city of Elad, two
Palestinian terrorists attacked Jews with an axe and a knife, murdering four
men, one of whom recently died of his wounds.
In a surreal twist, Abbas's Fatah official, Ata Abu Rumaileh, asserted the
terrorists' boy-scout ethics: "They refused to kill women, children, and
elderly. That is the morality of the fighters and resistance members."
Palestinian Media Watch pointedly added that the "morality" of the terrorists
somehow falls somewhat short: they "butchered fathers with axes and knives in
front of their children at a park."
Perhaps Abu Rumaileh would consider it a precedentially "ethical win" when the
horrific Netanya Passover Massacre in 2002 saw Palestinians dancing for joy at
the challenging "achievement" of murdering 30 Jews and injuring 140 others,
mostly elderly people, at a holiday meal.
A similar celebration occurred in the aftermath of the 2008 Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva
massacre, after a Palestinian terrorist shot dead eight Jewish students. Then,
"thousands of Palestinians [took] to the streets, shooting guns in the air,
offering prayers of gratitude and handing out candy to local children. They
weren't celebrating a religious holiday or a sports championship. They were
celebrating the vicious murder of eight boys."
There are some Palestinians who simply wish to live in peace and have actively
helped Israeli Jews in dangerous situations, but their voices and stories are
not often heard. One such Palestinian man was "forced to flee [the] West Bank
after death threats for rescuing children of murdered Rabbi Miki Mark."
The motivation to remain silent is fear.
It is difficult to account, however, for crowds of thousands dancing and
rejoicing over the killing of innocents. What makes a human being say
intentionally crushing an infant beneath the wheels of a car makes the
perpetrator a "hero"? What makes them call the car-ramming murder of 8- and
6-year-old brothers a "heroic commando operation"?
This is the result of decades of anti-Israel incitement and brainwashing by
Palestinian leaders, which their funders have never told them to stop. As far as
most Palestinians are concerned: 1) All Jews are "settlers," and 2) Israel is
one big settlement that must be eliminated.
Furthermore, finding humor in a cartoon of a terror attack victim's head on a
platter about to be eaten as part of a traditional Palestinian feast is hard to
comprehend. Why do we keep hearing Palestinians claim that terror and
glorification of the murder of innocent civilians is a "natural response"?
There is nothing "natural" about murdering Jewish children waiting at a bus
stop. There is nothing "natural" about murdering unarmed civilians outside a
synagogue. There is nothing "natural" about dancing and handing out candy to
celebrate terrorism and the murder of Jews, or of anyone. While Abbas
occasionally condemns an attack that has attracted sufficient international
outrage to hurt the PA's image, his actions speak louder than words. In what has
come to be known as "Pay for Slay," Abbas has been adamant about continuing to
pay large benefits to the families of terrorists: "Even if I will have to leave
my position, I will not compromise on the salary of a martyr (shahid) or a
prisoner," Abbas promised. At the age of 87, Abbas is still holding to this
position. Despite legislation designed to counter the hundreds of millions of
dollars in US, EU and international foreign aid funneled to terrorist family
allowances, he is still finding creative ways to continue. As of 2017, these
funds were found to be "equal in sum to about half of the foreign aid for budget
support." In the years following, they have only increased.
The EU, the US, and other international funders of the Palestinians continue to
finance a government that refuses not only to condemn terror, but that actually
grows it like a lucrative slave-farm for terrorists. For some Palestinians, such
as the leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, that even includes
sending women and children to blow themselves up and using babies as human
shields. The leaders do not, of course, send out members of their own families
for this "achievement."
Sadly, these funders do not even ask the Palestinian leaders, as a condition of
their funding, to stop calling for violence and to stop rewarding murder. One
has to ask: Why not? If you go to a bank and request a mortgage, the bank will
stipulate conditions. That is "natural."
Considering the undisguised vitriol of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority in
support of terrorism -- with both words and money -- how could Israel seriously
be expected to engage in any fruitful peace talks with the Palestinians?
*Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East.
© 2023 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.
