Coming to a City Near You: Islamic Terrorism - Laurie B. Regan

by Laurie B. Regan

There comes a point when America’s compassion is abused and runs the risk of becoming harmful, if not suicidal. All one has to do is look what has become of the Old World with its Muslim no-go zones, Sharia compliant areas, feckless foreign policy, welfare states and epidemics of terrorism to see our possible future.

I often hear arguments in support of bringing in tens of thousands of Syrian refugees with no mention of the words “terrorist,” “Muslim,” “Islam,” “jihad,” or “Paris” by the proponent. It is a bizarre notion that one can dishonestly make the humanitarian case for helping Syrians forced from their homes during a civil war while ignoring the security risks for the potential host nation.

Accompanying this debate is always the disgraceful accusation that those who raise national security concerns are actually aiding and abetting the terrorists in their recruitment of future jihadists.  Those of us who question the PC/Obama meme are used to being called Islamophobes. But now we are labeled inciters. Tomorrow we will likely be labeled jihadists ourselves as the narrative morphs in the direction of the 9/11 conspiracy theorists who blamed that catastrophe on America’s immorality rather than the Islamist murderers.

In a recent panel discussion on the topic featuring experts from various international refugee organizations, a spokesperson from the International Crisis Group berated the rhetoric of anyone having the audacity to suggest that we should not be welcoming these people with open arms.  He stated unequivocally that those of us with reservations are actually encouraging Muslims to join ISIS. This accusation is a canard.

Presumably the roomful of attendees who seemingly nodded their heads in agreement had already been brainwashed by Obama, who accused Republicans of fearing “3-year old orphans” proclaiming, “I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool for ISIL than some of the rhetoric that’s coming out of here during the course of this debate.”
He should have just ended his sentence after the phrase “I cannot think.” For this idiocy is not just coming from the guy who promised Americans, “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan." It is coming from the president who called ISIS the jayvee team and promised the morning of the Paris massacre that ISIS was “contained.”  It comes from the leader of the free world who has proclaimed over and over again that the greatest threat to mankind is climate change. And it was espoused by our Commander-in-Chief who released five al Qaeda operatives the day after the Paris massacres based on a false narrative that Gitmo serves as a terrorist recruitment tool. 

The person with the real fears is the one in the White House quivering in his mom jeans that something bad may happen in his last 14 months. Obama’s “Audacity of Hope” these days is that by not recognizing Islamic terrorists as a clear and present danger to the U.S., he will eke out the end of his term leaving his mess to his successor. Michael Makovsky  reasoned that it is Obama who has facilitated ISIS recruitment.

Not only has he waged a feeble, half-hearted battle (“war” would be too strong a word) against the Islamic States but he has de facto supported the Assad regime by choosing not to target its assets or even declare a no-fly zone to prevent it from dropping barrel bombs on civilians. He has denied real military support to moderate Syrian elements, driving opponents of the Assad regime into the arms of the only effective fighting force on the ground (outside the Kurdish areas): radical Islamist jihadi groups like IS. And he has ensured the further continuation of the sectarian death struggle between Sunni and Shia in Syria and Iraq by emboldening and enriching, via this summer’s nuclear deal, Iran…. By cutting the nuclear deal and aligning with Iran, staying cozy with the Shia government in Baghdad, and distancing itself from America’s traditional Sunni Arab allies, Obama has sent a signal to Sunnis in Iraq and Syria that we won’t protect them, leading many to feel like their only choice is to embrace the Islamic State.

One can reasonably argue that ISIS is Barack Obama’s creation, and, if anyone is responsible for the generation of ISIS it has been Obama and the Democrats who support his foreign policy (or lack thereof). One might argue that the Iraq War should not have been waged, but when George Bush left office it was a stable nation that was becoming a democracy and an American ally. Even Joe Biden had declared it to be so. Obama’s CIA Chief John Brennan said ISIS had been “decimated” under George Bush but had grown as much as 4,400 % under Barack Obama . If they were once a JayVee team in Obama’s eyes, he has been a great coach for them. They are past varsity level now. Mission accomplished, Barack.

Why should America once again have to pay for his mistakes? Why should Obama, who so often denigrates Americans, be allowed to portray us as inhumane? Mr. Selfie should look in the mirror.

Refugees have become political props in Obama’s arsenal to denigrate Republicans and other Americans who oppose his policies. If he actually cared about these people there are simple steps he could have taken but refused to do so to help them (see below).

But the Obama narrative subsists on the left. AT’s Ed Lasky appeared on a Chicago television show discussing the crisis during which Suzanne Sahloul of the Syrian Community Network proclaimed, “More and more people will be susceptible to ISIS groups if they are left unwanted.” The suggestion that unless the U.S. takes in 10,000 or more Syrian refugees, more of them will turn to terrorism belies common sense for a multitude of reasons and yet the leftists, who took off their thinking caps years ago, eat this garbage up.

Suzanne and others have used the examples of refugees needing and receiving medical care in America. Our medical system is straining to meet the needs of Americans. If we are concerned about the medical care of Syrian refugees maybe refugee supporters should donate to Doctors without Borders.

The question is not whether Americans should welcome 1,000, 10,000, or 100,000 Syrian refugees annually for humanitarian reasons. The issue is whether it is prudent for our government, endowed with the primary responsibility of ensuring the safety of the American people, to establish a refugee policy for individuals from the place where ISIS was birthed, that could very well lead to Paris-style attacks on our shores. 

In suggesting that Americans should not fear an influx of Syrian refugees, Sahloul stated, “Except for the Boston bombings we don’t have an incident where refugees actually have committed a crime in the United States.” Aside from its inaccuracy (in the past 18 months, more than 70 U.S. residents who were legally allowed to immigrate to the U.S. have been arrested and charged with helping or conspiring to help terrorist organizations including ISIS), I imagine that the victims of the Boston attack would find that statement reprehensible. How many attacks would it take for Sahloul and others to decide that the risk of more attacks is far too great? How many lives lost and limbs ripped from bodies does the left need to witness before common sense and caution take hold?

More tellingly, Somali refugees have been subject to the same so-called strict vetting process before being admitted as refugees into America.  What has been the result? They have become a terror problem residing within our borders.

