Qatar takes part in Arab meet on Gaza education sector’s urgent needs

Qatar is participating in the two-day emergency meeting of the Palestine Children Educational Affairs Council held in the Arab League’s Secretariat-General here, which began on Sunday.

The meeting aims to address the formidable challenges and urgent needs of the education sector in the Gaza Strip.

Ali Hussain al-Jarhab represented the Permanent Mission of Qatar to the Arab League.

In his address to the meeting, Arab League Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine and the Occupied Arab Territories Ambassador Saeed Abu Ali said the meeting’s goal is to follow up on the education sector and its catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip, the repercussions of the ongoing Israeli aggression, along with the sector’s challenges and its urgent needs, adding that the meeting stems from a sense of duty towards supporting Palestine in countering Israeli aggression and supporting the Palestinian education sector.

Abu Ali said the education sector in the Gaza Strip has faced a terrible disaster due to the enormous human and material losses affecting both official and private education.

He said that schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have been turned into shelters, which themselves have not escaped destruction, with civilians seeking refuge there.

The Arab League Assistant Secretary-General added the scale of the disaster experienced by the education sector in Gaza requires further measures and the provision of the necessary support mechanisms to meet urgent needs, alleviate the impact of the disaster, and address its repercussions on the current situation of education, the future of Palestinian education, and Palestinian future generations.

He emphasised the crucial role of education in sustaining the resilience of the Palestinian people.

The minister of education and higher education in the Palestinian government, Dr Amjad Barham, said Israeli occupation forces have destroyed all Palestinian schools and universities in the Gaza Strip, which included 309 schools under the Palestinian government and an equal number under UNRWA.

He added that there were 630,000 students in Gazan schools run by UNRWA and the Palestinian government, with 9,500 having lost their lives, while 15,000 are wounded, in addition to 3,000 who became disabled as a result of this fierce war.

Dr Barham pointed out that 290 public school and 110 private school teachers have also lost their lives.

On the sidelines of his participation in the emergency meeting, Al Azhar University Gaza president Prof Omar Milad told the Qatar News Agency (QNA) that 40,000 students at the high school level could not sit for exams this year in Gaza due to the ongoing Israeli aggression since the events of October 7.

He noted that the higher education sector in Gaza has also been subjected to total destruction by the Israeli occupation.

Milad highlighted the suffering of more than 88,000 university students in Gaza due to this brutal aggression, adding that Al Azhar University in Gaza has also been destroyed by Israeli forces. – QNA

Dr. Ron Schleifer: ‘Israel must fight back against psychological warfare’

Dr. Ron Schleifer, a lecturer at Ariel University and an author of numerous books on psychological warfare, spoke with Arutz Sheva – Israel National News about the mental effects the threats from Hezbollah and Iran are having on the Israeli public.

“There are two main two main principles at work now, from the whole arsenal of psychological warfare. The Iranians, for various reasons, cannot bomb Israel right now, so instead they use the tactic of keeping Israel from knowing if they will try. They and [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah supposedly have very powerful weapons, but they can only use those once, so they resort to this instead.”

Schleifer said that attempting to control the media response to such tactics may prove impossible. “You can’t control it because there are so many media outlets, as well as social media, and they all need new material all the time. The government has made an error in not disseminating more of the enormous amount of information it has to keep public attention focused on the right things. The enemy, who does not have Israel’s technological capabilities, has filled that gap with their own information.”

He emphasized that it is possible to defend against such an approach. “You have to decide that you want to fight back. You have to write a doctrine just like the military does, assign budgets, and hire experts. This is a a central and unique part of a war even though it doesn’t yield obvious gains. It has to be professional and long-term.”

The same principles apply whether targeting civilians or the morale of enemy troops: “You must make your own soldiers be patriots and enemy soldiers pacifists. You have to direct messages to your own soldiers about why we need to fight. In terms of our enemies, we need to convince them that this life is important too, not just the afterlife, and that they have a chance.”

Schleifer noted that one attempt to build this kind of message has failed already: “The messages that we delivered for decades about turning Gaza into Singapore did not work. We have to find the perspective or right aspect of how to change Islamist ideology into Islamic ideology – and there is a difference.”

He concluded by speaking about the importance of the public being informed. “People should know how they are being manipulated. They have to develop critical thinking and understand the principles of psychological warfare. If you see something in the media, ask yourself who put it there, and try to understand what interests it serves. I’m not saying to turn off the TV and phone – just to use it wisely.”

