The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.
From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."
"I’d love you to take on more because I’m looking at the whole Gaza strip right now, and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess," Trump said.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as reporters ask
questions aboard Air Force One during a flight from Las Vegas, Nevada,
to Miami, Florida, U.S., January 25, 2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/LEAH MILLIS)
US President Donald Trump said that Jordan and Egypt should take more Palestinians from Gaza when he spoke to reporters on Saturday.
Trump
said he spoke about the matter with Jordan's King Abdullah on the phone
earlier in the day and told him that the Gaza Strip is currently a
"real mess."
He
said that he told King Abdullah during the call, "I’d love you [Jordan]
to take on more because I’m looking at the whole Gaza strip right now,
and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess. I’d like him to take people."
"I’d like Egypt
to take people," Trump also said to the reporter. He added that he
planned on speaking to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on
Sunday.
The
phone call with King Abdullah came on the same day that the second
prisoner-hostage exchange took place, in which four female Israeli
soldiers were returned to Israel after spending 477 days in Hamas
captivity.
Released Palestinian prisoners in Cairo, 26 January 2025 (credit: Hamas Telegram)
Delegation of 70 prisoners arrive in Cario, Israeli ministers respond
In
exchange, 114 Palestinian prisoners were released from Ofer Prison and
were brought to Ramallah, 16 were taken to Gaza, and 70 were deported to
Egypt.
The 70 Palestinian prisoners that were released to Egypt arrived in Cairo
during the early hours of Sunday morning, where they were received by
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad delegations, Hamas and Al Araby
reported.
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Otzma Yehudit head Itamar Ben-Gvir both reacted strongly to Trump's proposal.
"After
76 years in which most of Gaza's population has been forcibly held in
harsh conditions to maintain the aspiration of destroying the State of
Israel, the idea of helping them find other places to start new and
better lives is a wonderful idea. After years of glorifying terrorism,
they will be able to build new and good lives elsewhere," Smotrich said
in a statement.
He
added, "For years, statesmen have proposed impractical solutions such
as dividing the land and establishing a Palestinian state, which has
endangered the existence and security of the world’s only Jewish state,
resulting only in bloodshed and suffering for many people. Only
out-of-the-box thinking and new solutions will lead to a resolution of
peace and security. With God's help, I will work with the Prime Minister
and the Cabinet to formulate an operational plan to implement this as
soon as possible."
Ben-Gvir also added, "I commend US President Trump for his initiative
to relocate residents of Gaza to Jordan and Egypt. One of our demands
from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to promote voluntary
emigration, and when the president of the world's greatest superpower,
Trump, raises this idea himself, the Israeli government should implement
it—promote emigration now!"
"The region is safer when Israel has what it needs to defend itself," tweeted Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on July 26, 2024. Photo
by Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
on Sunday hailed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to lift a
partial arms embargo the Biden administration imposed on Jerusalem
during the war against Hamas.
“Thank you President Trump for keeping
your promise to give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself, to
confront our common enemies and to secure a future of peace and
prosperity,” the premier said in a video message.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One
on Saturday, Trump said that he had lifted restrictions on sending
2,000-pound bombs to Israel.
“We released them today,” he said. When asked why, he replied: “Because they bought them.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Sunday also expressed appreciation to the American leader.
“Thank you President Trump for yet another
display of leadership by releasing the crucial defense shipment to
Israel. The region is safer when Israel has what it needs to defend
itself,” tweeted Sa’ar.
Trump’s decision to resume the shipments
marks a departure from his predecessor’s policy. President Joe Biden
suspended the delivery of these weapons in May to discourage an Israeli
offensive in Rafah. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence
of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population
centers,” Biden told CNN then.
A month later, Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu told then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that
it was “inconceivable” for the administration to withhold weapons and
ammunition during its war against Hamas in Gaza.
“When Secretary Blinken was recently here
in Israel, we had a candid conversation. I said I deeply appreciated the
support the U.S. has given Israel from the beginning of the war. But I
also said something else. I said it’s inconceivable that in the past few
months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions
to Israel,” the premier said in a video message.
“Israel, America’s closest ally, fighting
for its life, fighting against Iran and our other common enemies,”
Netanyahu continued. “Secretary Blinken assured me that the
administration is working day and night to remove these bottlenecks. I
certainly hope that’s the case. It should be the case.
“During World War II, Churchill told the
United States, ‘Give us the tools, we’ll do the job.’ And I say, give us
the tools and we’ll finish the job a lot faster,” the prime minister
said.
Israel Defense Forces soldiers reportedly fired warning shots toward the Hezbollah supporters.
IDF troops operating against Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon, Oct. 5, 2024. Credit: Israel Defense Forces.
Hundreds of Lebanese, including supporters
of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization, attempted to
return to the country’s south on Sunday, the final day of the
Israel-Lebanon truce of Nov. 27.
Israel Defense Forces soldiers stationed
in the area fired warning shots at the approach of the Hezbollah
supporters, some of whom carried the group’s flag and banners of slain
terror leader Hassan Nasrallah, the Israeli military confirmed in a
statement on Sunday afternoon.
“Several suspects who posed a credible
threat were detained near IDF forces. The suspects are currently being
interrogated in the area,” it said. “The IDF will remove any threat to
the State of Israel and IDF forces.”
IDF sources cited by Kan News
said that the Lebanese did not appear to have come to the area with the
intention of resettling villages destroyed during the war, but solely to
demonstrate and create provocations.
“The one who sent the rioters to Southern
Lebanon is Hezbollah, which is trying to heat up the situation in order
to cover up its situation and its status on the Lebanese and Arab
level,” Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the head of the Arab Media Branch in
the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, said in a statement.
Beirut’s Health Ministry claimed that 15
people were killed and 83 wounded in the incidents. The Lebanese Armed
Forces said that at least one of its troops was killed and another was
wounded by Israeli fire.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the United
Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, and Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro
Sáenz, head of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), said in a
joint statement on Sunday that “the timelines envisaged in the November
Understanding have not been met.
“As seen tragically this morning,
conditions are not yet in place for the safe return of citizens to their
villages along the Blue Line [U.N.-delineated border],” they noted,
calling on the Lebanese to “exercise caution.”
Earlier on Sunday, Adraee called on the
Lebanese to refrain from returning to the south as long as IDF units
remain deployed there.
“Hezbollah puts its narrow interests above
the interests of the Lebanese state and, through its mouthpieces,
attempts to heat up the situation, despite being the main reason for the
south’s destruction,” he tweeted.
Adraee stressed that “all previously
published instructions remain in effect,” adding that Jerusalem would
inform them when they could return to the south once the removal of
Hezbollah was completed.
“The IDF remains deployed in various
locations in Southern Lebanon, in accordance with the ceasefire
agreement, to enable the gradual and effective deployment of the LAF
[Lebanese Armed Forces], dismantling and removing Hezbollah elements and
terror infrastructure, preventing it from returning and re-establishing
its presence in the area,” the military spokesman stated.
The LAF in a statement stressed it was
“standing with citizens in the face of the Israeli enemy, which
continues to refuse to abide by the ceasefire agreement and withdraw
from Lebanese territory.”