Obama is making policy decisions based upon political calculations and personal ideology rather than national security.  The man hoping to add UN Secretary General to his resume is working with the former president of Socialist International, an organization seeking “one world Government” and redistribution of “third-world poverty to Western nations through mass immigration.” Like Obama, Antonio Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, believes that America must lead the effort to resettle the Syrians. And like Obama’s ISIS is “contained” statement, Guterres ignorantly stated two weeks before the Paris massacre, “I don’t think terrorists would be so stupid to be so effectively scrutinized to come to the United States” or Europe. These “experts” keep proving just how little know and how empty and self-serving their promises are.
Daniel Greenfield recently observed:

Sunni Muslims stopped being persecuted refugees the moment they set foot in Jordan or Turkey. Talk of resettling them in the United States or Europe has nothing to do with “persecution.” It’s economic migration. And economic migration in this case is a euphemism for welfare migration.

According to a report from the Center Immigration Studies, each Middle Eastern refugee costs taxpayers $64,370 for the first five years here.  This cost is 12 times the logical alternative of resettling the refugees in a Middle Eastern country. And in a letter to the Senate appropriations committee charged with funding this program, Senator Jeff Sessions, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, noted that the cost of resettlement could exceed $55 billion due to the various entitlements they would receive including free healthcare, food stamps, and cash welfare.  Can America afford such costs?

Sessions also points out that for this cost, “refugees could be helped by establishing safe-zones in Syria or surrounding countries until displaced persons can be safely returned home.” Unfortunately, the Redistributionist-in-Chief would rather burden the U.S. economy than even consider creating safe sanctuaries (as Democrats love to do here for illegal immigrants) inside Syria that could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, prevented the world’s worst refugee crisis, and helped prevent the rise of ISIS.

Democrat and Republican presidents have used the simple strategy of imposing no-fly zones and the creation of safe havens in the past in Bosnia (Clinton) and Iraq (Clinton and both President Bushes) with zero costs in American lives and with no boots on the ground. Obama, however, did not devote any time to reaching a Status of Force agreement with the Iraqis (too busy watching football and playing golf?), betraying our Sunni allies (at the time) and leaving them to be abused by the Shiite regime in Baghdad. Many joined or sympathized with ISIS because no one else was defending them. Obama, in his rush to empower Iran and the Shiites, had betrayed them. Obama is very good at one thing: betrayal.

Lest we forget, Obama had declared in 2007 that preventing genocide was not a good enough reason to stay in Iraq and, appallingly, went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, shortly after his inauguration. Nice work, Norway.

Was Obama, our commander-in-chief and self-proclaimed “student of history,” ignorant of these easy options? Experts advised him to do so but, as Americans now know, experts are willfully ignored in the White House. As Obama famously said, he had no strategy against ISIS and it showed.  Well, ISIS had a strategy and they have executed it -- along with many thousands of people.

It seems that each day we learn of a new factoid making it clear that ISIS was not lying when it promised to infiltrate the West through refugee programs (nor was it lying when it released a video threatening attacks on NYC). In the past week or so we have learned that

• Six Syrians intending to enter the U.S. with stolen Greek passports were arrested in Honduras
• Eight Syrians were caught at our Texas border
• Eight ISIS members were arrested by Turkey as they plotted to pose as refugees in the hopes of entering Europe
• A female suicide bomber blew herself up in Paris last week (debunking claims that by focusing on bringing in women and children we avoid terrorists)
• Three Syrians with fake IDs were detained in St. Maarten

We also know that

• 72% of the refugees are males between the ages of 18-34
• Despite clearing our extensive screening process, al Qaeda linked terrorists with American blood on their hands entered the U.S. through the Iraqi refugee program and settled in Kentucky; they were arrested after being caught trying to acquire heavy weapons.
• A 2013 ABC News investigation revealed that several dozen suspected terrorists were likely mistakenly let in as Iraqi or Afghani refugees.

Former Ambassador Ryan Crocker, just days after the Paris massacre, penned a 700 word polemic in the Wall Street Journal urging the Obama administration to resettle 100,000 Syrian refugees over the next year.  Touting the White House mantra, Crocker promised a  “vigorous screening process” involving interviews from multiple agencies both here and abroad, claiming “no population entering the U.S. is more closely examined than refugees.”  He also asserted that the process could easily be hastened “by simply directing security agencies to devote more time and staff to the task.”  One need only look to the foldout of ObamaCare, the VA scandal, or the TSA’s incompetence in order to understand just how ridiculous that statement is. But others have jumped on board including one representative from the International Rescue Committee who literally gave a roomful her personal “guarantee” that “we won’t see any Syrian refugees committing terrorist acts here.”

While Obama trots out Ben Rhodes, Josh Ernst and others to reinforce the vigorous vetting mantra (much as he did with the random video mantra after Benghazi), the real experts beg to differ. 

• FBI Director James Comey testified that the Iraqi database that allowed the Kentucky terrorists into the country was much more extensive than anything the FBI has for Syrian refugees.  He further stated that the government does not have the ability to conduct thorough background checks on all of the Syrian refugees that Obama says will be allowed into the country.

And so if someone has never made a ripple in the pond in Syria in a way that would get their identity or their interest reflected in our database, we can query our database until the cows come home, but there will be nothing to show up because we have no record of them.

• Director of the National Intelligence Agency, James Clapper expressed a “huge concern” that ISIS militants might infiltrate the Syrian refugees thereby entering the U.S. and Europe.
•  The president of the National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council that represents 12,000 immigration officials voiced his concern last year that the immigration system may be exploited by ISIS; “we are letting terrorists into the U.S. right through our front door.”
• The leader of New York City’s Syrian community reported that ISIS terrorists have “absolutely” sneaked into the U.S. by posing as refugees and have joined sleeper cells just waiting to be activated. Commenting on the lack of an information database he stated, “In Syria, there’s no such thing. So when they tell you that [the refugees] are vetted, are you out of your mind?
• Lebanon’s education minister warned that “two in every 100 Syrian migrants smuggled into Europe are ISIS-trained jihadists, sent under cover to attack targets in the West.

