Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 26-27/2023
The Hezbollah Curse
Elias Bejjani/July 26/2023
Hezbollah is a malignant cancer that is devourin Lebanon, the Lebanese, their state, institutions, identity, life style, identity, future and their destiny, freedom and rights.

Le Drian meets key Lebanese players to seek 'consensual solution'
Agence France Presse/July 26, 2023
French special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian met Wednesday with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, as he returns to Lebanon to help resolve divisions that have left the presidency vacant for nearly nine months. Later on Wednesday, Le Drian met with Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. On Tuesday, Le Drian had met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who said in a statement that the meeting was "good" and that "an opening has pierced through" Lebanon's power vacuum, without elaborating. Le Drian, on his second mission to Lebanon, gave no public statement after the meeting with Berri. Le Drian "is coming to present the results of the Doha meeting and his talks in Saudi Arabia," a French diplomatic source told AFP, referring to recent moves meant to encourage Lebanon to name a new president. "He will try to reconcile points of view and create favourable conditions for a consensual solution to emerge," the source added. Mired in a gruelling economic crisis since 2019, Lebanon has been governed by a caretaker cabinet for more than a year and without a president since late October. The French envoy is set to hold discussions with other political leaders during his three-day visit. Lebanese lawmakers failed 12 times to elect a successor to former president Michel Aoun amid bitter disputes between Hezbollah and its opponents. On July 17, representatives of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United States, France and Qatar gathered in Doha to discuss Lebanon, urging parliament to choose a president and politicians to "take immediate steps to break the impasse"."We discussed concrete options with respect to implementing measures against those who are blocking progress on this front," the statement said. Le Drian came to Lebanon last month for the first time as France's envoy, meeting key figures on a "consultative" mission to push for a solution to the protracted political deadlock. Multiple attempts spearheaded by Lebanon's former colonial ruler France to extricate the country from its woes have ended in failure.

September consultations: Possible breakthrough in Lebanon's impasse
Naharnet/July 26, 2023
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Wednesday after meeting French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian in Maarab that the French diplomat did not discuss presidential names with him. "We did not discuss new names," Geagea said, stressing that the talks are confidential. Speaker Nabih Berri who had met Le Drian on Tuesday also did not disclose what was discussed but revealed that the meeting was "good" and that "an opening has pierced through" Lebanon's power vacuum, without elaborating, while the Free Patriotic Movement revealed in a statement Le Drian's proposal. "Le Drian would return in September to restart consultations in order to agree on a presidential program before agreeing on an eligible candidate," the FPM said, adding that "successive parliamentary sessions would follow." Bassil responded positively to the proposal, the statement said. Le Drian had earlier met with Kataeb party leader Sami Gemayel. The latter did not give a clear answer regarding September's consultations, as he preferred to agree with the opposition on a unified position.

Geagea meets French presidential envoy in Maarab
NNA/July 26, 2023
“Lebanese Forces” party leader, Samir Geagea, on Wednesday welcomed at his Maarab residence French Presidential Envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, who visited him with an accompanying delegation, as well as French Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo. In the wake of the meeting, Geagea said that no new names of presidential candidates were proposed during the meeting. Regarding the French proposal, Geagea said responded, "It's best to ask the French about their proposal."

Le Drian proposes 5-nation-backed solution in talks with Bassil
Naharnet/July 26, 2023
French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian’s talks with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Wednesday were characterized by “positive honesty,” the FPM's media department said. “The French envoy proposed an idea backed by the five nations that had recently met in Doha, under which Le Drian would return in September to restart consultations, from square one and within a rapid and specific timeframe, in order to agree the presidential program that Lebanon needs,” the FPM added. The proposal does not alter Lebanon’s political system and there would be an agreement on “the candidate who is eligible to carry this vision, after which successive parliamentary sessions would be held to elect a president,” the FPM said in its statement. “The FPM chief responded positively to this proposal that represents a new approach for tackling the presidential juncture,” it added.

Frangieh holds “friendly, positive” meeting with Le Drian
NNA/July 26, 2023
Marada Movement leader, Sleiman Frangieh, on Wednesday held a"friendly and positive" meeting with French presidential envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, who visited him with an accompanying delegation. Also present at the meeting were French Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo, MP Frangieh, and former minister Rony Araiji. According to a statement issued by Frangieh's press office, the meeting covered various current issues, as well as an exchange of ideas and possible solutions to address the prevailing crises.

Makhzoumi meets Le Drian in Pine Palace
LBCI/July 26, 2023
MP Fouad Makhzoumi met on Wednesday night with French envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, at the Pine Palace. During the meeting, they discussed the presidential elections dossier.

Le Drian meets with MP Karameh
LBCI/July 26, 2023
After meeting with the French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, sources from MP Faisal Karameh's office clarified that they heard his proposal regarding consultations in September. They welcomed any invitation for consultation or dialogue specifically concerning the presidential elections dossier under the umbrella of the Taif Agreement. They emphasized to Le Drian that the solution starts with electing a president, but it is not the entire solution. It is a key part that must be followed by the appointment of a prime minister, the formation of a government, and the implementation of necessary economic and political reforms based on a clear economic plan. The sources also pointed out that they have taken a stance regarding the nomination of former Minister Sleiman Frangieh, which aligns with their convictions. "We can engage in consultation with an open heart and an extended hand based on our steadfast principles, the most important of which is reaching an agreement on the name of the future president without compromising the Taif Agreement," he concluded by saying.

Salameh to LBCI: Despite Differences with Deputies, Serving Lebanon Was Our Main Concern
LBCI/July 26, 2023
Banque Du Liban Governor Riyad Salameh Salameh told LBCI on Wednesday that the task of BDL deputies is to take charge of the institution after the end of his tenure. “I hope it remains resilient as it is. The crisis lies in the demands they presented to the government, and the Central Bank has nothing to do with the relationship between me and the deputies,” Salameh said during an interview with LBCI’s Hiwar al-Marhala talk show. He also voiced appreciation and respect for BDL deputies, adding that they formed a coherent team for three years.
“Despite our differences, our main concern was serving Lebanon. Today, we are at a crossroads as there is no appointment of a new governor,” he added. On another note, Salameh stressed that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased to 55 billion dollars and that the deposits in the banking sector have risen to over 170 million dollars during his two terms. “On July 31st, my two terms will come to an end, and this matter is settled,” he confirmed. Meanwhile, Salameh noted that no one practices dictatorship in the BDL Central Council, adding however that the first significant reform involves ruling out the possibility of borrowing money from BDL. “BDL managed, through Sayrafa, to be the main player in the money market and to control it,” he added. The BDL governor stressed that the economy benefited from Sayrafa platform, adding that the month of June was the best month in the economic movement since 2013, according to a study by a bank. As for the deputies’ project to create an alternative platform other than Sayrafa, Salameh stressed that establishing a platform without the intervention of the Banque du Liban takes time. “BDL must remain in the market because there is no offer for the dollar, but rather a demand that threatens the lira,” he continued. “I do not want to cancel Sayrafa, as it has made the central bank a major player in the market, and the difference between Sayrafa and the market, which has become about 8%, is in Lebanese pounds,” he stressed.
“All the talk about that we can manipulate the exchange rate in the market is baseless. The market has confidence in my words, and when I say that I will intervene, then the exchange rate will change,” he noted. On another note, Salameh stressed that they have done everything that the International Monetary Fund asked of them, starting with auditing the assets of the Banque du Liban and passing through the implementation of banking reform. "Some do not want to agree with the fund," he stressed. This as Salameh noted that BDL wants to reconstitute the deposits, and they did not allow the banks to go bankrupt because of the deposits. “Everyone who attacked us did not propose any project, and we want to keep the liquidity for the Banque du Liban, and will not evade our responsibilities,” he added. “The deficit in the trade balance is historical because we do not have natural resources and exports, and we want the dollar to be accessible to everyone, and this is what happened,” he noted.
The governor explained that the existing gap is worth $71 billion, adding that there must be an approach to study deposits that can be paid in dollars and those that can be paid in Lebanese lira. “In a few days, I will turn a page in my life, and the first serious reform steps will begin with canceling the possibility of the state borrowing from the Banque du Liban,” Salameh noted. Salameh noted that there are 20 billion US dollars that the state borrowed from Banque du Liban, in addition to 54 trillion Lebanese pounds, and 16 billion dollars, adding that these are not losses for the BDL.
In response to Bassil, Salameh said that if it was true that they were doing a "Ponzi scheme" they would not have been able to preserve the market. “They cling to slogans to convince people that Riad Salameh was the one who stole them, but they were shocked that the Banque du Liban is still steadfast,” he noted.
Salameh noted that the leaks that occurred, especially from the judiciary abroad, showed that a group that targeted him for certain reasons was behind them.  “This group assigned a lawyer who was not honest in his report,” he added. Salameh stressed that there are no “Fawry” amounts in the Banque du Liban, and neither he nor Marian Howayek have anything to do with them. The governor noted that he did not appear before the French judiciary as Marianne Howayek did, because he was not duly notified. “The lawyer in France asked Judge Aude Buresi to duly notify me, but she refused and requested the issuance of an international arrest warrant against me,” Salameh noted. Salameh said that he gave a lot to Lebanon, and do not hold himself responsible for the collapse, as they want to turn him into a scapegoat. "I refuse to personalize the Central Bank in Riad Salameh, which financed the state and did not spend the money," he concluded by saying.

Shura Council rejects govt. request for spending from BDL foreign reserves
Naharnet/July 26, 2023
The State Shura Council has rejected the government’s request for borrowing from the Central Bank’s foreign currency reserves, after the bank’s vice governors demanded a legal cover for any such expenditure, media reports said on Wednesday. According to al-Akhbar newspaper, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has told Central Bank First Vice Governor Wassim Mansouri that if the government failed to name a new governor it would submit to parliament a draft law for legalizing the monthly use of around $200 million from the Central Bank’s obligatory reserves. The funds would be exclusively used in the Sayrafa transactions related to the salaries of the public sector employees and the law would be valid for a period ranging from three to six months, the daily said.

Mikati meets BDL vice-governors at Grand Serail
Agence France Presse/July 26, 2023
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met Wednesday morning with central bank vice-governors, Wassim Mansouri, Bashir Yakzan, Salim Chahine and Alexander Mouradian, in an attempt to find a solution to a looming leadership crisis at the central bank. Minister of Finance Youssef Khalil, who attended the meeting, said that so far the vice-governors are not inclined to resign. On Tuesday, Mikati met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh and Berri stressed "the need to hold a Cabinet session to appoint a new Central Bank governor."Lebanon, which has no president and is ruled by a caretaker government, might also have to go without a central bank chief from next week, if no successor is named for the embattled bank governor, Riad Salameh, 73, who steps down after three decades at the helm at the end of July. "We need to appoint a central bank governor, in consultation with all political parties," Deputy premier Saade Chami said, noting however that "conditions are not ready for a new governor to be appointed within a week". "There is no other option but for the vice-governors to assume their responsibilities under these circumstances," he said, adding that Salameh's mandate will not be extended. Lebanon has been mired in a painful economic crisis since 2019 that has seen its currency lose around 98 percent of its value against the dollar and pushed most of the population into poverty. Salameh has been a central figure of the political elite that is widely blamed for the crisis. He has been the subject of judicial investigations at home and abroad into allegations including embezzlement, money laundering, fraud and illicit enrichment, charges he denies. Once hailed as the guardian of Lebanon's financial stability, Salameh is now wanted by France and Germany in connection with alleged financial irregularities.
Lebanon, however, does not extradite its citizens. Now his departure is set to create the latest high-level power vacuum that could plunge the country into further disarray. Earlier this month, the central bank's four vice-governors said they planned to resign unless politicians swiftly name an incoming governor.
'Experts in wasting time' -
Lebanon's central bank governor is named by cabinet decree for a six-year mandate that can be renewed multiple times, based on the finance minister's recommendation. If the position is vacant, the law stipulates that the first vice-governor take over. "They have some demands, they are asking for the government and parliament's support to continue their work," he said. A senior central bank official told AFP this month that the vice-governors did not want to take the blame for Lebanon's economic collapse "while the political class continues to buy time". Despite the severe meltdown, Lebanese leaders have failed to enact all the reforms required by international lenders to unlock billions of dollars needed to save the economy. Chami, who also heads Lebanon's International Monetary Fund negotiation team, said the vice-governors have also called for Beirut to enact much-needed reforms. Last month, the IMF warned that Lebanon's failure to implement reforms could have "irreversible" consequences and further jeopardise economic and social stability. Chami said about the reform demands that, "the more we delay, the harder finding a solution will be," adding that "we have become experts in wasting time". "We are facing a crisis that has been worsening for the past 30 years," he said. "We really need bold decisions and courage from the decision-makers."

