Is Europe Choosing to Self-Destruct? - Judith Bergman

by Judith Bergman

• Europe has voluntarily begun the process of giving up its liberal and hard-fought-for freedoms. Free speech no longer exists, only -- straight out of totalitarian ideologies -- "responsible" free speech: "free" only if it does not "offend" anyone.
• The desire of many Europeans and other self-declared devotees of "human rights" to cover up, downplay or explain away what is happening in Europe, in fact represents the opposite of respect for others and equality before the law.
• Absolving such criminal behavior is not only the very opposite of justice, it is also a kind of "inverted racism" -- against its own native Europeans.
• In 2014 and 2015 Jews in Europe were murdered, raped, beaten and stalked -- just for being Jewish. Signs in the street read, "Sale Juif" ("dirty Jew"), "Death to the Jews," and "Jews to the gas." None of these side effects of Muslim immigration seems to concern the liberals, the media, or the purported defenders of human rights -- who so loudly claim to be against "racism." Or, once again in Europe, does "racism" not include Jews?

After the mass sexual assaults on New Year's Eve in the European cities of Cologne, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Bielefeld, Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Vienna, Salzburg, Zürich, Helsinki and Kalmar, it is clear that something profoundly disturbing has occurred in Europe. By Sunday, in Cologne alone, 516 women had filed criminal charges -- around 40% of them relating to sexual assaults.

The initial reactions to the sexual assaults from German authorities, the media, as well as feminists and others have not been less disturbing.

The German police first claimed, in a surreal statement the morning of Jan. 1, that the situation on New Year's Eve had been "relaxed." Cologne Police Chief Wolfgang Albers later admitted "this initial statement was incorrect" and, for his role in what appeared as a cover up, has since been forced into early retirement.

In the "mainstream media," Germany's public broadcaster, ZDF, made a decision not to report on the attacks until four days after they had occurred.

A former government official, Hans-Peter Friedrich, Chancellor Angela Merkel's interior minister from 2011 to 2013, accused the media of imposing a "news blackout" and operating a "code of silence" over negative news about immigrants: "It is a scandal that it took days for the media to pick up the reports," Mr. Friedrich said.

"Experts," feminists and liberals tried to downplay the attacks by explaining them away at all costs.

One such "expert," the German criminologist Christian Pfeiffer, described the men as "largely young, single men, who have arrived in this country and don't know what to do with themselves... The clarification of their asylum status took such a long time that their frustrations and anger only grew." This much-respected German criminologist concluded: "This is an alarm signal that we need to do more." According to him, immigrants commit crimes, but the Germans are at fault because they "need to do more."

Many feminists in Europe claimed that too much focus had been put on the criminals' "ethnicity," which these feminists alleged was "racism" -- while ignoring that Islam is not an ethnicity but a religion. This argument was championed especially by the once-hardcore feminists in Sweden and Denmark.

Social media were also rife with excuses for men who had assembled for the sole purpose of sexually assaulting female passersby in a public square. It turns out this pastime -- gang-rape -- hails from the Arab-Muslim world, and has a specific name: "Taharrush."

How does the fear of being accused of "racism" become more important than calling out gang-rape?

If any of these attempts at denial sound familiar, they should. For decades, European national authorities, liberals, and the media have either ignored, "relativized" or attempted to explain away whatever unpleasant facts accompanied Muslim mass-immigration into Europe.

The widespread sexual abuse of 1400 children by Muslim men, mainly of Pakistani origin, in Rotherham, England, for more than a decade, between 1999 and 2013, was known by the local British authorities but allowed to continue.

In Paris, Toulouse and Copenhagen, Jews were murdered by Muslims -- for just being Jews.
Imams are free to preach and incite hatred against Jews from European mosques. The imams call Jews the descendants of "apes and pigs."

The terrorist who murdered a young Jewish security guard last year in Copenhagen at a synagogue had been exposed to exactly such incitement in a local Copenhagen mosque the day before he committed the murder.

Jew-hunting season has also opened in France again, and 15,000 Jews have left the country in the past two years. Already in 2014, 75% of all French Jews were considering leaving the country.

In 2006, a young French Jew, Ilan Halimi, was held prisoner and tortured for 24 days by a gang of Muslims, then dumped, naked and handcuffed, in a field. In Europe, this story went practically unreported.

As The Atlantic wrote in April 2015, "France's 475,000 Jews represent less than 1 percent of the country's population. Yet last year, according to the French Interior Ministry, 51 percent of all racist attacks targeted Jews."

The statistics in other countries are similar. In 2014 and 2015, Jews in Europe were murdered, raped, beaten and stalked, only for being Jews. Signs in the street read, "Sale Juif" ("dirty Jew"), "Death to the Jews," and "Jews to the gas."

None of these side-effects of Muslim immigration seems to concern liberals, the media, or the purported defenders of human rights -- who so loudly claim to be against "racism." Or, once again in Europe, does "racism" not include the Jews?

In Sweden, there were "widespread sexual assaults" by about 90 young men, mainly from Afghanistan and Syria, at a concert in Stockholm last August. The largest Swedish newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, once it was informed of the national origin of the criminals, did not want to report the story.

Only after the Cologne attacks -- five months later -- did the Swedish newspaper show interest in what happened in Stockholm last summer.

Left: Cologne Police Chief Wolfgang Albers (left) was forced into early retirement, over the cover-up of New Year's Eve's mass sexual assaults in his city. Right: The largest Swedish newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, waited five months to report on "widespread sexual assaults" by about 90 young men, mainly from Afghanistan and Syria, at a concert in Stockholm last August.

In Norway, the first statistics on rapes were revealed in 2001: incidences of rape had increased by 40% from 1999 to 2000, and 65% of all rapes were committed by non-Western immigrants (mainly Muslims). At the time, professor Unna Wikan, considered an authority on Muslims in Norway, blamed the rapes on Norwegian women. She accused them of "inviting" the rapes by acting like "Norwegian women" instead of "internalising that we live in a multicultural society and accommodat[ing] that fact. ... In most Muslim countries, it is assumed that the woman is at fault for being raped, and it is only fair that Muslim immigrants bring these kinds of opinions with them when they move to Norway."

Liberals openly admit that they do not wish to talk about what they see: "So no wonder liberals would do anything to avoid fanning these flames, since we see in all this righteous indignation a blatantly racist old trope about barbarians at the gates. We bend over backwards to report it responsibly, to moderate the frothing rage," said a British self-declared liberal about her unwillingness to talk about the Cologne attacks.

