Germany's "Demagogue of Armed Jihad" - Soeren Kern

by Soeren Kern

• "We want your blood. It tastes so wonderful." — Denis Cuspert, German rapper-turned-jihadist.
• Such measures, however, are not likely to deter Cuspert from producing more propaganda videos. They arguably pose more of a threat to Germany than his physical presence there.
• "In Germany, sleeper cells lie in wait... Even while you're in Europe, do your jihad. Allah is going to reward you. Paradise is waiting." — Denis Cuspert.
  

A German rapper-turned-jihadist has called on his followers to carry out terrorist attacks in Germany.

In a high-quality video released by the Islamic State in April, Denis Cuspert also warns that terrorist sleeper cells have infiltrated Germany and are ready for activation.

German authorities say they are taking the threats seriously: Cuspert — who has been likened to Nazi Minister for Propaganda Joseph Goebbels — has become the Islamic State's chief propagandist in the German language and is unusually capable of inspiring disillusioned young Germans to become jihadists.

Cuspert's transformation from rapper to jihadist is documented in a 25-page analysis produced by the German intelligence service, which has described him as "quite simply the most interesting propagandist of the Salafist movement in the German-speaking realm."

Cuspert, 39, was born in Berlin to a German mother and a Ghanaian father. The father abandoned the family while Cuspert was still a baby and his mother remarried an African-American military officer, with whom Cuspert had a deeply troubled relationship.

Perhaps in search of an identity, Cuspert in 1995 embarked on a rapping career in which he sought to imitate American hip-hop artists. Also known by his stage name, Deso Dogg, he eventually ended up in prison for a variety of offenses, including drug-related crimes. Over the ensuing years, he released four albums, but after narrowly surviving a car accident in October 2008, he began to take an interest in Salafist Islam.

In 2010, Cuspert gave up his rap career and formally embraced Islam. He dropped his stage name in favor of the Islamic name Abou Maleeq and began singing Islamic battle hymns known as nasheeds, in which he displayed an obsession with martyrdom.

Cuspert's "pop jihad" nasheeds drew attention after Arid Uka, a Muslim Kosovo Albanian from Frankfurt, murdered two U.S. airmen and wounded two others at Frankfurt Airport in March 2011. In court, Uka testified that just before carrying out the attack, he was listening to a nasheed calling for attacks against non-Muslims on his iPod. He said he had also been influenced by a video on Cuspert's Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Cuspert became involved with Mohamed Mahmoud, an Austrian-born Islamist who founded Millatu Ibrahim, a Salafist organization, in the Germany city of Solingen in 2011. The group called on German Muslims to reject German law and follow Islamic Sharia law instead.

The German government banned Millatu Ibrahim in May 2012, and Mahmoud, also known as Abu Usama Al-Gharib, fled to Egypt to reestablish the group there. "I am going to return to Germany in only one condition, as a conqueror to introduce Sharia in Germany," Mahmoud said at the time.

In a three-minute video, a German Salafist linked to Mahmoud calling himself Abu Azzam vowed revenge and called for the assassination of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He warned:

"Our troops are already there [in Germany], you will bleed, your heads will roll ... Oh Allah, give the German people what they deserve!
"Looking back at the Arab spring, we are looking forward to a European summer. We want to see Obama and Merkel dead."

Mahmoud eventually persuaded more than a dozen German Salafists to join him in Egypt at a time when the Muslim Brotherhood was ascendant there. Among them was Cuspert, who slipped out of Germany in June 2012 even though he was being surveilled by German intelligence.

After arriving in Egypt, Cuspert obtained firearms training at militant camp in Mersa Matruh, situated about 200 km east of the Libyan border. He then travelled to Libya to train with Islamic extremists before becoming a jihadist in Syria in early 2013.

In August 2013, Cuspert appeared in a four-minute video in which he expressed his desire to die as a suicide bomber, presumably in Germany. He can be heard rapping the lyrics:

"I wish for my death and cannot wait for it, armed with bombs and grenades;
Inside the barracks of the crusaders, pressing the button, al-Jannah [paradise], al-Jannah;
I detonate the bomb in the crowd, pressing the button, al-Jannah, al-Jannah;
Right in the center of town or in the subway, pressing the button, al-Jannah, al-Jannah;
With a smile directly to my Creator, pressing the button, al-Jannah, al-Jannah;
Remember your obligations and fear Allah, pressing the button, al-Jannah, al-Jannah."

German rapper-turned-jihadist Denis Cuspert, wearing jihadi battle gear.

Cuspert, who now uses the alias Abu Talha Al-Almani (Abu Talha the German), is believed to have formally joined the Islamic State sometime in April 2014. He was also rumored to have been killed in Syria that same month, but in November 2014, he appeared in an Islamic State video. He was holding a severed head and explaining in German that the victims had fought against the Islamic State and "that is why they received the death penalty."

In the latest video, dated April 2015, Cuspert can be heard rapping the following lyrics in German:

"To the enemies of Allah. Where are your troops? We can no longer wait. O Allah, destroy them! Grant us victory over them. Take from us. Make us honorable. Take from our blood. Fisabilillah [One who fights for the cause of Allah].
"Now listen, you dogs of hell. The words have been written. The ink has dried. The judgment has been made. Your end approaches.
"Mutilated soldiers are coming back to your homeland close to desperation. Eyes are being lost. Bodies without legs. We want your blood. It tastes so wonderful.
"In France, it has been proven by deeds. In Germany, sleeper cells lie in wait. The brothers are operating. Terrorizing the Kafir [nonbeliever].
"We have smelled blood. The revenge for the messenger. For our sisters. For our noble brothers. And all the martyrs.
"A truck filled with explosives. Loving farewell. Don't be sad my mother. Your son is rushing to Allah.
"Allah has called you. There is no way out. Fill your car with gas. My brother, hurry up! Your neighbor is a Kafir. Slandering the messenger. Take a big knife and give him what he rightly deserves!
"Even while you're in Europe, do your jihad. Allah is going to reward you. Finish the dirty one. Paradise is waiting. Do it with sincerity.
"We have only one life. And it is Allah who gave it to us. Time is running out. So brother, struggle hard. Deeds make the difference. The earth is shaking. Khilafah [Caliphate], what a blessing. A favor from Allah.
"They all die for one cause. You either die or gain victory. There is no god but Allah."