Defenders of Faith and Family: ‘Like Leftists,
Turks Turned Christian Children Against Their Parents’
Raymond Ibrahim/February 21/2023
The “recruitment” of future janissaries — Christian children enslaved into
becoming Muslim jihadists
The following book review was written for Crisis Magazine by William Kilpatrick:
Christianity was saved in Europe solely because the peoples of Europe fought. If
[Europeans]…had not possessed a military equality with, and gradually a growing
superiority over the Mohammedans who invaded Europe, Europe would at this moment
be Mohammedan and the Christian religion would be exterminated. —Theodore
Roosevelt
I came across Roosevelt’s observation in Raymond Ibrahim’s recent book,
Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes who stood against Islam. At a time
when Islam once again seems poised to conquer Europe—this time by dint of
immigration and higher birthrates—Ibrahim’s book serves as a timely reminder
that this clash of civilizations is far from over.
Defenders of the West focuses on eight individuals who fought against Islamic
armies at various times in past centuries. Interestingly, Ibrahim himself can be
considered a modern-day “defender of the West” or, more accurately, “defender of
the faith.”
I say this because the faith can’t be effectively defended unless Christians
first realize that it needs defending. Much of Ibrahim’s work concerns the
oppression of Christians by Muslims all over the world but particularly in
Africa, Asia, and the Middle East—a story that relatively few Western Christians
are familiar with.
Ibrahim, of course, also writes about the continuing threat to the West—to
Europe and the Americas. Unlike the daily persecution and slaughter of
Christians in Africa, however, Christians in the West are subject to more subtle
but still effective types of intimidation which cause them to look the other way
in the face of Muslim transgressions. Most Westerners now understand that the
subject of Islamic aggression is to be avoided.
Indeed, the reluctance to get involved in the problems of other Christians was a
major factor in hindering Christian efforts to resist Islamic attacks on Europe
in past centuries. As long as their own territory wasn’t threatened, many kings
and princes refused to come to the aid of their neighbors despite repeated pleas
from Rome to unite in defense of Christendom.
Some of these Christian leaders were even willing to make alliances with the
(Ottoman) “Turks” and fight alongside them against their fellow Christians.
Indeed, Defenders of the West is filled with considerably more accounts of
betrayals than you will find in the pages of The Lord of the Rings.
Speaking of The Lord of the Rings, there is an almost fantastical quality to
Ibrahim’s book. Much of what took place seems beyond belief. Yet, Defenders of
the West is based almost entirely on primary sources. And the stories they tell
are astounding: Duke Godfrey of Bouillon’s fight to the death with an “enormous”
bear; Christian warriors prevailing against ten-to-one odds; and psychological
warfare that sometimes took the form of mountainous piles of skulls left by the
roadways as a warning to Christian soldiers of the fate that lay before them.
And the battles? If you’ve seen the battle scenes in the film version of The
Lord of the Rings, you might assume that they are gross exaggerations of actual
medieval battles. Well, yes and no. There were, of course, no Orcs or giants or
walking trees in those days; but there were enormous armies—some of them
numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
Moreover, there were huge engines of war: enormous battering rams; giant
catapults capable of hurling 400-pound projectiles; and wooden towers taller
than castle walls which were constructed in a matter of days and wheeled up to
the walls, enabling archers to shoot down from above into the courtyards below.
Remote as all this seems to us, however, there were aspects of the wars which
seem both familiar and shocking to us. The Ottoman Turks were masters of
psychological warfare and had developed a particularly cruel institution which
allowed them to enlist Christian children against their own parents. It was
called the janissary (“new soldier”) system.
In those areas of the Balkan region which the Turks controlled, Christian
families were compelled to make an annual blood tribute of their own sons. The
Turks selected the strongest, healthiest, most talented, and most intelligent of
these boys and then turned them into Ottoman warriors. As Ibrahim tells it:
These children were then marched to the Ottoman heartland, forcibly converted to
Islam, indoctrinated in the teachings of jihad, trained to be—and rewarded for
being—warriors par excellence, and then set loose on their former Christian kin,
thereby perpetuating the cycle of conquest, enslavement, and conversion, always
to Islam’s demographic gain and Christendom’s demographic loss.