 

Canadian tax dollars fund UN hypocrisy

The United Nations announced this week it has fired more staff from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the organization that supports Palestinian refugees in Gaza, after its own investigation revealed they were involved in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

The agency previously fired 12 staff and put seven more on unpaid administrative leave while the claims were investigated. The UN did not release details of what roles the staffers played in the horrific attacks. More than 1,100 civilians, including children and babies, were slaughtered and hundreds of others were wounded or taken hostage in the action that precipitated Israel’s military incursion into Gaza. 

In January, when reports of the agency’s involvement in the attacks surfaced, Canada and other Western nations ceased funding UNRWA activities in Gaza. It turned out Canada didn’t so much halt funding as “pause” it. Two months later, Canada reversed that decision, along with Australia and Sweden. The U.S. has since followed suit. In total, this country is giving $65 million in aid to Gaza, including $25 million in “recurring” funding for UNRWA. 

In light of these latest admissions, it’s time to reconsider if the UN is the best agency to provide that aid. Other organizations such as Red Cross or Red Crescent might be more trustworthy. 

In supporting UNRWA, Canadian tax dollars were indirectly supporting terrorist activities. 

This is more of the same double-talk we’ve heard from the UN on the Middle East for decades. The UN persists in calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza/Hamas war, without ever mentioning who started it. Last October, it called for a “humanitarian truce” and the UN General Assembly deliberately avoided assigning blame or responsibility to Hamas. 

If the UN truly wanted a humanitarian ceasefire, it would have helped if it had discouraged its employees from taking part in the aggression that triggered the hostility in the first place. Now, they should encourage Hamas to return the hostages, thus paving the way for an end to hostilities. 

Sure, they’ve fired those employees, but it seems UNRWA was a festering cauldron of Hamas sympathizers before Oct. 7. 

The UN has consistently failed to condemn Hamas for the terror, yet it explicitly condemned Israel in an Oct. 26 resolution. 

And Canadian taxpayers are funding that hypocrisy. 

-Postmedia Network 

Israel informed of Abbas’ intention to visit the Gaza Strip

The Palestinian Authority’s leadership has begun diplomatic activity to prepare the ground for a visit by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to the Gaza Strip.

In a speech to the Turkish Parliament late last week, Abbas had said, “I decided to go with all the members of the leadership to the Gaza Strip, and I will do my best to be with our people, since our lives are not more precious than the life of any Palestinian child, and we implement the provisions of Islamic law, which stipulate either a victory or falling in the path of Allah.”

In this framework, the PA leadership held contacts with the United Nations, the permanent member states of the Security Council, the Arab League and other countries to ensure the visit takes place and succeeds.

The PA’s official news agency Wafa reported that the PA informed Israel of Abbas’ intention to visit the Gaza Strip, and that the purpose of the visit is to emphasize the fact that the “State of Palestine” and the PLO have the authority and responsibility over the entire land of “Palestine” and to work to restore national unity.

Can Josh Shapiro’s Party Forgive Him for Telling the Truth?

The damage antisemitism has done to the Democratic Party and the country isn’t best reflected by Kamala Harris’s rejecting Josh Shapiro as her running mate. Far more telling is the Pennsylvania governor’s apology for an opinion piece he published in his college newspaper.

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Cloud Cuckoo Land

This past week has provided further proof of how many are afflicted with absurd fantasies and an unrealistic state of mind.

According to Wikipedia, those living in “cloud cuckoo land” are suffering, among other things, from expectations divorced from reality.

One of the unfortunate symptoms of this malady is the irrational urge to blame others for every misfortune that occurs. Not surprisingly, this specifically targets Jews, Israel and Zionists who have all become the automatic targets of today’s updated version of previous generations’ Cossacks, Brown shirts, Black shirts and Inquisitors.

While the brainwashed masses cannot be expected to show any semblance of common sense one would surmise that those more educated and informed might at least have a glimmering of reality.

Alas this is not the case as the following examples hopefully illustrate.

Immediately following Hezbollah’s barrage of rockets, which murdered a dozen Druze children playing soccer, the Iranian-sponsored terror group claimed responsibility. However, as soon as it transpired that the children killed were not Jews but Druze, Hezbollah changed its narrative and claimed that the massacre was instead caused by Israel. Right on cue the EU Foreign Policy Chief chimed in and stated that “an independent investigation was required.” Despite clear evidence of Hezbollah/Iranian culpability, the insatiable urge to tarnish Israel triumphed. Once the general and social media got hold of it the malicious idea that Israel deliberately targeted children playing soccer was firmly implanted in the fetid minds of all haters.

