Jordan, Sweden seek further funding for UNRWA

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September 27, 2022

Meeting discussed mobilizing support for UNGA vote to renew agency’s mandate
Jordan’s deputy PM: UNRWA’s role important for regional stability

AMMAN: Jordan and Sweden have co-chaired a ministerial meeting focused on developing policies and strategies to ensure the sustainability of financing the UN Relief and Works Agency’s programs.

Jordan’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and expatriates, Ayman Safadi, together with Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde, chaired Thursday’s ministerial meeting to support UNRWA, with the participation of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, reported the Jordan News Agency.
UNRWA’s Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, foreign ministers and representatives of 40 countries and international organizations attended the meeting that discussed the best sustainable means to finance the agency’s programs to enable it to provide vital services to Palestinian refugees, said a ministry statement published by Jordan News Agency.
The meeting further discussed mobilizing support for the vote in the UN General Assembly to renew UNRWA’s mandate next December.
Guterres stressed the important role of UNRWA in enhancing stability in the Middle East, calling for adequate funding for the agency. He noted that the organization still needs more than $100 million.
He said without its vital services, there would be no education for children or shelter for families.
He added that support for UNRWA is a moral responsibility, and that any disruption of its work would lead to increased frustration and provide terrorist organizations with a fertile environment for recruitment.
Safadi said the agency’s role is an important factor for stability in the region, and stressed the need to continue to implement its international mandate.
He also emphasized the importance of the international community to provide political and financial support to UNRWA so that “it can continue to provide its vital services to the refugees.”
Safadi highlighted Jordan’s continued work with Sweden and international partners to provide the support the agency needs.
He also stressed the need to work on developing policies, strategies and a predictable budget through a three-year funding scheme that would enable UNRWA to fund its program from the UN’s regular budget.
Safadi said the agency must continue to provide its services until the refugee issue is resolved in accordance with international law.
He added that this should happen in the context of a comprehensive settlement based on the two-state solution that embodies the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state with occupied Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with Israel in peace and security.
Linde said the meeting confirmed the international community’s willingness to support UNRWA and its basic role, stressing the importance of providing sustainable and stable financial support to the agency.
Lazzarini spoke about the challenges facing the agency and its financial deficit, the plan for coming years, and efforts to provide necessary support for it.

Australia promises to double aid to UNRWA to 20 million AUD

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September 27, 2022

Australia promises to double aid to UNRWA to 20 million AUD
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong announced on Friday that her country will double its humanitarian and development assistance contribution to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) this financial year to 20 million Australian dollars.

“In recognition of the vital work UNRWA undertakes I am pleased to announce today that Australia plans to double our contribution to UNRWA this financial year, from $10 to $20 million Australian dollars,” she reported in a statement.

She said, “Australia remains a strong supporter of a two-state solution, in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist, in peace and security, within internationally recognised borders. Viewing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from one perspective will not achieve that goal.”

“A two-state solution can only be achieved through a negotiated outcome between the two parties. Australia encourages Israel and the Palestinians to return to direct negotiations in good faith. We would welcome any initiative that can assist in the resumption of direct peace negotiations, to arrive at a sustainable and resilient settlement.”

EU aims for Israel reboot with summit

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September 27, 2022

The EU is seeking to reset its often testy relationship with Israel next week, convening a summit on Monday of senior political figures for the first time in a decade.

The meeting format, known as the EU-Israel Association Council, has essentially been dormant since 2013, when Israel canceled a gathering in protest over the EU’s stance on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Since then, the two sides have continued to clash over similar issues.

But the 2021 exit of hardline Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the door for current rapprochement. His replacement, Yair Lapid, who also holds the foreign minister role, has embraced a two-state solution with Palestine — a position more in line with many EU countries’ approach, even if several countries are still expected to express disapproval of Israel’s Palestinian policies on Monday. Brussels is also eager to shore up energy supplies from Israel amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“There’s a big hope that the upcoming association council between the EU and Israel will bring … a new wind into our relationship,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told POLITICO last week at the United Nations General Assembly, expressing optimism that the development will be one of the key achievements of the Czechs’ six-month rotating EU presidency.