Govt. to discuss BDL chief candidates as Mikati rules out Salameh extension
Naharnet/July 26, 2023
A Cabinet session scheduled for Thursday will discuss the possibility of appointing a new Central Bank governor, media reports said. “The session will be held and the Shiite Duo ministers will secure quorum, but there might not be consensus on any candidate,” Annahar newspaper reported on Wednesday. According to the daily, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will propose the following candidates: ex-ministers Camille Abousleiman and Mansour Bteish; the bankers Samir Assaf, Karim Soaid and Joseph Tarabay; Presidency Director-General Antoine Choucair; and Naim Abou Jaoude -- the CEO of Candriam Investors Group and Chairman of New York Life Investment Management. Sources close to Mikati meanwhile told Annahar that extending Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh’s term is “totally out of the question.”“All the ongoing deliberations are not tackling extension,” the sources added.

Justice Ministry says to seek naming BDL interim director
Naharnet/July 26, 2023
The Justice Ministry announced Wednesday that it is preparing to submit to the State Shura Council a request for naming an interim director for the Central Bank, days before the expiry of the term of long-serving Governor Riad Salameh. The Ministry said its move comes “in light of the developments that might arise over the next two days, to avoid any vacuum in the Central Bank’s governor post and to secure the proper functioning of the financial and monetary facility.”As per Lebanese laws, the bank’s first vice governor assumes the governor’s duties should the post become vacant for any reason. But according to media reports, First Vice Governor Wassim Mansouri is inclined to resign prior to Salameh’s departure amid ambiguity over the stance of the other three vice governors.

Minister Halabi meets World Bank delegation
LBCI/July 26, 2023
Caretaker Minister of Education Abbas Halabi met on Wednesday with the World Bank mission, led by Fadia Saadé, Director of Human Development for the Middle East and North Africa region. The meeting was attended by the Director-General of Education, Imad Ashkar, and the ministry's team, Professor Hiyam Isaac, Head of the Educational Research and Development Center, Jihad Saliba, Curriculum Committee Coordinator and ministry advisors. Halabi was briefed on the World Bank's readiness to assist the ministry in professionalizing education and building human resources for teachers. This is especially true as the World Bank has been closely following the reforms undertaken by the ministry and has reviewed its comprehensive plan for the upcoming phase, monitoring the progress of reforms, transparency, and expenditures.

Moawad from Diman: Appointing new BDL governor is double violation of constitution
LBCI/July 26, 2023
Head of the Independence Movement MP Michel Moawad visited Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai at the summer patriarchal seat in Diman, accompanied by Edouard Tayoun. Moawad clarified that the visit is part of their periodic coordination meetings to discuss Lebanon's latest political, economic, and social developments. He emphasized that the only way to restore order to the state is to elect a new President for the Republic. "All the patchwork and fake dialogues they engage in are not aimed at building a sovereign state with effective institutions, addressing people's issues, recovering their funds, reducing emigration and poverty, but rather at normalizing the void to impose a submissive president and to control and dominate the state and national decisions," he added. Moawad warned against "appointing a new governor for the Central Bank of Lebanon," considering it a double violation of the constitution and partnership, encroaching on the powers of the President of the Republic.""As per the law, any new governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon must take an oath before the President before assuming their duties, especially during a presidential void," he continued. "They have established, through successive dialogue tables over the years, a feudal administration of the country at the expense of the constitution and the establishment of a state of law and institutions, which we will not accept to cover or continue," he added. "We extended our hand as the opposition to reach a presidential solution when I withdrew my candidacy as a candidate representing the opposition with a Christian majority and strong national support for a comprehensive sovereignty and reform project," he stressed. Moawad said that when they accepted to support a neutral compromise candidate, Jihad Azour, in coordination with independent and other parties from the authority, they responded to this proposal with denigration, turning the consensus candidate into a confrontational one, which confirms that they only seek to dominate the state, its institutions, national decisions, and Lebanon's identity." "Let them be reassured this will not happen, and we will not yield," he concluded by saying.

Electricité du Liban Faces Revenue Woes: Syrian Refugee Camps' Unpaid Electricity Usage
LBCI/July 26, 2023
In its pursuit of revenue enhancement, Electricité du Liban (EDL) faces a reality that constitutes a part and a cause of Lebanon's revenue collection problem. The reality is the electricity utilization by Syrian refugee camps without payment to the Electricité du Liban. During field visits, it was observed that some camps benefit from the electricity supply without paying for it, using illegal encroachments.  Others make payments to the landowners on which the camps are built. The third model involves the installation of meters by Electricité du Liban in around 900 camps without clarity on who will bear the expenses of these meters and the payment mechanism. Despite being in communication for over a month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has not fully cooperated with the institution. The UNHCR proposed deducting a portion of the assistance funds each refugee or Syrian family receives as a contribution towards their electricity expenses. Still, the suggestion and subsequent meetings and correspondence have yet to yield results so far. Electricité du Liban directed five requests and inquiries to the UNHCR, including: Providing a list of UNHCR staff responsible for each camp. Supplying a list of employees who can coordinate with camp authorities and Electricité du Liban teams for collecting electricity consumption bills. Proposing a secure mechanism for invoicing and bill collection. Identifying the ownership of the land where each camp is located and whether it belongs to the state or individuals. If it belongs to individuals, have the electricity consumption bills been paid? The UNHCR has only responded to one of the five questions, prompting Caretaker Minister of Energy Walid Fayyad to send a second message to the UNHCR requesting answers to all questions and Electricité du Liban's inquiries.

Memorandum of Understanding between the Association of North Lebanon Merchants and the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Beirut
NNA/July 26, 2023
On 26 July 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding was concluded between the North Lebanon Merchants Association and the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Beirut in the field of trade.
The North Lebanon Merchants Association
was represented by the President of the Association Asaad Al Hariri, and the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Beirut was represented by His Excellency Ambassador Hajriyanto Y. Thohar.
This MoU aims to enhance cooperation and develop relations between the two parties with regard to trade and facilitation of commercial activities.
1. Objectives:
This MoU aims to strengthen and develop trade and cooperation relations between the association's members and Indonesian companies interested in dealing with the North Lebanon region, by facilitating trade exchange, increasing the volume of investment, and promoting products and services in a legal manner.
2. Mutual Commitments:
2.1 The members of the Association are committed to encourage and facilitate the visit of Indonesian trade delegations to the stores that fall under the association's members registrations.
2.2 The Embassy facilitates the issuance of the visa through helping in the process of the application to the members of the association with the sponsoring offices without guaranteeing the issuance of the visa.
2.3 The Embassy facilitates the requests for permits and licenses necessary to facilitate trade procedures from the relevant institutions by connecting the members of the association with the institutions and bodies entitled to issue these licenses without guaranteeing the results.
2.4 The North Lebanon Merchants Association is committed to help the Economic Affairs Section at the Embassy to spread the information related to Trade, Tourism, and Investment among the members. The Embassy also will inform the Association for the latest news and information that need to be spread.
3. Meetings:
3.1 Periodic meetings will be organised between the members of the Association and Indonesian companies to discuss business opportunities and exchange information and experiences.
3.2 Joint trade fairs might be organised by the Association and the Embassy to display products and promote bilateral trade.
4. Privacy and Confidentiality:
The parties are obligated to maintain the confidentiality of commercial information, contracts and other documents related to the agreement and not to disclose them to third parties without prior written consent. This clause excludes any government entity in Indonesia and the Embassy is always able to report any documents to the Central Government of the Republic of Indonesia and its entities.
5. Duration and Cancellation:
This agreement is valid for a period of one year from the date of its signature, and it is renewable automatically, unless one of the parties wishes to cancel it by giving a written notice three months before the date of termination of the agreement.
The two parties have agreed to conform to the above terms and joint cooperation to increase trade volume and strengthen bilateral relations. Both the Association and the Embassy carry a copy of this agreement which was signed in English.

Berri broaches developments with MP Chamoun, welcomes Qatari and German Ambassadors
NNA/July 26, 2023
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Wednesday welcomed at his Ain al-Tineh residence, Qatari Ambassador to Lebanon, Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz al-Sahlawi, who paid him a farewell visit marking the end of his diplomatic mission in Lebanon.
Berri then received MP Camille Douri Chamoun, with whom he discussed the country’s general situation, and the latest political developments.
The House Speaker also had an audience with German Ambassador to Lebanon, Andreas Kindl.

WB delegation informs Economy Minister about bank’s official approval of GATE food security project
NNA /July 26, 2023
Caretaker Minister of Economy and Trade, Amin Salam, on Wednesday welcomed a World Bank delegation, which relayed to him the official approval of the Bank's Board of Directors of the food security project. This project aims to enhance food security in Lebanon through agriculture, alternative energy, and irrigation projects (GATE). The meeting reportedly discussed the future steps and the role of relevant ministries in making this project a success, especially the role of the Ministry of Economy and Trade. The conferees agreed to give the necessary impetus to this vital project to contribute to rebuilding the national economy.

United by Beirut blast grief, William and Maria vow to fight for justice
Agence France Presse/July 26, 2023
William Noun and Maria Fares were united by loss after a devastating blast ripped through Lebanon's capital three years ago. Now engaged, the couple pledge to keep fighting for justice. As they prepare to take their wedding vows, Noun and Fares, both 28, sit at his family's house in the hills northeast of Beirut, surrounded by photographs of Noun's brother who perished in the tragedy. "Ours won't be a normal wedding," said Noun, who is set to marry Fares in September. "Many people lose their siblings... but the difference is that we don't even know why we lost them, and that they died together," he said.
Joe Noun and Fares's sister Sahar were among 10 firefighters sent to their deaths when a blaze broke out at a warehouse at Beirut's port on August 4, 2020. What followed was one of the world's biggest non-nuclear explosions, which killed more than 220 people, injured at least 6,500 and wreaked destruction on swathes of the capital. Families of those killed have been fighting for justice ever since, with Noun one of the key figures in the campaign. But three years on, political pressure and legal hurdles have stalled and buried the investigation into the cause of the explosion. Fighting back tears, Fares said she was "unable to think about how the wedding day will go"."It's very hard, knowing that your sister won't be next to you."
'Our promise'
Authorities said a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate fertiliser kept haphazardly in a port warehouse for years caught fire and detonated. Despite the scale of the destruction, no one has yet been held accountable, and the cause of the fire has not been officially determined. Noun and Fares first met in 2020 during a therapy session for the siblings of firefighters killed in the blast. Overwhelmed with grief at the time, they only got to know each other later. Noun said he wished they had met under different circumstances, but had found in Fares someone who shared "the same pain". Their engagement "shows our faith: despite everything that happened, we still have the will to live, and we can still go on", said Noun, who runs a family restaurant in their town. Fares described her sister -- a paramedic with the firefighters -- as someone who loved life. "We've been thinking of ways to make their presence felt with us on the wedding day, maybe with a flower or a picture," she said. The couple are committed not only to each other, but also to fighting for justice following the explosion. "We insist on reaching the truth," said Noun, who has an image of his brother in a firefighter's helmet tattooed onto his forearm.
"This is our promise and it will grow after we marry." But he also acknowledged the pair would have to "try to separate our private lives from the investigation".
Otherwise "we will spend our whole lives crying".
'Need to know
The investigation into the blast has been repeatedly stalled, in a country split along sectarian lines and known for its history of official impunity. A slew of political and legal challenges have beleaguered the probe since its early days, with high-level officials filing lawsuits against the investigating judge who had charged them. In a surprise move, judge Tarek Bitar said in January he had resumed his probe after a 13-month hiatus. But Lebanon's top prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat retaliated by releasing the detainees in the case and charging Bitar with "usurping power". To Noun, "the struggle for justice is harder than the explosion itself". The activist, known for his outspokenness, was arrested briefly in January after throwing stones at Beirut's justice palace during a protest and threatening on television to "blow up" the building. Those responsible for the blast are "people who have been in power for years and who have money, weapons... and influence" over the judiciary, he charged. "We only have justice on our side," said Noun. Outside a small stone chapel that the family has built in Joe Noun's memory, a statue bears his likeness. Inside, photos and items including his firefighter's uniform are on display. With the local probe stalled, victims' families and rights groups have been urging the United Nations to create an independent fact-finding mission into the explosion. "We need to know what happened on August 4," said Noun.Fares said she had faith her sister and others did not die in vain, and that their deaths would represent a turning point for Lebanon.
She would keep pursuing her fight for justice, "even if it takes time, even if obstacles are placed in our way".