Thus indoctrinated, the youngsters often developed a slavish devotion to Islam
and their Islamic masters, and a deep hostility toward Christians. Although the
institution of the janissaries was novel at the time, we have seen several
similar examples in the modern era. Both the Hitler Youth and the Soviet-era
Young Pioneers aimed to inculcate youngsters with beliefs and values that were
often in opposition to those of their parents. Moreover, children who betrayed
their parents to the authorities were held up as models for other youth to
emulate.
The most recent example of an organized attempt to separate children from their
families and from the faith of their families can be found no further away than
your neighborhood school. All across the country, children are being
indoctrinated to believe that gay is okay, that boys have the right to use the
girl’s locker room, and that children can choose their own gender.
Some teachers and counselors even encourage children to believe that they have
been assigned the wrong gender and offer to assist them in transitioning to
their “true” identity. In the meantime, they advise the children not to inform
their parents.
And why should parents be informed? Like the Ottoman rulers of old, many
education “professionals” have convinced themselves that the children belong to
the state, not to their parents. Never mind what parents believe, teachers know
best. And, indeed, it is now common knowledge that a K-through-college education
often has the effect of turning children away from the values of their parents.
What’s more, exposure to our educational system also has the effect of turning
young people away from the values of our nation. In recent years, our academies
of higher education have painted America as the root of all evil. According to
this “woke” view, America was founded by racists, and is still guilty of
systemic racism, white supremacy, ethnocentrism, sexism, and transphobia.
Americans, in short, are taught to be ashamed of their culture and their
heritage. A large part of that heritage, of course, goes back to our European
ancestors and to the brave warriors who stood against Islam and ensured that our
heritage would be a Christian heritage, not a Mohammedan one.
As everyone knows, the last several years have been marked by a concerted effort
to “trash” our culture—to pull down statues of American heroes and to brand them
all as white supremacists (even Lincoln and Frederick Douglass).
As Ibrahim shows in his final chapter, this trashing now extends to our European
ancestors who fought to defend their faith and their liberties against the
advance of Islam. For example, “in 1999, hundreds of self-identified Christians
participated in a ‘reconciliation walk’ that began in Germany and ended in
Jerusalem. Along the way, they wore T-shirts with the words ‘I apologize’—in
Arabic, no less.”
More recently, in 2020 in St. Louis, Missouri, “throngs of ‘progressives’—led by
Black Lives Matter and Muslim activists—violently targeted for destruction the
forty-foot iconic statue of King Louis IX [St. Louis].”
St. Louis happens to be one of the eight heroic defenders of the West who are
the subject of Ibrahim’s book. “It mattered little,” writes Ibrahim, “that the
saint-king had spent much of his life and wealth in pious works of charity to
better the lot of his fellow man.”
At the same time that Western Christians were being smeared, however, Western
academics were busy whitewashing the brutality of the Mohammedans. For example,
as Ibrahim notes, the “devilish” institution of the janissaries “has been
whitewashed and portrayed by Western academics ‘as the equivalent of sending a
child away for a prestigious education and training for a lucrative career.’”
The janissary system, however, did not always work to Islam’s advantage. The
most fascinating chapter in Defenders of the West concerns Skanderbeg, an
Albanian hero who spent most of his life fighting the Turks—but not all of it.
In his childhood, Skanderbeg was taken from his parents and brought into the
janissary system. He was an apt pupil, and because of his extraordinary strength
and skills, he quickly rose in the ranks “and eventually became a highly
decorated Ottoman general.” But Skanderbeg (whose given name was George
Kastrioti) had not entirely forgotten his roots in Christian Albania; and when
he had his chance, he turned against the Sultan, and with an initially small
group of Albanian fighters began his quest to retake Albania.
Ironically, much of Skanderbeg’s success was due to his janissary training. He
understood the Turkish mentality better than any other Western leader, and he
knew their strategies and tactics. In battle after battle, he crushed Ottoman
forces that were far superior in number to his own troops.