Still, getting EU consensus on one of the world’s most notoriously contentious conflicts is not going to be easy.

Countries like Ireland and Sweden have traditionally taken a more pro-Palestinian stance — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stopped off in Dublin for a meeting with the Irish prime minister earlier this month en route to the U.N. annual gathering. On the other end of the spectrum, Israel has strong supporters within the EU. Hungary, for example, is a staunch ally with economic and ideological bonds forged over the years between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Netanyahu.

Before the EU-Israel council went dark, it had served for more than a decade as a forum for officials to regularly meet and discuss these issues. Now, with the council set to be revived, member states are tinkering with an official communique that needs to satisfy the spectrum of views regarding EU-Israeli relations.

Finding common language can mean weeks of fighting over a single word while backroom deals are cut to appease the myriad interests at play. Palestinian officials are also watching closely, demanding not to be left out of a similar diplomatic engagement with Brussels.

The EU’s complicated role in the Israel-Palestine conflict has played out in numerous controversies this year alone.

This spring, the European Commission was forced to delay funding for the Palestinian Authority over the content of textbooks, which critics say included anti-Israeli incitements to violence.

The decision to block the funds was led by Hungarian EU Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi. As POLITICO first reported, 15 countries sent a letter to the Commission in April blasting the move. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen finally announced the money would be disbursed during a visit to the Palestinian city Ramallah in July.

Further tensions with Tel Aviv emerged following an Israeli raid in July on the offices of Palestinian NGOs.

Israel had accused the groups — some of which received funds from EU countries — of being terrorist organizations. But numerous EU countries weren’t convinced.

In a joint statement at the time, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden all blasted Israel, saying it had not supplied “substantial information” to justify the raids. The bloc reiterated those “deep concerns” in August after further Israeli raids on civil society groups.

Another dynamic affecting the EU’s relationship with Israel is the Continent’s energy woes. As Europe scrambles to find alternative sources of Russian gas, furthering energy ties with Israel is one possible answer.

In a June visit to Israel, von der Leyen signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel and Egypt to boost gas exports. The EU is also Israel’s largest trade market and accounts for about a third of Israel’s total trade.

But while economic imperatives explain part of the new push for engagement with Israel, long-term observers say the outreach also reflects a new willingness to engage with Tel Aviv after Lapid came to power this summer. Lapid entered office as part of a power-sharing arrangement with Naftali Bennett, who held the job for a year prior to him.

“I think it is a genuine shift,” said Maya Sion-Tzidkiyahu, who helms the Israel-Europe Program at Mitvim Institute, an Israeli think tank. “The change of tone was made by Lapid, who shares much of the EU’s normative stance on the liberal democratic world order. It’s now much more positive than during Netanyahu’s government, even if Bennett and now Lapid government is not advancing the peace process.”

Sion-Tzidkiyahu said mutually beneficial scenarios are helping to replace “megaphone diplomacy” with closer dialogue.

“Disagreements on contentious issues such as the Palestinian or Iranian one will not disappear, but perhaps there are now better understanding for the concerns of each side,” she said.

Lipavský, the Czech foreign minister, is aware of the concerns some EU countries have about the Israeli’s government actions in the West Bank and towards Palestinians.

“We need to discuss [these concerns] openly, but I don’t think that one issue should block the debate about the others,” he said.

Officially, the EU supports the two-state solution that sees a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel — a vision also shared by the United States. But making that prospect a reality seems as far away as ever.

Sven Koopmans, the EU special representative for the Middle East peace process, wrote earlier this month that all parties needed to help identify ways to solve the man-made conflict.

“The current situation is increasingly seen as a structural human rights problem, in which Israel has the upper hand,” he wrote in the Israeli outlet Haaretz. “That negatively affects how the world perceives Israel, and holds risks for the long-term. It should not be that way.”

When it comes to resuming the peace process, Sion-Tzidkiyahu is not confident.

“Under the current political circumstances in the Palestinian Authority and Israel, such development is not foreseen,” she said. “At most, the EU can push for more practical steps by Israel to improve Palestinian’s condition.”