Obama is being dishonest with claims of rigorous vetting of refugees. The UNHCR is the entity performing the initial screening and recommending potential refugees. Investors Business Daily recently reported that the UNHCR is working with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, “whose charter seeks to propagate ‘legitimate jihad’ and ‘the norms of Islamic Shari’ah.’” Furthermore, FBI Assistant Director Michael Steinbach explained, “all of the data sets – the police, the intel services – that normally you would go to see information don’t exist.” And a Greek police captain explained, “If they are not already registered in the database, it’s nearly impossible” to know that they exist among the refugees.

And recognizing the serious issue with regard to fake passports, Greenfield observed

We have held terrorists at Guantanamo Bay for a decade without ever learning their real names.
We put the ringleader of the World Trade Center bombing back on the street even though he had a fake passport because he was applying for political asylum. We ignored warnings about the Boston Marathon bombers and some of the 9/11 hijackers.

Other terrorists either slipping through the system or ignored during screening include Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood jihadist, Kuwati Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeeez who murdered four Marines in attacks in Tennessee last year, a Bosnian refugee couple who sought to buy military equipment for ISIS, and a 21 year old Somali born in a refugee camp in Kenya who arrived when he was nine years old. And as the case of Fazliddin Kurbanov, a terrorist refugee proves, radicalization of those prone to sympathize or support ISIS is one more reason to be concerned that screening cannot protect our nation from the dangers of Muslim immigration (a recent poll indicated that one in eight Syrian refugees hold “to some extent a positive view of ISIS)

Politicians on both sides of the aisle have also expressed concern. Congressman Peter King recognized “there is absolutely no way – no real way of vetting, to any extent, these refugees coming in.…” Congressman Michael McCaul recognized that “ISIS themselves have stated their intention to take advantage of the crisis to infiltrate the west.” Congressman Bennie Thompson raised his concern regarding “whether you have enough information available to you to do an accurate vetting.” Senator Chuck Schumer suggested that “a pause may be necessary” and Senator Dianne Feinstein advised examining “the role the visa process plays in security risks.” And with bipartisan support, the House easily passed a bill requiring more stringent screening requirements for Iraqi and Syrian refugees entering the U.S.

A common argument proffered by supporters of importing more Syrians compares their plight to those of Jews during the Holocaust but that is a false analogy. Ian Tuttle did a superb job of debunking this argument by noting several factors. The most obvious is that German Jews weren’t terrorists running around Munich, Berlin and Europe-at-large murdering innocents.  And unlike European Muslim populations, European Jews quickly assimilated into their host countries.  As Andrew McCarthy pointed out, given Muslim resistance to assimilation that we see in places like France and Belgium, “why would we voluntarily replicate it here?”

Perhaps most importantly, the Jews being annihilated in WW2 had no homeland to which to flee.  The vast majority of the Syrian refugees seeking to enter the U.S. have already found refuge in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq. Legally, they are not refugees. Practically, there are countries more suited to taking them in.

Why not call upon wealthy Arab oil states to absorb these immigrants (Saudi Arabia is huge) or at least donate billions of dollars to help them?

Logically, the risks for the U.S. to do so are high and make the Holocaust comparison appalling -- especially when long-dead  Jews are used by columnists such as the New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and the Washington Post’s  Dana Milbank, who have never had a supportive word to write about Jews being murdered by Muslims in contemporary times.  The analogy is wrong -- and shameful.

Whether recognized as “welfare migration,” “immigration jihad,” or “stealth jihad,” one thing is clear. Succumbing to the calls of leftists to bring in Syrians en masse risks importing terrorists who seek to kill as many Americans has possible. Since 9/11 America has brought in over 1,500,000 immigrants and refugees from Muslim nations. There comes a point when America’s compassion is abused and runs the risk of becoming harmful, if not suicidal. All one has to do is look what has become of the Old World with its Muslim no-go zones, Sharia compliant areas, feckless foreign policy, welfare states and epidemics of terrorism to see our possible future.

As Paris illustrates, that risk is far too real and too great to ignore.  History books will look back upon America’s self-destruction (and that of Europe and the West more generally) in fascination that this once great civilization willfully allowed itself to be kidnapped by the progressive left through lies, intimidation, ignorance, and a lack of common sense.

Paris was a wake-up call. Will America awaken or slumber into disaster?

Laurie B. Regan

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/11/coming_to_a_city_near_you_islamic_terrorism.html

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

The Folly of Disrespecting Putin - James Lewis

by James Lewis

Vlad to the Turkish ambassador: "[T]ell your little dictator  president he can go to hell[.]"

I never expected to see the leaders of the two biggest nuclear powers in the world spitting in each other's faces.  But it's happening today before our very eyes, with Obama's "best friend" Recip Erdoğan of Turkey having deliberately provoked Russia by shooting down a Sukhoi Su-24 jet, using two American-made F-16s, and leaving one of the Russian pilots to be killed by U.S.-supported jihadi gangs on the ground.  Putin sees Erdoğan as Obama's string puppet, so we are involved, whether we like it or not.

The same jihadist gang that shot one of the parachuting pilots apparently destroyed a Russian rescue helicopter with a U.S.-supplied TOW anti-tank missile, killing at least one Russian Marine.  The so-called "Free Syrian Army" was among the gaggle of jihadis on the ground, and the FSA has now been exposed to the world as a Muslim Brotherhood front, supported by this administration.

In Kremlin videos, Putin's stuttering outrage was unmistakable.  He looked ready to strangle somebody.  Meanwhile, Obama's and Turkey's reactions can only be described in gutter language.  Turkey's prime minister freely admitted to having ordered the shoot-down of the Russian jet, flying over Syria only a few miles from the Turkish border, while trying to destroy Chechen jihadis who've been at war with Russia for decades. 

Obama said it was none of his business. 

But Obama is in bed with the Muslim Brotherhood – which overthrew Egypt's Hosni Mubarak at the beginning of this administration, with Obama's unmistakable support.  This administration has been penetrated by the MBs, according to Admiral (USN, ret.) James Lyons, the most outspoken U.S. flag officer today.  Hillary Clinton, Obama's former SecState, is accompanied every single day by Huma Abedin, a former MB magazine editor and therefore presumptively a Moober agent.  Americans might be fooled, but the world has eyes to see it.

The Ikhwan ("brotherhood") is a Nazi-era fascist organization, founded in 1928, when fascism and Nazism were popular in the Arab world.  The Ikhwan assassinated Egypt's President Anwar Sadat in 1981 for signing a peace treaty with Israel.