Needless to say, our own culture is badly in need of men like Skanderbeg, St.
Louis, Godfrey of Bouillon, El Cid, and the others that Ibrahim writes of.
Although they were far from perfect, they possessed qualities that are worth
emulating in any age.
Not that any of us will necessarily be called on to fight a caliph and his
armies—although that possibility should not be discounted altogether, seeing
that President Erdogan of Turkey has given several broad hints that he desires
to rule as caliph over a revived Ottoman empire that would include much of
Europe.
In any event, it looks like there are battles ahead. Sometimes they will be
fought with weapons of war and sometimes by other means.
Whether it be radical Muslims, radical leftists, radical school boards,
radicalized corporate boards, or the Chinese Communist Party, there will always
be a fresh supply of foes. And they will all want more or less the same things:
for you to relinquish your rights, renounce your faith, and hand over your
children to be indoctrinated in a new creed.
One of the main lessons of Western history is that we can’t afford to turn a
blind eye to the troubles of our fellow Christians. Don’t imagine that what’s
happening to them now in Africa, or Asia, or the Middle East can’t happen to you
or your family.
Three Kings And One Joker: The 'Return' Of
Arab Diplomacy
Amb. Alberto M. Fernandez*/MEMRI Daily Brief No. 458/ February 21, 2023
Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, North Africa |
Diplomacy is, of course, a tool of statecraft. It is one important way states
exert influence and seek to project power on the international stage. All
nations do so, constrained only in their ability to carry out effective
diplomacy by factors such as their strength, location, connections, ambitions,
and leadership.
In the broader Middle East, it has long looked – and it was generally true –
that Arab states were in disarray. Torn by war, extremism, major social,
political, and economic problems, corruption, and poor leadership, the Arab
world looked very much at a disadvantage compared to more assertive non-Arab
powers in the region: Israel, Turkey, and Iran. That reality has not fully
changed, although both Turkey and Iran are currently undergoing major
difficulties associated with the nature of those two regimes.
Everyone in the region does diplomacy but that does not mean that they can do it
equally well. The diplomatic skill may be there but a country may be constrained
by its dependence on foreign powers (or foreign money), internal strife or
political considerations. Some countries in the region are basket cases, making
them passive players when it comes to diplomacy. Other states play their role
well – one thinks of Oman – but otherwise are small actors on the stage.
Countries like Jordan and Egypt, skilled diplomatic players still, are limited
by their dependence on others because of economic or security considerations.
Iraq – a substantial country like Egypt – could play a more consequential role
in the region but it is somewhat limited by internal struggles for power not yet
fully resolved.
But over the past few years we have seen a resurgence in Arab diplomacy by a few
countries in the region that have stood out in terms of their independence,
impact, and single-minded will to exert influence and advance their interests.
All four are important. In my view, three of these states are generally exerting
this diplomacy with a view toward a more stable and ultimately better region
while a fourth plays a spoiler role enabling some of the region's most
retrograde and destructive tendencies. I have dubbed these four states, after
the playing cards, three "Kings" – Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi
Arabia – and one "Joker" – Qatar – the troublemaker. These states, all of them
authoritarian hereditary monarchies, have undertaken policies and initiatives
for their own reasons and agendas and while I may disagree with some of these
policies, sometimes strongly, I can see the logic of what they are trying to do
as seen through their own eyes.
All four states are in a general sense "independent," in that they are motivated
almost entirely by purely internal self-interest and have been able to maneuver
successfully even when confronted with pressure from outside powers, including
the United States and the European Union.
Morocco under King Muhammad VI has been able to make major breakthroughs in
consolidating its hold over the Western Sahara region, getting Western
recognition for it, and has leveraged a combination of factors, including being
a "gatekeeper" for the EU, to gain the advantage over its neighbor Spain and
bitter rival Algeria. The fact that Morocco was also caught up in the "Qatargate"
scandal trying to influence Eurocrats only underscores its ambitions. This is a
country that is playing its diplomatic cards very well despite lacking the oil
riches of the other three states.