Avoiding "fanning the flames," however, turns out not to be true. Many liberals seem to have no problems "fanning the flames" of racial hatred, so long as Muslims are not at the receiving end. At the very top of their hatred are Israeli Jews. Many in the media gleefully participate with skewed, selective reporting of facts, especially in the Middle East. The European media have virtually ignored the current wave of almost daily Palestinian stabbings, shootings, car-rammings and stone-throwings -- not to mention the rocket attacks into Israel from the Gaza Strip. These attacks are aimed at innocent civilians, and are whipped up by the Palestinian Authority, with Mahmoud Abbas at the helm.

The desire of many Europeans and other self-declared devotees of "human rights" to cover up, downplay or explain away what is happening in Europe, in fact represents the opposite of what people genuinely concerned with human rights care about: respect for others and equality before the law.

When a society built on the rule of law begins to cover up criminal behavior and absolve criminals of responsibility, this only weakens and corrodes the very values it claims to want to uphold.

Absolving such criminal behavior is not only the very opposite of justice, it is also a kind of "inverted racism" -- against its own native Europeans.

As it turns out, the liberal ethos seems anything but. It is actually totalitarian in its desire to adapt reality, at all costs, to its own fantasies, agendas and "narratives." Objective truth is treated as disposable.

Europe has voluntarily begun the process of giving up its liberal and hard-fought-for freedoms. Free speech no longer exists, only -- straight out of totalitarian ideologies -- "responsible" free speech: "free" only if it does not "offend" anyone. That is not free speech; that is censored speech. Speech that does not offend anyone does not need protecting.

Religious freedom no longer exists. Jews cannot wear Jewish symbols openly anymore without serious risk of assault, and they can only assemble for prayer under heavy security. Now will real freedom for girls and women also cease to exist? After that, who will be next?

Judith Bergman

Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7223/europe-self-destruction

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Hillary's Emails: Hating Israel - Ari Lieberman

by Ari Lieberman

If you hate Israel and wish to see nothing but misfortune for the Jewish State, stop reading because Hillary is your candidate. If you care about Israel and its relationship with the United States, read on

There are many reasons to dislike Hillary Clinton. For one, she’s an unrepentant liar, fabricating everything from her Brian Williamesque brush with death in Bosnia to her parent’s pedigree to her claim that she believed a video caused the deaths of four heroes in Benghazi.

She is also unethical, having accepted large sums of money to the Clinton Foundation from countries and entities working on behalf of foreign governments impacted by her decisions as secretary of state. There is some circumstantial evidence suggesting that she may have been influenced by these rather large contributions. In one well publicized case, Russia was able to acquire 20% of the United States’ uranium reserves in an energy deal that required State Department approval. A paper trail from that transaction reveals that the Clintons’ and their foundation benefited from substantial donations issued by entities with vested interests in ensuring the Russian acquisition of America’s strategic assets. Clinton was required to publicly disclose these contributions but never did. The FBI has now expanded its Emailgate probe of Clinton to include whether the possible “intersection” of Clinton Foundation work and State Department business violated public corruption laws.
Hillary Clinton, who fancies herself as the champion of human rights and women’s rights, is also a serial hypocrite. Records show that the Clinton Foundation accepted funds from countries with abysmal human rights records where misogyny is regularly practiced and the principles of due process are routinely trampled upon.

She gives new meaning to the term flip-flopper, changing her views on various issues on multiple occasions. On everything from gay marriage to NAFTA to the Keystone Pipeline, Hillary is all over the map. Depending on the prevailing winds and the target audience, she’s either for it or against it. With Hillary, it’s all about expediency while principle plays little if any role. When asked by Chris Matthews about the difference between a Socialist and a Democrat, Hillary, ever the professional panderer, sidestepped the issue and predictably, a pliant Matthews from the uber-left MSNBC, let the matter pass without protest. As an aside, there is no longer any difference. Both parties believe in big, intrusive government and “redistribution” of wealth.

She is more than likely a felon having committed numerous transgressions in connection with her usage of private, unsecured servers to send classified State Department emails which likely fell into the hands of the Russians, Chinese and God knows who else.

In fact, Hillary’s crimes are likely far greater in scope and scale than those committed by General David Petraeus. At least with Petraeus, the damage was limited and contained. Not so with Clinton’s malfeasance. We may never know the extent of the damage caused by her deliberate circumvention of law and government protocol but it is a virtual certainty that government secrets were compromised and national security was placed at risk.

Bob Woodward compared Hillary’s server scandal to that of Watergate, which brought down the Nixon administration. Woodward is not some far-right tea-bagger but an accomplished and well-respected Washington insider and investigative journalist who brought down an American president.

These examples by themselves should give pause for thought before one entertains the notion of pulling the lever for an unprincipled liar and possible, nay probable felon but unfortunately, there’s more, a lot more.

If you hate Israel and wish to see nothing but misfortune for the Jewish State, stop reading because Hillary is your candidate. If you care about Israel and its relationship with the United States, read on.

Hillary’s email scandal has unleashed a treasure trove of information pertaining to the former secretary of state’s views on Israel as well as those of her closest advisors, Sidney Blumenthal, Anne Marie Slaughter and Thomas Pickering. The latest email exposé involves Thomas Pickering.

Pickering has never been known to be friendly toward Israel but what he suggested to Hillary in a 2011 email is frankly shocking, even by anti-Israel standards.  He hatched a scheme to foment unrest in Israel through mass Arab demonstrations to pressure the Israeli government and arm-twist it into making damaging concessions. The nefarious plan, Pickering advised, would require the assistance of third parties and NGOs so that the U.S. could not be linked to it in any way. Apparently, even Pickering, the author of this malevolence, understood its negative implications for the U.S.-Israel alliance should the U.S. role in it ever come to light.

One would think that Hillary would have dismissed such an outrageous suggestion outright but instead, she ordered an aide to print the email providing keen insight into the extent of Clinton’s disdain for the Jewish State. It only gets worse from there.

One of Clinton’s closest advisers was Anne Marie Slaughter. She served as Clinton’s director of policy planning at Foggy Bottom from 2009 until 2011. In 2010, she sent an email to senior Clinton staffers hatching a ludicrous plan involving a pro-Palestinian fundraising initiative that would have had the net effect of “shaming” Israel into submission.

Another miscreant and perhaps the most troubling on the list of shady anti-Israel characters advising Clinton is Sidney Blumenthal, father and defender of the notorious anti-Semite, Max Blumenthal. Max has never met a Hamas or Hezbollah terrorist he didn’t like and subscribes to every single anti-Israel calumny and conspiracy theory winding its way through the blogosphere. So extreme are his views that even the German Communist party washed its hands of him.