Lapid’s “Two –State Solution” Spells Disaster for Israel

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September 27, 2022

Any pro-Israel supporter with at least a smidgeon of common sense and a brief history of the Jewish State’s many useless attempts to make peace with, coddle up to, make nice to, kiss the butt of and even make suicidal gestures to the Palestinians, would cringe at Israel’s current Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s speech to last week’s session of the UN, in which he offered to accept a “Two State Solution” with the Palestinian Authority. We felt we were looking at the makings of another clueless PM, the UK’s Neville Chamberlain, who nearly sold the democratic world down the drain with his cave-in-to-Hitler deal in 1938. We hope we were wrong.

Israel started back in 1948, agreeing to live in peace with its Arab neighbors. Then they signed alongside Arab leaders, deals promising to live in peace with one another. All down the drain. Included in the wasting of ink and the cost in Jewish lives were the following agreements instantly voided by the Palestinians: The Oslo Accords, The Camp David deals, Annapolis Deal, Hebron Agreement, Wye River, Taba Talks, Road Map to Peace Deal and the Arab peace Initiative, to name just some. The 1993 Oslo Accords were even negotiated with Yasser Arafat, the murderous PLO leader, famous for the Israeli Olympic Team Munich Massacre in 1972 and the slaughter of thousands more Israelis. All these “peace” deal failures because of the religious zeal and hatred of Jews as outlined in the Koran.

And this current move by Lapid would be an extension of the suicidal lunacy of Jews who refuse to acknowledge the goals of their enemies. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knew with whom he was dealing when he faced the Palestinians. This is one of his comments regarding Lapid’s move: “Lapid is bringing the Palestinians back to the forefront of the world stage and putting Israel right into the Palestinian hole.” Yariv Levin, Chairman of the Likud Party said: “Lapid surrendered shamefully to the Palestinian Authority and dealt a fatal blow to Israel’s political standing. Lapid bowed down to the haters of Israel,” adding that “Lapid has undone years of political achievements pushed by Netanyahu to keep Israel safe.

Although the world wants a two-state solution to create an independent Palestine, the reality is that there are insurmountable problems within the Palestinian community that would never be resolved. Firstly, there is an ongoing hatred and perpetual violence between two Arab factions, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, that no one has mentioned. Hamas controls Gaza. How would they split their governments and when would they ever make peace? Would there end up being a “Three State Solution?” And what international authority would oversee the eventual militarization of the independent nation of Palestine?

They would be a sitting member of the Israel hating, United Nation’s General Assembly and wold surely be funded by and supported militarily by the likes of Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, North Korea and presumably China. The Palestinian state would be nose-to-nose against Israel as we are to Mexico. And look how our border secures us from millions of illegals and tons of death dealing narcotics flowing into our nation.

Lapid, in his UN oratorical disaster, cracked sort of a joke by stating that Israel has, “Only one condition: That a future Palestinian state will be a peaceful one. That it will not become another terror base from which to threaten the well-being and the very existence of Israel.” “Hey, no problem!” would be the response of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority, who just a day after Lapid kissed the terrorist leader’s tuchis with a plea to give his rabble an independent nation, told the UN assembly that “Israel is not a reliable peace partner.” Coming from Arafat’s number two man who promised to “have Jewish blood run through the streets of Jerusalem,” and the planner of the Munich Olympic slaughter, that says a lot. Get ready for disaster if Lapid gets his way.

China in the Middle East

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September 26, 2022

From S.R.

Israel’s academic cooperation with China has become the focus of U.S. attention. Washington is convinced that Beijing has used such cooperation to buy or steal Israeli technology. So far, Israel has not instituted guidelines to control or restrict academic cooperation with a country regarded as a strategic rival of the West. Stay tuned.

He said. She said.

“For national security officials in Jerusalem, it will be crucial they gain the cooperation of the nation’s top researchers and scientists…”

Focus

In 2013, Li Ka Shing gave Israel’s Technion $130 million to set up a research center in China.