The UAE has perhaps been the most able player for some years now in the region
in combining soft and hard power to advance its interests. It is a player
throughout the region, from Libya and Sudan to Yemen to Syria. I am no partisan
for the odious Assad regime but one can understand the logic of the UAE seeking
to bring the regime in Damascus back into the Arab fold in order to blunt Iran's
ambitions. Whether this can actually work is another question but one can only
respect the breadth of their ambition. The UAE has worked hard, and
successfully, to position itself even beyond the Middle East as a voice on
religious tolerance – see the Abrahamic Family House complex which came out of
the 2019 Document on Human Fraternity signed in Abu Dhabi – and on climate
change with the hosting of the COP28 climate change talks later this year.
Perhaps the biggest change in effective diplomacy has come from Saudi Arabia,
long an under performer that spent much in the past and got little to show for
it historically. Under the leadership of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman (MBS)
– much derided in the West but also underestimated – the Saudis seem to have
settled into an effective rhythm combing steps toward internal reform,
rebranding and marketing, and real diplomacy such as the recent comprehensive
security agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iraq.[1] Again, the effort to wean
strategically important Iraq away from Iranian tutelage may not ultimately work,
but it is smart politics to try to do so. Saudi Arabia's pledge at the recent
Davos World Economic Forum to end "unconditional" foreign aid that was often
wasted or counterproductive was also overdue. It certainly was a message that
needed to be heard in places like Ramallah and Beirut, traditional Saudi money
black holes.[2]
The Saudis in 2022 also showed their hardball diplomatic and media chops during
the visit of President Joe Biden and in having Turkey's Erdoğan also come hat in
hand to Riyadh after years of Turkish provocations against the Kingdom (and
against the UAE and Egypt).[3] It is the Americans that have had to tone down
and adapt their policies on Saudi Arabia and not the other way around.[4] Both
the Saudis and Emiratis have handled the tension involving the Russia-Ukraine
War and America's obsessions in that conflict rather well, not burning their
bridges with anyone. And, of course, in all three of these countries a new
approach toward Israel has been part of an independent and assertive foreign
policy. The UAE enthusiastically and openly and Morocco more gradually have
moved in that direction. And while Saudi Arabia has been more cautious and will
likely continue to be so, the trend towards better – for the time discrete and
indirect – relations with Israel is obvious as well.
As for Qatar, the wild card in the bunch, it has also been very successful in
its diplomacy, to the detriment of peace and stability in the region. Their
priorities have consisted in enabling the Taliban and Islamist political and
terrorist groups, fronting for Erdogan and for Iran while at the same time
finding ways to seem to be useful to the West, in a way serving simultaneously
as both arsonist and fireman. Here Qatar is motivated not so much by a national
interest but by an overriding ideological one – Islamism – which differentiates
it from the three other states in both its worldview, agenda, and in the
destructive and destabilizing nature of its policies.
Qatar is in a sense the oldest when it comes to its policies. Its predictable
support for Islamism goes back decades (indeed decades ago the Saudis and the
Emiratis, before radically altering their paths, used to support some of the
same extremists that the Qataris still embrace) and they are just continuing to
do what they have done before.
The new energy and the vision reside in the other three states where this new
assertiveness and clarity aims to extend and deepen its influence, change
conditions to benefit national interests and bring, if not reform (although
reform is essential) some sort of move toward stability and progress in a region
that has seen neither and still totters on the edge. All three are trying to do
things worth watching.
*Alberto M. Fernandez is Vice President of MEMRI.
[1] Shafaq.com/ar, accessed February 21, 2023.
[2] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10473, Lebanese Columnist: The Arab States
Have Given Up On Lebanon; They See It Was An Iranian Base Hostile To All The
Countries Of The Region, February 8, 2023.
[3] See MEMRI Daily Brief No. 396, Biden's Saudi Close-Up, July 11, 2022.
[4] Aawsat.com/home/article/4165276, February 18, 2023.