Lebanese Alzheimer’s patient kills wife while she sleeps
Arab News/July 26, 2023
BEIRUT: A man shot and killed his wife in the early hours of Wednesday while she slept in Chabtine in the Batroun district of northern Lebanon. Preliminary investigations revealed that the killer is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The initial probe found that Georges Noon, 66, used a rifle to shoot his wife, Eline Sassine, 65, around 2 a.m. on Wednesday. He also fired shots in other parts of the house. Witnesses said he cried beside her, the victim’s body covered in blood. He told neighbors: “Look what I’ve done. Call the Red Cross.” Observers expressed profound shock at the incident, ruling out any premeditated motive for the crime. Noon suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, along with other illnesses. He used to work at Liban Cables before his retirement. The couple had a daughter and a son, and there seemed to be no marital disputes between them. The security forces transported the victim’s body to hospital in Batroun, while Noon was taken to Batroun Police Station for questioning. Chabtine Mayor Antoine Abboud said: “The man did not intentionally kill his wife. The man suffers from a mental illness; he is unaware of what he has done.”Most Lebanese families with relatives suffering from Alzheimer’s take care of them at home. According to the Alzheimer’s Association Lebanon: “Dementia affects more than 7 percent of Lebanon’s population, which is higher than the global prevalence rate. “As the disease progresses, dementia patients require more care and attention, placing a burden on the caregivers, often expected to be younger relatives, impacting their mental and psychological health, family life, livelihood, and financial security.” Dr. Georges Karam, head of the association, said that in Lebanon there was a widespread belief that older adults, especially those suffering from dementia, were no longer aware and should stay at home without any activity, even as their physical and mental health deteriorated over time. The country has about 30 elderly care centers linked to the Ministry of Health, some of which specifically cater to those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s. The centers are predominantly operated by social institutions affiliated to Lebanon’s various sects, while others are private operations either located within hospitals, or stand-alone facilities. During the Middle East and North Africa Regional Conference of Alzheimer’s Disease, which was held in Beirut in 2019, a study projected that the number of sufferers worldwide could reach 153 million by 2050. The projected increase is considered to be mainly attributed to global population growth, aging demographics, and risk factors such as smoking, obesity, high blood sugar, and low education.

Lebanese must be allowed to build, preserve and prosper
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/July 26, 2023
Videos and images of wild summer parties are flowing through social media. Yet the ones that have been most talked about are not from Ibiza, Mykonos or Saint-Tropez but from Beirut. These clips have foreigners wondering how this works. How, in a country in full crisis and a state of disintegration, can there be concerts, entertainment and fun? There are several answers, all of which tell us about Lebanon and its people. A funny post of a Lebanese comedian holding a board stating, “I hope the IMF does not see Lebanese social media,” hit the nail on the head better than any of us commentators could manage. This references the fact that, if the International Monetary Fund were to see the posts, it would surely cancel any aid or support to Lebanon, as they project happiness and prosperity. The reality is that the disintegrating government and its tyranny and corruption do not represent the Lebanese. They have, in turn, learned to live and bypass it to find solutions in the face of its ruthlessness. Whether it is for electricity, healthcare, business or security, they count on themselves and not the useless national institutions. In these images, there are undoubtedly the hands of many of the Lebanese diaspora that come back to visit their home country during the summer and inject hard currency into the economy. The local food and beverage scene has become dependent on them, just like the entire economy, with remittances being the most important pillar and, for many homes, their only source of revenue. This is the true contradiction. A country of entrepreneurs, of creators, is reduced to a state of dependency. And so, if we dig down, there is the true, sad story of Lebanon. A large majority has reached an unprecedented level of poverty, while the figures for starvation have become even more alarming. Many Arab friends who have seen these party videos shared their views with me by stating that one cannot bring down the Lebanese. Despite the troubles, the insecurity and the political disintegration of their country, they still have a spark and want to enjoy life and live it to the full. They also continue to talk about how, no matter how many times the country is destroyed, they will rebuild and continue with their daily lives. And this is the true problem; it is not that they are dancing while the country is burning and, let’s face it, ignorance (or denial) is bliss. It is that they accept building on rotten ground; they accept the dirty political system; they accept the dirty occupation. One after the other and throughout history. This is what needs to change.
These contradictions have always been there. And, in all transparency, it is not the fact that Lebanon lights up during summer that shocks me. It is that we still have a character like Hassan Nasrallah come out on television, shake his finger and threaten the population and the stability of the country. This was very symbolic in the summer of 2006, when we had the Lebanese enjoying their lives on the one side and tensions building up and Nasrallah threatening stability on the other. This is the true contradiction in Lebanon. The occupiers want an archaic vision of unnecessary martyrdom for the country, while most Lebanese want to live. This is further proof that Lebanon is de facto not a viable centralized state and therefore needs a new political system. Each community needs to make its own decisions. I have always been a supporter of the federal system for Lebanon, though many criticize it as a ploy by part of the Christian community to destroy the country. As a Sunni, I also think it is the needed solution, maybe for different reasons. I see it as the best way to put our community in front of its responsibilities, take charge and decide if we want to follow the path of darkness or of enlightenment. It is a struggle the Lebanese Sunni need to face, and no one can do it for them. As long as we have the current system, it will empower the bad and the violent. Moreover, regarding these accusations against the Christians, we need to ask why Lebanon was different to Syria or any other country in the Levant? The truth is that, without the Christian community and the efforts it put into education and enlightenment at a time when the Middle East was still sleeping after the Ottomans had left, there would be no Lebanon. Lebanon was and still is its own contradiction within the Levant region. However, the qualities that made Lebanon different and the Lebanese a special breed of creative entrepreneur that is successful in many fields are disappearing. This richness of culture mixing together was the spark of creativity. Now, unfortunately, it is disappearing. There is no way the country can be saved in its current status, so the Christians, as all others, should have the right to try and protect this heritage. The reality is that the disintegrating government and its tyranny and corruption do not represent the Lebanese. It is well known that, even during the terrible years of the civil war, the Lebanese still knew how to live and enjoy life. But it is now high time to build, preserve and prosper, not dance on the rubble and rebuild fading copies of what Lebanon can and should be. A federal system is the right path to this; even if the delivery might be painful, it is the only way forward. Let each community face down their leaders, hold them accountable and refuse their trading games with the occupier and their business acolytes. It is time for a cleanup to revive the country before it is too late.
*Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of Barbicane, a space-focused investment syndication platform. He is chief executive of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 26-27/2023
Canada/A look at who is in — and who is out — of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet
OTTAWA/The Canadian Press/Wed, July 26, 2023
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet will have seven new faces, after dropping the same number of ministers from his bench on Wednesday.
Here's who's in:
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree: A human-rights lawyer, Anandasangaree represents Scarborough-Rogue Park in the Greater Toronto Area and was first elected in 2015. Anandasangaree previously served as the parliamentary secretary to the outgoing minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, Marc Miller.
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech: First elected as an MP for Burnaby North-Seymour in 2015, Beech most recently served as the parliamentary secretary to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. He has also served as a parliamentary secretary to ministers of fisheries, economic development and official languages. His portfolio is brand-new.
Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada: Before entering federal politics, Martinez Ferrada was involved with municipal politics for more than 10 years, serving as a city councillor for Saint-Michel. She was a chief of staff for the City of Montreal's executive committee and a senior advisor to the minister of Canadian heritage. In 2019, she was elected in her Montreal riding of Hochelaga, and has served as parliamentary secretary to ministers of transport and immigration. She is also taking on responsibility for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec.
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya'ara Saks: A long-time community advocate, Saks was first elected in York Centre in a 2020 byelection and has served as the parliamentary secretary to the families minister. Before entering politics, Saks owned and directed a Toronto-based mental health charity: Trauma Practice for Healthy Communities. She is also becoming the associate minister of health.
Families Minister Jenna Sudds: The rookie MP's new ministerial assignment is the latest promotion in her meteoric rise in politics. She joined the federal Liberal campaign in 2021 while taking on her first term on Ottawa's city council. Before she joined politics, Sudds was the founding president of the Kanata North Business Association, representing Canada's largest tech park.
Justice Minister and Attorney General Arif Virani: Virani first came to Canada as a Ugandan Asian refugee when he was a child. He had a law career focused on human rights before entering federal politics in 2015 as the member for Parkdale-High Park in Toronto. He was also one of the founders of the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario. Virani worked on the Liberal government's justice file as the parliamentary secretary to outgoing minister David Lametti.
Minister of Small Business Rechie Valdez: The first Filipino woman elected as a member of Parliament, the rookie MP is a former television personality and advocate. Valdez serves Mississauga-Streetsville in the Greater Toronto Area. She has been a member of various parliamentary committees and associations, including the House veterans affairs committee and the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association.
Here's who's out:
Omar Alghabra: The transportation minister announced he would not run for re-election and resigned his seat in cabinet Tuesday. Alghabra was initially elected as an MP in 2006, but lost his seat in 2008. He returned to the House of Commons in 2015 and served as parliamentary secretary on several files before taking over the transportation file — and the government's response to pandemic travel woes — in 2021.
Carolyn Bennett: The longtime Liberal was first elected to the House of Commons in 1997 after working as a family physician and an associate professor at the University of Toronto. In response to the 2003 SARS outbreak, Bennett oversaw the establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada and the appointment of Canada's first chief public health officer as the minister for the state of public health. She also served as minister of Crown-Indigenous relations and, most recently, mental health and addictions minister. She announced Monday she does not intend to run for re-election.
Mona Fortier: The Ottawa-area MP was the first and only minister for middle-class prosperity before she was appointed president of the Treasury Board in 2021. She was responsible for negotiating a new contract with public servants in May during one of the largest strikes in Canadian history.
Helena Jaczek: Jaczek was promoted to the procurement minister's post less than a year ago but says she's not planning to run in the next election. She served in the Ontario legislature as health minister and social services minister before successfully running against former Liberal cabinet minister Jane Philpott in 2019 for a federal seat.
David Lametti: Lametti took over as justice minister and attorney general from Jody Wilson-Raybould in 2019, just as the office erupted into turmoil. Shortly after he took over the job, allegations surfaced that the prime minister put undue pressure on Wilson-Raybould in what would come to be known as the SNC-Lavalin affair. Lametti was a law professor at McGill University for 20 years before entering politics.
Marco Mendicino: The former federal prosecutor served as immigration minister before taking over public safety in 2021. He juggled several challenging and contentious files, including the Afghan refugee crisis, gun control, the response to "Freedom Convoy" protests and foreign interference. He most recently came under fire for his office's handling of the transfer of convicted killer Paul Bernardo from maximum- to medium-security prison, sparking calls for his resignation from the Opposition.
Joyce Murray: Murray served in the British Columbia cabinet before she was elected federally, and served as digital government minister and president of the Treasury Board before taking over the fisheries file. She announced Tuesday that she plans to retire from politics after the next election.