Sidney Blumenthal is a passionate defender of his son’s unscholarly, anti-Semitic dung and has passed much of it along via email to a very receptive Hillary. Among the articles forwarded was a lengthy conspiracy piece written by Max for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Akhbar. Rather than rejecting it outright, Clinton responded, “interesting reading.” Shmuley Boteach provides brilliant insight and analysis on the pernicious Sidney Blumenthal-Max Blumenthal-Hillary Clinton axis and its ramifications on the U.S.-Israel alliance should Clinton be elected.

Perhaps Clinton’s closest adviser is Huma Abedin. She has wisely kept her views on Israel close to her chest but her past flirtations with the fascist Muslim Brotherhood are undeniable as noted by FPM’s Joseph Klein. Abedin and her Saudi-connected parents have held high-level positions with various Muslim affiliated organizations that have openly adopted extremely hostile views toward the Jewish State. While Abedin is not on record making anti-Israel remarks, it is safe to assume that given her past affiliations and those of her closest relatives, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

The Obama administration is in its twilight year and Israel has endured and survived eight torturous years of open hostility from a virulent Israel-hater. The next president will determine the trajectory of the U.S. Israel alliance. David Petraeus has insightfully noted that despite some differences and disagreements that may arise between Israel and the U.S. from time to time, we would be wise to focus on the big picture. He states:

The simple reality is that Israel and the United States are long-standing friends and allies in an increasingly dangerous world – and we ought to treat each other as such. From an American perspective, Israel has proven itself to be an exceptionally capable, resourceful and valuable ally to the United States in a very important and treacherous region. We share many fundamental interests, and we face enemies that wish to do both countries harm. Just as importantly, we share core values and we therefore wrestle with many of the same questions – about how to keep our people safe from the forces of terrorism that seek our destruction while preserving our respective democratic freedoms, rule of law, and respect for fundamental and eternal human rights, which define who we are.

Should Clinton become president, it is safe to assume that she will disregard Petraeus’ advice and employ the same destructive policies championed by her predecessor, placing the final nail in the coffin of an alliance that has endured for 68 years and causing tremendous harm to the interests of two great democracies. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.


Ari Lieberman is an attorney and former prosecutor who has authored numerous articles and publications on matters concerning the Middle East and is considered an authority on geo-political and military developments affecting the region.

Source: http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/261443/hillarys-emails-hating-israel-ari-lieberman

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Arab Commentators On American Sailors Incident: This Is Iran's Message On The Eve Of JCPOA 'Implementation Day' - MEMRI

by MEMRI

"Tehran to Washington: I Control The Gulf."

On January 12, 2016, Iranian authorities arrested 10 American sailors from two small U.S. naval craft that had strayed into Iranian territorial waters. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested and handcuffed the crew and held them at a military base, releasing them a short time later. Iranian authorities released photos of the sailors kneeling with their hands on their heads. 

Following the incident, articles were published in the Arab press both by supporters of Iran and by its opponents, claiming that, with its actions, Iran had sent a message to the U.S. Tareq Al-Homayed, former editor of the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, stated that the IRGC had shamed U.S. President Obama and shown him to be weak on the eve of the JCPOA's "Implementation Day." The Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hizbullah and supports the resistance axis, argued that the IRGC was sending a message to the U.S. that Iran will be willing to clash with it if it has to, and at the same time telling other countries – that is, the Gulf states – not to mess with Iran. It should be noted that Al-Akhbar's January 14, 2016 front page showed the photo of the American sailors kneeling with hands on their heads, under a headline reading "Tehran to Washington: I Control The Gulf."

 

January 14 Cover of Al-Akhbar: "Tehran to Washington: I Control the Gulf"

Article In Lebanese Daily Close To Hizbullah: Iran Sent U.S. And Others A Message That It Is Ready For A Clash

The Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is close to Hizbullah and the Iranian axis, published an article by columnist Hassan Haidar, who claimed that Iran wanted to use this incident to send a message to the U.S. that it would not hesitate to clash with it if necessary. He added that this was also a message to other countries, hinting at the Gulf states, specifically Saudi Arabia, that the rules of the game have changed and that they must acknowledge their own weakness. 

He wrote: "This incident was a quiet yet an important battle, since it took place off the Saudi coast, targeted an American force, and triggered American [responses expressing] hope [that Iran would not hurt the sailors], which were akin to apologizing to Iran. Washington did not threaten war or raise its voice...

"The Revolutionary Guards, which are in charge of defending the Gulf, are known to 'see but not be seen' - a term coined by the head of their navy, General Ali Fadavi. This means that they watch [the goings on] in the Gulf without being noticed by anyone, and in an emergency, they suddenly appear.

"The Revolutionary Guards possibly wanted to send a message to all, that if Iran feels that its interests and security are at stake, it will be willing to enter any conflict, even with the U.S.... [Furthermore,] dealing with Washington in this way ensures that smaller [countries] understand that Tehran will never hesitate to respond to any violation of its sovereignty, and that the rules of the game have changed, and therefore certain [elements] should recognize the limits of their power."[1] 

Leading Saudi Writer: Iran Kidnapped Not Only The Sailors But Obama Himself As Well

Tareq Al-Homayed, former editor of the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, wrote on January 14, 2016 that the arrest of the American sailors just hours before President Obama's final State of the Union address had cast a shadow over the address, and had in effect kidnapped the president himself. He noted that the kidnapping had proven that Iran has no intention of moderating its positions, and had exposed Obama, who wanted to present the nuclear agreement with it as a great achievement, in all his weakness. Al-Homayed wrote: "When Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized two American naval craft in the Gulf on Tuesday evening [January 13, 2016], with ten American sailors on board, it was not the sailors who were the important point, but the fact that the Revolutionary Guards effectively kidnapped U.S. President Barak Obama [himself only] a few hours before he was to deliver his final State of the Union address, towards the end of his second term in office. The crisis of the American sailors [detained by] Iran ended [just] a few hours after their arrest, but it was Obama's speech that was hijacked, since the Iranians deprived Obama of the opportunity to appear as the strong man who had forced Iran to capitulate on the nuclear dossier. The sailors' arrest deprived Obama of the chance to boast of the legitimacy of the nuclear agreement and to tell America, which is divided on the Iranian issue, as is the entire world, that Iran has changed and will once again become an active member of the international community, [a country] that renounces violence and respects international treaties and agreements. Some may say that the Iranians' conduct was foolish, and this is true – but so was placing faith in the Iranian regime!