German authorities are now looking for ways to hinder Cuspert's potential return to Europe. On February 8, Die Welt newspaper revealed that German public prosecutors were investigating 83 German jihadists, including Cuspert, for war crimes, for atrocities committed in the name of the Islamic State. If convicted, Cuspert, upon returning to Germany, could face life in prison.

On February 9, the U.S. State Department said that it had designated Cuspert a "global terrorist," and on March 11, Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs added Cuspert to a list of individuals off-limits to the country's banks, due to alleged ties to terrorist activities.

Such measures, however, are not likely to deter Cuspert from producing more propaganda videos. They arguably pose more of a threat to Germany than his physical presence there.
The German intelligence service sums it up this way:

"As a rapper and as a jihadist, Cuspert represents authenticity. This 'battlefield credibility' contributes to his popularity within the international jihadi-Salafi scene. ... Cuspert's ostentatious but authentic appearance in his propaganda videos, together with the attractiveness of a currently victorious Islamic State, has considerable mobilizing power for radicalized individuals in Germany who want to travel to Syria. His demagogic propaganda lures young people with the ostensible promise of paradise but leads them to ruin.
"Jihadi-Salafist propaganda of the kind produced by Cuspert is freely accessible on the Internet and carries the risk that people will become radicalized and respond not only to the call to travel to fight abroad, but also to support terrorist groups such as the Islamic State here in Germany. As a consequence, the Salafist scene is poised to become increasingly violent while also growing in numbers."

Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.

Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5822/germany-jihad-denis-cuspert

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

Jerusalem: A city of tension and unity - Nadav Shragai

by Nadav Shragai

In other words, their Arab leaders are stupid but the Arab residents and oftimes citizens of Israel, by choice, are not

Israel marks 48 years (Jerusalem regained from Jordan in the Six Day War of June 6-12, 1967) since the reunification of Jerusalem, and there is no going back. Despite the incidents of terrorism and violence depicted in the media, Jews and Arabs live and work together in cooperation and unity.

This intermingling, to which I have devoted a chapter in my new book, is first and foremost the result of Jerusalem’s demography. After 19 years of division and 48 years of Israeli unity, Jerusalem Day — which we mark today — is a good opportunity to reveal a number that might surprise many people: Most Jewish and even more Arab residents of Jerusalem have never even experienced the city when it was divided. Some 71 percent of the city’s Jews and 84 percent of its Arabs were born into the reality of one united city.

“Intermingling” is a new term being used in research into the Jewish-Arab conflict in Jerusalem, coined by yours truly a few years ago. Intermingling involves many types of normalcy and cooperation between Jews and Arabs in united Jerusalem — something the media does not tend to cover. It expresses the wisdom of the masses who for years have been telling their leaders that, alongside the violence and terrorism, there are also unity and cooperation that often overcome politics and differences.

This fact has ramifications. The city is united through common infrastructure, which it would be difficult and in many cases impossible, to split apart. Services are provided, at different levels, to all parts of the city: from streets to shared water, electrical, sewerage, and telephone systems. In Jerusalem’s hospitals, Jewish and Arab doctors and nurses work night and day to serve both populations. 

Many of the Egged bus drivers, as well as passengers, are Arabs. The Arab population has integrated into the city’s pharmacology and trade sectors. Shopping centers, supermarkets, chain stores, and leisure spots are bustling with Jewish and Arab customers and employees.

A reality of “intermingling” exists in the playgrounds on the border between east and west Jerusalem, too. Arabs visit the Jerusalem Zoo and Ein Yael, and their children attend summer camps at those sites. More Jerusalem Arabs are asking for Israeli identity cards today than in the past, are signing up for Israeli high school matriculation exams, and are volunteering to perform national service and earn academic degrees in Israel.

(In other words, their Arab leaders are stupid but the Arab residents and oftimes citizens of Israel, by choice, are not)

Fewer Jews visit east Jerusalem, but intermingling exists there, too. In recent years, all quarters of the Old City have been crowded with tourists and Jews, and inside the walls there is cooperation in the trade and tourism sectors.

Intermingling like this is a thorn in the side of Palestinian terrorist operatives, who this past year have initiated a second “mini-Intifada” — which we got another taste of on Thursday — and tried unsuccessfully to pull a large Palestinian population into the circle of hatred. It’s not surprising that the attempted attacks on the city’s light rail continue unabated, because the train has become both a symbol of and litmus test for coexistence in the city.

Anyone who talks to the residents of east Jerusalem, rather than the leaders who presume to speak for them, quickly discovers that many of them prefer to remain under Israeli sovereignty rather than becoming part of the Palestinian Authority.

As documented residents, they enjoy a host of financial benefits they would not find under the PA. Many are also unwilling to forgo the advantages of Israeli democracy. In-depth surveys conducted among the population of east Jerusalem in recent years show that most east Jerusalem Arabs would choose Israel over the PA. This is what the polls showed, despite the fact that Israel had made little investment in municipal services and infrastructure in the Arab neighborhoods, and many Jerusalem Arabs feel closer to Israeli Arabs than they do to Arabs in the West Bank.

In contrast to the question of “united or divided,” it’s easier to spot and document the more than a few scraps of normalcy and cooperation on one hand, and separation and alienation on the other. The fact that they exist simultaneously does not invalidate either one. The picture of cooperation and normalization that is not infrequently blotted out by the media was created by a reality of living next door to each other for almost 50 years. This is a new situation. Going back (for any number of reasons) is no longer possible.

Nadav Shragai is an Israeli author and journalist. He worked as a reporter for Israeli newspaper Haaretz starting in 1983 and retired in 2009. Today he continues to write as an author and academic, publishing a number of books on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In 1995 his book Temple of Dispute about the Temple Mount was published by Keter Publishing House.