U.S. moves to China-U.S. Academic Ties

The United States has managed to stop Israeli collaboration with China in defense, security, technology and infrastructure. Now, it is moving to end or severely restrict Israeli cooperation with Chinese universities.

Washington has been lobbying Jerusalem to discourage Israeli universities from working with their Chinese counterparts. The administration of President Joe Biden has pressured Israel to impose restrictions on Israeli schools and research centers to ensure that Beijing cannot access sensitive information.

“If Israel wants to solidify its relationship with the U.S. while limiting the gateways China could conceivably use to access or acquire the country’s technology and innovation in certain dual-use domains, it must also ensure that its research, intellectual property [IP], and expert knowledge in these areas is sufficiently protected,” a report said.

On Sept. 20, Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, regarded as close to Washington, issued a report that reflected the latest U.S. concerns regarding Israeli relations with Beijing. Authored by British researcher Casey Babb, the report, titled “Proceed with Caution: Israeli Research Collaboration with China,” listed the major Israeli institutions that received hundreds of millions of dollars from their Chinese counterparts.

Nearly every major Israeli university has signed an agreement with Beijing. The first was in 2013 when Israel’s leading technology research center, the Technion, received a $130 million grant from the Li Ka Shing Foundation to establish a research center linked to Shantou University, in Guangdong Province. A year later, Tel Aviv University worked with Tsinghua University to invest $300 million in a research center in China that covered such areas as biotech and solar energy.

In 2016, China and Israel signed seven agreements for cooperation with Chinese universities, which included joint institutes and student exchanges. That led to additional cooperation, including with Haifa University, designed to construct artificial intelligence hubs in Israel and China. In 2019, the two countries opened a center in China based on scientific and technological cooperation and overseen by the Chinese Communist Party.

“Despite these and other examples of China-Israel partnerships in fields with potential dual-use capability, or in fields that could benefit China’s pursuit of civil-military fusion, little is publicly available on whether Israel has faced any substantial research loss at the hands of the CCP,” Babb, a fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said. “Certainly, this could be a case of ‘dogs that don’t bark,’ but China’s track record around the world suggests otherwise.”

Washington has been concerned over Chinese-Israeli academic cooperation. Amid Chinese protests, U.S. pressure has whittled away at Israeli links with Beijing in most fields, including infrastructure, desalination and 5G. In July 2022, Israel and the United States announced what was deemed a new strategic technology dialogue that focused on Beijing. The Americans have claimed that China was seeking to buy or steal Israeli technology.

U.S. authorities have tracked the involvement of American academics with Beijing. A former Harvard University professor was convicted for concealing his affiliation with a Chinese university.

Beijing has not limited its efforts to Israel or the United States. China was said to have sent hundreds of scientists to NATO members. In response, several of these country have established guidelines on dealing with China.

In contrast, Israel, deemed a technology and innovation leader, has not openly restricted its universities. Babb urged that the Jewish state adopt the guidelines of such Western allies as Britain, Canada and the United States, including screening foreign students.

“For national security officials in Jerusalem, it will be crucial they gain the cooperation of the nation’s top researchers and scientists – even those that may approach the topic with skepticism and unease,” the report said. “If Israeli academics, researchers, and scientists are indeed losing their IP, expertise, and assets to Chinese spies, not only will the country’s innovation base suffer, so too will Israel’s economic competitiveness, along with its relations with key allies and partners — notably the U.S.”

Ticker Tape

…China has intensified diplomacy in the Middle East. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi issued four proposals for stability in the region as part of the Global Security Initiative. In a briefing on Sept. 21, Wang said his country was ready to a play a leading role with Middle East partners, including developing a regional security dialogue. At the opening ceremony of the second Middle East Security Forum, he said China cited the need for what it termed common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security.

…China and Turkey have reaffirmed their strategic partnership at their latest summit. The presidents of the two countries pledged to expand their relations, including energy, security and the Belt and Road Initiative. On Sept. 16, Xi Jinping and Recep Erdogan also agreed to increase trade and investment as well as coordinate Turkey’s Middle Corridor with BRI.