Following Israel’s announcement on Friday
that it would not withdraw all of its forces from Lebanon by the Sunday
deadline, Hezbollah warned it would consider the truce effectively
terminated, while the Lebanese government urged the Trump administration
to intervene.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said
in a statement on Friday: “The IDF’s withdrawal process is conditional
on the Lebanese Army deploying in Southern Lebanon and fully and
effectively enforcing the agreement, while Hezbollah withdraws beyond
the Litani [River].
“Since the ceasefire agreement has not yet
been fully enforced by the State of Lebanon, the phased withdrawal
process will continue, in full coordination with the United States,” the
PMO statement continued.
Jerusalem “will not endanger its
communities and citizens, and will insist on the full implementation of
the objective of the fighting in the north, which is the safe return of
residents to their homes,” it added.
U.S. National Security Council
spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement on Friday that “a short,
temporary ceasefire extension is urgently needed.”
U.S. President Donald Trump “is committed
to ensuring Israeli citizens can safely return to their homes in
northern Israel, while also supporting [Lebanese President Joseph] Aoun
and the new Lebanese government,” Axios quoted the spokesman as saying.
If you admired Rep. Stefanik’s takedown of college presidents coddling Hamas sympathizers, you’ll relish her readiness to confront adversaries on the world stage as the next U.S. Ambassador to the UN.
If you like what Rep. Elise Stefanik did to Hamasnik-coddling college
presidents before Congress, you’ll love what Ambassador-Designate
Stefanik is poised to do to leaders of America’s like-minded adversaries
at the United Nations.
That was one takeaway from the New York congresswoman’s compelling
confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
There, Stefanik made clear that she would speak and act boldly to
advance President Trump’s America First agenda at an institution that
has all too often proven subversive of its stated purpose, hostile to
America and its allies, and exploitative of our nation’s generosity.
In her opening remarks, Stefanik asserted that the “UN has not lived
up to” its “founding mission” to foster peace and security. Instead, the
organization has served as something of a global affirmative action
promoter of the adversarial and corrupt, abiding if not inviting war and
the trampling of human rights while portraying itself as an
international DEI bastion.
Indeed, as Stefanik and senators on the panel detailed and concurred,
Turtle Bay has often served as a platform to elevate, empower, and
treat as equivalent adversaries like China and Russia, alongside
regressive regimes the world over; enabled foes to exploit and co-opt
its internal organs
to advance interests antithetical to our own; run cover for gross human
rights abusers; executed programs rife with waste, fraud, and abuse;
and perhaps above all else, as Stefanik testified, been marked with
“anti-Semitic rot…pervasive within the UN system,” reflected in the
singling out of Israel for isolation, delegitimization, and destruction.
Recognizing these failings and outrages is the first step to
overcoming them. Stefanik did so and vowed to advance America’s national
interest, pursuing peace through strength as a corrective.
America would demonstrate this strength, she emphasized, not just by
speaking with the moral clarity illustrated in Stefanik’s forthright
calling out of the UN’s depredations and defects or in standing with the
Jewish state against what late UN Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan
referred to as the UN’s “jackals,” but through leveraging all elements of U.S. power within the institution.
First among those tools, Stefanik suggested, is the U.S.’ vote on the
Security Council—one that Democrat administrations have deviously
manipulated to undermine allies like Israel in the past.
Perhaps the second most potent tool the U.S. has to wield influence
at Turtle Bay comes in the form of our funding. America provides upwards
of $18 billion in largesse, comprising nearly one-third of the body’s
collective budget—making it by far the largest donor of the 193 members.
Stefanik vowed that she would engage in a systematic review of all
such funding to ensure that it only flows to initiatives that make
America “stronger, safer, and more prosperous.”
“Our tax dollars should not be complicit in propping up entities that
are counter to American interests, antisemitic, or engaging in fraud,
corruption, or terrorism,” the ambassador-designate said.
The U.S. would seek to tie its funding to programs and initiatives
with controls for transparency and accountability and tailor cuts
accordingly, Stefanik indicated.
This is consistent with President Trump’s opening executive actions
freezing foreign aid for review—which would seem to have implicated the
Hamas-captured United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East that Trump I had defunded; once again
withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party-promoting World Health
Organization; and rescinding a Biden administration executive order that
had shielded the UN-affiliated, America-and-Israel-targeting
International Criminal Court from Trump I-imposed sanctions.
Stefanik also vowed to work with allies and partners at the UN to thwart America’s adversaries and defend our allies.
A major focus during her testimony was Communist China. The
ambassador-designated indicated the U.S. would band together with
partners to elect UN leaders and staff internal entities with
like-minded personnel as part of a comprehensive “strategy to ensure
that the CCP is not able to make inroads at the most senior levels
of…technical organizations…and agencies across the UN.”
Relatedly, Stefanik asserted that she would endeavor to ensure that
Taiwan “has the most maximum meaningful participation within the UN
system, as it should in all international organizations.”
With respect to Iran, the ambassador-designate suggested imposing snapback sanctions
in order to help box the regime and prevent it from dashing towards a
nuclear weapon “will be an important tool to consider” as part of an
anticipated maximum pressure campaign against the mullocracy.
As part and parcel of such a campaign, in order to build a broader
bulwark against Tehran, Stefanik said America “should consider starting
an Abraham Accords caucus within the United Nations to build on” the
efforts to normalize relations between Israel and its former Sunni Arab
foes successfully achieved during President Trump’s first term.
In one exchange illustrative of the kind of heat Stefanik would face
at the United Nations, the ambassador-designate showed her mettle.
Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland pressed the
ambassador-designate on whether she would support “self-determination”
for Palestinian Arabs—a seeming euphemism for the creation of a
Palestinian state.
Stefanik refused, noting that she supported the rights of Palestinian
Arabs but that Hamas had taken advantage of U.S. aid to violate those
rights. Unacknowledged by Van Hollen was that Palestinian Arabs had
“self-determination” in a Gaza ceded to them by Israel, elected Hamas,
and turned it into a tyrannical terror state.
The senator followed up by asking Stefanik if she shared the view of
much-maligned-by-the-left figures of the Israeli right, including
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and outgoing National Security
Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, that Israel has a “Biblical right to the
entire West Bank”—i.e., Judea and Samaria, Israel’s ancient and biblical
heartland.
Stefanik said, “Yes,” she did, a position in stark contrast to the
UN’s jackals, who not only reject this view but cast the area as Israel
“occupied” and seek to make it part of a future Palestinian state.
Stefanik’s testimony is backed up by her service in Congress. As she
noted, she has “legislated on a number of critical issues ranging from
military readiness, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence,
quantum computing, and cybersecurity to missile defense. I have worked
to enhance American intelligence capabilities, strengthen our alliances
and partnerships, and deter our adversaries”—with a focus on combatting
Communist China and Iran and defending Israel.
These foci are critical because, as Stefanik testified, the PRC
presents “the most significant national security challenge” of our
generation. Likewise, she called Iran “the most significant threat to
world peace and specifically to the [Middle East] region.”