Right now the Ikhwan is at war with Sadat's successor, President El-Sisi of Egypt. The murderous jihadis of ISIS are sponsored by the Ikhwan, by Qatar, and by Turkey, almost surely with active Saudi collusion. The signs have been there all along, and now Vladimir Putin has confirmed U.S. complicity to the world.  Putin says that Turkey has allowed ISIS to sell Iraqi oil on the world market, which means very big money for the corruptocrats in Ankara.  That is presumably the reason why Turkey felt the need to shoot down that Russian jet. 

Putin is escalating Russian involvement in Syria as part of his response to the shoot-down, which places Russian military power alongside Iran and its proxy terror arm, Hezb'allah.  Putin has just shown the world how much destructive power he can wield anywhere in missile range of his borders, firing volleys of cruise missiles from naval vessels in the Caspian sea, from the Moskva missile cruiser offshore in the Mediterranean, sending massive long-range bombers from Russia itself, and yet more jets from Russia's airbase at Latakia.  Putin is now sending tanks into Syria to squash our "moderate" terrorists but good. 

I have never seen a U.S. administration act with such deliberate malice and folly.  The usual response to a seventeen-second border violation is a diplomatic protest note.  The Turks are claiming they had to defend their territory – but you don't kill Russian pilots in these circumstances, unless your national security is genuinely threatened. Putin poses no threat to Ankara.  He claims he was going after jihadist gangs, including Chechens who are planning to go back to Russia to kill people.  The United States exercised the same right of preemptive defense in the case of Osama bin Laden.

Most likely, Turkey was protecting Ikhwan-controlled jihadis operating as close as possible to the border to escape Russian air strikes.  Turkey is now a neo-Ottoman Islamofascist nation, in league with the Brothers, along with Qatar, the Saudis, and ISIS. 

And with the president of the United States. 

So Putin summoned the Turkish ambassador for a two-hour screaming session in the Kremlin.  Here are some alleged quotes from Putin: "… then tell your little dictator  president he can go to hell, along with his ISIS terrorists, and I will turn Syria into nothing but a big Stalingrad, because Erdoğan and his  Saudi allies are no better than Adolf Hitler."

The Turks are still saying they warned the Putin government not to cross their border.  That legal point is completely irrelevant to the mess they have made, which is now bound to complicate American, Turkish, and NATO relations with Moscow. 

For Putin, this is a matter of national pride and credibility.  Whatever you think of his political methods, in his own eyes he has labored for decades to restore Russian self-respect, and thereby brought peace and a degree of prosperity after the breakdown of the Soviet Union.  He has fought jihadist Chechens, beginning with the Beslan and Moscow Theater terrorist attacks in 2004.  In Beslan, 186 schoolchildren were deliberately killed by Chechen terrorists, along with more than a hundred adults.  Putin retaliated by destroying entire cities in Chechnya.  In Russian eyes, Putin's actions were morally justified because he kept things from getting worse.

Russia has fought jihad for centuries.  In their eyes they are fighting for Christian civilization, against the ancient barbarians.  He is not entirely wrong. 

Putin's rule depends on power and on the perception of power.  With apparent American neutrality, Turkey has now slapped him in the face – probably to save its corrupt oil bargain with ISIS.  But Putin is not Stalin.  He is not interested in world conquest.  But he insists on Moscow being treated as a Great Power, the biggest land power in Eurasia, and heir to a long and great civilizational tradition.  Not to mention enormous military power. 

This is not some teenage gangster face-off.  It's very serious business, and if this administration can't de-escalate the clash between Turkey and Moscow, there will be endless trouble.  Obama is trying to escape the blame, but in the eyes of the world, he won't be able to.  Putin is trying to make sure that Obama's involvement will be impossible to deny.

We need some adults in the room, and fast.

James Lewis

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/11/the_folly_of_disrespecting_putin.html

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

5000-year-old Assyrian Culture Facing Devastation - Uzay Bulut

by Uzay Bulut

• "After all, killing the 'kafirs' [non-believers of Islam] was a 'good deed'. They were told 'their place in heaven was guaranteed.' Just like ISIS gangs... and that they would also take their relatives in hell to heaven." — Sabri Atman, Assyrian Genocide and Research Center.
• When ISIS invaded Mosul in August 2014, Christian families were told by ISIS: "We offer [Christians] three choices: Islam; the dhimma contract -- involving payment... if they refuse this, they will have nothing but the sword."
• "There is a great parallel between 1915 and what is going on in the Middle East today. ... The most effective way to prevent future slaughter is to condemn past slaughter. Denying such a big crime means its continuation. The wish for genocide still exists in the Middle East." — Sabri Atman.
• "The Turkish authorities let a few Assyrians stay to show Europe and the world how good-hearted and tolerant Turkey and Islam are. ... And they say, 'Assyrians lead their lives so happily thanks to this great tolerance!'" — Sabri Atman.

The recent invasions and massacres committed by the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq and Syria have brought a persecuted but mostly forgotten people to the attention of the world: the Assyrians.

The Assyrians, a native people of Mesopotamia, have been exposed to massacres before -- throughout history, in fact.

Due to these campaigns of extermination, the demographic character of the region has been changed greatly.

Before 1915, the population of the territory that is now Turkey was about 15 million, about 4.5 million of which was Christian (nearly a third). Today, one can hardly even talk of a Christian minority. The approximate population of Turkey is 80 million, but there are only around 120,000 Christians, less than 1% of the population.

In 1915, a slaughter of minorities took place, the purpose of which was apparently to "Turkify" and Islamize Anatolia into a country with one language, one flag, one religion and one nation. To achieve this objective, all non-Turkish communities -- Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, Jews, Yezidis, Kurds and others -- were targeted.

But there was a difference between Christians and non-Christians. Non-Christian minorities were to be assimilated; Christians were to be exterminated.