…China has sought to develop ties with Somalia. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed support for the new government in Somalia and the Arab country’s sovereignty. In a meeting with Somali Foreign Minister Abshir Omar Huruse on Sept. 21, Wang said Somalia marked an important element in Beijing’s policy in Africa. The foreign minister said his country will continue support to Somalia but did not elaborate.

…China is interested in expanding non-energy investments in the United Arab Emirates. Chinese diplomats have been inspecting UAE companies for their suitability. On Sept. 13, China’s ambassador to the UAE, Zhang Yiming, toured Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest non-energy industrial concern in the emirates. EGA, with mines in Guinea, has been a supplier of bauxite, the main source of aluminum, for China. In 2021, EGA, engaged with China for 25 years, earned $16.6 million in trade with 55 Chinese firms.

…A Syrian doctoral student has been honored by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The ministry published an article about Zine El Abidine Walid Ali, one of many Syrian students in China. The article, viewed more than 90 million times in China alone, talked of El Abidine’s volunteer activities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Beijing and Damascus have improved relations in a range of areas over the last year, particularly in reconstruction of Syria.

NZ Announces Funding For Glorification Of Terror

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September 26, 2022

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister, Hon Minister Mahuta, has moved NZ further from its 5 eyes allies by rewarding incitement to terror via her announcement on Twitter that New Zealand will provide UNWRA with“ $3 million over 3 years” and that “Aotearoa New Zealand is pleased to be a longstanding supporter of the Agency’s work.”

UNRWA has, for decades, been found to use school textbooks replete with racism and glorification of terror. The funding decision distances New Zealand further from the United States, with whom we are meant to be lobbying for a free trade agreement. Meanwhile, the EU, Australia and other countries have condemned the racism and incitement within UNRWA schools.

The NZ UNWRA announcement comes just days after the United States House of Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously supported the Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act, which draws attention to the glorification of terror and hate taught in UNRWA schools.

The New Zealand announcement also comes only weeks after the EU Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee repeatedly challenged UNRWA chief Lazzarini on continued teaching of hate, violence and antisemitism. Members criticised UNRWA over what they called “truly horrific” new self-produced hate materials.

While other democratic countries have spoken out and reduced funding – Australia halved their contribution in 2020, the UK cut funding by a similar proportion, and The United Arab Emirates sharply reduced their funding in early 2021 – New Zealand stands out by not even acknowledging the issues.

The timing of the Tweet is also curious, given that the Minister had made the decision by the end of last year, according to documents released under the Official Information Act.

Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, is due to speak at the UN soon and to co-convene the Christchurch Call to Action Leaders’ Summit. The Christchurch Call was founded to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online and is spearheaded by MFAT.

That MFAT supports funding the glorification of terror in schools, while world leaders convene to combat terror online, seems hypocritical. A government that purports to stand against hate should not be so proud to fund violent extremist content overseas.

The Israel Institute of New Zealand has shown that Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) officials failed to brief previous Foreign Ministers, which could explain their lack of action to prevent Kiwi taxpayer dollars from inciting violence. However, due to pressure from IINZ and the NZ Human Rights Commission, Minister Mahuta was briefed on the issues that MFAT claims to take “extremely seriously”.

An MFAT briefing to Minister Mahuta in December 2021 recognises that “concerns have been raised in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally that education textbooks produced by the Palestinian Authority (PA) Ministry of Education contain material that may foster hatred, violence, and antisemitism among Palestinian children”. The briefing also referenced the EU-funded Georg Eckert Institute report that confirmed problematic content, which MFAT officials said “did not come as a surprise”.

Chief Human Rights Commissioner, Paul Hunt, has said “NZ’s international human rights obligations do not stop where its territorial sea ends… If NZ taxpayer funds are being used to publish antisemitic textbooks, this would place NZ in breach of its international human rights obligations.”

In July 2022, Commissioner Hunt wrote to Jonathan Kings, Deputy Secretary of Pacific and Development Group at MFAT, expressing concern about the antisemitism that MFAT funds and asking “know what arrangements are in place to ensure that Aotearoa New Zealand’s national and international human rights commitments are considered when MFAT is devising its development and aid initiatives.”