Source: http://israel-commentary.org/?p=11341#sthash.In2ljH1b.dpuf

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

Providing the Tactical Echelon with Strategic Capabilities - Amir Rapaport

by Amir Rapaport

Brig. Gen. (res.) Zvi Fux, VP Strategic Affairs of IMI, speaks about the far-reaching changes expected in land warfare pursuant to Operation Protective Edge. Exclusive

Once every few years, a profound change takes place with regard to the build-up of power, and we are now witnessing precisely that kind of change,” says Brig. Gen. (res.) Zvika (Zvi) Fux, VP Strategic Affairs of IMI.

Fux, who will be one of the primary speakers at the GFID (Ground Forces Israel Defense) Conference in Latroun (May 5-6, 2015), landed at IMI after a long career in the IDF. He spent the major part of his command career in the IDF Artillery Corps, and his last military position was Head of Doctrine & Organization in the IDF Ground Arm. In the context of his senior positions in the defense industry and as an IDF officer in reserve, following his discharge, Fux has closely monitored regional and global processes and the changes taking place in all of the force build-up elements of the ground forces, including the acquisition of new weapon systems, changes in operational concepts, in force structure and in training activities.

Accordingly, he is in charge, within IMI, of consolidating the Company’s strategy and adapting its products to the changes expected in the IDF and worldwide. The strategic decisions made by IMI in the last few years are already yielding results: in 2014-2015, about 70% of the Company’s products being sold had been developed during the last five-year period, mostly for the benefit of combined-arms operations under complex environmental conditions.

Moreover, layouts of accurate artillery rockets to various ranges (40 to 250 kilometers) developed in the context of IMI’s strategic concept have been sold in recent years to numerous armed forces. IMI has recently finalized a project involving the development of a fire delivery layout based on a new operational concept known as “fire bases” for the military of an Asian country.

According to Fux, the changes that have taken place in the IDF Ground Arm during the last decade will now lead to another significant wave of changes. “Insights gained pursuant to Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014 will lead to the next major changes, just as the Second Lebanon War of 2006 was a significant turning point,” says Fux. “A review is currently under way as to whether the concept of the IDF is still relevant vis-à-vis the changes that had taken place on the battlefield. In my opinion, those changes call for a completely different force build-up process.”

According to Fux, “We at IMI are oriented toward the clients’ needs, so we introduced an organizational change that meets those needs (the establishment of the Company’s new business divisions). In the last few months, we reviewed all of the processes that had taken place, in order to draw lessons and be ready for the next round.

“According to my approach, we should prepare for potential fighting in several different sectors. The starting point is the ever-increasing number of threats, as well as the fact that the situation is one of profound uncertainty. In order to cope with this situation, several holy cows must be slaughtered.

“At the time, the Second Lebanon War re-clarified the importance of ground maneuvering and the need to find a different balance between fire and maneuvering. We progressed with that way of thinking from Operation Cast Lead (the fighting in the Gaza Strip in 2009) through Operation Protective Edge.

“The last operation has once again raised the issue of maneuvering in other contexts. For example, one issue that became highly acute involved combat operations in the subterranean medium. Many positive things that had taken place with regard to the combined-arms aspect were raised as well. The combined-arms operations reached a very high level of performance that is unprecedented worldwide. The factors that enabled these combined-arms operations were numerous capabilities that matured during Operation Protective Edge, including various command and control systems.”

Enhanced Maneuverability

Pursuant to Operation Protective Edge, the IDF command made the decision to step up the manufacture of hundreds of Merkava (Namer) APCs in order to improve the mobility of the infantry forces, and at the same time establish light formations that will mobilize combat troops using wheeled vehicles. According to Fux, IMI offered the IDF a new wheeled combat vehicle designated CombatGuard. Generally, in his estimate, the recent fighting proved that the elements of the IDF’s maneuverability, above and under the ground, should be improved significantly, as the primary effort in recent years had focused on the development of advanced integrated fire delivery capabilities.

Is it your intention that maneuverability should be enhanced?

“At present, the fire delivery capabilities are far superior to the maneuvering capabilities. In view of this issue, we have come to a situation where a target should be identified and the fire delivery cycles should be closed quickly in order to engage it. The enemy has learned this, too, and in order to analyze the territory you sometimes need a small maneuvering force to close the fire cycles. Once such a force operates on the ground, especially in an urban environment, it requires technological resources.

“Generally, the tactical commander should be provided with a strategic capability. You can see a platoon commander who marches somewhere and requests substantial support – and you give him a rocket. The same rocket may be provided in the same manner to the battalion commander level and to higher levels. The connection on the ground should include fire and maneuvering – without depending on the Air Force, which should deal with the long-distance objectives assigned to it. The ground maneuver can be provided with fire support on a different level, with amazing capabilities.

“You can also combine the long-distance precision ground fire with the Air Force, using a sort of ‘target tendering’ system. For example, in a situation where a battalion commander needs a 100-kg bomb dropped on a certain target. Thus far, he would have been told to wait until an aircraft departed from an airbase somewhere, so that it may carry out the job. But in many cases a prompt response is required and waiting is not an option. With precision ground munitions, we at IMI actually told the IAF that we are entering a tender that has thus far been the exclusive domain of the Air Force.

“So, things should be viewed in broad contexts, as one big package. I am confident that the ‘fire bases’ concept will eventually be adopted by the IDF as well. It is a necessity. You can engage targets deep inside enemy territory, too, with the capabilities these bases possess. Now, that the attack helicopter layout is gradually fading away, this fact may be compensated for fully using the fire and maneuvering capabilities – and these are the real news. The Corps of Combat Engineers are also undergoing a profound change, and we provide them with highly advanced technologies.”

What is the intention of the “Fire Base” concept you refer to?

“The idea is to take a number of rocket launchers, deploy them somewhere and employ them from that point over a broad sector.

“We, as IMI, are actually positioned at the primary force-build up routes. It should be said to the credit of IMI’s CEO Avi Felder that he knew how to make the Company highly relevant to the changes that have already taken place on the battlefield.