Iran gives 'detailed answers' to UN inspectors over 2 sites where manmade uranium particles found
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)/Wed, July 26, 2023
Iran said Wednesday it gave new details to the United Nations about two sites near Tehran that inspectors say bore traces of manmade uranium, part of a wider probe as tensions remain high over the Islamic Republic's advancing program. The comments by Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran's civilian nuclear program, come as Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers remains in tatters and as Tehran enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Resolving questions from the International Atomic Energy Agency could see Iran avoid further censure as an October deadline approaches that would lift international restrictions on its ballistic missile program as well. Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Eslami said Iran had sent “detailed answers” to the International Atomic Energy Agency. “If those answers are not accepted and there are any ambiguities or doubts, as we have always said, we will clarify and revise the documents,” Eslami said in comments carried by state television. “We are now in that phase now, and we have given the IAEA more evidence and documents and will give more so that it can move past this issue.” The Vienna-based IAEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. However, Eslami's comments mark a change in tone as Iran has limited inspections, held surveillance footage and taken years to respond to the IAEA after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal in 2018.
Eslami did not name the sites, though the IAEA has identified them as Turquzabad and Varamin just outside of Tehran. At Varamin, the IAEA in a March report said that inspectors believe Iran used the site from 1999 until 2003 as a pilot project to process uranium ore and convert it into a gas form, which then can be enriched through spinning in a centrifuge. The IAEA said buildings at the site had been demolished in 2004. Tehran insists its program is peaceful, though the West and the IAEA say Iran had an organized military nuclear program until 2003.
Turquzabad is where the IAEA believes Iran took some of the material at Varamin amid the demolition, though it said that alone cannot “explain the presence of the multiple types of isotopically altered particles” found there. In 2018, the site became known publicly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed it at the United Nations and called it a clandestine nuclear warehouse hidden at a rug-cleaning plant. Iran denied that, though IAEA inspectors later found the manmade uranium particles there. The IAEA said in May it no longer had questions about a third questioned site called Marivan near Abadeh in southern Iran. In recent months, Iran has pledged to restore cameras and other monitoring equipment at its nuclear sites. That's as Iran's economy has cratered under international sanctions over its program. Meanwhile, Iran likely wants to avoid any dispute at the IAEA as U.N. restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program are scheduled to lift on Oct. 18. Those restrictions call on Iran “

Iranian chess player who removed hijab gets Spanish citizenship
MADRID (Reuters)/July 26, 2023
An Iranian chess player who moved to Spain in January after she competed without a hijab and had an arrest warrant issued against her at home has been granted Spanish citizenship, Spain said on Wednesday. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, better known as Sara Khadem, took part in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships held in Kazakhstan in late December without the headscarf that is mandatory under Iran's strict Islamic dress codes. Laws enforcing mandatory hijab-wearing became a flashpoint during the unrest that swept Iran when a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, died in the custody of the morality police in mid-September. The 26-year-old has told Reuters she had no regrets over her gesture in support of the protest movement against her country's clerical leadership. Spain's official gazette said the cabinet approved granting Khadem citizenship on Tuesday "taking into account the special circumstances" of her case.

Palestinian man killed by Israeli troops during arrest raid in West Bank
Associated Press/July 26, 2023
A Palestinian man was killed by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the latest bloodshed in one of the most violent stretches of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years. Israeli forces entered the Al-Ein refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus and arrested a man suspected of shooting at an Israeli bus earlier this week, Palestinian media reported. During the incident, Mohammed Nada, 23, was shot in the chest and later died of his wounds, the Palestinian health ministry said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Wednesday's incident came a day after Israeli troops killed three Palestinian gunmen who opened fire on soldiers near Nablus. Israeli-Palestinian fighting has surged in the occupied West Bank, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians seek the territory, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, for a hoped-for future state. In recent months, the West Bank has witnessed a volatile mix of the rise of local armed Palestinian groups carrying out frequent shooting attacks against Israelis and near-daily Israeli military raids that have increasingly turned deadly. Earlier this month, Israel's most forceful incursion into the West Bank in nearly two decades killed 12 Palestinians — at least 8 of them militants — and one Israeli soldier.Late Monday, Palestinian militants said they opened fire at a bus carrying Israeli settlers near the Palestinian town of Hawara, just south of Nablus, without causing casualties. The Israeli military said it was setting up checkpoints to search for the suspects. A little-known armed group from the area calling itself the "Dawn Brigade" claimed responsibility for the shooting. So far this year, over 161 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank — the highest death toll in over a decade. Around half of them were affiliated with militant groups and killed in fighting during Israeli military raids, but stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions as well as innocent bystanders have also been killed. Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis have killed at least 25 people this year.

Erdogan meets Palestinian president, Hamas leader Haniyeh
ANKARA (Reuters)/Wed, July 26, 2023
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas together with Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Ankara on Wednesday, Erdogan's office said. Abbas is paying a visit to Turkey and had previously met with Erdogan on Tuesday. Abbas and Haniyeh have been unable to repair a rift since 2007, when Hamas, which opposes peace deals with Israel, seized control of the Gaza Strip. Abbas' Western-backed Palestinian Authority remains dominant in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. On Tuesday, Abbas agreed with Haniyeh, who currently resides between Qatar and Turkey, to hold a broad meeting of factions in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, at the end of July, to discuss the conflict with Israel and ways to end internal divisions. Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank held little hope the meetings could reconcile the ongoing power struggle between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah faction, the backbone of the Palestinian Authority, after many failed attempts in the past 16 years. In a statement issued by Hamas on Wednesday, the group said its leaders reaffirmed in Tuesday's meeting with Abbas that "resistance was the most efficient way to confront the (Israeli) occupation."

How legal overhaul could affect Israel in coming months
Associated Press/July 26, 2023
The Israeli government has passed the first major piece of legislation in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the country's legal system — part of a broader plan that has triggered nationwide protests, divided the country and rattled the powerful military and influential business community.
The plan seeks to weaken the country's Supreme Court and transfer more powers to the parliament. Supporters say Israel's unelected judges wield too much power. But opponents say the judges play an important oversight role, and that the plan will push Israel toward autocratic rule. Despite the fraught atmosphere, Netanyahu's allies say they are moving forward on the overhaul. Here's a look at how the overhaul could affect Israel in the coming months:
WHY IS THE COUNTRY SO DIVIDED?
Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has long been a polarizing leader. His government took office in December, after narrowly winning the country's fifth election in under four years. All of those elections focused on Netanyahu's fitness to rule. These divisions have been reflected in the debate about the overhaul — stretching across religious, class and ethnic lines.
The anti-government protesters come largely from Israel's urban middle class and include doctors, academics, military officers and business leaders. Netanyahu's supporters tend to be poorer, more religious and include residents of West Bank settlements and outlying areas. Many are working-class Jews of Mizrahi, or Middle Eastern, descent who see themselves marginalized by an Ashkenazi, or European, elite. Following the Knesset vote that pushed the law through on Monday, Netanyahu appealed for unity and dialogue. But his opponents rejected the offer as insincere and vowed to continue the protests. "The morning after, we emerge to an Israel with internal battle lines drawn, an Israel potentially at war with itself, a government certainly at war with much, perhaps most, of the people," wrote David Horovitz, founding editor of the Times of Israel news site. Simcha Rothman, the Israeli lawmaker who has spearheaded the overhaul, said he hopes the opposition will be "responsible" and return to negotiations. But he made clear he is not done. "We have the majority," he said, referring to the parliamentary coalition. "The majority of the people in Israel still support the reform."
WILL THE MILITARY'S READINESS BE AFFECTED?
Thousands of military reservists have threatened to stop reporting for duty now that the first law has been passed. The military depends heavily on these volunteer reservists, particularly air force pilots, intelligence officers and members of other specialized units. Current and former military brass have warned that if the reservists follow through on their threats, the military's ability to function in a national emergency could be compromised. "If we don't have a strong and united defense force, if Israel's best do not serve in the IDF, we will no longer be able to exist as a country in the region," warned Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the chief of staff.
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT ISRAEL'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE US?
By pushing through the new law without a broad political consensus, Netanyahu has defied the country's closest ally, the United States, which gives Israel nearly $4 billion in annual military assistance and diplomatic backing in international forums.
In a rare public warning ahead of the vote, President Joe Biden called on the Israeli government to postpone the session and try to reach a compromise with the opposition. The White House lamented Monday's vote result as "unfortunate."
Analysts say the contentious plan could undermine what both countries routinely describe as shared interests and values. Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul-general in New York, said that Netanyahu's disregard for American concerns would further hurt the Israeli leader's troubled relationship with the U.S. president.
"No one will take Netanyahu at his word," he said. The vote could also deepen a growing rift between the conservative Israeli government and the predominantly liberal American Jewish community. Two major groups, the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Federations of North America, expressed deep "disappointment" over Monday's vote.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE PALESTINIANS?
Palestinians look at the unrest roiling Israel as proof of what they see as hypocrisy, saying that Israel's ongoing, 56-year occupation of the West Bank long ago undermined Israel's democracy. "Palestinians see this as a contradiction, that Israelis are fighting for freedom and democracy through institutions that are inherently preventing an entire people from freedom and democracy," said Inès Abdel Razek, executive director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy, an advocacy group. But some politicians and analysts warn that the potential consequences of the judicial changes have a deeper reach into the West Bank than the public might think, eroding the main check on a far-right coalition bent on expanding settlements and increasing Israel's control over the occupied territory.
"This is a dangerous development for us," said Mustafa Barghouti, a veteran Palestinian activist.
WILL THE PROTESTS CONTINUE?
After seven months of mass demonstrations against the plan, the grassroots protest movement says it has no plans on stopping. Monday's vote was met by fierce protests across Israel and unprecedented clashes between protesters and the police. Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, said the "protests are not going anywhere, especially because the government has clearly stated that this is just phase one." Josh Drill, a spokesperson for the protest movement, called for new measures, such as not paying taxes. He also called on the U.S. and the American Jewish community to reconsider financial support for the Israeli government and instead donate to advocacy groups aligned with the movement. "How many statements can the U.S. administration put out that they're distraught or that they're worried? Come on, that's not actually doing anything," he said.
WILL THIS PUT ISRAEL'S ECONOMY AT RISK?
Monday's vote sent the Israeli currency and stock market tumbling and yielded warnings from the Moody's credit rating agency of "negative consequences" for the economy.Netanyahu dismissed the negative reactions as a "momentary response" and insisted: "When the dust clears, it will be clear that the Israeli economy is very strong." But many experts believe the damage to the economy could be long-lasting — with foreign investors potentially deterred by fears that a weak judiciary could open the door to corruption and hurt the business environment.
The threat is particularly acute in in Israel's high-tech sector — a key portion of Israel's economy. On Tuesday, leading Israeli newspapers covered their front pages in black — an ominous image that was paid for by an alliance of high-tech companies."A black day for Israeli democracy," the ad read. Yannay Spitzer, an economist at Israel's Hebrew University, said Israeli stock prices have lagged behind global indexes since the plan was unveiled. This trend, he said, "cannot be accounted for by ordinary market developments."
"Israel is headed to become an economically backward country with civil strife," Spitzer predicted.