Israel, the heart of the Judeo-Christian West, meanwhile, has
neutralized what Stefanik referred to as the Iran-led “axis of terror”
in decimating Hamas and Hezbollah. Indeed, the benefits of a secure,
sovereign, and strong Israel redound to the U.S. in the form not only of
military, intelligence, and technological cooperation and development,
or commerce, but also regional stability that allows us to extricate
ourselves from the region on sound footing.
Ambassador-designate Stefanik recognizes the threats America faces
and will doggedly fight to neutralize them while advancing our interests
at the United Nations. The record shows she has demonstrated the
tenacity and smarts to successfully execute the America First agenda at a
forum that has been most hostile to it.
The ambassador-designate alluded to Moynihan, who spoke out
against the notorious “Zionism is racism” resolution at the UN, as her
model. Stefanik’s testimony and time in Congress reflect that she is
poised to follow successfully in his footsteps.
The Senate ought to confirm Congresswoman Stefanik, alongside
President Trump’s other nominees in the national security, defense, and
foreign policy spaces, posthaste.
Trump 2.0 storms into office, dismantling the old guard and unleashing a whirlwind of action aimed at reshaping America’s political landscape.
It’s almost as if elections have consequences. Donald Trump hasn’t
been in office for a full week yet, but already the mood of the entire
country seems to have undergone a beneficent metanoia. Sure, there have
been hundreds of executive orders on matters large and small. There were
many pardons, for 1500 people who engaged in that self-guided tour of
the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and also for many others.
But it is more than that. In his first term, Trump endeavored to
“drain the swamp” and counter the woke ideology that had infiltrated so
many university campuses and government agencies. But Trump was a
political greenhorn, surrounded by people who were not on board with his
program. He said many of the right things. But in many cases when it
came time to implement the policies he outlined, the message got lost or
garbled in transmission.
This time, older, wiser, and now surrounded by better counselors, Trump is not fooling around.
Within hours of taking office, bang! Trump suspended the security
clearances of the 51 intelligence officers who had, for partisan
reasons, signed a public letter announcing that Hunter Biden’s laptop
bore “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” He
lifted the security details assigned to former National Security Advisor
and current anti-Trump fanatic John Bolton. Ditto the security detail
for Anthony “Mr. Science” Fauci.
One of the hallmarks of Trump 2.0 is his attention to the importance
of moving past words to deeds. On Tuesday of last week, he sent a memo
to the heads of all government agencies, ordering them to shut down their DEI offices by 5 p.m. the next day. All DEI hires were to be placed on paid administrative leave “immediately.”
That’s not all. Aware that the order would spark panic among the
sinecured bureaucrats in and around the DEI apparat, the memo went on to
say, “We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these
programs by using coded or imprecise language. If you are aware of a
change in any contract description or personnel position description
since November 5, 2024, to obscure the connection between the contract
and DEIA or similar ideologies, please report all facts and
circumstances.” And just in case that wasn’t enough, the memo included
this warning: “There will be no adverse consequences for timely
reporting” on efforts to disguise DEI programs. “However, failure to
report this information within 10 days may result in adverse
consequences.”
Do you really think government agencies would attempt to disguise DEI
programs under their auspices? Let’s ask Lisa T. Boykin, who works
(worked?) at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Last Monday, Boykin was listed as the Bureau’s “Chief Diversity
Officer.” But by Thursday she was listed simply as “Senior Executive” on the agency’s website. Same picture. Doubtless the same remit. Different title. Uh-oh.
Breathtaking changes are coming thick and fast. On Friday, Marco
Rubio, Trump’s newly confirmed secretary of state, sent a cable to all
U.S. diplomatic posts announcing that nearly all foreign aid would be frozen
for 90 days while the U.S. determines whether that aid is in alignment
with Trump’s agenda. There are exceptions for emergency food aid and
military aid to Israel and Egypt, but the blanket moratorium, “effective
immediately,” has stunned the diplomatic corps and their clients.
Professional humanitarians and other passengers on the U.S. gravy train
have their knickers in a twist. No matter. Rubio is committed to
implementing Trump’s policy. “Every dollar we spend,” he said last week,
“every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified
with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer?
Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”
What a refreshing set of priorities.
Around midnight on Friday, having just returned from visits to devastated areas in North Carolina and Los Angeles, Trump fired some 17 inspectors general
in the Defense Department, State Department, Energy Department,
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans
Affairs, and elsewhere. The wailing among Democrat politicians and the
fired inspectors was as plaintive as it was astonished. Quoth one former
inspector: “It’s a widespread massacre. Whoever Trump puts in now will
be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system.” Ah, yes,
“the system,” hitherto so full of integrity and independence. If we
were talking about computer software, we might venture to observe that
what this fellow describes is a feature, not a bug.
I, like many others reporting on Trump’s Blitzkrieg in the first week
of his second term, have deployed Colin Powell’s phrase “shock and
awe.” As I write, we are but 6 days into Trump’s second term. But it is
as if we had suddenly awakened from a bad dream. Things that would have
seemed impossible last month are suddenly not only possible but real.
There will be—there already is—plenty of pushback against Trump’s
efforts to bring about “the complete restoration of America and the
revolution of common sense.” But his momentum is extraordinary. I expect
there will be disappointments along the way, but it does appear that
this extraordinary, and extraordinarily energetic, man will do an
enormous amount to make America great again.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week reigniting debate around birthright citizenship
The birthright citizenship debate exploded back into the national discourse this week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning it.
Trump's
ban was slated to take effect on Feb. 19, but a federal judge in
Seattle on Thursday temporarily blocked the order. Some experts believe
the issue will eventually be settled by the Supreme Court.
Should
the ban eventually go into force, it would likely impact tens of
thousands of children born to the parents of illegal immigrants.
President
Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White
House on Jan. 23, 2025. Trump signed an executive order this week
reigniting debate around birthright citizenship.(Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The
Center for Immigration Studies, a non-profit research organization that
focuses on immigration, said Friday that based on its preliminary
findings, there were between 225,000 to 250,000 U.S. births to illegal
immigrants in 2023, which accounts for about 7% of total births in the
U.S. that year.
To put the figure into context, the group says
those figures are greater than the total number of births in all but two
states taken individually.
Furthermore, it appears that more children were born to illegal immigrant parents than to legal noncitizens.
Although not yet available, the group says that the 2024 numbers are likely to be even higher given the surge of illegal immigrants into the country under the Biden administration.
The
Center for Immigration Studies says it last did a deep dive into the
births of legal and illegal immigrants in the U.S. in 2018 based on an
analysis of the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS). The
group says it was using the same methodology for its preliminary 2023
findings.
The group says that illegal immigrants are present in
Census data, but they are never explicitly identified by the Bureau. Fox
News Digital requested figures from the Census Bureau and Homeland
Security but did not immediately receive a response.
The 2018
report found that in 2014, one in five births (791,000) in the U.S. was
to an immigrant mother (legal or illegal). The group said it estimated
that legal immigrants accounted for 12.4% (494,000) of all births and
illegal immigrants accounted for 7.5% (297,000).
An
immigrant group passes through water and barbed wire as they head to
the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 1, 2024.(Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Trump's order,
titled "Protecting The Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,"
seeks to clarify the 14th Amendment, which states: "All persons born or
naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they
reside."