Real journalism asks tough questions
James J. Zogby/The Arab Weekly/February 21/2023
Just as Israel’s violence has not ended Palestinian resistance, neither has
Palestinian violence ended the occupation.
Too often both the Israeli and Arab press fail miserably in reporting on violent
acts in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Aspects of the recent press coverage
of murderous assaults by Israeli forces into Palestinian-populated areas and
deadly Palestinian attacks against Israelis have been particularly upsetting.
For example: on January 26th Israeli undercover units, arriving in milk trucks,
invaded Jenin, heavily-armed and firing their weapons. Palestinians responded
with gunfire. In the end ten Palestinians lay dead. Parroting Israeli military
disinformation, the press reported that the Israeli assault’s targets were
“terrorists” or a “ticking bomb” preparing an attack on Israelis. Israeli (and
American) journalists asked no questions and the case was closed. But what was
the evidence for this charge? How else could the alleged “terrorists” been
apprehended without a murderous assault putting civilian lives at risk? Instead,
journalists accepted that the only evidence needed, judge, jury and executioner,
were the words and bullets of the Israeli invaders.
The upsetting subtext is that Israel is currently holding over 800 Palestinians
as Administrative Detainees (AD), the highest number since the occupation began.
An AD is a Palestinian imprisoned without charge, evidence or the right to a
trial or a defence, with some held in this legal limbo for years. Palestinians
can be held after arrest without due process and referred to as “suspected
terrorists.” And when a Palestinian is killed, it is reported that the evidence
confirmed that the victim was indeed a terrorist. That is not journalism.
Nor is it journalism when the Israeli and American media simply report on the
Israeli military’s arrest of dozens of family members or the demolition of an
accused terror suspect’s home, as if these criminal acts of collective
punishment are normal and justifiable behaviour. They are not.
Arab reporting can be equally galling. After the deadly Jenin raid, a
Palestinian shot and killed seven Israelis in Neve Yaakov, a settlement east of
Jerusalem. Some Arab (and American “left”) media referred to these murders as
“an operation” or a “successful attack.” Similar upsetting language was used
after a deranged Palestinian rammed his car into Israelis waiting at a bus stop
and days later when two 13-year-olds attacked Israelis.
Again, when Hamas sent out desperate young men with bombs strapped to their
bodies to kill themselves and as many Israelis as possible, some media accounts
described these acts as “heroic” and “successful operations.” They were not.
Instead of celebrating these senseless acts as part of a strategy to liberate
Palestinians, journalists, especially those sympathetic to Palestinian
suffering, should ask what leads a young person to such anger and despair that
they are driven to suicidal behaviour and killing innocents.
Journalists who accept and use the terms “heroic” and “successful” to describe
senseless acts of murder are no better than their Israeli (and American
counterparts) who blindly echo the Israeli military “ticking bomb” line to
justify undercover murderous assaults or fail to question the legality and
morality of collective punishment.
I can already hear critics from both sides taking issue with this column.
Supporters of Israel will ask: how else can Israel deal with the threat of
terrorists? But they ignore the very real problems posed by extrajudicial
killings and collective punishment, the absence of due process to justify the
charges of “terrorist” or “ticking bomb,” the lack of any legal basis for wanton
violence and the inevitable result of bitterness and desire for revenge.
Similarly, apologists on the Arab side will justify the random attacks on
Israelis by arguing that their presence in Israel or especially in settlements
makes them legitimate targets. They will ask: how else can Palestinians make
Israel pay for its crimes? These arguments, like those of Israel’s apologists,
make no moral, legal nor political sense.
Just as Israel’s violence has not ended Palestinian resistance, neither has
Palestinian violence ended the occupation. If anything, this behaviour only
serve to intensify Israeli repression and Palestinian rage toward their
oppressors.
While this column will not alter the Israeli military’s brutish culture nor heal
the psychological wounds of an angry teenager with a knife, we can at least ask
journalists to use accurate language and ask the right questions when they cover
the tragic and deplorable deeds of both sides.
*Dr James J. Zogby is President of the Washington-based Arab American Institute.