According to the founder and the president of the Assyrian Genocide and Research Center (Seyfo Center)[1], Sabri Atman, there are links between the massacre of the Assyrians and the current massacres of Christians in the Middle East:

"Just like all Assyrians, when I was a child, I heard what had been done in 1915. The people were going through a trauma. Especially the elderly people still with fear in their voices fear about what they had experienced. Now I tell about the grievances of my people to try to get support for them.
"In the Ottoman Empire in 1915, the Ottoman-Turkish Party of Union and Progress slaughtered Christians -- Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks. Most of the Assyrians were murdered with swords. Many Kurdish tribes also joined in the killings, using their swords -- Seyfos -- against their neighbors, the Assyrians.
"It is hard to give an exact number of victims; about 350,000 to 500,000 Assyrians lost their lives. The carnage was not only about murdering people. The lands and property of Christians were also seized. One of the most important outcomes of 1915 for many Turks was the wealth they built on the property of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks. Today there is not a single Assyrian in provinces where once there were so many -- so what happened to their lands, goods and property?
"It was the same with the Armenians and Greeks. The Cankaya Palace, the residence of former presidents of Turkey in Ankara, was originally the property of an Armenian, Odian Efendi. If you go to provinces where Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians used to live in Turkey, you would learn that all of the old and magnificent buildings you see used to belong to Armenians, Greeks or Assyrians.
"Some of the wealthy elite ruling Turkey became wealthy from property they forcibly took from the Christians. So one of the reasons they deny what happened in 1915 is that they are afraid one day they might lose the wealth they took cost-free."

Other slaughters include:

• Massacres by Badr Khan Beg, a Kurdish emir, against Assyrian Christians known as Nestorians. They took place in 1843-1846 in the province of Hakkari and throughout the Ottoman Empire.
• Massacres against Armenians and Assyrians by the Hamidiye Corps in the Ottoman Empire in 1894 and 1896.
• The Simele Massacre of August 7, 1933, by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Iraq. More than 3000 Assyrians were slaughtered, not only in the town of Simele. It also took place in the 68 Assyrian villages of the provinces of Duhok and Nineveh in Iraq.

"A lawyer who was profoundly influenced by the Simele massacre coined the term genocide," Atman continued. "Raphael Lemkin called it genocide. He used word for the first time in 1944, and applied it to the Armenian massacre, the Holocaust and Simele massacre."

In 2015, the extermination of Assyrians is still going on, as Assyrians and other Christian communities are being uprooted from countries in Middle Eastern. According to Atman:

"All of the data at hand shows that 1915 was a project of homogenizing Turkey. The Turkish Republic is a state largely established on Christian slaughters. But massacres against Assyrian people are not very much known even in Turkey. They have intentionally been hidden.
"Upon the prompting of Germany, on November 14, 1914, in all mosques of the Ottoman Empire, a call for jihad was made. Their main objective was to have Muslims in the British and French colonies start a riot, which would have empowered Germany and the Ottoman Empire. But things did not turn out the way they had planned.
"After the mosques sent out the call for jihad, many Muslims started massacres against Assyrians and other Christians. After all, killing the 'kafirs' [non-believers of Islam] was a 'good deed'. They were told 'their place in heaven was guaranteed.' Just like ISIS gangs, they were also promised - based on the Quranic verses and the hadith - that they would get '72 virgins' and that they would also take their relatives in hell to heaven."

When ISIS invaded Mosul in August 2014, Christian families were told by ISIS terrorists that they would be killed if they did not pay a protection tax (jizya) or convert to Islam. The warning was read out in Mosul's mosques and broadcast throughout the city on loudspeakers. "We offer [Christians] three choices: Islam; the dhimma contract - involving payment... if they refuse this, they will have nothing but the sword," the announcement read.

On September 23, in Syria, ISIS executed three more Assyrians by gunshots to the back of their heads, the Assyrian International News Agency reported.

They were part of the group of 253 Assyrians abducted by ISIS on February 23, when it overran 35 Assyrian villages in Hasakah Province in Syria.

In the video recorded by ISIS that shows the execution, ISIS said that if ransom for the remaining Assyrians is not paid, they will be executed as well. ISIS has demanded $50,000 for each hostage, a total of more than $10 million.

On November 25, ISIS released ten more Assyrian Christian hostages in Hasakah Province, but over 150 remain captured and threatened with death.

"There is a great parallel between 1915 and what is going on in the Middle East today -- in terms of destruction of non-Muslim civilizations and the continuity of Islamic jihad," Atman said. The problem, according to Atman, does not stem from people's belonging to certain ethnic groups; the problem is the denial of the realities of the past.

"Similar calls for jihad against Assyrians and Yezidis were made 100 years ago. Women and girls were raped; the Seyfo (sword) was used to behead people just as it is today.
"When the massacres and human rights violations of the past were not sentenced sufficiently, it paved the way for new massacres. The most effective way to prevent future slaughter is to condemn past slaughter. But the wish for genocide still exists in the Middle East, including Turkey. Turkey is still ruled by a President who says 'Muslims do not commit genocide.'"

Left: A memorial in France commemorating the 1915 Assyrian Genocide in Turkey. Right: An Islamic State member destroys a Christian tombstone in Mosul, Iraq, in April 2015.

Throughout centuries, Islamic jihad has not changed but, sadly, even in the 21st century Turkish children are still taught a distorted version of history at their schools; as a result, generations are being raised to have a Turkish-Islamic supremacist mindset.

"We all have been exposed to a historical narrative based on lies," Atman said about Turkish schools. "The official history of Turkey is, 'Turkish propaganda for Turks.' Information such as 'The state of Turkey fought against imperialism' is incorrect. The Ottoman Empire joined the First World War with imperialistic desires and formed an alliance with Germany. The war, presented as 'the Turkish war of Liberation,' was in a way a war to annihilate Christians, Alevis, Yezidis and other non-Muslim groups in Anatolia. So it would not be wrong to say that the Turkish Republic was established on Christian massacres and the denial of Kurds."

Atman said that during his time in Turkey, he saw non-Turkish and non-Muslim children being exposed to forced assimilation at school.

"I was born in Turkey and went to primary, middle and high schools there. Before our classes got started, we sprang to attention and were made to read at the top of our voice the Turkish Student Oath in which we said, 'I am a Turk' and 'My existence shall be dedicated to the Turkish existence.' Textbooks claim that in the First World War, Assyrians and other Christians 'stabbed Turkey in the back in cooperation with the imperialistic states' and that Assyrians were 'treacherous'. They brainwash Turkish schoolchildren like that; then the Muslim children look at the Assyrian children with suspicion."
"When I was at middle school, we had a teacher; the moment he entered the classroom, he asked 'Are there Christians here? Christians, raise your hands!' A few children would shyly raise their hands. The look in his eyes spoke volumes. But the attitude of one teacher is never a criterion for assessing a whole society. The problem is not which ethnic group a person belongs to, but the monist ideology of Turkey [one language, one nation, one state, one religion] and its denial or distortion of history."