"Hence, the arrest of the Iranian sailors [right] before Obama's address exposed the weakness of the American president and sparked doubts even in those who defend his foreign policy, especially [his policy] towards Iran's [behavior] in our region. Embarrassment was apparent even among the White House staff, as manifest in leaks and excuses conveyed by Obama's staff to the U.S. media during the sailors' detention. The biggest embarrassment was over Obama's handling of the incident... and [the question of] whether or not he would refer to it in his pre-prepared speech. So what we witnessed was not so much the abduction of the sailors but the abduction of the American president himself. His ransom was the missed opportunity to present himself as a strong president enjoying the legitimacy of achieving the nuclear agreement with Iran.

"With the premeditated intent to abuse the American president and to present his weakness to all, the Revolutionary Guards arrested the American sailors, and in fact kidnapped Obama himself, [just] days before the expected implementation of the nuclear agreement they will not submit and that Obama is too weak to boast of victory over them. Likewise, the Revolutionary Guards seek to tell anyone, in Iran and outside it, that their hand is still uppermost in Tehran, despite everything that has happened to Iran recently, after the wild attack on the Saudi Embassy in Iran and Tehran's apology to the [UN] Security Council for this. Additionally, the IRGC's action [i.e. detaining the sailors] is a response that embarrasses the propaganda of the Iranian president [Rohani] and his men – particularly the wily foreign minister [Zarif] and others – who claim that they want peace and openness, as they market lies and corrupt accusations against Saudi Arabia. 

"Obama's predicament is not manifested only in his kidnapping, but [also] in that he wants to take a neutral stand vis-à-vis the recent Iranian hostility against Saudi Arabia and the entire region. But he himself became a victim of Iran when [Iran] kidnapped him [just] before his final State of the Union address, and wrecked his opportunity to present himself as an accomplished hero when [his accomplishments] are in fact not yet completed."[2]

Endnotes:

[1] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), January 14, 2016.

[2] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), January 14, 2016.

MEMRI

Source: http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8953.htm

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

EU funding illegal Palestinian construction in Area C - Gideon Allon and Israel Hayom Staff

by Gideon Allon and Israel Hayom Staff

Habayit Hayehudi MK Moti Yogev claims illegal Palestinian construction in Judea and Samaria is directed by PA and funded by EU nations • Yogev accuses Civil Administration of "inaction, incompetence, irresponsibility and abandonment" in Area C.

A European Union sticker on a Palestinian building in Judea and Samaria | Photo credit: Jonathan Shaul

Grave findings regarding illegal Palestinian construction in Area C (the parts of Judea and Samaria under full Israeli military and civil control) were presented on Wednesday at a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee's Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria.

Habayit Hayehudi MK Moti Yogev, the chairman of the subcommittee, said: "We're talking about hundreds of thousands of illegally constructed buildings. Quite simply, this is construction terrorism directed by the Palestinian Authority and deliberately funded by European Union countries with around 110 million euros [$120 million] per year."

Yogev accused the Civil Administration (the Israeli governing body that operates in Judea and Samaria) of "inaction, incompetence, irresponsibility and abandonment" in Area C.

Col. Uri Mendes, deputy head of the Civil Administration, said: "There is no illegal construction that is not dealt with by us. Just last week, we demolished five buildings and confiscated tents that were donated by the European Union." According to Col. Mendes, 904 buildings were illegally constructed in 2014 -- 408 of which were subsequently demolished.

Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer told Yogev the finger of blame should be pointed at the government, not the Civil Administration.

Gideon Allon and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=31111

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Palestinian Authority Antisemitism: Overview of 2015 - Itamar Marcus

by Itamar Marcus

The official PA daily published an op-ed saying Jews "are thirsty for blood to please their god (against the gentiles), and crave pockets full of money."

Since the Palestinian Authority (PA) was established, and continuing throughout 2015, it has systematically used Antisemitism to indoctrinate young and old to hate Israelis and Jews. The PA has actively promoted religious hatred by demonizing Judaism and Jews, spreading libels that present Jews as endangering Palestinians, Arabs, and all humanity.
The PA presents Jews as possessing inherently evil traits. Jews are said to be treacherous, corrupt, allied with the devil, as well as descendants of apes and pigs. In 2015, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' advisor on Islam and head of PA Shari'ah courts taught on PA TV that Jews throughout history have represented "falsehood... evil... the devils and their supporters... the satans and their supporters." Accordingly, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is a conflict of "Allah's project vs. Satan's project."
The official PA daily published an op-ed saying Jews "are thirsty for blood to please their god (against the gentiles), and crave pockets full of money." These Jewish "attributes" and traditions are presented as the unchangeable nature of Jews. These messages come from the top of the Palestinian Authority.
In 2015, children were broadcast on official PA TV reciting poems with strong Antisemitic content. Young kids had learned by heart that Jews are "most evil among creations," "barbaric monkeys" and "Satan with a tail."
According to the PA, the Jews' evil nature and corruption caused the nations of the world to take defensive measures. The PA regularly claims that Jews were forced out of Europe in the past because of the threat that their "evil nature" posed to Europeans. These Jewish "traits" and "ways of behavior" constitute a danger, not only to all Muslims and Arabs but to all of humanity. As taught in a religious lesson on official PA TV: "Humanity will never live in comfort as long as the Jews are causing devastating corruption throughout the land... If a fish in the sea fights with another fish, I am sure the Jews are behind it."
The Russian forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is said to be an authentic Jewish text in which the Jews exposed their plan to rule over all humanity. Indeed, the Antisemitism and oppression Jews have suffered throughout history is presented as the legitimate response of nations seeking revenge for the injury that the Jews caused them. The creation of the State of Israel is said to have been a European plot, motivated by the Europeans' desire to get rid of the Jews and save Europe from the evils of the Jews among them.
The following are examples of Antisemitic statements by Palestinian Authority and Fatah leaders as well as Antisemitic content broadcast on official Palestinian Authority television and published in the official Palestinian Authority daily.