MFAT has not yet responded at the time of this article (19 Sept 2022).

Pray for peace – prepare for action

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Michael Kuttner

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September 24, 2022

Peace is always at the forefront of our prayers, but at the same time, most of us should have learnt from bitter past experience that being aware of the challenges ahead is a priority.

At this time of the year, when we are about to welcome a new year and prepare for Yom Kippur, it is appropriate that we briefly look back, take stock of the current situation and prepare for the inevitable challenges ahead.

Optimistic visions that the coming year will herald a reversal of the rapidly rising tsunami of Judeophobia thinly disguised as anti-Zionism will no doubt feature in the messages of many communal leaders, lay and religious. While the sentiments may be worthy of all these platitudes will achieve is to induce a sense of complacency and misplaced hope. Unfortunately, if you take the trouble to survey the slippery slide into chaos that currently afflicts international relations, the realistic forecast is far from sunny.

The hope, of course, springs eternal, but until the Messianic age actually arrives, it behoves us to be wary and realistic.

Far too many times in the past, we fell into the trap of being sucked into premature euphoria and then faced subsequent bitter results. The Oslo disaster imposed on us by ideological hallucinatory politicians, instead of resulting in peace, produced terror, murder, a resurrected Arafat and the creation of the myth of a democratic, peace-loving, invented Palestinian entity. Embraced by the lemmings of the left and a hypocritical international community, this episode in futility has become like an albatross to the ancient mariner.

On the other hand, the Abraham Accords have resulted in intensified and warm relationships not only between Governments but, most crucially, between citizens. This is in stark contrast to the “peace” agreements with Egypt and Jordan, where interpersonal interactions are either rare or non-existent. In fact, the Hashemite Kingdom forbids Israelis from openly displaying religious items and actually confiscates tefillin and tallit from Jews at the border. Negative portrayals of Jews, Judaism and Israel still feature regularly in media outlets, which all contribute to a rather lukewarm if not cold peace.

Whether a warm peace will expand to other moderate Muslim countries in the coming year is still unknown. Oman has yet to give permission for EL AL to overfly its territory, which means direct flights between Australia and Israel remain in limbo.

Undoubtedly, until there is regime change in Iran and Islamic-sponsored terror is defeated, the potential for a major conflagration remains. The Iranian President’s questioning of whether the Shoah actually occurred and his regime’s quest to acquire nuclear capabilities and the means to use them must surely be one of the major challenges ahead. Facing an American Administration which is perceived as weak plus European democracies desperate to do business with Tehran, together with Chinese and Russian ambitions in the region, the prospects for a peaceful year ahead are dim.

Israel needs not only to tackle this direct threat but also deal with Iranian surrogates in Syria and Lebanon as well as Gaza, all of them supplied with rockets and itching to launch a conflagration. Add into this mix the corrupt PA and its President for life, liberally supported by an equally corrupt UN, and you have a perfect recipe for chaos and mayhem during the next 12 months.

A perfect example of how morally low the international community has sunk is demonstrated by the fact that the Iranian President will have the red carpet rolled out at UN headquarters in New York, and the media will be falling over itself to provide him with free exposure. It will be interesting to see what sort of a performance the various “progressive” groups, Jews included, perform in the face of Iranian trampling of human rights and terror-sponsored machinations.

Will the New Year give birth to more cockeyed ideas for peace?

If past performance is anything to go by, we can expect continuing sponsorship of a plainly already failed attempt to create a democratic Palestinian Arab State living side by side with Israel in peace and security. This worn-out mantra will no doubt be endlessly regurgitated again despite reality clearly demonstrating that this is an unattainable goal. The Ireland Government this week illustrated the logic of Irish diplomacy. Not only did they embrace Holocaust liar Abbas, but they also intimated that recognition of a non-existent Palestine was likely because, in their own words, “it would have a positive impact on the “peace” process and a two-state solution.” The long-suffering Irish taxpayers will also now have to cough up an extra 2 million Euros in addition to the 6 million Euros donated to UNRWA in order to perpetuate the increasing numbers classified as “refugees.”