Israeli doctors walk off the job, and more strikes may loom after a law weakening courts passed
JERUSALEM (AP)/July 26, 2023
Thousands of Israeli doctors walked off their jobs, labor leaders threatened a general strike and senior justices rushed home from a trip abroad on Tuesday, a day after the government's approval of a law that weakens the country's Supreme Court. Critics say the legislation will erode the system of checks and balances. Four leading Israeli newspapers covered their front pages in black ink — an ominous image paid for by an alliance of high-tech companies. The only words on the pages were in a line at the bottom: “A black day for Israeli democracy.”Monday's vote — on the first of a series of measures that make up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive judicial overhaul — reverberated across the country. It came despite seven months of fierce popular resistance, Netanyahu’s promises of an eventual compromise and a rare warning against the overhaul from Israel’s closest ally, the United States. The bill was unanimously passed by the governing coalition, which includes ultra-nationalist and ultra-religious parties, after the opposition stormed out of the house shouting “Shame!”Opponents say they are not done fighting and civil rights groups submitted petitions to the Supreme Court, calling for the new law to be overturned. Protests again roiled the country's streets. “These protests are not going anywhere, especially because the government has clearly stated that this is just phase one,” said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank. “This is the most widespread and significant democratic awakening in the history of the country. Clearly, it won't end.” Hundreds of thousands of people fanned out in Tel Aviv overnight, burning tires, setting off fireworks and waving Israeli flags. In Jerusalem, mounted police and water cannons spraying foul-smelling liquid cleared protesters from a main highway. At least 40 people were arrested by police in protests around the country. Videos showed police officers dragging protesters by the hair and neck, beating people until they bled and violently pushing them back with batons. At least 10 officers were assaulted and injured, police said.
Israel is now hurtling into uncharted territory against the specter of further social and political unrest. Thousands of officers in the military reserves have announced they will no longer turn up for voluntary service — a blow that could undermine the country’s operational readiness. High-tech business leaders are considering relocation. On Tuesday, Moody's issued a report warning of “significant risk” if divisions within the country continue as Netanyahu's government presses ahead with the overhaul, “with negative consequences for Israel’s economy and security situation.”Netanyahu said the credit rating company's assessment was “a momentary response, when the dust clears, it will be clear that the Israeli economy is very strong.”The overhaul also threatens to strain ties with the Biden administration, jeopardize Israel’s new alliances with Arab states and deepen the conflict with the Palestinians, analysts say. “I think this country is going to either split into two countries or be finished altogether,” said Yossi Nissimov, a protester in a tent city set up by demonstrators outside of the Knesset, or parliament, in Jerusalem. The vote on the law came just hours after Netanyahu was released from the hospital, where he had a pacemaker implanted, adding another dizzying twist to an already dramatic series of events. The Israeli Medical Association, which represents nearly all of the country's doctors, said they would strike en masse Tuesday across the country, with only emergencies and critical care in operation.
“The vast majority of physicians know they will not be able to fulfill their oath to patients under a regime that does not accept the role of reason,” said Hagai Levine, chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health. He was referring to the law passed Monday, which prevents the Supreme Court from using the standard of “reasonableness” to strike down government decisions.
“This overhaul will damage the public health and the health care system in Israel,” Levine said, adding that already over 1,000 physician members have asked to be transferred abroad since the law passed. Israel’s largest labor union, the Histadrut, which represents some 800,000 workers, said Tuesday that it would convene in the coming days to plan a nationwide general strike. The chief justice of the Supreme Court, Esther Hayut, along with five other senior justices, cut short a trip to Germany in order to deal with the crisis, the court said. The justices were expected to land home on Tuesday night, a day earlier than expected, to discuss petitions against the overhaul. But any move by the court to strike down Netanyahu’s new law could lead to a constitutional crisis and put the justices on an unprecedented collision course with the government.
Supporters of the judicial overhaul say the powers of unelected judges should be curbed to boost the powers of elected officials. Opponents say it will undermine Israeli democracy and erode the country’s only check on majority rule in a system where the prime minister governs through a coalition in parliament — in effect giving him control over the executive and legislative branches of government. As a result, the Supreme Court plays a critical oversight role. On Tuesday, for instance, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara appealed to the top court to scrap a law passed earlier this year that strips her of the power to remove the prime minister from office. Netanyahu responded to the court, saying it shouldn't intervene in the matter. Protesters also fear that the overhaul is fueled by the personal grievances of Netanyahu, who is currently on trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. While protesters represent a wide cross section of society, they come largely from the country’s secular middle class. Netanyahu’s supporters tend to be poorer, more religious and live in West Bank settlements or outlying rural areas. The judicial overhaul has laid bare Israel’s social and religious divisions, said Israeli historian Tom Segev. “This is the beginning of a whole plan to change the basic values of society,” he said.

Saudi Arabia is spending billions to become a global gaming hub. Some fans don't want to play
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)/Wed, July 26, 2023
Saudi Arabia, the new home of some of soccer’s biggest stars and a co-owner of professional golf, is proving to be no less ambitious when it comes to another global pastime – the $180 billion-a-year video game industry. Last September, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund earmarked nearly $40 billion for a new conglomerate aimed at transforming the kingdom into the “ultimate global hub” for games and esports by 2030. In February, the Saudi fund became the biggest outside investor in Nintendo, and just this month the kingdom hosted a major gaming tournament with a record $45 million prize pool. That’s made Saudi Arabia an increasingly important player in the industry and contributed to its breakneck transformation from an insular kingdom best known for oil and ultraconservative Islam into an emerging sports and entertainment powerhouse. The move into gaming has sparked the same kind of backlash seen in soccer and golf, where critics accuse the Saudis of “sportswashing” human rights abuses, including the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident. With gaming, a kingdom that sentences people to decades in prison over a few tweets is joining a worldwide community dominated by the young and very online. “It’s the Romans and the Colosseum all over again, and you have countries at the top layer using sports as a theater to display their wealth and their power,” said Joost van Dreunen, a professor at New York University who has written a book about the business of video games. “You have to ask the question: Who is the architect behind this, and what are the intentions of these architects?” he said.
Saudi Arabia’s 37-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reportedly an avid gamer himself, sees the foray into gaming as part of Vision 2030, his ambitious plan to overhaul the kingdom’s economy, reduce its reliance on oil and provide jobs and entertainment for its youthful population.
“We are harnessing the untapped potential across the esports and games sector to diversify our economy,” he said last September, when he announced the establishment of the Savvy Games Group.
Owned by Saudi Arabia’s $700 billion Public Investment Fund and led by CEO Brian Ward, an industry veteran, Savvy aims to invest $39 billion in the gaming industry. It hopes to establish 250 local companies and create 39,000 jobs in the next seven years. Earlier this month, it completed the $4.9 billion purchase of Scopely, the creator of “Monopoly Go,” “Star Trek Fleet Command” and “Marvel Strike Force.” Gaming is a massive and fast-growing industry. Market research firm Newzoo says an estimated 3.2 billion people play games on PCs, consoles, mobile devices or cloud gaming services, with the industry generating $184.4 billion in revenues in 2022. Gaming brings in more money than the combined earnings of the global box office, music streaming and album sales, and the top five wealthiest sports leagues, according to a 2021 report by the Boston Consulting Group.
The kingdom is also breaking into the world of esports, competitions pitting the world’s top players against one another in games ranging from battle royales and first-person shooters to “FIFA” soccer and “Madden NFL.”
To the uninitiated, the prospect of watching other people play video games may seem unappealing, but it’s a huge business with millions of fans, celebrity players and corporate sponsors. A 2021 esports tournament in Singapore drew 5.4 million concurrent viewers. “When you invest in esports you are getting prime advertising opportunities, and of course, you are promoting the brand of your country as a cool, forward-thinking, interesting place to go on holiday,” said Christopher Davidson, a Gulf expert at the European Center for International Affairs, a Brussels-based think tank.
“(Esports) is far younger and more global than any other sport,” he added. “English soccer is popular everywhere in the West, but not really in an average-sized Chinese city. But these esports are.”
Last summer, Saudi Arabia hosted Gamers8, a weekslong tournament with a $15 million prize pool. The event returned this month with a prize pool three times as large. Saudi Arabia’s wealthy Gulf neighbors are also looking to get in on the action. Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, hosted a five-day esports festival last month. The Qatar Investment Authority recently purchased a minority stake in Monument Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Washington Wizards and Capitals, as well as esport holdings. The growing involvement of autocratic Gulf states has sparked debate within the gaming community.
Riot Games, the developer of the popular “League of Legends,” a multiplayer battle game, and Danish tournament organizer Blast Premier both canceled partnerships with Saudi Arabia in 2020 following an outcry from fans. Blast went on to hold its world finals in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, where it faced similar criticism. Team Liquid, an esports organization that represents 60 champion players across 14 games, announced in December that it would donate half its winnings from recent competitions in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to an organization that helps LGBTQ+ individuals escape violence and persecution.
Homosexuality is considered taboo in most of the Middle East and is criminalized in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, though prosecutions are rare. Both countries also outlaw any form of LGBTQ+ advocacy.
The Team Liquid statement acknowledged the financial and ethical trade-offs of accepting sponsorship from such countries. “These events present real opportunities for our players, many of whom may have short careers with few guarantees,” it said. “An outright boycott might not only end careers, it could end our involvement in some esports entirely.”Stanis Elsborg, a senior analyst at Play the Game, an international initiative that aims to promote ethics in sports, and who has written extensively on the intersection of esports and the Gulf's ambitions, says it’s a dilemma that is likely to recur.
“Money talks,” he said. “I think the esports scene will be following the same trajectory as we have seen in other sports, forming significant partnerships with state-owned companies from autocratic states.”

US military aid for Ukraine for first time includes Black Hornet spy drone
WASHINGTON (Reuters) /July 26, 2023
The U.S. Department of Defense announced $400 million in additional security assistance for Ukraine on Tuesday, including air defense missiles, armored vehicles and small drones, as Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russia grinds on. The new aid package, which was first reported by Reuters, will include for the first time U.S. furnished Black Hornet surveillance drones made by Teledyne FLIR Defense, part of Teledyne Technologies. The Norwegian-built Hornet is being used in Ukraine through donations by the British and Norwegian governments, the company said. FLIR Unmanned Aerial Systems was awarded a $93 million contract in April to provide the small reconnaissance drones to the U.S. Army. In addition, the weapons aid package includes munitions for Patriot air defense systems and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASMS), Stinger anti-aircraft systems, more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers and a variety of other missiles and rockets. The assistance is funded using Presidential Drawdown Authority, or PDA, which authorizes the president to quickly transfer articles and services from U.S. stocks without congressional approval during an emergency. The material will come from U.S. excess inventory. This is the 43rd security assistance package approved by the United States for Ukraine. More than $43 billion in U.S. military aid has been provided since Russia's invasion in 2022. Commenting on the aid announcement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted Russia's attacks on Ukraine ports and Ukrainian infrastructure since withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative last week. "Russia could end this war at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and stopping its brutal attacks against Ukraine's cities and people. Until it does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes," Blinken said in a statement. The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey a year ago to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's invasion. Ukraine and Russia are both leading grain exporters. Russia, whose invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the deaths of thousands and the displacement of millions of civilians, denounced the new U.S. package. "The actions by Washington ... are beyond morality and common sense," Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov said in a post on the embassy's Telegram messaging app. Britain said on Tuesday it had information indicating Russia's military might start targeting civilian shipping in the Black Sea, while the European Union pledged to help Ukraine export almost all its farm produce via rail and road. (Reporting by Mike Stone and Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa, Katharine Jackson in Washington and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Grant McCool and Stephen Coates)

Prigozhin turned back his rebellion because his men got 'cold feet' and that it 'wasn't what they had signed up for,' CIA chief Bill Burns says
Business Insider/July 26/2023
Yevgeny Prigozhin's short-lived mutiny last month may have lacked the support of his men. CIA director Williams Burns told Puck that some Wagner troops may have felt the revolt wasn't what they signed up for. Prigozhin was "making it up as he went along," Burns told Puck. Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin may have turned back his armed rebellion last month because his men didn't support the effort, according to CIA director Williams Burns. Puck's Julia Ioffe asked Burns about Prigozhin's short-lived mutiny at the Aspen Security conference last week, including why the mercenary group leader "choked and turned back." "Some of his men started getting cold feet," Burns said. "This wasn't what they had signed up for." Prigozhin, formerly a close ally of Putin, went on a tirade against Russian military leadership on June 23 and marched his Wagner troops towards Moscow, shooting down some Russian military aircrafts, before abruptly turning around — leaving many wondering what the point of it all was. While speaking on a panel at the conference last week, Burns said Prigozhin was "making it up as he went along." Burns also noted Prigozhin had only 5,000 men with him — not nearly enough to actually take Moscow.