Children taught Antisemitic hate speech

Jews are "barbaric monkeys," "most evil among creations," in poem recited by girl on PA TV (Video)
Girl reciting poem on official PA TV children's program The Best Home: "Oh, you who murdered Allah's pious prophets (i.e., Jews in Islamic tradition)
Oh, you who were brought up on spilling blood
Oh Sons of Zion, oh most evil among creations
Oh barbaric monkeys
Jerusalem opposes your throngs
Jerusalem vomits from within it your impurity
Because Jerusalem, you impure ones, is pious, immaculate
And Jerusalem, you who are filth, is clean and pure
I do not fear barbarity
As long as my heart is my Quran and my city
As long as I have my arm and my stones
As long as I am free and do not barter my cause
I will not fear your throngs, I will not fear the rifle"

[Official PA TV, May 29, 2015]
Girl in Gaza on PA TV recites poem about Jews: "You are doomed to humiliation and suffering" (Video)
Palestinian girl in Gaza: "I do not fear the rifle
because your throngs are in delusion and are ignorant herds
Jerusalem is my land, Jerusalem is my honor
Jerusalem is my days and my wildest dreams
Oh, you who murdered Allah's pious prophets (i.e., Jews in Islamic tradition)
Oh, you who were brought up on spilling blood
You are doomed to humiliation and suffering"

[Official PA TV, Oct. 23, 2015]
Girl recites poem on PA TV: "Our enemy, Zion, is Satan with a tail" (Video)
PA TV host: "What are you going to recite?'
Girl: "The poem 'Visa'..." (i.e., by Hesham El-Gakh)
"When I was young I was taught that Arabness is my honor...
and that our lands extend from one end to the other,
and that our wars were for the Al-Aqsa Mosque,
and that our enemy, Zion, is Satan with a tail
and that our nation's armies are outstanding."
PA TV host: "Thank you very much. I really like this poem."

[Official PA TV, Nov. 6, 2015]
Girl recites story demonizing Jews: "Treachery has been inherent in them from the days of Moses until today" (Video)
Girl: "Today, children, I have come to tell you the story of my people, listen to it. We had land and a house, and we had a field, garden, and fireplace. In Jaffa we had a noble family with small children, and in Acre we had an oven and pottery. My people lived on the land from generations... I remember what my grandmother told me long ago: 'Don't forget these words, lock them in your heart and guard them: Palestine is Arab, its land is Arab, its language is Arabic, its identity is Arab' ... This home was the home of our father, and the foreigners came to banish us. Long ago we were dear friends. Yona [the Jew] helped Fatima [the Arab] with the laundry and Fatima boiled milk for her, and lit the fire for her on the Sabbath. It does not surprise us [that they banished us]. Treachery has been their nature from the days of Moses until today. May Allah turn back every oppressor's scheme. Say Amen with me."

[Official PA TV, Dec. 26, 2014, Dec. 24, 2015]

Religious Antisemitism

PA TV host: The Protocol of the Elders of Zion is authentic Jewish plan (Video)
Imad Hamato, Professor of Quranic Studies at the University of Palestine in Gaza and host of weekly official PA TV program on Islam: "The Prophet [Muhammad] said: 'The Israelites killed 42 prophets in one day. 170 men came and ordered them to do good and abstain from evil, so they [the Israelites] killed them in the evening.' They are the slayers of the prophets and the slayers of the innocent. There is a falsified Biblical base to their path of blood... [Israel] erases the Islamic traces and fingerprints in Jerusalem. This is a serious matter - Judaization of the land. In addition, the Judaization of people, Judaization of their thinking and education. This is a serious matter - the Judaization of people. Then they began to Judaize education by flooding the media, as was written in The Protocol of the Elders of Zion: 'We have to strive that the Westerner, the Arab, the American and the Australian will hear only what the Jews want him to hear.' They focused on this matter. Now, they have entered the 4th serious stage, the Judaization of the Islamic faith."

Note: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is an Antisemitic forgery describing how Jews allegedly plan to subjugate the world under Jewish rule. It was published in Russia in 1903 and translated into multiple languages. In 1921, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as a false document.
[Official PA TV, Nov. 4, 2015]
Abbas' advisor: Jews represent "evil", Palestinian-Israeli conflict is "Allah's project vs. Satan's project" (Video)
Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs and Supreme Shari'ah Judge Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "The conflict here in Palestine between us and the criminal occupation and its criminal leaders, is a further manifestation of our trials, a further manifestation of the historic conflict between truth and falsehood, between good and evil. Throughout history, there has been a conflict between good and evil. The good is represented by the prophets and their supporters. The evil is represented by the devils and their supporters, by the satans and their supporters. We are not inventing anything new here. This is a conflict between two entities, good and evil, between two projects: Allah's project vs. Satan's project, a project connected to Allah, which is his will - true and good - and a project connected to oppression and Satanism, to Satanism and animosity, occupation and barbarism."

[Official PA TV, Oct. 23, 2015]
Fatah Spokesman on PA TV: Jews are "sons of apes and pigs" (Video)
Fatah Spokesman in Jerusalem Raafat Alayan: "The heroic Palestinian people, including its children, women, and elderly, who have made intifada against the occupation and foiled [its plans]... I confirm that in this uprising, we in Jerusalem have succeeded in preventing 80% of the settlers, the sons of apes and pigs, from walking around the Old City and the stairs of the Damascus Gate."

[Official PA TV, Nov. 1, 2015]
PA cleric on PA TV: Jews are "apes and pigs and slaves of deities" (Video)
PA cleric: "Many Muslims are being harmed these days by a group whose hearts were sealed by Allah. 'He made of them [Jews] apes and pigs and slaves of deities' (Quran, 5:60). They are harming the livelihood of the believers [Muslims]... They withhold their [the Palestinians'] money and collect interest on it."

[Official PA TV, Jan. 30, 2015]
Muslim preacher on PA TV: "Humanity will never live in comfort as long as the Jews are causing devastating corruption" (Video)
Imad Hamato, Professor of Quranic Studies at the University of Palestine in Gaza and host of weekly PA TV program on Islam:"The Israelites went too far by [shedding] pure blood. If the Quran says: 'They killed prophets without right' (Sura 4:155), what can we say about those who are less than prophets - the killing of the righteous and of Jihad fighters? This [Israel] is a state of blood, a terror state... Humanity will never live in comfort as long as the Jews are causing devastating corruption throughout the land. Humanity will never live in peace or fortune or tranquility as long as they are corrupting the land. An old man told me: If a fish in the sea fights with another fish, I am sure the Jews are behind it. As Allah says: 'Every time they kindled the fire of war [against you], Allah extinguished it. They strive throughout the land [causing] corruption, and Allah does not like corrupters.'" (Sura 5:64).