“Regarding the maneuvering issue, I think it is time to slaughter the ‘holy cow’ of organic operation (employing forces through organic units that belong to a superior formation such as a brigade or a division). The enemy changes constantly and you must adapt yourself to those changes. We must prepare to make changes during the actual fighting.”

So you are referring, in fact, to relatively small, modular forces that may be transferred from one command to another as required?

“Yes. The mission is the main thing. The commander should know what resources are available to him – heavy, medium and light maneuvering elements. At the same time, he should be supported by regional capabilities in fire support, logistics, intelligence and several other resources.”

According to your concept, is the division, as a basic formation, no longer relevant?

“It is no longer as necessary as it used to be. If you review the division with regard to the aspect of flexibility and maneuverability – you will realize that the division has no flexibility. With the advanced fire delivery capabilities and regional capabilities currently available, you can provide the lower echelons with strategic capabilities, and you will no longer need the friction with the divisional HQ. As a result, the brigades are establishing small fire management centers. The technology makes you skip that level.”

Is that the change you envision?

“Yes. Definitely. I think the objective will be to establish a small force possessing all of the capabilities. It will build itself according to the mission at hand. This formation will rely for support on regional capabilities – C3 and so forth, fire support capabilities, fire bases, logistics and so forth. This thing exists, and every commander maneuvers in his own sector, utilizing these capabilities. But every commander faces certain gaps, which we have identified.”

IMI has won a tender issued by the IDF Ground Arm for the supply of new, accurate mortar bombs, designated Dagger. When will these mortar bombs become available to the forces on the ground?

“I hope they will be delivered by late 2016. In our view, the development of the accurate mortar bombs in cooperation with the IDF Ground Arm is definitely a growth engine. It fits well into the entire range of precision munitions by IMI.

“I would like to say a word about the IDF Armored Corps, which proved themselves to maximum effect during Operation Protective Edge. We have re-established the tank as a highly relevant weapon system owing to the APAM-MP-T (Anti-Personnel, Anti-Materiel, Multi-Purpose, Tracer) M329 cartridge and the HE-MP-T (High Explosive, Multi-Purpose, Tracer) M339 cartridge developed by IMI (cartridges producing reduced collateral damage that are better suited to urban warfare). Owing to these munitions, the Armored Corps have once again established themselves as a service possessing relevant fire delivery capabilities and fit effectively into the combined-arms battle. The infantry forces have also been highly effective recently, and they are being strengthened further. The main gap they face, as stated, is in the field of troop mobilization.”

Has the high-precision fire, in which much had been invested toward a high degree of accuracy, become over accurate? Some claims to that effect were voiced following Operation Protective Edge…

“I agree that to some extent, a phenomenon we call ‘The Accuracy Paradox’ does exist. The paradox is that you shoot yourself in the foot because of that absolute accuracy, as ostensibly you cannot also employ weapons with statistical dispersion on the battlefield, owing to the concern of hitting uninvolved parties. I think that the effect of statistical fire should be preserved, as it turned out to be highly important during Operation Protective Edge in the context of extricating forces that had become trapped. We as an industry want to provide accurate weapon systems, but in my opinion, the fighting forces need those weapon systems in the appropriate dosage – not exclusively.” 

Amir Rapaport

Source: http://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/content/providing-tactical-echelon-strategic-capabilities

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

Anti-Semitism and Jewish destiny - Robert S. Wistrich

by Robert S. Wistrich



Hat tip: Jean-Charles Bensoussan

Today’s anti-Semitism is a product of a new civic religion that could be termed "Palestinianism."

On Sunday, Robert S. Wistrich – the director of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem – emailed the following column to ‘Jerusalem Post’ Editor-in-Chief Steve Linde, asking that it be published in the coming week. Wistrich died suddenly on Tuesday. We dedicate his last column to perpetuating his memory. May his words live on.

There are few topics of more pressing concern today to Jewish communities around the world than the current resurgence of anti-Semitism. Thus, there could have been no more appropriate time for the 5th Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism to meet than last week in Jerusalem. It was a large and impressive gathering of participants from all over the world, initiated by the Foreign Ministry, together with its Diaspora Affairs Department.

In my own remarks to the conference I emphasized the need to free ourselves from certain outdated myths. My first point was that even today, Jews in Israel and the Diaspora are fixated on the dangers of far-right traditional anti-Semitism – whether racist, religious or nationalist. While neo-fascism has not altogether disappeared, it is in most cases a secondary threat.

Second, there is an illusory belief that more Holocaust education and memorialization can serve as an effective antidote to contemporary anti-Semitism. This notion, shared by many governments and well-meaning liberal gentiles, is quite unfounded. On the contrary, today “Holocaust inversion” (the perverse transformation of Jews into Nazis and Muslims into victimized “Jews”) all-too-often becomes a weapon with which to pillory Israel and denigrate the Jewish people. Hence the approach to this entire subject requires considerable rethinking, updating and fine-tuning.

Third, we must recognize much more clearly than before that since 1975 (with the passing of the scandalous UN resolution condemning Zionism as racism) hatred of Israel has increasingly mutated into the chief vector for the “new” anti-Semitism.
By libeling the Jewish state as “racist,” “Nazi,” “apartheid” and founded from its inception on “ethnic cleansing,” its enemies have turned Zionism into a synonym for criminality and a term of pure opprobrium.

Hence, every Jew (or non- Jew) who supports the totally “illegitimate” or immoral “Zionist entity” is thereby complicit in a cosmic evil.

Fourth, today’s anti-Semitism is a product of a new civic religion that could be termed “Palestinianism.”

The official Palestinian narrative seeks to supplant Israel with a judenrein Palestine from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. In the case of Hamas, this intent is absolutely explicit. With Fatah, it is partly veiled for tactical reasons.

But when it comes to the Palestinian ideology and the millions around the world who support it, virtually all actions of self-defense by Israel are instantly classified as “genocide,” demonized and treated as part of a sinister Jewish-imperialist conspiracy. Not surprisingly, then, pro-Palestine demonstrations, beginning in the summer of 2014, were often accompanied by ugly chants of “Death to the Jews” and anti-Semitic incidents.