NATO says it's boosting Black Sea surveillance, condemns Russian grain deal exit
BRUSSELS, July 26 (Reuters)/Wed, July 26, 2023
NATO said on Wednesday it was stepping up surveillance of the Black Sea region as it condemned Russia's exit from a deal assuring the safe passage of ships carrying Ukrainian grain. The announcement came after a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a body established earlier this month to coordinate cooperation between the Western military alliance and Kyiv. "Allies and Ukraine strongly condemned Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal and its deliberate attempts to stop Ukraine’s agricultural exports on which hundreds of millions of people worldwide depend," NATO said in a statement. "NATO and Allies are stepping up surveillance and reconnaissance in the Black Sea region, including with maritime patrol aircraft and drones," the statement said. The deal that has allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine's grain for the past year expired on July 17 after Russia quit in a move the United Nations said would "strike a blow to people in need everywhere." Moscow suggested it would consider reviving the deal if demands to improve exports of its own grain and fertilizer were met. The NATO statement criticized a Russian warning that parts of the Black Sea's international waters were temporarily unsafe for navigation. As part of that warning, Russia also declared that any ships travelling to Ukraine's Black Sea ports would be seen as possibly carrying military cargoes. "Allies noted that Russia’s new warning area in the Black Sea, within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, has created new risks for miscalculation and escalation, as well as serious impediments to freedom of navigation," the NATO statement said.

The Kremlin could pass a new rule that could make it harder for foreign companies to exit Russia: report
Huileng Tan/Business Insider/July 26, 2023
The Kremlin could pass a new rule allowing it priority rights to acquire shares from exiting foreign firms. This would make it harder for foreign companies to leave the Russian market. Moscow has been imposing an increasing number of restrictions on firms that want to exit the country.
Foreign businesses wanting to leave the Russian market already face a tough time trying to get out — but a new law could make the breakup even harder. Russia is in the process of approving a new rule that allows the Kremlin to be the first in line to acquire the shares of strategic companies whose foreign shareholders are leaving the country, Interfax news agency reported on Monday. Companies in the Kremlin's list of 200 strategic enterprises include food giant Danone and Finnish energy firm Fortum, per the Moscow Times. The Russian operations of both companies have been seized by Moscow this year. The Financial Times reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the seizure after people close to his regime expressed interest in the assets.Russia's preferential right to acquire shares is "realized regardless of the preferential rights of other persons," according to a Moscow Times translation of the draft document obtained by Interfax. Russia's finance ministry confirmed the draft decree to the news agency on Monday. The "super priority" rights, as translated by the Moscow Times, supersedes the rights of others who may also be entitled to the shares of the exiting foreign shareholders. Despite 1,000 companies announcing they were voluntarily cutting back on operations merely two months after the Ukraine war started in February 2022, just 529 foreign companies have made a clean break with the country, according to an ongoing study from Yale University, which was last updated on July 18. But it's not for lack of trying: More than 2,000 companies were seeking approval to exit the Russian market, the Financial Times reported in March, but the progress has been slow due to logistical delays, among other reasons. President Vladimir Putin's regime has also been imposing an increasing number of punitive measures on companies exiting the Russian market. In December 2022, Russia started forcing those companies selling their assets to dispose of them at a 50% discount. This has benefited Russian businessmen who bought the assets of 110 Western companies "that have fully or partially left Russia" at bargain-bin prices, independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported last Thursday. These assets were collectively valued at 35 billion euros, or nearly $40 billion, at the end of 2022, per the report. Moscow also charges exiting companies an exit fee of at least 10% of the sale value. In addition, the Russian government started requiring sellers from "unfriendly countries" to donate at least 10% of the sale proceeds to the Russian budget from March 2023.The Russian finance ministry did not immediately respond to a request from Insider for comment.

Putin is trying to flex his influence in Africa, but countries are giving him the cold shoulder
Chris Panella/Business Insider/Wed, July 26, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Armenia in November 2022.
Putin is hosting a critical summit with African leaders this week in St. Petersburg, Russia. But only a handful of attending nations are sending their heads of state or leaders. Isolated by the war in Ukraine, Putin seeks to grow influence and support on the African continent. Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming meeting with African leaders is designed to be a diplomatic showcase and a bit of a flex — but it's looking like a miss on both counts. On Thursday, Putin will meet with 49 representatives from African nations at the second Russia-Africa summit. The event, hosted in St. Petersburg, is critical for an increasingly isolated Russia to maintain its ties and support on the African continent. But on Tuesday, Presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov said only 17 of the 49 attendees are sending their respective heads of state or leaders, including Egypt, South Africa, and Uganda, according to The Moscow Times. The remaining nations will send lower-level ambassadors or representatives. It's a striking difference from the first summit held in 2019, which was almost all attended by presidents and prime ministers. The same is true for the US-Africa summit late last year. The Kremlin is already preparing for disaster, blaming this year's low turnout on the West and, specifically, the US. On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the US of subjecting "unprecedented pressure" on "virtually all African states," and blamed French embassies in Africa for "trying to do their bit to prevent this summit from taking place," according to Reuters. The summit setback is part of the wider fallout from Russia's struggling war against Ukraine. Russian leaders are attempting to reassure their partners in Africa after a failed rebellion in June mounted by the head of the Wagner Group, which is intertwined with Russian state interests in African states like Libya, Mali, Sudan, and the Central African Republic. In the war-torn CAR, some of Wagner's forces stationed near diamond mines have left, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month. Its troops had previously helped train CAR's army to prepare for possible coup attempts, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Security risks in Sweden rise due to Quran desecrations and protests
Associated Press/Wed, July 26, 2023
Sweden's security situation has deteriorated after recent Quran burnings in the country and protests in the Muslim world, both of which have negatively impacted the Nordic nation's image, its domestic security service said Wednesday.
The agency, known by its acronym SAPO, said the burning and desecration of religious books in Sweden, and ongoing disinformation campaigns on social media and elsewhere, have negatively affected Sweden's profile.
The image of Sweden has changed "from a tolerant country to a country hostile to Islam and Muslims, where attacks on Muslims are sanctioned by the state and where Muslim children can be kidnapped by social services," SAPO said in a statement. This risks fueling threats against Sweden "from individuals within the violent Islamist milieu," the agency said, adding the current risk of terrorism in Sweden remains at an elevated level, at three on a five-point scale.
"It's a serious situation that we're in," Susanna Trehörning, SAPO's deputy head of counter-terrorism, told Swedish public broadcaster SVT. "It's a heightened threat and an attack can occur within the framework of a heightened threat."
A recent string of public desecrations of the Quran by a handful of anti-Islam activists in Sweden and most recently in neighboring Denmark has sparked angry reactions in Muslim countries. There is no law in Sweden specifically prohibiting the burning or desecration of the Quran or other religious texts. Like many Western countries, Sweden doesn't have any blasphemy laws. The right to hold public demonstrations is strong in Sweden and protected by the constitution. Blasphemy laws were abandoned in the 1970s. Police generally give permission based on whether they believe a public gathering can be held without major disruptions or risks to public safety. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, in a statement on Wednesday, condemned the religious book desecrations in Sweden and Denmark, saying the acts "by individual provocateurs only benefit those who want to divide us and our societies.""Respect for diversity is a core value of the European Union. This includes respect for other religious communities," EU's top diplomat said. "The desecration of the Quran, or of any other book considered holy, is offensive, disrespectful and a clear provocation. Expressions of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance have no place in the European Union."

Al Jazeera condemns Egypt's move to brand some of its journalists as terrorists
Associated Press/Wed, July 26, 2023
The pan-Arab news network Al Jazeera has condemned a recent decision by Egyptian authorities to brand some of its journalists as terrorists. The media outlet, which is owned by the Gulf state of Qatar, said that "a number" of its Egyptian journalists and presenters had been added to a list of alleged terrorists published in an official newspaper earlier this month following a ruling by the Cairo Criminal Court. "Al Jazeera Media Network strongly denounces the recent move by the Egyptian authorities to reinstate a number of its journalists onto a newly crafted terrorism list," the network said in a statement Tuesday.
It also called for the release of two reporters — Bahaa Al-Din Ibrahim, who was arrested in February 2020, and Rabee Al-Sheikh, who was arrested in August 2021. Both had traveled back to Egypt from Qatar to visit family, the network said. Egypt launched a crackdown on Al Jazeera after the 2013 military overthrow of an elected but divisive government dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood group. Egypt considers the Brotherhood a terrorist group and accused both Qatar and Al Jazeera of supporting it. Egypt revoked Al Jazeera's media credentials, raided its offices and arrested several reporters. The arrest and trial of three Al Jazeera English journalists — Australian Peter Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed — sparked an international outcry. The three received 10-year prison sentences, but were later released in 2015. Egypt and Qatar recently restored ties as part of a wider rapprochement among Arab states, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi visiting the country and meeting with its ruling emir in September. In May, Egypt released an Al Jazeera journalist who had been held since 2019. It wasn't immediately clear how many Al Jazeera reporters had been added to Egypt's terrorism blacklist, which is updated every five years. The broadcaster didn't provide specifics, and the newly updated list includes dozens of names. There was no comment from Egyptian officials.

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 26-27/2023
Biden Is Plotting a Deal with Moscow over Ukraine
Con Coughlin/ Gatestone Institute/July 26, 2023
One of the main reasons Nato is proving to be so reluctant to provide Ukraine with a clear timeframe for membership is the stiff opposition the proposal has received from the Biden administration.
In public, US President Joe Biden is keen to give the impression that he is fully committed to backing Ukraine's battle for survival. But it is a different story behind-the-scenes, where Biden and his senior officials are more interested in ending the war in good time for next year's US presidential election contest.
Consequently, rather than upsetting the Kremlin by openly backing Ukraine's Nato membership bid, the Biden administration's real objective is to explore possible options for ending hostilities this year.
Prior to the summit, US President Joe Biden made his opposition to the proposal perfectly clear, declaring that he did not believe Ukraine was "ready for membership in Nato", and pointing out that there was no unanimity within the alliance "about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the Nato family now, at this moment, in the middle of the war."
Biden's obsession with ending the conflict helps to explain the recent initiative undertaken by a delegation of high-ranking US foreign policy experts and former national security officials to hold secret talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York in April.
The aim of the meeting was to lay the groundwork for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Among the subjects discussed were some of the thorniest issues of the conflict, such as the fate of Russian-occupied territory such as Crimea that Ukrainian forces have not been able to liberate.
That such a high level delegation has been authorised by the White House to open communications channels is the clearest indication yet that the White House wants a negotiated end to the conflict. It also helps to explain why the Biden administration, together with prominent European allies such as Germany and France, have been so reluctant to publicly back Ukraine's Nato membership bid.
One of the reasons Zelensky was so keen to secure a firm commitment from Nato leaders in Vilnius was because, if Ukraine were given cast iron guarantees that it could join the alliance, it would be impossible to make the issue of Ukrainian membership of Nato a bargaining chip in future negotiations with Russia.
By denying Kyiv this privilege, the Biden administration is keeping its options open, raising the possibility that the White House could be prepared to sacrifice Ukraine's hopes of joining the alliance in return for securing a deal with Moscow.
Such a deal would be nothing short of a sell-out of the Ukrainian people, and their heroic fight to protect their country from Russian aggression.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has every right to feel deeply aggrieved over his shameful treatment at the recent Nato summit, where he failed to secure a firm commitment that his country will ultimately be allowed to join the alliance.
Zelensky had travelled to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, the venue for this year's summit of Nato leaders, in the hope of securing a clear timetable for Ukraine to become a fully fledged member of the alliance.
From Kyiv's perspective, Ukraine is at the forefront of Nato's effort to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from threatening the security of Europe, and much of the military equipment Ukrainian forces are using to defend their territory from Russian aggression has been provided by Nato member states such as the US and UK.
Zelensky, moreover, believes there is a compelling case for Ukraine to be granted full membership of the alliance after Finland and Sweden, two countries that previously took pride in their neutral status, were granted membership status.
"Ukraine also deserves respect," Zelensky tweeted on the eve of the conference. "It's unprecedented and absurd when timeframe is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine's membership."
Yet, despite being given a rock star welcome when he addressed a cheering crowd in Vilnius's Lukiskes Square – just a few kilometres from the summit – Zelensky's plea made little impression on the assembled Nato dignitaries. Rather than securing a firm commitment on the membership issue, all he received was a vague commitment that Nato leaders continued to support the notion of Ukrainian membership, with the addition of the caveat that "we will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met."
While the vagueness of the offer will have come as a big disappointment for Zelensky, it will have delighted the Kremlin, which remains totally opposed to Ukraine joining the alliance. Indeed, Ukraine's long-standing desire to forge closer ties with the West was one of the main arguments Putin made to justify his invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
One of the main reasons Nato is proving to be so reluctant to provide Ukraine with a clear timeframe for membership is the stiff opposition the proposal has received from the Biden administration.
Prior to the summit, US President Joe Biden made his opposition to the proposal perfectly clear, declaring that he did not believe Ukraine was "ready for membership in Nato", and pointing out that there was no unanimity within the alliance "about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the Nato family now, at this moment, in the middle of the war."
In public, US President Joe Biden is keen to give the impression that he is fully committed to backing Ukraine's battle for survival. But it is a different story behind-the-scenes, where Biden and his senior officials are more interested in ending the war in good time for next year's US presidential election contest.
Consequently, rather than upsetting the Kremlin by openly backing Ukraine's Nato membership bid, the Biden administration's real objective is to explore possible options for ending hostilities this year.
Biden's obsession with ending the conflict helps to explain the recent initiative undertaken by a delegation of high-ranking US foreign policy experts and former national security officials to hold secret talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York in April.
The aim of the meeting was to lay the groundwork for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Among the subjects discussed were some of the thorniest issues of the conflict, such as the fate of Russian-occupied territory such as Crimea that Ukrainian forces have not been able to liberate.
White House officials claim the American delegation, which was led by Richard Haass, a former diplomat and outgoing president of the Council on Foreign Relations, acted with the knowledge of the Biden administration, but not at its direction, and later provided US National Security Council officials with a full breakdown of the discussions.
Other members of the delegation included Europe expert Charles Kupchan, Russia expert Thomas Graham and Mary Beth Long, a veteran of both the CIA and the Pentagon.
That such a high level delegation has been authorised by the White House to open communications channels is the clearest indication yet that the White House wants a negotiated end to the conflict. It also helps to explain why the Biden administration, together with prominent European allies such as Germany and France, have been so reluctant to publicly back Ukraine's Nato membership bid.
One of the reasons Zelensky was so keen to secure a firm commitment from Nato leaders in Vilnius was because, if Ukraine were given cast iron guarantees that it could join the alliance, it would be impossible to make the issue of Ukrainian membership of Nato a bargaining chip in future negotiations with Russia.
By denying Kyiv this privilege, the Biden administration is keeping its options open, raising the possibility that the White House could be prepared to sacrifice Ukraine's hopes of joining the alliance in return for securing a deal with Moscow.
Such a deal would be nothing short of a sell-out of the Ukrainian people, and their heroic fight to protect their country from Russian aggression.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 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.