[Official PA TV, Feb. 27, 2015]
Israel's immorality "stems from... the Jewish religion" and Zionism, which "is based on the denial of the rights of the Palestinian 'goys'" says op-ed in official PA daily
Op-ed by Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul, columnist for the official PA daily:
"The year 2014 witnessed a series of sex scandals involving several police officers of the Israeli ethnic cleansing state... This moral flaw in the institutions of the organized terrorism state stems from several reasons: 1. The conservative Jewish religion heritage, which marginalizes the role of women. 2. The ideological foundations of the Zionist movement, as a reactionary colonialist racist movement. 3. Due to the latter, the exclusion of values and morality, since the 'State of Israel' is based on the denial of the rights of the Palestinian 'goys.' This [denial], whether the Zionist leaders like it or not, has consequences for the components of Israeli society, for the feeling of exclusivity is rooted in the Jewish Zionist conscious and subconscious. 4. The mixing of the values of the Jewish religion with those of capitalism, which gave birth to Mafioso [modes of] behavior and ideas, and their dissemination throughout Israeli society and its political and security-military elites."
[Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 11, 2015]
The Palestinians, "[Jesus'] people", suffer "from the Zionist Jews" the same way he did, says op-ed in official PA daily
Op-ed by Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul, columnist for official PA daily
"Palestine, the first sanctified land, that promised the oppressed and the defeated liberty, independence and eternal co-existence between human beings, all while carrying the dream of hope for rebirth, will be baptized on May 17, 2015, when it is recognized by the Vatican State. This means recognition of the political rights of the Arab Palestinian nation, support of the two-state option within the borders of June 4, 1967. [it is also] an apology to the messenger of peace and love, Jesus, may he rest in peace, who suffered from the injustice of the first Jews... in the same way his people, the Palestinians, have suffered from the Zionist Jews in the past and in the present... for the delay in doing them [the Palestinians] justice through restoring some of their rights."
[Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 16, 2015]

Classic Antisemitism

PA TV: Europe created Israel to "get rid of" the corrupt, scheming Jews (Video)
Documentary on the history of Fatah, entitled "Fatah: Revolution until Victory," that opens with classic demonization of Jews:
"Faced with the Jews' schemes, Europe could not bear their character traits, monopolies, corruption, and their control and climbing up positions in government. In 1290, King Edward I issued a decree banishing the Jews [from England]. Following him were France, Germany, Austria, Holland, Czechoslovakia, Spain and Italy. The European nations felt that they had suffered a tragedy by providing refuge for the Jews. Later the Jews obtained the Balfour Declaration, and Europe saw it as an ideal solution to get rid of them."

This video was originally broadcast on official PA TV, Jan. 1, 2013, Nov. 11, 2014 and Dec. 31, 2015. It was broadcast on Fatah-run Awdah TV on Feb. 18, 2015.
[PA TV, Dec. 31, 2015]
PA daily supports PA ambassador's speech that the Russian forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is an authentic Jewish plan "in order to take over the world"
Headline: "[Palestinian Ambassador to Chile Imad Nabil] Jada'a: 'Zionism planned to take over the world'"
"The Hebrew websites reported today [July 8, 2015], Wednesday, and yesterday the words of Palestinian Ambassador to Chile Imad Nabil Jada'a two months ago in the capital of Chile, Santiago, according to which 'Zionism united in order to take over the world, and the search and effort to find a national homeland for the Jews were just a cover.'
What is surprising is not the Palestinian ambassador's statements at the conference named 'Peace for Palestine,' held two months ago, but rather the fact that the Hebrew websites reported these statements only today. The Palestinian ambassador referred to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, exposed by Lenin after the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, and published by the Institute of Politics and Antisemitism in New York. He noted that the Zionist movement was composed of a group of thinkers and financial advisors, most them from European countries, and a minority of them Jews, under the pretext of establishing a national homeland for the Jews, but the real reason was [their plan] to take over the world.
These statements made by the Palestinian ambassador in Chile, which the Hebrew websites considered controversial, are interpretations of the contents of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion."
[Ma'an, independent Palestinian news agency, July 8, 2015]
Fatah official speaks about the forgery The Protocols of Elders of Zion as an authentic Jewish document (Video)
Fatah Spokesperson Osama al-Qawasmi: "According to Israel's ideology, strategy and policy from 1956 until now, Gaza is outside the Israeli ideological thinking. Even in their Protocols [of the Elders of Zion] and even in their Bible [it says]: 'Don't live in Gaza.'"

[Official PA TV, April 5, 2015]
Muslim preacher on PA TV: Jews "control the money, the press, the resources" (Video)
Imad Hamato, Professor of Quranic Studies at the University of Palestine in Gaza, and host of a weekly PA TV program on Islam:
"Israel, the invading country, the cancerous tumor - which we have already called a cancerous tumor in the past - many intellectuals today talk about coexistence and offering our hands in peace, and [say] Israel is part of the region. The noblest Arabs in terms of their Arabness, were those who spoke up and said: 'Israel does not exist!' Those who did not say that were ostracized. Now, whoever says that Israel should exist is met with approval... They [the Jews] are usurers. See, the usury money and usurer banks, those who control the money in the world can be counted on one hand - a few individuals - and all of them belong to the Jewish world. They control the media, the money, the press, the resources, the plans."

[Official PA TV, May 1, 2015]
Judaism permits stealing from and killing Gentiles, says Gaza university professor (Video)
PA TV host: "What made the Israeli public lean toward extremism [in the March 2015 elections]?"
Dr. Ibrahim Abrash, political science professor, Al-Azhar University in Gaza: "The structure of the Zionist ideology, and even the structure of the Jewish religion, are based on extremism. The term "Gentiles" exists in the Jewish religion, 'us vs. the Gentiles', and it is permitted to steal from and kill Gentiles."

[Official PA TV, May 29, 2015]
Orthodox Israelis "are eager to steal lands, are thirsty for blood to please their god (against the gentiles), and crave pockets full of money," saysop-ed in official PA daily
Op-ed by Fatah Revolutionary Council member Bakr Abu Bakr, regular columnist for official PA daily
"In [achieving] his electoral success, [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu did not rely on his rhetorical skills alone ...rather, he stuck to five basic principles designed to project an image and reap success:
1. Netanyahu adopted a policy of instilling fear in the Israelis - as if his radical, terrorist government that opposes evacuating the settlements could promise the Israelis security, livelihood and stability...
2. The second principle [Netanyahu] relies on is the theft and crude falsification of history, based on the assumption that Palestine is the land of his "ancestors" - even though [Netanyahu] and those he represents are strangers to this land both now and historically speaking or [the land of] those he claims are his kings and prophets. This is [merely] a belief, and if he holds it, he has made good use of it to influence the Israeli and international consciousness, which is dominated by the bible's historical nonsense.
3. The third principle, related to those described above, is that Netanyahu's reliance on the falsification and theft of history is connected to the strong link created between the false-historic (in the Bible and its adjuncts) and the spiritual-religious [all parentheses in source]. He succeeded in inciting all the Orthodox Israelis (who will soon be the majority of the population), who are eager to steal lands, are thirsty for blood to please their god (against the gentiles), and crave pockets full of money. He [Netanyahu] thereby also incited the Zionist American right-wing, seeking to ignite a "holy" religious war, which he will direct, together with the radical terrorist Jews, against the holy sanctuary of Jerusalem (i.e., the Temple Mount), the holy sanctuary of Hebron (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs) and all places in the West Bank that he claims Jews have a connection to..."
[Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 29, 2015]
PA Libel: "Jews of high position" planned Al-Aqsa Mosque arson in 1969 (Video)
Documentary narrator: "From investigations conducted by the Islamic Council it became clear that there was more than one perpetrator [of the Al-Aqsa Mosque arson in 1969] and that the fire was planned by senior Jews of high position, especially since the roof can only be reached from a wooden spiral staircase located outside the Al-Aqsa building. This proves that careful, premeditated measures were taken to completely destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The proof is that the occupation authorities were slow to extinguish [the fire] and that the water supply to the Sanctuary (i.e., the Temple Mount) had been cut off during those hours."