My fifth point is closely related to this reality. Since the turn of the 21st century, anti-Semitism has undergone a process of growing “Islamicization,” linked to the terrorist holy war against Jews and other non-Muslims with its truly lethal consequences.

Yet most debates skirt around the issues of Iran and radical Islam.

However, if we do not confront the prime danger posed by radical Islamist and genocidal anti-Semitism, how can our common struggle hope to succeed? One of the symptoms of this vain policy of appeasement pursued by America and Europe is the almost Pavlovian reflex after every terrorist, anti-Semitic outrage to immediately disconnect it from any link to Islam. Of course, Islamist is not identical with Islam, only a minority of Muslim believers support terrorism, and stigmatization is wrong. Equally, we must empower moderate Muslims wherever we can.

But denial does not work. Levels of anti-Semitism among Muslims clearly remain the highest in the world, and the horrific consequences of jihadi movements like Islamic State for all minorities are impossible to ignore. Nothing can be gained by sweeping this threat under the carpet.

The Islamists are the spearhead of current anti-Semitism, aided and abetted by the moral relativism of all-too-many naive Western liberals.

My sixth observation relates to the need for Israelis and Diaspora Jews to rediscover, redefine and reassess their Jewish identity, core Jewish values and the depth of their own connection to the Land of Israel as well as to their historic heritage. I was privileged to have authored two years ago the exhibition “People, Book, Land – The 3,500-Year Relationship of the Jewish People to the Holy Land” for the bold project initiated by the Simon Wiesenthal Center together with UNESCO. Against all the odds and in the face of predictable opposition, it opened at UNESCO headquarters in Paris in June 2014.

In April 2015, the exhibit was even shown at UN Headquarters in New York, and it will soon come to Israel. This is not merely a historical exercise, for it shows the extraordinary tenacity, cultural vitality, spirituality, and metaphysical as well as physical bonds of Jews and Judaism to the Land of Israel. None of this was intended, it should be emphasized, to negate the historical presence and significance of Christianity and Islam in this land.

But it sets the record straight.

My final reflection flows from this experience. I believe that in an age of Jewish empowerment, living in a sovereign and democratic Israeli state, we can and must first clarify for ourselves our vocation, raison d’être, moral priorities, and the deeper meaning of our near-miraculous return to the historic homeland.

This is the other side of the coin in our essential and relentless fight against anti-Semitism. As we celebrate Jerusalem Day let us be worthy of the scriptural promise that “the Torah will come forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

Here, in the beating heart of the Jewish nation, where its body and soul come together in the City of Peace, we must be true to the national and universal vision of our biblical prophets. Anti-Semitism, the long shadow which has for so long accompanied our bi-millennial Diasporic tribulations, and nearly 70 years of renewed statehood, is neither “eternal” nor must it prevent Jews from fulfilling their ultimate destiny to one day become a “light unto the nations.”

Robert S. Wistrich

Source: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Anti-Semitism-and-Jewish-destiny-403703

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

Hamas, Europe and How to Get a State - Uzay Bulut

by Uzay Bulut

• Denmark's Foreign Minister, Martin Lidegaard, did not of course address the question: If your neighbor is trying to import weapons while threatening to kill you, what are you supposed to do about that? He also did not address the similar blockade of Gaza by Egypt, which faces the same problem. The more terror tunnels Hamas members build, the more respect they get from the West.
• As someone born and raised a Muslim in the Middle East, and still living there, I can assure Europeans officials that if they think the recognition of Hamas and Palestinian statehood would encourage Hamas to change its charter and abandon its terrorists attacks, they could not be more wrong. Why then should Hamas change its charter or tactics, or commit itself to a peaceful resolution, when its current terror tactics seem to be working so magnificently?
• "We do not distinguish between what was occupied in the 1940s and what was occupied in the 1960s... We will continue until the very last usurper is driven out of our land." – Sheik Nizar Rayan, a Hamas leader, Gaza, 2005.
• The EU authorities speak about "peace talks," and a "two-state solution;" Hamas does not. Hamas openly rejects them. If one compares the language these governments use with the language Hamas officials use, they would appear to live on different galaxies. To Hamas, and apparently to many countries in Europe, Israel as no right to defend itself and no right to exist. But Europe is ready to prop up, with unconditional support, racist, anti-humanitarian organizations such as the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. Is this really the spirit of pluralism, humanism and tolerance these "good," "moral" European governments and the Vatican support?
  

This month, the Vatican signed the first treaty with "the state of Palestine," which it had already recognized in 2012.

The Vatican is not the only European state to have recognized the Hamas and Abbas government as an independent state. The Vatican is just the latest member of a trend that speaks volumes about how alarmingly clueless European states are about the conflict in the region and how blind they have become to see who actually causes terrorism and killings there.

Pope Francis greets Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican, May 16, 2015. (Image source: RT video screenshot)

Sadly, last year, Europe showed that terrorism and threats to commit genocide might just be the best way to acquire national independence.

In October 2014, the Britain's House of Commons voted in favor of symbolic motion that stands as initial stage of UK recognition of a "Palestinian state."

Then Sweden's government became the first major European country officially to recognize the state of "Palestine."

Shortly after that, the lower house of Spain's parliament voted overwhelmingly to recognize "Palestine" as a state, and then the Portuguese parliament did the same.

Into the bargain, call it a bonus, Finland and Denmark (in Copenhagen, before it was hit with a terror attack -- like those with which Israel has been contending for decades -- warned Israel of EU sanctions. Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said Israel could face EU sanctions over its actions in Palestinian areas.

In September, Denmark's Foreign Minister, Martin Lidegaard, said that if Israel does not commit to end its "blockade" of Gaza and stop "illegal settlements," then tougher steps should be adopted. "If nothing happens in the peace talks this time," he said, "and if we don't see a new pattern of response from Israel's side, then we will need to discuss the possibility of taking new steps, including changes to our trade relations with Israel." He did not, of course, address the question: If your neighbor is trying to import weapons while threatening to kill you, what are you supposed to do about that? He also did not address the similar blockade of Gaza by Egypt, which faces the same problem.