It seeks to clarify that those born to illegal immigrant
parents, or those who were here legally but on temporary nonimmigrant
visas, are not citizens by birthright.
"The Fourteenth Amendment
has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone
born within the United States," the order reads.
Trump
repeatedly described birthright citizenship as "ridiculous" and
something that needed to stop. The U.S. is one of roughly 30 countries
where birthright citizenship is applied.
Thursday’s decision by
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, comes in
response to four U.S. states — Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington
— who sued to block Trump's executive order, which was signed by Trump
shortly after being sworn in as president.
Coughenour said Thursday that the executive order banning birthright citizenship "boggles
the mind," and told the court he could not remember in his more than 40
years on the bench seeing a case so "blatantly unconstitutional."
The 14-day restraining order granted by Coughenour will apply to the entire U.S.
Migrants
are processed for entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Debate
has reignited over whether the children of illegal migrants born in the
U.S. are entitled to citizenship.(Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News Digital)
In
the meantime, the administration can ask a federal appeals court in San
Francisco to lift the TRO and allow enforcement for now, while the case
is litigated—a process that could last many months.
A Justice Department
spokesperson told Fox News said it will "vigorously defend" President
Trump’s executive order "which correctly interprets the 14th Amendment
of the U.S. Constitution."
"We look forward to presenting a full
merits argument to the Court and to the American people, who are
desperate to see our nation’s laws enforced."
Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch and David Spunt contributed to this report
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
Billl eliminates illegal immigrants’ eligibility for certain taxpayer-funded benefits, such as federal housing programs.
(The Center Square) -
California Democrats blocked a
Republican amendment to add $1 billion in wildfire prevention funding to
the state's $2.5 billion wildfire recovery bill during a simple
procedural vote.
Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., Democratic and Republican members of
Congress overwhelmingly advanced a bipartisan bill to exempt forest
management activities from lengthy and costly environmental review.
California State Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher’s
amendment would have provided $1 billion for fuel reduction projects in
California, comparing recent declines in fuel reduction spending to the
state’s ballooning homelessness budget.
“Over the last five years, we’ve funded about $2.5 billion in fuel
reduction projects. At the same time, we’ve done $25 billion for
homelessness programs throughout the state. How many people are now
homeless because of these fires?” Gallagher said on the floor. “One billion dollars to save hundreds of billions, and precious lives.”
California is estimated to have 15 million acres of high-risk forest;
at a treatment cost of $1,000 per acre, the new funding could have
cleared out one million acres of high-risk forest near populated areas
and power lines.
“A few years ago the governor and the president announced a
partnership to treat one million acres a year in California — 500,000 by
the state, 500,000 by the feds,” continued Gallagher. “Neither has come
close to meeting that goal.”
58 Assembly members voted to quash the amendment, leaving it dead on the Assembly floor.
Meanwhile in Congress, a bipartisan bill introduced by prominent
California Democratic Congressman Scott Peters and Arkansas Republican
Bruce Westerman to reduce barriers to forest management projects such as
controlled burns passed from the House to the Senate. Peters, who
represents a wealthy coastal Southern California enclave, is a former
environmental lawyer and has made protecting the environment one of his
key policy positions.
“While we can't stop every fire, smart changes to policy will help
prevent fires, limit their spread, and make them less destructive,” Peters
said in a statement. “Our bill will help us protect where nature meets
homes, pre-position firetrucks and other resources in high-risk areas,
and build homes more resistant to fire.”
The bill’s most prominent change would be to exclude many forest
management projects from National Environmental Policy Act requirements
that make getting environmental clearance to conduct controlled burns or
mechanical brush removal take over half a decade.
According to U.S. Forest Service data cited in a PERC report,
it takes an average of 3.6 years to start mechanical thinning and 4.7
years to conduct a controlled burn after the USFS starts the
environmental review process. For projects that require environmental
impact statements, it takes an average of 5.3 years after initiating
permitting to start mechanical thinning, and 7.2 years for prescribed
burns.
The Judicial Selection Committee convenes to appoint Israel's new chief justice.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin seen in the Knesset plenum, in Jerusalem, December 4, 2024(photo credit: FLASH90/CHAIM GOLDBERG)
The Judicial Selection Committee
is convening Sunday to appoint a permanent Chief Justice and Deputy
Chief Justice. The electees will, with near certainty, be judges Yizhak
Amit and Noam Solberg.
The
vote will end a saga that began in late October 2023 with the
retirement of previous chief Justice Esther Hayut. Amit was next in line
based on the “seniority” tradition, where the longest-serving judge
becomes Chief Justice.
However, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who opposed the “seniority” tradition and preferred conservative Yosef Elron
as chief justice, refrained from holding the vote. Then-deputy chief
justice Uzi Fogelman took over as interim Chief Justice, but Fogelman
retired in October 2024. Amit took over as interim Chief Justice. Levin
also refrained from filling the vacancies created by the departure of
Hayut, Fogelman, and Judge Anat Baron, who retired alongside Hayut in
2023.
The
law says that when a Chief Justice retires, the justice minister must
convene the Judicial Selection Committee to appoint the next Chief
Justice. The law does not lay out a timeframe. The High Court ruled in
September that the justice minister did not have the authority to delay
the appointment indefinitely and ordered him to appoint a permanent
chief justice. Levin did not do so, and in a hearing in December over
whether Levin should be held in contempt of court, the judges defined a
deadline – January 16 – to fulfill its orders. On January 16, the court
granted Levin 10 more days in order to bring information regarding
allegations of a number of conflict-of-interest violations by Amit
before the committee.
The
allegations, which emerged in a series of reports over the past two
weeks, included unreported court proceedings by the Tel Aviv
Municipality against a series of owners of a building in Tel Aviv,
including Amit and his brother; a series of cases that Amit oversaw that
involved First International Bank of Israel and Dor Alon, despite his
brother being involved in these companies at different points; alleged
building infractions in Amit’s home in Mevaseret Zion; and a ruling
regarding boards of directors of government companies, that allegedly
could have affected his brother.
THE HIGH COURT of Justice holds a session. In the past, the court ruled
that women cannot be forced to take a specific seat on a bus, the
writer notes. (credit: DEBBIE HILL/REUTERS)
'Coordinated smear campaign'
Amit
refuted all of the allegations, and called the series of reports a
“coordinated smear campaign”. Regarding the building in Tel Aviv, he
explained that in order to avoid any semblance of a conflict of
interest, he had given his brother full legal stewardship and was not
involved in the case; that the cases involving First International Bank
of Israel, Dor Alon, and the boards of directors were either not during
the period his brother was involved, or very general such that he did
not need to recuse himself as there was no conflict of interest; and
that there were no building infractions, as renovations were done with
the necessary permits.
Levin,
and fellow coalition members on the committee, National Missions
Minister Orit Strok and Otzma Yehudit MK Yizhak Kroyzer, boycotted the
Judicial Selection Committee meeting on Sunday.