Note: The fire in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969 was started by a deranged Australian Christian, but the Palestinian Authority for years has attributed it to Israel.
The documentary was also broadcast on PA Live TV on the same date in 2013, at an event under the auspices of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
[Official PA TV, Aug. 21, 2015]
Zionists "took advantage" of Holocaust to "blackmail" Europe into supporting Zionism and gain "the world's compassion," says op-ed in official PA daily
Op-ed by Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul, columnist for official PA daily:
"Even though the Jewish people were never one nation, the Jews of the different European nationalities paid a heavy price in the Second World War, since Nazis committed a holocaust... The leaders of the Nazi and Fascist states conspired to make the Jews immigrate to Israel, the establishment of which was supported by more than one leader and one European state, to serve the colonialist ambitions of these states in the Arab world. Likewise, the Zionist movement wanted to achieve a series of goals: First, to take advantage and use this [the Holocaust] to blackmail the European states financially and politically to make them support the Zionist colonialist project. Second, to bully the Jews to immigrate to the Israeli ethnic cleansing state, which was in a preparatory stages of establishment. Third, to increase the Jews' suffering and abuse in order to take advantage of the world's compassion for them...
There is no arguing that the Holocaust and catastrophe did strike the Jews and claim more than a million victims, which is a crime according to all political, legal and moral criteria. However, the Jewish catastrophe occurred as part of the [Second] World War, which brought about the death of tens of millions of people... On the other hand, the Palestinian catastrophe, inflicted by the Zionist terror organizations and their allies - the colonialist Western states - was limited to Palestinians only and included killing [them], driving them out and deporting them from their homes and homeland, to the unknown of being refugees. It has been nearly 70 years, and the Palestinian catastrophe and Nakba (i.e., "the catastrophe," Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) still witness the barbarity of the Zionist Jews and their allies."
[Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 18, 2015]
Fatah posts Nazi children's book cover: "'Trust no fox on his green meadow, and trust no Jew on his oath'"

Image and text posted to official Facebook page of the Fatah Movement on Oct. 29, 2015
The image shows the picture of the cover of a children's book from Germany from 1936 with the title: "Trau keinem Fuchs auf grüner Heid und keinem Jud bei seinem Eid."
Fatah's Posted text is a translation of the book's title: "Trust no fox on his green heath, and trust no Jew on his oath."
[Official Facebook page of the Fatah Movement, Oct. 29, 2015]

Itamar Marcus

Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7220/palestinian-authority-antisemitism

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

The United Methodist Church reveals its anti-Semitic core - Ed Straker

by Ed Straker

It is curious that the Methodists have unilaterally decided that these lands belong to the "Palestinians." I don't see them calling for divestment from China over Tibet, or from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The United Methodist Church has approved a motion to divest its pension interests from Israel.

The pension board of the United Methodist Church — one of the largest Protestant denominations in the United States, with more than seven million members — has placed five Israeli banks on a list of companies that it will not invest in for human rights reasons, the board said in a statement on Tuesday.
It appeared to be the first time that a pension fund of a large American church had taken such a step regarding the Israeli banks, which help finance settlement construction in what most of the world considers illegally occupied Palestinian territories.

There are no illegally occupied Palestinian territories, because the area in question was once part of Jordan, never part of an independent nation.  Jews have lived there since biblical times, though there were fewer before 1948 because the "Palestinians" kept massacring them in pogroms.

It is curious that the Methodists have unilaterally decided that these lands belong to the "Palestinians."  I don't see them calling for divestment from China over Tibet, or from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.  Or, as human rights are concerned, divestment from Iran and a whole host of other Islamic countries who execute women and homosexuals.

Arabs in the Middle East have the most human rights in Israel, not in other Arab countries.  Jews are not to be found in other Arab countries, or else they would be killed.  But the United Methodist Church doesn't seem to care about these facts.

No, it's only the Jews they care about.  This mirrors a similar move by the United Church of Christ to divest from Israel.  By singling Israel out and holding it to a higher standard than any other nation on the Earth, the United Methodist Church leadership shows itself to be anti-Semitic.

There is an ugly strain of anti-Semitism among some mainline protestant denominations like the United Methodists and the United Church of Christ.  They should be held up to shame and ridicule.  Their unjustified discrimination stains the virtue of their entire organizations.  They claim to be religious people.  What will God think of Christians who hate their Jewish brothers?

Ed Straker, senior writer of NewsMachete.com, the conservative news site.

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/01/the_united_methodist_church_reveals_its_antisemitic_core.html

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

The Mullahs Humiliate America -- Again and Again - Joseph Klein

by Joseph Klein

Obama's appeasement bears its catastrophic fruit.

On January 12^th, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard seized two U.S. naval patrol boats with ten sailors aboard. The vessels had evidently strayed a little over a mile into Iranian territorial waters. Iran released the sailors a day later, but not before trying to reap as much propaganda value from the incident as possible. The semiofficial Fars news agency claimed “the American ships were ‘snooping’ around in Iranian waters.” The captors photographed the sailors after they were evidently forced to their knees with their hands over their heads. The display of such humiliating photographs of disarmed military prisoners is arguably a violation of the Geneva Convention.

Iran used the incident to send a message to Congress – don’t even think about instituting new sanctions. "This incident in the Persian Gulf, which probably will not be the American forces' last mistake in the region, should be a lesson to troublemakers in the US Congress," Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, head of Iran's armed forces, was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

This incident followed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s provocative firing late last December of missiles within 1,500 yards of the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, which had been traveling in international waters.