Blunting the Militia Campaign Against Iraq’s Christian Leaders
Michael Knights//The Washington Institute/July 26/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/120495/120495/
A U.S.-sanctioned, Iran-backed militia leader aims to sideline the country’s Chaldean Patriarch and take over billions of dollars’ worth of Christian property.
On July 12, Iraqi president Abdul Latif Rashid repealed Decree 147, Baghdad’s 2013 executive order recognizing the appointment of Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako as head (Patriarch) of the Chaldean Catholic Church “in Iraq and the world” and assigning him responsibility “for the assets of the Church.” A day later, the Karkh district court reportedly issued a summons to the Patriarch over media comments he made about Rayan al-Kildani, a U.S.-sanctioned human rights abuser who formed the 50th Brigade of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (aka Kataib Babiliyoun). The Patriarch then withdrew to a monastery in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), much like past Christian leaders were compelled to do during times of persecution.
U.S. ambassador Alina Romanowski quickly protested the government’s actions and was summonsed for censure by Rashid’s office. She is taking a brave stand against such continued abuses and power grabs by Iran-backed militias and will need strong backing from the White House, State Department, and Congress. Kildani must not be allowed to continue smearing and weakening the Patriarch and asserting himself as the leader of Iraq’s Christians—a role that would place billions of dollars’ worth of Christian properties at his disposal.
A Campaign to Erode Interfaith Tolerance
Decree 147 is part of a longstanding symbolic tradition of interfaith tolerance in Iraq, with roots in the early Islamic period that continued through the Ottoman Empire into the modern era. In the past, the Caliph of Baghdad would issue an edict that gave each new Patriarch temporal power over the Christian population, permitting him to oversee matters of personal status in accordance with church law and tasking him with collecting tributes for the treasury as the caliph’s representative. Similar decrees were issued to leaders of other religions and sects (e.g., the Syriac Catholic Church, Yazidis, Sabean-Mandaeans).
This month’s repeal of the decree spurred condemnations from across the interfaith spectrum. The office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s top Shia religious authority, reached out to Sako on July 15 and expressed “dismay” over how the cardinal had been treated, while the Sunni-led Association of Muslim Scholars in Baghdad opposed the move against him. And on July 22, five of Iraq’s Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian political parties took the unprecedented step of uniting under one list for upcoming elections, driven in part by Kildani’s ongoing campaign and the manipulation of Christian quota seats (see below).
Kildani has sought to dominate Iraq’s Christian community for some time now, but numerous factors show he has no claim to such status:
Fake Christian voter base. Although Kildani controls four of the five quota seats allocated to Christians in the national parliament, his movement did not win these seats because of support from the Christian community. According to the authors’ close examination of electoral data from 2018 and 2021, his candidates received thousands of votes from heavily Shia provinces that have only tiny Christian communities due to decades of displacement.
Pattern of corrupting and coopting Christian leaders. After repeated overtures, Kildani eventually succeeded in convincing former Syriac Catholic archbishop Youhanna Boutros Moshe to stop resisting Kataib Babiliyoun’s plans for establishing a base of power in the Hamdaniya district. As a result, Iraq’s last Christian militia regiment, the Nineveh Plains Protection Units, was recently forced under Babiliyoun’s banner.
Siding with Iran and its proxies. Kildani supports an Iran-backed militia narrative that is completely foreign to Iraq’s Christian community. He has long been close to top U.S.-designated terrorists, from the late Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis to current militia leader Qais al-Khazali. He has also allowed militia forces to loot Christian monasteries in the Nineveh Plains, among other abuses.
Unsurprisingly, Kildani and his supporters have been roundly rejected by Christian communities in Iraq and globally. At the Vatican, Pope Francis has refused to grant audiences to him and members of his circle (e.g., Minister of Migration and Displacement Evan Faeq Jabro). And as far back as 2017, Sako’s Patriarchate asserted that Kildani “does not represent Christians in any way. His unfortunate statements aim to create abhorrent sectarian strife.”
Kildani’s Mammoth Land Grab
Kildani’s ultimate objective is to become the sole decisionmaker regarding property that Iraqi Christians have left behind after two decades of being persecuted, killed, or forced to flee their homes. Toward this end, he is trying to intimidate the seventy-five-year-old Sako into exile and retirement so he can coopt the Patriarch’s successor. With the Christian community’s political and security pillars weakened, the church is the only remaining Iraqi institution that can defend their interests.
The property in question is spread over Iraq but concentrated in Baghdad and Nineveh, with a total value in the billions. Of the two million Christians who lived in Iraq before the 2003 war, only 5-6 percent remain, and various reports have extensively documented the illegal—and ongoing—confiscation of their lands and other property. Kildani’s circle and Kataib Babiliyoun are viewed as the main perpetrators in forging documents to facilitate the sale of such property in Baghdad. And when Christians in the diaspora attempt to legally claim what was stolen from them, militias often threaten the lawyers acting on their behalf.
Implications for U.S. Policy
This issue has broader implications for U.S. security interests in Iraq beyond the important goal of protecting Christian leaders. Accordingly, Washington needs to act—and urge Baghdad to act as well. The following steps are most crucial in the near term:
Keep appealing to President Rashid. His repeal of Decree 147 came just one day after he met with Kildani. President Rashid is an old friend of the United States and will not be happy to hear that Washington increasingly believes he and his party—the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan—are turning alarmingly toward Iran and its host of proxy militias and human rights abusers. He is clearly concerned about reputational damage, as he showed when he tried to downplay the repeal’s significance. Moreover, he has not repealed similar decrees protecting other religions and sects, underlining that this was a targeted action in which Kildani—essentially an institutional nobody in the broader scope of Iraq’s national government—told the country’s president what to do. Rashid cannot avoid responsibility for this action; Washington should urge him to undo the damage. Helping Sako return to Baghdad safely and visiting him at his residence there would be a good start, since this would reinforce the government’s acknowledgment of the Patriarch’s religious, national, and international significance.
End vote-rigging of minority quota seats. The United States should quietly encourage Iraqi leaders to ensure that election laws include a closed quota, where only members of that community can vote for the quota seats allocated to them. For instance, the Christian Endowment could issue special voting cards to prevent manipulation of their seat allocations. This issue has much wider national implications because Kildani and his Kurdish partners will likely try to dominate Christian quota seats in the KRI’s next parliamentary elections in late 2023-early 2024, potentially foreshadowing similar tactics in future federal elections.
Leverage the U.S. religious freedom report. When the annual State Department Report on International Religious Freedom is compiled later this year for release in May 2024, it should reflect whether the Iraqi government is appropriately protecting its Christian community. If Baghdad fails in this regard, Congress should alter its provision of foreign assistance accordingly.
Create a more stable base for minority religious authorities. Iraq’s parliament should be encouraged to formalize the authority of Christian religious leaders in the federal constitution so that executive actions like Decree 147 can no longer be used as leverage against them. The Ministry of Justice could quickly issue endowment deeds to the heads of all Iraqi churches, thereby reassuring everyone that the state has no plans to take over lands or properties belonging to the community.
Encourage Iraq’s judiciary to act on legal cases against Kildani. The Patriarch is being taken to court by Kildani, and the judiciary is rapidly processing the case, yet attempts to bring Kildani to court over allegedly libelous comments he made about Sako have resulted in no action. This suggests that Supreme Judicial Council head Faeq Zaidan and the wider judiciary are serving militia interests and not the law. Washington should urge Zaidan to end this practice.
Investigate Kildani’s broader network. U.S. sanctions authorities should take a closer look at the role his circle has played in facilitating militia abuses. Those who merit particular scrutiny include his brother-in-law Nawfal Bahaa (who runs his operations in Qaraqosh) along with three of Kildani’s blood brothers: Osama (the commander of Kataib Babiliyoun), Aswan (a member of parliament), and Sarmad (the former deputy minister of migration).
*Yaqoub Beth-Addai is an Iraqi specialist on security and militia issues in the Nineveh Plains region. Michael Knights is the Bernstein Fellow at The Washington Institute and cofounder of its Militia Spotlight platform.