Amit
revealed in an exchange of letters with Levin last week that the
justice minister in 2024 has attempted to cut a deal, whereby he would
permit Amit’s appointment to chief justice in exchange for Amit’s
agreement to appoint as least one of Levin’s personal preferences to
fill one of the vacancies on the High Court bench. Levin has said that
he wants to appoint either Dr. Aviad Bakshi, head of the legal
department in Kohelet Policy Forum, or Dr. Rafi Bitton to the bench. The
former is head of the Both were involved in formulating the
controversial judicial reforms of 2023.
Amit refused, saying he would not agree to appoint someone he viewed as unqualified to sit on the bench.
The
refusal to appoint Bakshi or Bitton led to Levin to formulate a new
bill proposal alongside Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to alter the
makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee. Among other provisions, the
new proposal gives representatives of the coalition and opposition
mutual veto power on High Court appointments, but says that if two
vacancies remain open for a year, each side can propose three
candidates, out of which the other side must pick one. The bill is
currently being prepared for its second and third reading in the Knesset
Constitution Committee. According to its current version, it will only
take effect beginning with the next Knesset.
The politicians' caste teaches you to re-write everything by replacing facts with half-truths or even outright lies in the name of political correctness.
A leading French pundit
wonders how "someone with Trump's profile" could win a convincing
election victory by saying the first thing that comes to his mind (often
on X), while seasoned European politicians with carefully crafted
messages have failed to do so for more than half a century.
The ruling elite has also developed a discourse woven around a number of lies...
The politicians' caste teaches you to re-write everything by
replacing facts with half-truths or even outright lies in the name of
political correctness.
Pictured: US President Donald Trump is seen on a giant
screen during his remote address by video conference at the World
Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 23, 2025. (Photo
by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)
Four years ago, when Donald J. Trump failed to win a second term as
president of the United States, many in the globalist elites initially
assumed that they had seen the back of him.
A few saw him as a mischievous spirit, like the Ridgeway Ghost of Wisconsin, destined to fade away in time.
Last Monday, however, he was back for more.
The European elite are split on what to do with Trump. Some recommend
the grin-and-bear-it posture: swallow the castor oil and pray it passes
through. Others go for the "if you can't beat them, join them" tactic.
Some, like the outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, however, though
barely standing, have opted for grandstanding against a figure they
cannot quite gauge.
A leading French pundit wonders how "someone with Trump's profile"
could win a convincing election victory by saying the first thing that
comes to his mind (often on X), while seasoned European politicians with
carefully crafted messages have failed to do so for more than half a
century.
The European ruling elite has morphed into a self-perpetuating caste
offering the same dramatic personae in different disguises in a cynical
political masquerade ball, the sole object of which is winning a seat or
at least a stool at the high table.
The ruling elite has also developed a discourse woven around a number
of lies, including the claim that you can spend the money you don't
have to obtain what you fancy but really don't need.
The same discourse contains other dishonesties and half-truths.
You are made scared to death by the specter of global warming that is
supposed to turn Iceland into Tierra Del Fuego but then are assured
that you don't need to change the lifestyle that is supposed to have
caused the looming disaster.
The elite claim you could work shorter hours and fewer years but still enjoy higher wages and more generous pensions.
The same discourse gives high value to differences, but once that is
accepted jumps up to demand sameness in the name of equality.
The politicians' caste teaches you to re-write everything by
replacing facts with half-truths or even outright lies in the name of
political correctness.
Yesterday's heroes are re-written as villains.
The famous President Wilson Hotel in Geneva changes its name to
distance itself from President Woodrow Wilson. In Paris, a campaign is
underway to change the name of the boulevard named after Wilson in
accordance with political correctness.
Eric Dupond-Moretti, a distinguished French lawyer and former justice minister, says:
"If we aren't politically correct, they will boo us off
the stage. Judges are forced to be woke even at the cost of doing
justice." (Radio France Inter January 12, 2025)
Most European democracies suffer from demographic deficit which means they need a steady flow of working people.
But they don't want to produce babies because that may upset plans for
enjoying life. At the same time, they call for building walls or
mobilizing the gunboats to stop the flow of immigrants.
Most European countries today have to cope with crumbling
infrastructure, but no one in leadership dares suggesting higher taxes
needed to rebuild, albeit except for the mythical "big rich"!
Former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker once said:
"We all know what to do, we just don't know he to get re-elected once
we've done it!"
Moretti and Juncker didn't see the subtext in their statements: That
while they pretend to be leaders, they are in fact led by interest
groups, lobbies, shrinking but increasingly loud political parties and
self-styled pundits.
They remind one of a quip attributed to Bertolt Brecht, that
democracy begins with the right of the people to choose its rulers but
could end by rulers choosing the people they are happy with.
The state says the people deserve 5-star schools, universities,
hospitals, roads and bridges, social security, war machines, and art and
culture and need not pay the full price.
The late American novelist Gore Vidal, however, believed that Western
European leadership elites could not deliver on five-star promises. He
suggested that Western Europe be governed by Swiss hotel managers who
could.
Whichever way one looks at it, Western European democracies are in a political crisis that could morph into a systemic one.
France has had four prime ministers in one year while most other EU
member states suffer from chronic instability and, if they don't as it
is the case in Hungary, are castigated as "authoritarian", "populist" or
"Trumpist".
In some cases, for example Belgium and The Netherlands, recent
experience shows that having a hung parliament, a result of the dreadful
proportional representation systems, making long coalition negotiations
inevitable, could offer better governance by putting the country on
autopilot.
Technocrats and civil servants who run things while politicians
haggle over who gets which post need not lie to the people because even
if they get it wrong, they don't risk losing their jobs. They are taught
to act with greater caution and promising less so that they may get the
biscuit when more is achieved.
Gatestone Institute would like to thank the author for his kind
permission to reprint this article in slightly different form from Asharq Al-Awsat. He graciously serves as Chairman of Gatestone Europe.
Amir Taheri was the executive editor-in-chief of the daily Kayhan
in Iran from 1972 to 1979. He has worked at or written for innumerable
publications, published eleven books, and has been a columnist for Asharq Al-Awsat since 1987.
He says technology companies should allow Americans to "control the content they consume on social media" and "let the best algorithm win."
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced on social media
this week that he is "issuing a rule requiring Big Tech to guarantee
algorithmic choice for social media users."
Bailey argued
that "Big Tech oligarchs have manipulated consumers’ social media feeds
for their own purposes and exercised monopoly control over content
moderation."
He said technology companies should allow Americans to "control the
content they consume on social media" and "let the best algorithm win."
"Despite the declarations of tolerance and inclusion by the new government in Syria, this attack on Christian sites is not the last, because jihadists continue to act and have fought for the new Syrian government. In particular, some, who are as close as two peas in a pod to the Islamic State, with the same patches on their combat uniforms." – caliber.az, December 24, 2024, Syria.
"Experts warn of a growing
trend of youth radicalization through online platforms, where extremist
groups exploit vulnerabilities to indoctrinate and recruit individuals.
This year alone, 15 minors have been arrested across Spain for
terrorism-related offenses...." — rmx.news, January 2, 2025, Spain.