Secretary of State John Kerry put a happy face on the release of the sailors. Kerry thanked the Iranians for their “cooperation” and characterized the positive outcome as proof that the diplomacy leading to the nuclear deal had paid off.

“I want to express my gratitude to Iranian authorities for their cooperation ‎in swiftly resolving this matter,” Kerry said. “That this issue was resolved peacefully and efficiently is a testament to the critical role diplomacy plays in keeping our country safe, secure, and strong.” Evidently, the humiliating photographs were of no consequence to the Secretary of State. All he could say was thank you. And he did not revise his prediction that the lifting of sanctions imposed on Iran is just "days away."

Kerry had been in contact with his Iranian counterpart Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, asking him to intervene to help bring about the sailors’ release. Denis McDonough, the White House chief of staff, pointed to the constructive relationship that had developed between Kerry and Zarif during their negotiation of the nuclear deal. “Secretary Kerry’s aggressive and early engagement in this, and open channel that he had and he has with his foreign minister counterpart is important,” McDonough said.

Such expressions of good will are pure spin. In reality, the Iranian regime is continuing to twist the Obama administration around its little finger. Kerry had to figuratively get on his own knees to implore the Iranians to release our sailors whom had been disgracefully photographed on their knees. Iran insisted on an apology, which the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards naval forces said Iran had received, although the Obama administration has denied that claim. Meanwhile, far from Iran apologizing for its own provocative firing of missiles very close to a U.S. vessel while it was operating in international waters, an Iran Revolutionary Guard spokesman accused the United States of engaging in "psychological warfare" with its comments about the near-miss from the missile firing.

Talking about missiles, Iran had insisted on a time certain of 8 years for ending the UN Security Council ban on Iran’s missile program as a condition for finalizing the nuclear deal. Yet within 3 months of the deal’s announcement and endorsement by the Security Council, Iran flagrantly violated the ban, which is still in effect, by testing a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear weapon. It did so again in November. The Obama administration groaned and complained to the Security Council, where nothing was done to enforce its past resolutions. The administration devised some unilateral sanctions, but put them on ice indefinitely. The administration astoundingly agreed with Iran’s position that the missile ban was not part of the nuclear deal itself, even though Iran had made the eventual lifting of the ban a condition for moving forward with the deal!

The Iranian regime had nothing to lose from releasing the sailors after reaping the benefits of their propaganda coup. Iran released the sailors to remove a potential obstacle to ending its economic isolation, not because of a mutual Kerry-Zarif admiration society. All Iran’s leaders really care about at this time is getting their hands on the frozen $100 billion plus in Iranian assets and having the oil and financial sanctions lifted. As Kerry had said, this was expected to happen in a matter of days, triggered by Iran’s demonstration to the International Atomic Energy Agency that it has complied with key milestones. The milestones include Iran sharply reducing its uranium enrichment program and decommissioning its Arak heavy-water reactor so that Iran would not be capable of producing plutonium for a nuclear bomb.

The Obama administration is touting the sailors’ release to prove the worth of its negotiations with Iran and to divert attention from at least two unpleasant facts. American hostages, including a pastor and a journalist, are still languishing in an Iranian prison. And, as mentioned above, Iran continues to flout UN Security Council resolutions and the spirit, if not the letter, of the nuclear deal by testing missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

President Obama’s appeasement and malignant neglect of Iran’s escalating provocations have made the United States into Iran's hostage. As Arthur L. Herman wrote in the National Review:

“Tehran clearly views America with contempt, pegging us as a feeble former superpower trapped in death-spiral decline. Our own president sees us the same way, so why shouldn’t one of our leading enemies?”

President Obama claimed in his final State of the Union address that “our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead -- they call us.”

As to Iran, President Obama said that “as we speak, Iran has rolled back its nuclear program, shipped out its uranium stockpile, and the world has avoided another war.”

Obama is living in a state of delusion. The world is far less safe than when he took office. Jihadists have metastasized with ever more lethal attacks globally and bases spreading throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa, thanks to Obama’s feckless “lead from behind” policies. And Iran will soon receive huge windfalls to pay for its proxy wars and to develop or procure missile and explosive device technologies without any consequence. The world has not avoided another war any more than it did with Neville Chamberlain’s “peace for our time” proclamation. At best, Obama’s nuclear deal has kicked the can down the road, placing our children and grandchildren under the constant threat of a nuclear armed Iran. 

Hopefully, Obama’s damage to the security interests of the United States is not beyond repair.  That will depend in good measure on the determination and good judgment of our next president - one who does not live in Obama’s state of delusion.

Joseph Klein is a Harvard-trained lawyer and the author of Global Deception: The UN’s Stealth Assault on America’s Freedom and Lethal Engagement: Barack Hussein Obama, the United Nations & Radical Islam.

Source: http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/261459/mullahs-humiliate-america-again-and-again-joseph-klein

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Officials: China will join the war against ISIS - Ari Yashar

by Ari Yashar

Defense officials reveal China likely to join Russia fighting ISIS, out of fears of growing ISIS support among local Uyghur Muslims.

Defense officials revealed on Wednesday that China's military will likely dispatch troops to take part in the global campaign against Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

China is worried about a growing trend among the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of western China, which has increasingly become a hotbed of support for ISIS. The Turkish army announced last month that of the 913 ISIS terrorists captured illegally crossing the border with Syria since January 2015, the vast majority have been Chinese Muslims.

“The real question is whose side will they be on,” one defense official familiar with internal Chinese discussions on the matter told the Washington Times, regarding China's intentions to take part in the campaign against ISIS.

According to the officials, China will likely join in Russia's airstrike campaign against ISIS which began last September, as opposed to joining the US-led international coalition fighting ISIS. The Russian strikes have also hit Western-backed rebels, sparking tensions.

Last December the Chinese government announced new counter-terror policies allowing overseas activities. On Wednesday, Beijing issued a statement calling for greater military cooperation in the Arab world in confronting terrorism.

China is reportedly highly concerned that ISIS is gaining a stronghold in Xinjiang.

Uyghurs have conducted numerous attacks in the region, including with guns and explosives, and in response the government has cracked down. Uyghurs and human rights groups have accused authorities of repressing the local Muslim population.

ISIS terrorists in Syria issued a rare video last July, calling on Uyghurs in China to come join ISIS in the Middle East. The video was the first public call on Uyghurs to join the jihadist group.


Ari Yashar

Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/206477#.VpgK8VKzdds

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.