Hamas and other terror groups deliberately use civilians, including women and children, as human shields. The terrorists, moreover, are in mosques, schools, clinics and refugee camps where they store munitions, fire rockets, and establish bases. Tunnels are dug in children’s bedrooms, and places are booby-trapped. The UN and its corrupt officials ignore this, but when Israel targets these nests of terror, the world erupts in righteous wrath.

Once again, hypocritical condemnations of Israel are expected from human rights abusers. Double standards are plainly obvious when political leaders in democratic nations join in the cacophonous chorus.

Turkey’s make-believe latter-day Ottoman Sultan has threatened to invade Israel and aid the terrorists murdering Israelis. Instead of NATO reading the riot act to this Member State they remain shamefully silent. In fact, the Biden Administration is selling F16 jet fighters to Turkey. This is the depraved depths to which some Governments have now sunk.

Proving my assertion is the decision of the International Federation of Medical Student Associations to suspend Israel. According to this body “Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and displaying a lack of morals and humanitarian values.”  Realizing that the likes of Qatar. “Palestine”, Venezuela, Yemen, Iran, China and Russia are among its exalted members it is not hard to understand why Israel is targeted. The question remains as to what sort of outrage democratic nations will undertake in the face of this blatant bias.

Will they join their colleagues in “cloud cuckoo land or will they rise up and demand that this travesty be rescinded? Australia is a member. What has been its response?

One of the oldest tricks in the book for those wishing to deflect attention of the masses away from leadership corruption and failure is to blame others for the misfortunes. Once upon a time it was the Jews who bore the brunt of this scapegoating. Nowadays, Zionists and Israel have been added to the list.

The “winner” of the recent corrupt Venezuelan elections, having had his ballot rigging activities exposed, quickly discovered the alleged culprits behind these embarrassing revelationsInternational Zionism was the sinister organization behind civil unrest in the country he claimed. This accusation by the far left President is reminiscent of the old days of Stalinist Soviet Union when Jews disappeared into the gulags after having been accused of nefarious Zionist conspiracies.

Proving that Zionist/Israel derangement syndrome knows no ethnic boundaries none other than Kanye West, also known as YE, claimed that Jews conspired to put him in hospital. Donald Trump subsequently asserted that YE “is very complicated but he has a good heart.”

Following the Olympic controversy about the gender status of an Algerian boxer, that country’s Olympic team blamed a “Zionist conspiracy” against her.

We can dismiss these occurrences as byproducts of sick minds and laugh them away as ludicrous lunacy. In the absence of any outrage and condemnation, however, they gain legitimacy and widespread acceptance.

Take the Egyptian Government’s proposal for post-war Gaza control as an example of how cloud cuckoo ideas rapidly become serious contenders for actual policy disasters. Egypt wants the corrupt Palestinian Authority to take over security at the Gaza Rafah border crossing. This is where the IDF has uncovered kilometres of tunnels used for smuggling weapons and terrorists into Gaza. Putting PA/Fatah security personnel in charge would be like putting a fox in charge of a chicken coop. The tragedy is that this cuckoo suggestion will be taken seriously.

The media revel in promoting deliberate distorted news disguised as factual reality. The latest glaring example was published in the Friday edition of the Jerusalem Post and was sourced from Reuters. It read in part as follows: “Israel’s antagonism with Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement has fanned fear of a broader conflict in a region already on edge amid 10 months of war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.”  

In the space of one paragraph, Reuters managed to convey to the uninformed that Israel is solely responsible for the conflict and its imminent spread. Hezbollah is described as a “movement” and Hamas are merely “militants.” There is no mention of Iranian plans to erase Israel or the pogrom perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October. Israelis kidnapped and held hostage does not feature in this disgraceful piece of tendentious reporting. The fact that the JP published this piece of deliberate deceptive news report speaks volumes about how Israel hate spreads worldwide with the help of sloppy journalism.

The gold medal award for astounding asinine detachment from the real world must surely go to the subject of this week’s news from Australia. I had to read the report on the Sydney Morning Herald site several times to verify that this was not a work of fiction.

It seems that Australia’s top spy (as he is described), who is supposed to keep all Australians safe from international terrorists, has determined that supporting Hamas should not be a barrier to obtaining a visa to enter the country. As reported, he declared that “providing financial support or material aid to Hamas may be a problem for Palestinians undergoing security checks as part of their visa application process. It is a different matter if people are expressing their support for Hamas because they want their homeland. If it’s just rhetorical support and they don’t have an ideology or support for a violent extremism ideology, then that’s not a problem.”  