"Despite the declarations of tolerance and inclusion by the new
government in Syria, this attack on Christian sites is not the last,
because jihadists continue to act and have fought for the new Syrian
government. In particular, some, who are as close as two peas in a pod
to the Islamic State, with the same patches on their combat uniforms." –
caliber.az, December 24, 2024, Syria.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, jihadist warlord and current leader of Syria,
swiftly turning into an Islamic state, confessed in a Dec. 17 interview
that, "When we build the Islamic caliphate, Christians will pay Jizya
under Islamic Sharia." — X.com, December 17, 2024.
The word jizya -- a payment for protection -- is often translated
to "tribute" or "tax." The requirement originates in Koran 9:29: "Fight
those among the People of the Book [Christians and Jews] who do not
believe in Allah, nor the Last Day, nor forbid what Allah and his
Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth [Islam],
until they pay the jizya with willing submission and feel themselves
humbled."
On December 19, "just days before Christmas, a period of
heightened security risks due to festive gatherings," Spanish police
arrested four Muslim migrants of Moroccan origin (aged 14 to 17), for
plotting a terrorist attack on the Basilica of Santa María in Elche
(pictured), a UNESCO World Heritage Site that draws large crowds,
especially around Christmas time. (Image source: iStock/Getty Images)
The following are among the abuses and murders inflicted on Christians by Muslims throughout the month of December 2024.
Jihadist Hate and Terror for Christmas
Germany: On December 4, an Iraqi asylum seeker was arrested for plotting a terror attack,
by plowing his vehicle into the crowd at a popular Christmas market in
Augsburg. The man, known only as Ali al-G, has a long "history of
posting pro-IS content on social media." The report adds:
"This incident is the latest in a series of thwarted
plots targeting Germany's Christmas markets, which are particularly
vulnerable to attacks. Last month, a 17-year-old male of Turkish descent
was arrested in Elmshorn, Schleswig-Holstein, on suspicion of planning a
truck attack on a local market. In November 2023, another Iraqi
national was detained in Hanover after authorities discovered plans for a
similar assault. Two teenagers were also apprehended last year for
conspiring to execute an attack in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia,
using a fuel-laden truck. Authorities have been on heightened alert
following the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attack that claimed 12
lives."
Spain: On Dec. 19—"just days before Christmas, a period of heightened security risks due to festive gatherings," notes a report—police
arrested four Muslim migrants of Moroccan origin (aged 14 to 17), for
plotting a terrorist attack on the Basilica of Santa María in Elche, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site that draws large crowds, especially around
Christmas time. One of the terrorists, "a fourth-year secondary school
student, reportedly showed no prior behavior that might have raised
alarms among classmates or teachers, adding to the concerns over hidden
radicalization," says the report before adding:
"Experts warn of a growing trend of youth radicalization
through online platforms, where extremist groups exploit vulnerabilities
to indoctrinate and recruit individuals. This year alone, 15 minors
have been arrested across Spain for terrorism-related offenses, sparking
calls for urgent action to counter extremist propaganda and prevent
radicalization."
Pakistan: On Christmas Day, three Christians were shot
and wounded in an attack on the home of Pastor Shahzad Siddique in
Lahore. The attack came as a result of an altercation on the night
before, when, according to one of the pastor's neighbors,
"Pastor Siddique was leading a rally comprising church
members including young girls and women on Dec. 24 when a group of local
Muslims riding a car started misbehaving with the participants. Pastor
Siddique and other elders confronted the Muslims and told them not to
tease the congregants. This must have stoked anger in the Muslims and
led them to plan the attack."
On Christmas Day, more than a dozen gunmen randomly opened fire on
the pastor's home. "I had just returned home from my church and was
resting when unidentified motorcyclists opened fire outside my house,"
the pastor recalled. He called police, who arrived nearly 30 minutes later:
"I was briefing the policemen about the firing incident
when, all of a sudden, youths riding motorcycles came there and opened
indiscriminate fire on us. Unfortunately, three people – my uncle,
driver and a church member – received bullet injuries on the arm,
stomach, and leg. We were able to catch one attacker while the others
fled on foot, leaving behind five motorcycles... I believed that this
country was safe for us, but now I'm forced to admit that it isn't safe
to be a Christian in Pakistan. I've always preached peace and tolerance,
but this unprovoked attack has shown that extremist elements do not
want a peaceful society."
Discussing this incident, Joseph Jansen of the human rights group Voice for Justice said:
"This act of violence, driven by religious hatred,
highlights a grave issue of intolerance and discrimination. The
government of Pakistan must act decisively to hold accountable those
inciting such hatred and attacking individuals and places of worship.
Inaction against perpetrators has allowed extremist forces to thrive
unchecked, further exacerbating the threat to vulnerable communities.
Pakistan's failure to safeguard minority rights and prevent religious
based violence also undermines its international commitments."
Bangladesh: Seventeen Christian homes in the Muslim-majority nation were set ablaze
on Christmas Eve, when all the Christians were celebrating midnight
mass at a neighboring village. Of the small village's 19 Christian
homes, 17 were completely consumed in the flames, leaving their former
owners homeless. "Our houses have been completely burned to ashes," remarked one of the victims; "[we] could not save anything."
Separately, in the days leading up to Christmas, instead of receiving
well-wishing from their neighbors, as happens throughout the world,
Muslims missives threatening to attack Christians during "their Christmas celebrations—including threats of murder," according to a Dec. 19 report.
After saying that they had repeatedly asked that Christians not
celebrate Christmas over the last few years, to no avail, one such letter, from an Islamic party, continued:
"Now, we are going to take stronger action—Inshallah
[Allah willing]. ... [Moreover] those who have been converting from
Islam to Christianity, we have a list of your leader's names. We believe
very soon we will get the proper permissions to take actions against
those on this list – Inshallah. On Christmas day, at the same time
together in 64 Districts, we have plans for that night....Many local
people have complained against you. You have been converting Muslim
people to Christianity for a long time by luring them with money. We
know you have baptised hundreds of people in a pool inside your
campus... We are coming for you—anytime and anywhere. Also, you are not
going to enjoy your upcoming Christmas meal – before eating remember to
say your goodbyes to all your family members and to the world. Alongside
this, we give a very special farewell to those who have converted from
Islam to Christianity in the Rangpur district."
"The lengthy letter," the report
adds, "made the church members panic and fear for their safety and
protection, especially those from a Muslim background." One local
Christian leader also shared the personal threats he had been receiving:
"A couple of Muslim religious leaders... threatened me
not to 'convert Muslims' and not to do ministry among the Muslims and
Christians from a Muslim background... If you do not listen to our
request and continue converting Muslims, we will take strong action
against you. So be careful from now on.'"
Turkey: On Dec. 23, Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut reported
that "Muslims armed with axes attacked the Christmas tree on the campus
of Küçükçekmece Sebahattin Zaim University." She also quoted a Turkish
human rights activist saying "We must stop those who attack a tree in this way before they cut off our heads tomorrow."
"The only Christian (Assyrian) deputy in Turkey, George
Aslan, attempted to convey a Christmas message in parliament but the
deputy speaker of the parliament, Bekir Bozdag, turned off his
microphone the moment Aslan started speaking his mother tongue, Aramaic,
which is also the language of Jesus."