Finally, as the ultimate prize, on December 17, 2014, the General Court of the European Union, the second-highest court in the bloc, declared that it had removed Hamas from the list of terrorist organizations: "Hamas should no longer be included on an influential list of international terrorist organizations."

Have these parliaments and courts not read Hamas's charter, especially in its Article 7, which openly calls for genocide against the Jews, not only in Israel, but all over the world? Have the not heard the saying in much of the Arab world: "First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people" -- namely, Europe's Christians?[1] Have they not seen how Islamic extremists have been targeting Christians and others not only in the Middle East but right there among them in the West?

Is this really the spirit of pluralism, humanism and tolerance these "good," "moral" European governments and the Vatican support?

The EU authorities speak about "peace talks" and "a two state solution;" Hamas does not. Not only has Hamas never cared about such niceties; it openly rejects them. The more Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel and murder of all the Jews, the more the Western governments incomprehensibly seem to interpret this as a call for peace. If one compares the language these governments use with the language Hamas officials use, they would appear to live on different galaxies.

In July, 2014, Hamas once more made it clear that "peace" is not its aim. When an Arabic-language television interviewer asked Mushir Al Masri, a Hamas MP and media spokesman, "Is there a proposal of Hamas?" he responded: "This is just the nonsense of the Zionists and a dream of theirs to live in peace and calmness for 10 years. We shall keep disturbing the Zionists until the last of the Zionists leaves our Palestinian land. Because every truce is temporary for a certain period of time. We are not talking about a long term truce. We are not talking about a peace agreement.

"'A truce' in the dictionary of the resistance means preparing for the next battle," he said. "Our resistance will keep on developing, producing and filling its arsenals and in the production of surprising elements for the next battles until the Zionist enemy leaves our land, with the help of Allah."

"In Islam peace has a different meaning," wrote the scholar Diane Weber Bederman. "And it is important that we understand that meaning when we talk about peace with Muslim leaders, especially those who represent Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, al Qaeda. Peace in Islam means submission to Allah. The ultimate meaning of Islamic peace is all of us living in Dar-al-Islam—the house of submission."

During last summer's war, started by Hamas rockets fired into Israel, the journalist Arsen Ostrovsky wrote: "In the last 24 hours alone, over 120 rockets have been fired on southern Israel. That's approximately five rockets per hour --" at a country the size of Vancouver Island.

At the end of that operation, Hamas once more showed that its struggle is all about destruction: hundreds of dead and wounded people – institutionalized human sacrifice -- used as propaganda for the television cameras. To Hamas, and apparently to many countries in Europe, Israel has no right to defend itself and no right to exist. But Europe is ready to prop up with unconditional support racist, anti-humanitarian organizations such as Palestinian Authority and Hamas?

As someone born and raised a Muslim in the Middle East, and still living there, I can assure European officials that if they think that the recognition of Hamas and Palestinian statehood would encourage Hamas to change its charter and leave its terrorist attacks, they could not be more wrong. Perhaps the Europeans are just hoping that if they keep on paying diplomatic "protection" and keep on giving terrorists what they say they want, the terrorists will see to it that nothing (more) blows up in their cities. Or maybe they are just currying favor for business contracts or Muslim votes.

In 2010, Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahhar said: "Have we given up our lands occupied in 1948? We demand the liberation of the West Bank, and the establishment of a state in the West Bank and Gaza, with Jerusalem as its capital – but without recognizing [Israel]. This is the key – without recognizing the Israeli enemy on a single inch of land....This is our plan for this stage – to liberate the West Bank and Gaza, without recognizing Israel's right to a single inch of land, and without giving up the Right of Return for a single Palestinian refugee."

Sheik Nizar Rayan, a Hamas "political" leader, said at a rally in Gaza, in 2005:

We will not rest until we liberate all our land, all our Palestine. We do not distinguish between what was occupied in the 1940s and what was occupied in the 1960s. Our Jihad continues, and we still have a long way to go. We will continue until the very last usurper is driven out of our land."

Hamas is harmful not only to Israel, but also to its own Gazan people. Hamas has reportedly carried out, with perfunctory trials at best, public executions by firing squads against alleged "collaborators" -- their own citizens who oppose Hamas terrorism -- possibly as "examples" to others in the Gaza Strip.

The engagement by Hamas in war-profiteering and financial corruption is also no secret. "With multi-million-dollar land deals, luxury villas and black market fuel from Egypt, Gaza's rulers made billions while the rest of the population struggled with 38-percent poverty and 40-percent unemployment," wrote Doron Peskin, a Middle East expert in regional economies.

The Institute for Palestine Studies published a detailed report on Gaza's terror tunnels in the summer of 2012. Hamas used child labor to construct underground network in Gaza, work which resulted in a large number of child deaths: "At least 160 children have been killed in the tunnels, according to Hamas officials," the report noted.

Hamas also openly declares that it engages in Jihad against the Jews in Israel and worldwide. Do European governments call for and enforce the demilitarization of Gaza until Hamas officials change their charter and abandon terrorist attacks? No, they recognize Hamas and a "Palestinian state."

The more terror tunnels Hamas members build and the more terror attacks they carry out, the more support they get from the West. The more Jews they kill, the more they are respected.

The more they exploit their own children and use them as human shields, they more "heroic" they become in the eyes of the West.

The more cartoons they broadcast on their children's channel indoctrinating Palestinian children why they should "shoot all the Jews" or "kill the Christians and Jews – to the last one," the more recognition and "aid money" they get.

Why then should Hamas change its charter or tactics, or commit itself to non-violence and a peaceful resolution when its terror tactics seem to be working so magnificently?

The Western governments should stop projecting their own wishes onto Hamas and should see Hamas as it really is: A terrorist group with a genocidal agenda that must be demilitarized for the future of all of us.