Turkifying Anatolia and denying the identities of others is still rife, Atman said. "Turkish authorities still say that 'Turkey belongs to Turks.' That is a big lie. Before Turks came to Anatolia, we had been living there. But 'Turkey belongs to Turks' is still the slogan in the logo of one of Turkey's best-selling newspapers.

"In any event, Assyrians are one of the most deeply-rooted indigenous peoples of Mesopotamia. Assyrians have lived on that land for more than 5000 years. The Turks came to Anatolia only in 1071. At least, that is what the Turkish textbooks say. They came later and drove us out."

Assyrians still live with the consequences of the extermination campaign they were exposed to 100 years ago. The destruction is still going on. But that campaign of extermination is still denied today. Denying such a big crime means its continuation.

"In Turkey, there are still threats such as, 'We will root them out' or 'We will exterminate them.' To a large extent, they have succeeded. They murdered more than 300,000 Assyrians and forced almost another 300,000 to be exposed to assimilation in many countries across the world."[2]

Today, in Turkey, there are only about 15,000 Assyrians left, and they are not officially recognized as a people.

"Assyrians are recognized only as a religious congregation, so that state authorities can benefit from them. They let these few stay to show Europe and the world how good-hearted and tolerant Turkey and Islam are. They talk about the 'great tolerance' of Turkey and Islam. And they say, 'Assyrians lead their lives so happily thanks to this great tolerance!'
"What some people in Turkey proudly say is, 'Elhamdulillah [thank Allah], 99% of Turkey is Muslim.' They brag and boast about it. It should actually put them to shame; we know very well how they made it happen.
"What is done to Assyrians, Yezidis and others should concern everyone; what is massacred there is the humanity of everyone. If it happens there, it can happen to them. We ask all great powers of the world, everyone, to hear the screams of our people and help."

Uzay Bulut, born and raised a Muslim, is a Turkish journalist based in Ankara.

---

[1] The Assyrian Genocide Research Center (Seyfo Center), an international organization headquartered in Sweden, was established in 2005 and has offices in Germany, Holland, Switzerland and the U.S. Sabri Atman, an award-winning human rights activist and researcher, is a member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS). He has received countless awards and is now based in the U.S.
[2] According to Atman, it is estimated that Assyrians live in the U.S. (300,000), Australia (35,000), Europe (300,000), Canada (30,000), Iraq (500,000), Syria and Lebanon (50,000). There are Assyrian communities in Iran, Jordan, Argentina, Brazil and many other countries as well.

• Follow Uzay Bulut on Twitter

Uzay Bulut, born and raised a Muslim, is a Turkish journalist based in Ankara.

Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6976/assyrians-genocide

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

Turkey Risks Wider War and Undercuts Fight Against ISIS - Joseph Klein

by Joseph Klein

Time for Turkey to face consequences for its reckless escalation of international tensions.

While admitting that he was not in possession of all of the facts regarding Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane on November 24th, President Obama was quick to blame only Russia. He said at a joint news conference with French President Francois Hollande that Turkey had “a right to defend its territory and its airspace.” Obama also criticized Russia for propping up Syrian President Assad by going after the so-called “moderate” rebels rather than concentrating on ISIS. From the information that has come out so far, however, Turkey appears to have acted precipitously, without sufficient justification or forethought about the potential consequences. Russia does bear some responsibility for what happened, but Turkey overreacted to a minor alleged violation of its airspace. In doing so, Turkey risked a major escalation of hostilities with Russia that could draw in NATO. Turkey’s action also undermined efforts to forge a coordinated strategy with Russia to combat the common enemy, ISIS.

The Russian Su-24 aircraft was hit by an air-to-air missile while apparently flying in what Turkey claims to be its airspace very close to the Syrian-Turkish border. The alleged incursion lasted around 17 seconds before the plane was hit and then crashed inside Syria. The pilots were reportedly shot at by Turkmen tribal rebels on the Syrian side of the border as they were parachuting down from the stricken aircraft. One of the pilots was killed. The other managed to hide and was eventually rescued by a team composed of Russian and Syrian Special Forces.  Armed Syria-Turkmen rebel soldiers were filmed cheering and shouting “Allahu Akbar,” the jihadist rallying cry shared by ISIS fighters, over the bloodied corpse of one of the pilots.

The Obama administration has been supporting the so-called “moderate” Turkmen rebels and does not appear to be particularly disturbed by the Turkmens’ evident violation of the Geneva Conventions (Protocol 1, Article 42): “No person parachuting from an aircraft in distress shall be made the object of attack during his descent.” 

As for Turkey, it fully backs the Turkmen rebels operating in Syria in opposition to the Assad regime and regards them as under its protection. Turkey’s real motive in shooting down the Russian aircraft may well have been to send a clear message to Russia to stop bombing the Turkmen tribesmen, whom Turkey is protecting in northern Syria. This interpretation of Turkey’s real motive is evidenced by the fact that, days earlier, Turkey had summoned Russia’s ambassador to Turkey to deliver a demand that Russia cease such bombing. The Turkish Foreign Ministry had warned of “serious consequences” if Russia persisted. Evidently, Turkey decided to follow through on its unheeded demand. 

The encroachment into what Turkey alleges to be its airspace took place over territory, the Hatay region, which is still disputed between Turkey and Syria. Turkey had unilaterally taken the Hatay territory from Syria and annexed it in 1939, an action which Syria still rejects as unlawful. Thus, Turkey’s claim that it was simply acting in self-defense in order to protect its territorial integrity is of questionable validity. Syria, which Russia is militarily supporting at the request of the Syrian government, disputes Turkey’s assertion of sovereignty over the Hatay territory to this day.  

Moreover, even assuming Turkey had an unassailable claim that its airspace was being encroached upon by a Russian warplane despite repeated warnings to back off, Turkey responded in a grossly disproportionate fashion. Turkey has cited no evidence that Russia intended any aggressive action targeting individuals or facilities within Turkey itself.  Instead of shooting down the plane, Turkey could have launched a formal complaint to the United Nations Security Council, or to another international body where Russia does not have a veto such as the International Court of Justice, in order to seek recourse. Turkey decided to shoot first and then send a meaningless letter to the Security Council.

True, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rhetorically distanced himself from some of ISIS’s brutal tactics and its pretentions to caliphate rule. And Turkey, a member of NATO, finally did come around to allowing the U.S. to launch sorties against ISIS from a base in Turkey. However, Erdogan is at heart a jihadist who shares more in common with ISIS’s Islamic supremacist ideology than he does with Western secular values. 

Erdogan even offered a justification for ISIS’s planting of an explosive that took down a Russian jet in Egypt, killing 224 people. Dubai TV quoted Erdogan as saying: “How can I condemn the Islamic State for shooting down a Russian plane as its passengers were returning from a happy vacation in a time when our co-religionists in Syria are bombed by Putin's fighter jets?...it is the natural outcome of Moscow's actions in Syria and the support for Assad.”  

Obama contends that Russia is at fault for not doing more to go after ISIS rather than bombing rebels “supported by not only Turkey but a wide range of countries.” However, he has given Turkey a free pass for pursuing its own agenda, even if aiding ISIS in the process. In fact, Turkey’s number one target of its own bombing campaign within Syria (violating Syrian airspace) has been Syrian Kurds. Turkey is determined to do everything it can to prevent Syrian Kurds from building the foundation for their own independent state that Kurds living in Turkey would want to join. The Kurdish militias in Syria, as described by the New York Times, “have become the most important allies within Syria of the American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State.”  Russia, by the way, supports the Syrian Kurds. Thus, in order to block the Kurds’ aspirations for self-determination, Turkey has been violating Syrian airspace to attack an effective militia force in Syria that the United States and Russia both support in the common fight against ISIS.  

Turkey is not only trying to kill members of the most effective local forces fighting against ISIS in Syria. It is Turkey, not Russia, which has actually been helping ISIS. For example, Turkey has facilitated the black market sale of oil from ISIS-controlled territories, which helps finance ISIS’s expanding terrorist campaign. As reported by Al-Monitor, quoting a lawmaker from the main opposition party in Turkey, “$800 million worth of oil that ISIS obtained from regions it occupied this year [the Rumeilan oil fields in northern Syria — and most recently Mosul] is being sold in Turkey.” 

Turkey has also served as a convenient transit point through which foreign ISIS recruits pass on their way to Syria. The same Turkish opposition lawmaker stated: “Fighters from Europe, Russia, Asian countries and Chechnya are going in large numbers both to Syria and Iraq, crossing from Turkish territory. There is information that at least 1,000 Turkish nationals are helping those foreign fighters sneak into Syria and Iraq to join ISIS. The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) is allegedly involved.” 

Erdogan’s major difference with ISIS is where the Islamic caliphate ultimately should be based. He believes in the restoral of a caliphate under Ottoman rule. He was willing to risk a wider war in the region to protect his “co-religionists in Syria” and thereby strengthen his own claim to leadership of at least the Sunni Muslims. This is the man whom Obama has named as one of his top five friends among world leaders. It is long past time for Obama to unfriend this authoritarian jihadist.   

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

Source: http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/260931/turkey-risks-wider-war-and-undercuts-fight-against-joseph-klein

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

A heavyweight battle of egos - Boaz Bismuth

by Boaz Bismuth

This isn't just a gravely serious confrontation between Russia and Turkey, but a clash between Putin and Erdogan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan always gets offended. We Israelis know this better than anyone. He goes on the attack, and then acts insulted -- this is the Turkish president's expertise. What he does not like, of course, is apologizing for his actions. You won't catch Erdogan in a moment of self-reproach. But if any world leader today knows how to manage crises and force his counterparts to bend, it is Vladimir Putin. What we have here isn't just a gravely serious confrontation between Russia and Turkey, but a heavyweight clash of egos between Putin and Erdogan, the likes of which we haven't seen for a very long time between two leaders. It appears one ego is already showing signs of cracking; and how unsurprising that it's not the Russian side.

Without actually saying the word "sorry" (rather that he is "really saddened" and "hopes this will not happen again"), which Putin demanded, the Turkish president, in front of the world, expressed regret for shooting the Russian Sukhoi-24 out of the sky last week along the border between Syria and Turkey.

We need to remember that Erdogan, since the downing of the plane, has twice asked to speak over the phone with Putin, who rejected both overtures. Now officials in Ankara are busy trying to arrange a meeting between the two leaders on the outskirts of the upcoming global climate summit that begins in Paris on Monday.

Erdogan is doing everything he can to lower the flames. He has even declared that Turkey needs Russia, and that Russia needs Turkey, and that "we cannot disengage." And how did Putin's ego respond? He immediately signed a decree imposing a series of economic sanctions on Turkey, including boycotting Turkish companies, limiting the number of Turkish laborers in Russia, curbing the import of Turkish goods and outlawing the sale of vacation packages on charter flights to Turkey. When discussing Russian tourism in Turkey, we are talking about upwards of 4.5 million visitors per year. In Turkey, everyone in the tourism industry knows that "being pleasant to the tourist" really means "being pleasant to the Russians."

It is Erdogan, in his desire to throw a wrench in the broad anti-Islamic State coalition being built by French President Francois Hollande and Putin, who forgot this touristy slogan. Ever since the Paris terrorist attacks Erdogan has been very displeased by U.S. President Barack Obama's rapprochement with Putin. Erdogan has been fixated on Turkey's interests in Syria and the Middle East, but lost sight along the way of his country's economic interests in Russia. Erdogan, however, mostly forgot not to mess with Putin, who can be unpredictable. He should ask the leaders of Ukraine, the European Union and even Obama.

Speaking of Obama, the U.S. president, since entering the Oval Office, has paid considerable attention to the matter of global warming. In his most recent State of the Union address, which he delivered last January, the president even professed that "there is no greater threat to the future of the world." Obama, after the nuclear deal with Iran, is seeking to leave behind a legacy in this area as well.

In Paris on Monday, we will all see just how right Obama was: Countries like Syria, Libya, Iraq and Yemen are disintegrating; a terrorist organization like Islamic State is growing stronger and posing a menace to the world; Russia has reverted to its Soviet Union-era modus operandi, and although it is seizing control of pockets (in Ukraine and Syria) instead of entire blocs, the trend should be noted. And for the cherry on top, two of the more prominent leaders attending the global summit in Paris are engaged in a heavyweight battle of egos, which in all likelihood will affect the atmosphere and the issues on the agenda. 