Responding to the disrespect he was subjected to, Aslan said:
"When verses from the Koran are recited here, the
microphone is not turned off. Because they say it's a holy language. The
language I just spoke is Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ. If
holiness matters, this is a holy language too. Then the microphone
should also be turned off when the Koranic verses are recited."
Lebanon: In the Christian town of Faraya, a stronghold of the
nation's Maronite Catholics, a Baby Jesus statue from a Nativity Scene
set up in the town square was stolen and replaced with a gun. Addressing
this act of anti-Christian sentiment, Fr. Charbel Salameh, a parish
priest, said:
"We will be vigilant in protecting our village. We will
maintain unity and harmony, for the Lord unites us.... May God forgive
those who are trying to destabilize us. We are here to stay—this is our
land and this is our neighborhood. As children of the Church, we pray
that whoever committed this act will understand that our sacred places
cannot be violated so easily... We pray that the Lord Jesus will bring
peace to the hearts and minds of the people and our country, Lebanon, in
these difficult times."
"Last year, Lebanon saw a series of attacks on Christmas
symbols, particularly in the northern region of Tripoli, home to a vocal
Christian minority. The attacks ranged from dousing a Christmas tree in
Mina's St. George's Church with gasoline to throwing a Molotov cocktail
at another tree in Zakharia's St. George's Square."
Christmas under Syria's New Jihadist Leadership
On Dec. 8, jihadist rebel forces captured Damascus, and with it the
whole of Syria. Some in the Western media argued that, although jihadist
in nature, the new regime promises to be inclusive of the nation's
Christians and other religious minorities. Below, however, are some
developments that occurred during the rest of December, 2024 (three
weeks) which suggest otherwise:
One of the first things the jihadists did is drive around Damascus while brandishing disturbing messages on their vehicles, including "Your Time Has Come, worshippers of the Cross."
On Dec. 10, "Jihadist rebels looted
the treasury and donation box of St. George's Syriac Orthodox Church in
Damascus, disrupting religious services and preventing the Mass from
being held. The priest was ordered to leave the premises."
On Dec. 11, a Christian priest reported
that Muslims attacked the farmers of a Christian village of Homs: "The
Christians were ridiculed and beaten for being 'infidels.'"
Even right before Damascus fell, its aspiring jihadist rulers were reported
as looking to find and behead the leader of the largest Christian
community in Syria, Metropolitan Ephraim of the Antiochian Orthodox
Church. In response, the metropolitan tried to comfort the nation's Christians in a sermon:
"[O]ur beloved children in Aleppo, we remain here, in
Aleppo, with our flock in all circumstance—from the most difficult to
the most joyful. This is our pastoral ministry, and we will steadfastly
continue to fulfill it... We assure you that prayers in our churches
will continue as circumstances and available means allow. In prayer,
dear ones, we cast our burdens upon God and trust in Him. Therefore, I
urge you: pray without ceasing! Let us patiently follow Christ's path to
the cross, until we rise with Him in His Resurrection!"
"Metropolitan Ephraim assumed leadership of the Aleppo
Metropolis on December 17, 2021, following the kidnapping and martyrdom
of his predecessor, Metropolitan Paul (Yazigi), who was murdered by
Islamists in 2016."
On Dec. 13, a Christian couple, Samaan Satme and Helena Khashouf, of the village al-Jamasliyye in Homs province, were brutally murdered inside their home. According to one report:
"Although the murder was initially reported as a burglary
gone wrong, it later emerged that Samaan was beheaded and Helena shot,
indicating that there were other motives."
Suggesting that the murder comes in the wake of uncorked jihadist hostility against the nation's Christians, the report
adds that, around the same time of this double homicide, a Christian
man and his mother, living in Latakia, were attacked by their longtime
Muslim neighbors, upon the jihadist rebels' arrival: "You're
Christians," they were disparagingly told, "leave the house, we don't
want you here!"
On Dec. 18, the jihadists opened fire
on the Greek Orthodox cathedral of Hama. The gunmen, using automatic
weapons, shot up the walls of the church and tried to demolish the
building's cross.
That same day, the jihadists also "violated the sanctity of the dead"
and "vandalized the cemeteries of Christian families" in Mhardeh, north
of Hama, said a local source. Pictures of desecration (here) show a beheaded Virgin Mary statue and several smashed crosses and tombstones scattered on the ground.
On Dec. 11, jihadists destroyed and vandalized
the contents of the St. Sophia Church in Suqaylabiyah, another
predominantly Christian town, also in Hama province (video footage here).
Nearly two weeks later, and just a couple of days before Christmas, eight foreign jihadists, of Uzbek origin, set fire to a large public Christmas tree in Suqaylabiyah (image here). According to one report, "the perpetrators kept observers and firefighters at bay while the stories-high artificial tree burned in the main square."
This act of arson, along with the ongoing
"series of thefts, desecrations of churches, and anti-Christian
provocations by jihadists from the Russian Caucasus and Central Asia,"
prompted protests from the region's indigenous Christians. While
shouting "enough is enough!," protestors marched through their village
carrying a large cross, "to show the jihadists that they are Christians
and not afraid."
Discussing all these flagrant attacks, one report observes:
"Despite the declarations of tolerance and inclusion by
the new government in Syria, this attack on Christian sites is not the
last, because jihadists continue to act and have fought for the new
Syrian government. In particular, some, who are as close as two peas in a
pod to the Islamic State, with the same patches on their combat
uniforms. Although Christmas for Catholics has been declared a holiday
for civil servants, nothing changes the fact that in Syria the Islamist
armed gangs, including the most radical ones, have total freedom."
Ahmed al-Sharaa, jihadist warlord and current leader of Syria, swiftly turning into an Islamic state, confessed in a Dec. 17 interview
that, "When we build the Islamic caliphate, Christians will pay Jizya
under Islamic Sharia." The word jizya -- a payment for protection -- is
often translated to "tribute" or "tax." The requirement originates in
Koran 9:29:
"Fight those among the People of the Book [Christians and
Jews] who do not believe in Allah, nor the Last Day, nor forbid what
Allah and his Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of
truth [Islam], until they pay the jizya with willing submission and feel
themselves humbled."
As should be evident from that verse, jizya is not limited to
monetary tribute from "infidels," but is also a reminder of their
inferior status—one of submission and humility—within the Islamic state
that Syria has become.
The Beating and Killing of Muslim 'Apostates' to Christ
Uganda: On Dec. 26, a Muslim couple and their adult son were burned to death
for accepting Christ in their lives. The three, Kaiga Muhammad, 64, his
wife Sawuya, and their son, Swagga, 26, had converted on Nov. 22. Then,
on Dec. 16, after Kaiga was spotted entering a church, a Muslim sheikh,
Abdu, confronted him, to which the convert openly declared that he and
his family had embraced Christ. Angered by such effrontery, the Muslim
man gave the family a week to return to Islam, or else: "Abudu said that
our family had blasphemed the name of Allah and embarrassed the Muslim
community," a family member recalled.
Then, on Dec. 26, area Muslims "set ablaze the family's house with
gas and burned the three members of the family beyond recognition," said a neighbor who arrived too late to save them.
Separately, on Dec. 16, Muslims caught and killed
a Muslim convert to Christianity. Soon after James Mukenye, 29, and his
wife and children converted in January 2022, "the whole family
threatened to kill us if we continued with the Christian faith," his
wife said.