Israel’s New Law Holds Implications for Security and U.S. Relations
David Makovsky/The Washington Institute/July 26/2023
A closer look at the domestic dynamics behind the legislature’s vote sheds light on whether and when it might affect Israel’s military readiness and relationship with Washington.
On July 24, the Israeli Knesset approved a highly controversial law that will empower the government to make policy decisions and appointments outside of judicial scrutiny. Passed by a 64-0 margin with the opposition walking out of the final vote, the law removes the Supreme Court’s ability to use the “reasonableness” standard—a common-law principle that provided judicial oversight by comparing government actions to what a “reasonable” authority might do. Many consider this the first step in a far-ranging plan—as articulated by Justice Minister Yariv Levin—to further constrain the judiciary and effectively concentrate power in the executive branch.
Furor over the overhaul has dominated the Israeli political scene for months, spawning the largest grassroots opposition movement in the country’s history. The massive weekly demonstrations involving hundreds of thousands of protesters have been defined by the idea that Israel’s democratic, Jewish character should not be altered without broad public consensus. The movement is also driven by the realization that Israel does not have a constitution, but rather a set of Basic Laws, which do not require a supermajority to be amended as the U.S. Constitution does. Hence, many citizens are using the street to express what a plethora of polls have repeatedly shown—that the government does not have majority public support for unilateral legislative actions of this sort.
The Domestic Political Angle
Since the current government’s inception last December, various hard-right partners in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s coalition have pressed him for this judicial overhaul in order to advance their goals (e.g., unrestricted West Bank settlement growth) or preserve their privileges (e.g., ultraorthodox exemption from military conscription). His aides privately say he had no choice but to put together such a coalition because centrist parties would not join him amid his ongoing corruption trial. Yet opponents say he assembled this government precisely to extricate himself from the trial, and some of his decisions seemed driven more by political self-interest than necessity.
For example, no one forced him to replace the previous justice minister with Levin, an official who has devoted his professional life to ensuring that the judiciary cannot be an effective check on executive power. Levin blunted most attempts at compromise on this issue over the past few months, fueling perceptions that he was more in charge than Netanyahu. Perhaps this was why the prime minister defied his doctor’s call for rest after having pacemaker surgery this weekend, appearing at the seminal vote in an apparent bid to dispel rumors about his health. In any case, Levin personifies the opposition’s concerns that this coalition is bent on forcing its policies through.
The pre-vote push for compromise had been led by figures such as President Isaac Herzog and Histadrut trade union chief Arnon Bar-David, who focused on diluting the bill and securing a commitment that further judicial changes would only happen after lengthy efforts to reach broad consensus. Their failure illustrates the total lack of trust between coalition and opposition leaders, whose rivalry has become even more bitter since Netanyahu reneged on his 2020 commitment to rotate the premiership with National Unity party head Benny Gantz. It also shows the difficulty they face in trying to sell compromise to their respective political bases, who have hardened their positions over months of protests and political strife.
Indeed, not a single member of Netanyahu’s coalition broke ranks by opposing the vote or abstaining, showing that his government is both politically cohesive and aware of the steep personal penalty for dissenting in the present environment. For example, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant publicly stated that the legislation should be more broad-based, but he did not try to force action toward that end by threatening to resign. Sources say he feared that if he insisted on this stance, Netanyahu would simply fire him again as he did in March, when Gallant called for a pause in the judicial overhaul—only this time there would be no reprieve spurred by public pressure. Gallant also apparently feared that his replacement would be an ideologue such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has no serious military background and is solely focused on annexing the West Bank.
What’s Next?
The opposition will now cast their hopes on several possible developments. For one, they have lodged multiple appeals against the new law at the Supreme Court, potentially triggering a standoff over Israel’s Basic Laws. The court has never disqualified a Basic Law before, but it has also never faced such a deep challenge to its authority. If the court disqualifies the new legislation, it would put law enforcement agencies into a quandary over who to listen to—the court or the government? When Mossad director David Barnea was reportedly asked about such a standoff during an internal agency meeting held the morning of the vote, he stated that he would fall on the “right side of history” but did not elaborate on what exactly that meant.
Opposition members are also hoping that their success in the polls will keep growing amid civil strife against the government and ongoing economic deterioration (e.g., in foreign high-tech investment) due to the overhaul plan. In this sense, the fight over the judiciary’s role will likely provide an organizing principle for the next election. Gantz pledged this week that the new law will be reversed in the future.
Meanwhile, speculation has spread that Netanyahu will at some point either fire the current independent-minded attorney-general, Gali Baharav-Miara, or split her duties so that he can appoint a solicitor-general more inclined to end the corruption case against him. Either move would spark massive public backlash—in fact, many Israelis already see the vote in apocalyptic terms, as a severing of the social contract whereby their country remains anchored in Western liberal moorings and their prime minister remains attentive to the broader public’s views.
National Security Implications
Among the most immediate security issues to address are protests by military personnel who oppose the new law. In the days before the vote, over 1,100 Israeli Air Force (IAF) personnel—half of them pilots—announced that they would refuse to show up for voluntary reserve duty if the measure passed. They were joined by over 10,000 other members of the Israel Defense Forces reserves, including members of elite intelligence, cyber, and commando units. Some individuals have already acted on this threat, though their precise numbers are unclear. Will these boycotts spread further, perhaps even into active-duty personnel?
Such threats are especially impactful in the IAF. As officials have publicly indicated on multiple occasions, around 60-70 percent of Israeli airstrikes are conducted by reservists, and the IAF relies on these personnel more heavily than other branches do, especially pilots. If reserve crews do not perform the regular, intensive training required for these strikes, they may not be able to deploy for future missions. Hence, it is unclear how quickly the boycotts will affect Israel’s military capacity if training is put on hold. The IDF has indicated that effects on its readiness will be felt within weeks, while Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy wrote an open letter to troops warning that Israel “will not be able to exist as a country” if military cohesion is broken. Officials also worry that enemies such as Iran and Hezbollah will seize on Israel’s current divisions as an opportunity to increase their attacks. Accordingly, opposition leaders Gantz and Yair Lapid echoed Netanyahu in asking reservists to continue reporting for duty—at least until the Supreme Court has a chance to weigh in on the new law.
U.S. Bilateral Consequences
Shortly after the law passed, the White House issued a statement calling the vote’s slim passage and highly polarized setting “unfortunate,” reiterating President Biden’s belief that such changes should only be done amid “broader consensus.” The administration has had to thread this political needle for months, with the president reiterating his “ironclad” commitment to Israel’s security and his decades of love for the country while simultaneously expressing discomfort over many of the current coalition’s decisions. Biden believes that Israel’s judiciary in its present form strengthens the country, while controversial legislation can only weaken it. The same difficulties underlie his decision not to invite Netanyahu back to the White House since the prime minister returned to power in December (Netanyahu announced last week that a U.S. visit of some sort was in the works, but the details were fuzzy, and any such plans may be affected by the Knesset vote).
To be sure, Biden has correctly and clearly indicated that bilateral security cooperation is “unshakeable” and therefore immune from policy differences between the two governments. Yet other issues may be affected by their current disagreement.
For instance, some believe the dispute could spur a tougher U.S. approach on settlement expansion in the West Bank. Yet the administration will almost certainly wait to see if the new law results in problematic activities on that front before taking action.
Elsewhere, Biden has apparently been pressing for a three-way breakthrough between the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. Yet will he do so with the same energy if he believes Netanyahu—who desperately wants that deal—spurned his pleas for compromise on the judicial issue? Some argue that Biden will press forward anyway because the deal remains in America’s interest (given the need to maintain gaps between Riyadh and China) and his own political interest (given the potential boost it could lend his reelection campaign). Yet others point out that Biden has unique leverage on this matter because neither Riyadh nor Netanyahu is popular with significant portions of the U.S. Democratic Party base.
In the longer term, Washington is no doubt wondering whether the Knesset’s decision is an aberration tied to the current political environment or a turning point in Israeli democracy. The vibrancy of the decades-long bilateral relationship is substantially based on the fact that Americans and Israelis share core values, not just military and economic interests. Any perceived erosion in these values could gradually affect the broad political base that supports the close relationship. Hence, supporters of U.S.-Israeli relations need to maintain focus on shared values as much as shared interests.
*David Makovsky is the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations.

Book burning must be banished from political discourse
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/July 26, 2023
There is something frighteningly true in the observation of the 19th-century German poet Heinrich Heine, which was prompted by a burning of the Qur’an in 1493 in Granada, as he warned humanity: “That was but a prelude; where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people as well.” These chilling words are now engraved in the ground of Berlin’s Opernplatz, commemorating the horrific burning in 1933 of 25,000 books decreed by the propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels to be “un-German.” Not long afterward came the Holocaust and its mass murder of millions by the Nazis.
Recent incidents in Sweden and Denmark have highlighted that there are those who still refuse to heed Heine’s cautionary words. In their distorted view, they still believe that this abject act is an acceptable and legitimate expression of freedom of speech. Well, it is not. It is simply an extreme form of incitement against what is held sacrosanct by others, and it should be universally regarded as a hate crime.
In the first incident, an Iraqi Christian immigrant burned Islam’s holy book outside a Stockholm mosque on — of all days — the major Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha. In the second case, a Swedish national backed off after threatening to burn the Torah, the Jewish holy book, in front of the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, claiming that he was not interested in setting fire to the holy book, but was merely testing the Swedish authorities to see whether or not they would enforce the law selectively regarding the burning of religious texts. That the authorities should not enforce the law selectively enjoys a broad consensus, but this does not extend to consenting to the burning of any book considered holy by any religion or belief system, or more generally any book at all.
Not only is freedom of expression not absolute, but the burning of someone else’s holy or deeply meaningful book is not an expression of opinion or part of any acceptable debate in a civilized society between disagreeing individuals or groups. It is simply an act of aggression against what a book represents to others, an attack on their beliefs and on a crucial aspect of their identity. It is an attempt to demean, to establish a sense of hierarchy, to instill fear and even provoke a reaction that would serve as an excuse to accelerate the marginalization of whatever group considers that text to be sacred.
While these two Swedish cases were apparently the work of individuals, in recent years book burning has become something of a despicable political act perpetrated mainly by right-wing, anti-migrant politicians and activists. More worryingly, in some cases it has been officially sanctioned. In 2010, Terry Jones, known for his extreme Islamophobic views and slurs, burned a copy of the Qur’an in his tiny Florida church, shamefully hiding behind the First Amendment. And earlier this year, Rasmus Paludan, the far-right Danish-Swedish politician and lawyer, set fire to a copy of the Muslim holy book in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm to gain maximum publicity for his anti-migrant policies. There are those who dismiss these vile acts as those of negligible characters who are desperate for attention. Be that as it may, it is the lack of a firm response by their respective communities, or even the lack of any legal framework for clamping down on these actions, that makes those communities and countries complicit through their inaction.
It is an extreme form of incitement against what is held sacrosanct by others, and it should be universally regarded as a hate crime.
In some European countries, burning a holy book is considered a hate crime and is punishable by law. Criminalizing such behavior as a tool to impose tolerance might be seen as counterintuitive in any civilized society where there is an expectation of respect for other people’s beliefs, values and symbols, instilled from an early age at school and through other instruments of socialization, and where such respect becomes part of the society’s DNA and need not be enforced. However, with the emergence of multicultural societies where the required tolerance cannot always be taken for granted, moves to curtail hate crime that are supported by law have become increasingly necessary.
Using the freedom of expression argument to defend the burning of books or, more generally, offending other people’s beliefs is a lousy and disingenuous response. Yes, freedom of expression is a fundamental human right that is generally enshrined in international law. Disagreeing with others’ ideas and beliefs and promoting your own is part and parcel of freedom of expression, but this has nothing in common with the sheer provocative vandalism of burning books.
Living in diverse societies brings with it proven benefits, among them prosperity, appreciating the value of tolerance and the broadening of one’s horizons; but it also poses challenges that need to be addressed with conviction, openness, attentiveness, flexibility and sensitivity in order to overcome them, but not with acts of violence.
By burning books, one does not make them disappear, as they will long outlive those who burn them. To torch the written word is an extension of attempts to silence people and ideas, to censor them and pretend that a book’s content will disappear along with its physical destruction. There is, sadly, a long tradition of burning books, going at least as far back as 213 B.C., when Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered the burning of all philosophy and history books from states other than Qin. In the late 15th century, the Spanish Inquisition burned about 5,000 Arabic manuscripts; in the 16th century, copies of Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible were incinerated by the Catholic Church; in 1683, several books by Thomas Hobbes and other authors were put to the flames at Oxford University; and the list goes on. In some cases, the burning of people did quickly follow.
In the toxic political environment and social turmoil we currently inhabit, which polarizes communities, burning books has become the weapon of opportunists who feed and thrive on division and discord by pushing their xenophobic agenda and putting the blame for all their society’s ills on those originating from other countries and subscribing to other faiths. It is a debased tool to build their power and influence and maintain their inflated egos.
This cynical exploitation of freedom of expression demands a legal, political and social response that will make burning books illegal, banishing the practice from political discourse before it can exacerbate the already fragile intercommunal relations we are witnessing in many liberal democracies, from where such inflammatory actions are threatening to spread.
• Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the international written and electronic media.
Twitter: @YMekelberg