The world is indeed heating up at an alarming rate, Mr. President Obama. It's hard to say that your administration hasn't impacted on the climate in Paris this week.

Boaz Bismuth

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=14495

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Thousands of Israeli Arabs protest ban on Islamist group - Daniel Siryoti, Israel Hayom Staff and Reuters

by Daniel Siryoti, Israel Hayom Staff and Reuters

An estimated 20,000 people take part in rally in northern town of Umm al-Fahm • Demonstrators hold up Islamic Movement and Palestinian national flags and chant, "With our spirit and blood, we shall redeem you, Al-Aqsa."

The demonstration in Umm al-Fahm, Saturday Photo credit: Reuters

Thousands of Israeli Arabs protested on Saturday against the outlawing of the Islamic Movement's Northern Branch -- a group that Israel says has played a central role in stoking the ongoing wave of Palestinian terrorism.

The Diplomatic-Security Cabinet banned the Northern Branch on Nov. 17. 

An estimated 20,000 people took part in Saturday's rally in the northern town of Umm al-Fahm, making it one of the largest Israeli Arab demonstrations in recent years. The event was organized by the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee.

Demonstrators marched through the streets of Umm al-Fahm holding up Islamic Movement and Palestinian national flags and chanting, "With our spirit and blood, we shall redeem you, Al-Aqsa."

Participants in the rally included Joint Arab List leader Ayman Odeh and Northern Branch leader Sheikh Raed Salah. Salah, who is set to start an 11-month prison sentence in the coming days, was warmly greeted by the demonstrators on Saturday.

On Sunday, Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan (Habayit Hayehudi) will file a complaint with the Knesset Ethics Committee against Arab MKs who took part in Saturday's demonstration. "Elected officials are undermining the country's sovereignty, and they must be held accountable," Ben-Dahan said.

Daniel Siryoti, Israel Hayom Staff and Reuters

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=30041

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Busted: NYT invents backlash against NY Muslims - Jack Englehard

by Jack Englehard

Jews are being stabbed by Muslims in Israel and the NYT runs an article on how US Muslims are afraid of the backlash which has not occurred.

Listen. I have been in the news business all my life, even wrote an entire book about it here, so I know how it works.

Let’s pretend for a moment that I am managing editor of a New York newspaper and it’s a slow news day, which drives me crazy. I need news. I need a headline.

Anything will do, and quick.

I glance across the newsroom. I ask around. Anything happening? People shrug.

“Oh come on,” I yell. “Something. Anything. This is the town that never sleeps.”

I ask Abdul, who runs our Foreign Desk, if he’s got anything to give. “The usual,” he pouts. “Nothing for front page.”

On the Op-ed side, no worries. I’ve got Tom Friedman blaming Israel for this and that. So that’s covered.

At City Desk I remind Aziz that the Paris bombings happened only weeks ago. There must be some reaction.

Okay. How about this? He suggests that we run a story about local Muslims coping with an Islamophobic backlash.

“Anything to this?” I ask.

“No, but we can invent, make up a story.”

“Done” – and presto, ladies and gentlemen, Wed, Nov. 25 a story appears in The New York Times with the following headline:

“‘I’M FRIGHTENED’: NEW YORK MUSLIMS COPE WITH BACKLASH”

Gevalt! – except that the story immediately falls apart and never lives up to the headline.

Muslims, says the piece, are being cautioned not to stand too close to subway rail tracks. Why? Has anyone been thrown overboard? No. Have mosques been burned? No. Have Muslims been shot, stabbed, run over while walking along Fifth Avenue  --as are Jews in Israel at the hands of Jerusalem Muslims? No.

Have New York Muslims been verbally assaulted. Yes!

Millions? No. Thousands. No. How many? Two.

That is the entire story. Two New York City Muslims report being verbally harassed or “elbowed.”

The Times got this info from CAIR, the disgraced Council on American-Islamic Relations….but that is good enough for the Times.

Good enough to profile an entire population and paint the entire city of New York with the brush of bigotry.

Good enough to entertain the paper’s zombie Liberal readers.

Exactly what happened to these sensitive New York Muslims? Elbowed, yes, but also “spat upon.”

This is special to Muslims? Happens to everybody in this town that I know – that and much worse.

Horrors – but then we learn that following the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, there was only ONE hate crime alleged and reported against Muslims. ONE!

On hate crimes throughout the US, Muslims suffer the least, Jews the most – a whopping 83 percent. Good journalism would demand that this counterpoint be noted, but we’re talking The New York Times, which long ago forgot what it’s supposed to be doing…print the truth.

Still acting on orders to manufacture a crisis, reporter Kirk Semple keeps to his shaky premise by quoting one Muslim after another as being “frightened.”

These days, aren’t we all?

One New York letter-to-the-editor simply put it like this: “I am Jewish and I am frightened.”
Are Jewish students frightened? You bet. From campus to campus they are consistently bullied and harassed by judeophobic bullies.

Oh that! Never mind. Only Muslims bleed, according to the Times. Jews, never; Christians, neither.



Jack Englehard writes a regular column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the international classic “Indecent Proposal” now followed by the clash of civilizations newsroom thriller “The Bathsheba Deadline.” Engelhard is the recipient of the Ben Hecht Award for Literary Excellence. Website: www.jackengelhard.com


Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/17976#.Vltpfr-zdds

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

Netanyahu orders: 'Break contact' with European Union - Nitsan Keidar

by Nitsan Keidar

Following decision to label Israeli goods, Prime Minister suspends talks with EU institutions, representatives.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu

Amit Shabi/POOL/Flash 90

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has instructed the Foreign Ministry to reassess its involvement with European Union (EU) institutions regarding the political process with the Palestinians.

Until the assessment is completed, Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the suspension of all political contact with EU institutions and representatives on the issue.

This directive was made in response to the EU decision to label products from Judea and Samaria. The Foreign Ministry has clarified that Israel is still dealing with individual nations within Europe, including Germany, the UK and France, but not with European Union institutions.


Nitsan Keidar

Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/204137#.VltorL-zdds

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