That very night they fled to another district. Nearly a year later,
hoping matters had cooled down, and that it was safe for them to return,
they rented a home near their family village. On learning that the
apostates had returned, family members and other Muslims began sending
them threatening texts, some explicit:
"We know where you are, and soon we are coming there and
you will not escape the wrath of Allah. You left here and disappeared
from us for three years thinking that Allah was in a sleep. Has Allah
not brought you back for back justice? Soon we are going to behead you
and get a big reward from Allah, and this time you're not going to
escape from us."
On the evening of Dec. 16, James left his home on a motorcycle for a gospel outreach with another evangelist. His widow added:
"At about 7:30 p.m., I received a call from my husband
telling me of people who have been following/tracking him for about half
an hour and requesting prayers. Since then, there was no communication
from him."
On the following morning, she and others went searching for James only to find "my husband lying in a pool of blood."
An eyewitness reported that he saw and heard from a distance people
yelling in Arabic as they stabbed someone who was crying and calling
out, "Jesus! Jesus! I am dying, please help me, please help me, help
me!" James is survived by his wife and three small children (2, 4, and
7).
Somalia: On Sunday, Dec. 8, a Muslim man severely beat
and injured his wife after learning she had converted to Christianity.
The beating was so bad, that the 30-year-old woman, Fatuma, fled her
home, leaving behind her two children, aged 4 and 6. She explained:
"I miss my children, but I cannot go back to my husband
because he will kill me. I live in great pain due to my fractured hand
and serious scars which have disfigured my face, as well as a stressful
life of being absent from my children. I have forgiven my husband and am
praying for God to change his life. I am very hurt and need prayers to
heal my broken heart."
Fatuma was first caught praying to Jesus on Dec. 4 by her mother-in-law, who rebuked her:
"Islam requires us only to pray in the name of Allah and
Muhammad... Let this be your first and last prayer in such a bad way.
This is devilish, and if you do not stop then you will be thrown out of
the family."
When her mother-in-law caught Fatuma praying in Christ's name again two days later, she became furious:
"I had given you a serious warning, but you have deliberately decided to ignore it – my son then will have to divorce you."
On returning home and being informed by his mother, the son began to
violently beat his wife with sticks, until she managed to flee and go
into hiding. The report adds:
"Somalia's constitution establishes Islam as the state
religion and prohibits the propagation of any other religion.... It also
requires that laws comply with sharia (Islamic law) principles, with no
exceptions in application for non-Muslims. The death penalty for
apostasy is part of Islamic law according to mainstream schools of
Islamic jurisprudence."
Separately, according to a Dec. 25 report,
"Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabab claims attack on Christian missionaries
near Somalia-Kenya border, killing one and wounding three."
South Sudan: After her husband stabbed
her in the head with a knife for converting to Christianity, Halima
Mohammed Ali, fled, only eventually to return to be with her five
children (aged nearly 2 to 14). "He still threatens me, that I return to
Islam," she said, "But I refuse." Her resilience has only prompted her husband's relatives to pester him into doing away with her, saying, "We cannot stay with a Christian woman." According to a church leader:
"She has refused to renounce her faith and continues
attending church services... She asks for prayers to remain firm in her
faith." He added that he hoped that making her story public "will deter
her husband from further attacks."
Muslim Attacks on Churches Celebrating Christmas
Indonesia: On Sunday, Dec. 1, Muslims forcibly stopped
a church choir rehearsal for Christmas on the false claim that the
Christians needed governmental permission to conduct such rehearsals.
But Indonesian Movement for All, a leading moderate interfaith
organization, said
"The ban is incomprehensible. Since when does practicing choir for
Christmas require permission from the local government?" The
organization added that only the establishment of a Christian house of
worship requires a permit in Indonesia, whereas "Choir practice needs no
permit. People who prohibit this must be handled immediately."
One week later, on Sunday, Dec. 8, a similar incident took place: about 100 Muslims blocked Christians from entering and holding a Christmas service in a pastor's home. According to one report:
"The Muslims claimed the site was not officially approved
by the government, but church Pastor Nicky Jefta Makary said he had
given prior notice of the 3 p.m. Christmas service to the neighborhood
association, the head of the residents' association, the local police
chief and a Military Unit Command. A meeting in a private home does not
require permission in Indonesia, and Pastor Nicky said he knew the
regulations governing Christmas services."
"Why are we being hindered," he continued to ask, "when we want to do something good?"
Not only should they not have been banned, but "the state should intervene when minorities experience such persecution," said one Christian journalist, adding:
"There should be no one in any name to prevent other
people from carrying out their worship according to their religion and
beliefs on the grounds of 'permission,' and law enforcement officers
should act firmly if there are parties who try to carry out persecution
by preventing others from worshiping according to their beliefs, because
that is against the law and must be processed according to applicable
law."
In the end, the congregation was given permission to hold a Christmas service in a remote field.
Lebanon: According to a Dec. 22 post, a Muslim man entered a church in Jbeil district and disrupted its service by crying "Allahu akbar!"
France: On Christmas Day, a Muslim man entered a church during worship service, walked to the altar, and began to shout, "Allahu Akbar," before concluding his act by exposing his buttocks before the bewildered Christians.
Sudan: On Friday, Dec. 20, the Sudanese Air Force (SAF) deliberately targeted and destroyed
a church, as well as five homes near it. Several civilians were killed
and injured in the homes, including the caretaker of the church. The response of Philemon Hassan Kharata, pastor of the Baptist Church in question, was:
"The Lord is good, and we pray that He protects the souls
that are more important than the property, and that He comforts the
neighbors of the church who died during the strike. We also pray for
healing for our brother Bakhit Hassan."
Then, on Dec. 30, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked
a church prayer service in al-Jazirah state. It was attended by 177
Christians, "who were praying and fasting for the end of the military
strife in Sudan." According to the report:
"The militants of the Islamist RSF, which has been
battling the equally Islamist Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April
2023, stormed into the worship building and beat church members."
Fourteen Christians were left wounded.
Separately, a Christian priest was attacked
by these same two leading rivals of the nation (both Muslim): the
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces
(RSF). First, "From the side of the army [SAF]," Yunan Tombe, bishop of
the El-Obeid Diocese in North Kurdufan state, said that they beat him
and stole his USD cash, on the "pretext that I was carrying the
forbidden hard currency." Then, "on the side of Rapid Forces, I was
given countless heavy blows on the neck, forehead, on my face and two
sides of my head," completely damaging his jaws so that "I can't bite
food. Together with deacon [Joseph], we missed narrowly martyrdom when
one leader said that is enough."
The report explains that the RSF militants "initially intended to
execute him before one member persuaded them to release him." The bishop
experienced both beatings as he was returning from a Eucharistic
Congress and celebrations in Juba marking 50 years of the Catholic
Church hierarchy in Sudan and South Sudan.
While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, persecution of
Christians by extremists is growing. The report posits that such
persecution is not random but rather systematic, and takes place
irrespective of language, ethnicity, or location. It includes incidents
that take place during, or are reported on, any given month.