Recognizing Hamas or a Palestinian state does not mean protecting Palestinians. Palestinians can only be protected by stopping their incitement. That can be done in one minute and with no money. Europe and the West can also insist that all future funding be linked to their educating their children for peace instead of war. The funding first needs to be linked to changes, as worked so well in Russia with the Jackson-Vannick Amendment, which predicated all grain to the Soviet Union on allowing its people to leave. The finding then needs to be payed out in installments, after the changes have been made -- and maintained. No education for peace, no funding. It is only by changing the expectations of the Palestinians about what is acceptable – and by staying committed to those changes over time – in addition to the direct negotiations with Israel to which the Palestinians are committed under international law – that will actually build a Palestine mature enough to have a state.

The Pope was wise enough to see that the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas could be – but was not yet– "an angel of peace." Egypt and Jordan live in peace side-by-side with Israel. The Palestinians could, too. Just not now.

---

[1] About the "Saturday people," Hamas's former minister of culture, Atallah Abu Al-Subh, has said: "The Jews are the most despicable and contemptible nation to crawl upon the face of the Earth, because they have displayed hostility to Allah."

Uzay Bulut    Follow Uzay Bulut on Twitter

Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5800/hamas-state

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

Col. Richard Kemp:'World encourages violence by condemning Israel constantly' - Judith Bergman

by Judith Bergman

Hat tip: Jean-Charles Bensoussan

In an exclusive interview, Col. Richard Kemp, former commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, speaks about the conflict with Hamas, the ethics of war, the battle for public opinion, and the prospects for peace • Peace is far from breaking out, he says.

Col. Richard Kemp | Photo credit: Yoni Reif, Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies

Col. Richard Kemp, CBE, has been spending time in Israel, where he spoke at Shurat Hadin's "Towards a ‎New Laws of War" Conference, and at Bar-Ilan University, which bestowed him with an honorary ‎doctorate in recognition of his stalwart battle against terrorism and terrorist organizations. Kemp, now ‎retired from the British Army, was commander of the British forces in Afghanistan in 2003 and served in ‎Iraq, the Balkans and Northern Ireland. For the last five years of his 30-year military career, Kemp ‎served as top adviser to the British prime minister on questions of intelligence and counterterrorism.‎

Q: Can Israel win the asymmetric war launched against it by Hamas? ‎

"I have no doubt that if the IDF had wanted to destroy Hamas it could have done so. The reality of ‎finishing off Hamas, however, would have been that Israel would have had to take responsibility for Gaza. ‎No one else would. Not the Palestinian Authority, not Egypt and not the international community. Gaza would have been ‎on Israel's shoulders. Running Gaza would have been a huge commitment and a thankless one, as well. ‎Israel would not have received any gratitude from the people of Gaza -- on the contrary. And all this at a ‎time when there is a threat from Hezbollah in the north, Islamic State and al-Qaida in Syria, jihadist ‎groups in the Sinai, and, above all, the threat from Iran. I think that was the main reason Israel did not finish ‎off Hamas. ‎

"Another reason Israel did not finish Hamas can be found if you compare Gaza to the battle of Fallujah, ‎which is probably the most comparable situation to that in Gaza. Speaking very broadly, of course, but if ‎you extrapolate from Fallujah into what would have happened if Israel had gone on to destroy Hamas in ‎Gaza, it would most likely have cost several thousand lives of Israeli soldiers and many more wounded. It ‎would have required an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza. Probably tens of thousands of Gaza civilians ‎would have died in that process, which would have resulted in massive pressure on Israel from the ‎international community."

Q: Retired IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz has said that Operation Protective Edge lasted seven weeks, ‎because Israel kept a steady flow of humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip. He stressed that this was ‎the ethical thing to do. Would the U.S. or the U.K. have made a similar ethical choice?‎

"It is very hard to say, when you are talking about a hypothetical situation, but I do think that, compared to ‎the way most countries would react, Israel is extremely patient and tolerant of attacks coming from Gaza. ‎Not just the ones that came during Operation Protective Edge, but also the sporadic missiles shot at Israel ‎since 2005, when Israel left the Gaza Strip, and which have been fired into Israel in the last couple of days. ‎I do not think it is a situation that many countries would tolerate for as long as Israel has. The U.S. and the ‎U.K. would not have put up with such attacks for so many years. They would have taken much stronger ‎and more decisive action in order to ensure that these rocket attacks would not occur again. ‎

"Israel is constrained in a way that other countries are not. I think there is a particular humanity within the ‎nation of Israel and a particular desire not to kill people unnecessarily. It was summed up in Golda Meir's ‎words when she said that 'we can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for ‎forcing us to kill their children.' I think that sums up the ethos and the morality of Israel. ‎

"In addition to that, Israel is restrained by the international community, in particular by the United States, ‎which affects Israel's reactions. It has to because Israel depends, as every other country in the world ‎does, on other nations to survive and so it has to take account of public and political opinion in the world. ‎One of the problems, of course, is that the attitude of the Western world toward Israel is far harsher than ‎it is toward any other nation and that is counterproductive, since it has the effect of constraining Israel ‎more greatly and prevents it from acting decisively militarily speaking, which effectively only serves to ‎prolong the conflict."

Q: Is there a way out of this predicament for Israel and the repeated confrontations with Hamas?‎

"It is a situation that Israel will face time and time again. Israel obviously does whatever it can in terms of ‎intelligence, diplomacy and political influence to make its case and to make the world understand the ‎reality, but the real responsibility lies with the international community, which is so heavily engaged in the ‎Israel-Palestine conflict, far more than in any other conflicts in the world. ‎

"Rather than constantly trying to pressure Israel, the international community should take some ‎responsibility for seeking to resolve this situation. Not by pushing Israel into another round of peace talks, ‎which are not going to be productive, but by pressurizing the Palestinians and the nations that support ‎the Palestinians into acting more responsibly. The only way out of this repeated cycle of violence is if the ‎international community take concerted action to constrain the Palestinians. ‎

"The reality, however, is that the international community's response is the exact opposite. They ‎encourage violence by condemning Israel constantly and by not condemning the real villains in this ‎situation -- Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the PA.‎"

Q: Nonmilitary people have little understanding of war, yet journalists and human rights activists pass ‎judgment on Israel's military actions all the time. How can you widen the understanding of the military ‎challenges Israel faces?‎