In other words, if someone has donated funds to Hamas, that “might” complicate the visa process. However, supporting Hamas in its desire for a “homeland” and merely verbally expressing admiration is no impediment to issuing a visa.

Two critical aspects need to be addressed.

Hamas has been designated by the Australian Government as a terror organization. That being the case, how is it that the country’s top anti-terror czar has no qualms about admitting Palestinians swearing allegiance to the group’s stated aims?

Has he actually read the Hamas Charter, especially the part relating to a “homeland?”

“The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinguished Palestinian movement, whose allegiance is to Allah, and whose way of life is Islam. It strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine.” 

“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” 

“Palestine is an Islamic land… Since this is the case, the Liberation of Palestine is an individual duty for every Moslem wherever he may be.”

“The day the enemies usurp part of Moslem land, Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Moslem. In the face of the Jews’ usurpation, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised.” 

 The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: ‘O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.”

“Zionism scheming has no end, and after Palestine, they will covet expansion from the Nile to the Euphrates River. When they have finished digesting the area on which they have laid their hand, they will look forward to more expansion. Their scheme has been laid out in the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’.” 

“HAMAS regards itself the spearhead and the vanguard of the circle of struggle against World Zionism… Islamic groups all over the Arab world should also do the same, since they are best equipped for their future role in the fight against the warmongering Jews.” 

    If, in the opinion of Mr. Burgess, “rhetorical” support of Hamas likely qualifies an individual for an Australian visa then all one can conclude is that Jews and friends of Israel had better be on their guard for probable future trouble.

Having already raised the terror threat in Australia from “possible” to “probable” this ascent into cloud cuckoo land undoubtedly must take the first prize in the woke world of hallucinatory thinking.

Eretz Yisrael – Our Home-Court Advantage

Near the beginning of this week’s Parsha (Devarim 4:1) we read the following. “And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and ordinances which I teach you, to do them, so that you may live and go in to possess the Land which HaShem, the G-d of your fathers, gives you.” Verses 4:5 and 4:14 convey a similar message, being that Moshe teaches us the ordinances and statutes so that we can perform them in the Land of Israel.

This being the case, would one be wrong to reach the conclusion that the mitzvot were given to be performed exclusively in the Land of Israel, and nowhere else on Earth?

The Malbim comments that this is not the case. Mitzvot which are not dependent on the Land are clearly intended to be performed the world over. Nonetheless, he adds, even while these mitzvot are not dependent on the Land, the Land is dependent on the mitzvot. We acquire the Land and are allowed to reside within its boundaries when we carry out the mitzvot. Conversely, the Land, like a sentient being, will angrily spew out its inhabitants when they perform immoral acts within it.

While it is seemingly a sine qua non of Judaism that the commandments are universally geographically applicable, the Sifri on Devarim 11:17-18 seems to have a different take on the issue. The Torah (Devarim11:17) tells us that the Jews, as a consequence of sin, will be banished from the Land. The subsequent verse, 11:18, as quoted by Rashi, demands that “Even when in exile we are to continue to put on Tefillin; make Mezuzot – do this when you are in exile, so that when you return, they will not be new to you. As Yirmiyahu (31:20) states: “place markers before you.” The mitzvot are like markers, like signposts along the road, preparing and directing us for our return to the Land. The Ramban quotes this Rashi and proceeds to explain the hidden meaning, encapsulated in this source. Due to the special kedusha inherent in the Land, there is a highly significant qualitative difference between the performance of mitzvot inside the Land of Israel, as opposed to those very same mitzvot outside of the Land of Israel. Espousing this same understanding, the Ramban says (Vayikra 18:25) that the mitzvot are essentially for those who dwell in the Land of the Lord.

To give a colloquial twist to the Sifri’s teaching, we can say the following. Although the same mitzva may be performed in Israel as well as in Chutz La’aretz, the difference between the two is like that between a practice match played away from home and experiencing the real tournament on one’s home court.

The home court of the Jewish People and of the Almighty is right here in Eretz Yisrael. We should learn from sports lovers not to discount the importance of the home court advantage!

RABBI YERACHMIEL RONESS was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. After serving as a congregational Rabbi and as a Hillel Director in New York City, he made Aliyah in 1983 with his wife Dina and their five young children.

Ever since, Rabbi Roness has dedicated his life to promoting Aliyah. First, as Rabbi of the Jewish Agency’s Absorption Centers, and subsequently as the executive director of the Aloh-Naaleh organization.

This article was taken from Rabbi Roness’s new book: Aloh Na’aleh – Eretz Yisrael and Aliyah in the Weekly Parshah.  The book is for sale on Amazon.