"Conferences like Shurat Hadin are valuable, because they highlight the realities of armed conflict and the ‎laws of armed conflict as they apply to modern day conflict as opposed to traditional conflict. The more ‎lawyers and military people who understand military conflict make the case for Israel in the media and to ‎political leaders -- the more that happens, the more it will have of an effect. One example is José María ‎Aznar's group, Friends of Israel Initiative, which uses military experts to inform governments to make ‎them realize the realities of war. ‎

"I also gave evidence to the U.N. independent commission in Geneva that is investigating the Gaza conflict ‎in February this year and I gave them a comprehensive briefing on my perception of the operations of the ‎IDF based on my observations -- I was here for the entire conflict -- and on my wider military experience. ‎The U.N. commission readily admitted that they have no military experience or knowledge. They did ‎actually welcome the input that I gave them. In my case, they did not ask me to go there, I put myself ‎forward and I think that kind of action is helpful for military observers and legal experts, who want truth ‎to come out rather than a distorted picture -- to impose themselves on the situation. The U.N. were ‎resistant initially, but they did eventually agree to it."

Q: In explaining its case to the world, what obstacles does the IDF face compared to British forces?‎

"The real problem is the media -- I say it as a blanket term, but obviously it does not apply to all. Western ‎politicians in the U.S., U.K. and other countries are heavily influenced by the media. Many media ‎organizations are anti-Israel and they do not want to report the news objectively. They shape the news in ‎terms of their own agendas, which are anti-Israeli. That is the biggest factor influencing the behavior of ‎the international community. The media organizations are themselves influenced and manipulated by the ‎Palestinians and their supporters, but that is only because they allow themselves to be manipulated by ‎them. ‎

"However, there are other factors. In European countries, there are significant Muslim populations. Large ‎percentages are strongly anti-Israel, and most politicians, in addition to being heavily influenced by the ‎media, are influenced by their perception of needing to appease these populations and their views.‎

"It is so easy for the media to influence public opinion against Israel and to control what is happening. Israel ‎can extoll its virtues as much as it wants -- none of it matters when you show a photograph of dead ‎children from an Israeli bombing attack. That trumps everything. The fact that all the deaths in these ‎conflicts are ultimately the responsibility of the Palestinian terror groups that force an Israeli response is ‎normally not considered.‎

"In comparison, British troops overall have the benefit of the doubt. It is not media driven in the same way ‎against British soldiers. Take the BBC, as an example. If British forces carry out an airstrike on a Taliban ‎position in Afghanistan and during that airstrike 10 civilians are killed, it will be talked about, but it will not ‎be automatically condemned as a war crime and reported in that way. There will not be a media outcry ‎against them.‎

"If Israel does the same thing, it will be condemned and it will often be reported in a very biased way. The ‎IDF is not given the benefit of the doubt. It is just a completely different and distorted method of ‎reporting Israeli actions and it has a huge effect. Those things mean that Israel as a Western democracy is ‎in a much more difficult position than any other country.‎"

Q: Is there a viable short-term solution to the troubles of the region or are we looking at a perpetual ‎continuation of the status quo?‎

"There is no short-term, no medium-term, and not even a long-term solution. The fact that there is a ‎problem does not mean that there is a solution. I am not optimistic. Israel's neighbors have deliberately ‎perpetuated this conflict over many decades by holding hostage Palestinian refugees, facilitated by the ‎U.N., keeping them in perpetual refugee status and not allowing them to integrate into the countries that ‎they have gone to. Meaning that they and their descendants, children and grandchildren, are political ‎hostages. This situation has not occurred anywhere else in the world; it is only in relation to the ‎Palestinians and it is an indication of how much governments in the region wish to use the Palestinians as ‎a political weapon.‎

"One reason why this problem will drag on in perpetuity is that Hamas and the PA are inciting hatred of ‎Jews and Israel into their children. Only when they stop indoctrinating their children with anti-Semitic ‎hatred will this stop. The indoctrination is on television, in school, in textbooks -- wherever you look, that ‎indoctrination is going on. The U.N. is running the schools where the indoctrination takes place and the ‎West is funding it all. In effect, it is funding the perpetuation of the conflict. ‎

"Another reason is that the Middle East today is incredibly dangerous. I cannot see how that is going to ‎change. Yes, there will be flare-ups in violence, there will be periods of relative tranquillity, but the same ‎volatility as exists today in the Middle East is going to exist for all time or at least for the foreseeable ‎future. ‎

"The volatility in Israel is likely to continue for the very long term, because Israel cannot afford to withdraw ‎militarily from the West Bank and if it does not, there will not be a Palestinian state. However, even if the ‎PA were to accept the Jewish state and end the conflict, that would still leave the West Bank vulnerable ‎to infiltration by other groups that want to see the downfall of Israel. Islamic State is dedicated to the ‎destruction of Israel, so is al-Qaida, and other groups will spring up when those two groups have become ‎history. If the Palestinians have a sovereign state, then what does that state become? The question is, ‎whether it is in the West's interest to have yet another Islamic state and yet another threat to the West."

Q. Would it change the prospects for the future if Iran were to be finished off as a major player in the ‎region? ‎

"No. It would only change the dynamics. Iran is intent on the destruction of Israel, even if it has to wait 100 ‎years, and they use various proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah to attack Israel and the Jewish people in ‎the region and around the world. Iran is a furious foe of Israel, but it is not the only one. Many of the Arab ‎nations would also like to see the destruction of Israel. ‎

"If or when Iran is stopped, others will step into the vacuum. Take Egypt, for example. I believe President ‎‎[Abdel-Fattah] el-Sissi, whether it is his intention or not, to be a friend of Israel. His actions have been in ‎Israel's interest. What happens once he is gone? Who will replace him?‎

"Israel is in a position where it cannot just deal with the situation as it is today. It has to look at the situation ‎as it could look tomorrow -- it needs to look at the worst-case scenarios of tomorrow. Peace is very far ‎from breaking out.‎"

Judith Bergman

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=25717&hp=1

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