As far as the Irish attitude towards Israel is concerned, this can be summed up by the following definition of Irish diplomacy: “the art of telling someone to go to hell and having them look forward to the trip.” Apart from our usual self-flagellators, I doubt any other Israelis lose any sleep over what comes out of Dublin.

As we bid farewell to the current year, the threats confronting Jews worldwide keep increasing, and I am afraid that this will escalate even further. Anti Zionism which is just another form of Jew-hatred, is gaining ground among the ignorant and educated alike. We ignore it at our peril.

On 1 November, Israelis will face yet another election, the outcome of which is still murky and uncertain. The American domiciled President of the World Jewish Congress expressed his dismay at the multiplicity of political parties vying for voters’ approval. He touted the “wonderful” two-party system in the USA as a role model for us to follow. He obviously has no idea that the current Israeli electoral process, flawed though it might be, at least gives minority ethnic groups representation and citizens a wide choice of parties. It also means that we can turf out incompetent coalitions. Looking at the shambles in the USA, where voters only have two choices and where they are stuck with lousy leaders for four years, it’s a no-brainer that we are better off. There is an easy solution to the problem of small parties having inordinate influence. Raise the threshold from 3.2% to 5% and that will mean small parties amalgamating and fewer of them in the Knesset. This will bring more stability to the process of Government.

Hopefully, next year will see even more Olim arriving here. In addition to those fleeing persecution and war, we look forward to increased numbers arriving from so-called free countries. With Judeophobia increasing and Jews being targeted on the streets of Europe and the USA, it is highly likely that young families especially will make the move. We can already see this happening as Jews from the four corners of the globe return to Zion. Another positive phenomenon is the many descendants of secret Jews (Anusim) from the time of the Inquisition and remnants of the lost tribes of Israel returning to the Jewish People and nation. It is a fulfilment of ancient prophecies occurring right now.

As we gather together this Rosh Hashanah, our prayers for universal peace will be as fervent as ever. Unfortunately, they will not be fulfilled unless and until those who promote evil and hate are first thwarted.

Realistically we must be prepared to face tough times. We have been doing that for at least the last two thousand years, and despite enormous sacrifices, we are still here while our adversaries are in the dustbin of history.

May we all be inscribed for a healthy year filled with smachot and positive achievements.

Revealing Maps: The Palestinian Vision as Taught in UNRWA Schools

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September 24, 2022

The present research deals with some 115 maps of the country appearing in the latest edition of schoolbooks issued by the Palestinian Authority in 2020 (few books were issued earlier and have not been revised since then) and used in UNRWA schools. Its source material included 125 books of grades 1-10 in the subjects of Arabic, English, Social Studies (including Geography and History), Islamic Education, Mathematics, Sciences and Technology.

The research aimed at checking the way this country – Israel/Palestine – is presented, in view of the ongoing conflict between the two nations that claim to be its owners. The basic hypothesis of this research was that the two parties see this country in its entirety as their homeland, which should be expressed in the maps appearing in their respective schoolbooks. In order to substantiate this hypothesis, two Israeli geography textbooks were examined too. They were officially licensed by the Israeli Ministry of Education and were issued by the Israeli Center of Educational Technology (CET), which is considered a central publisher of schoolbooks in Israel.

Indeed, there were found in the Israeli textbooks maps that present the country as one unit with no internal boundaries under the name “Israel” when those maps were not of political character. The following example is a map titled “Soils in Israel”, which also includes the territories of Judea, Samaria and Gaza (as well as the Golan Heights that was placed under Israeli legal jurisdiction in 1981).

Map No. 1 (Israel – Man and Space, Intermediate and High School grades (CET, 2007) p. 187)

A parallel phenomenon is found in the Palestinian maps as well. Following is a map titled “Physical Map of Palestine”:

Map No. 2 (Social Studies, Grade 5, Part 1 (2020) p. 17)

Other Israeli maps express the fact that the territories of Judea and Samaria have not been annexed by Israel (except for East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip has become a territory with no Israeli presence there whatsoever since 2005. These are mostly maps that carry an administrative character as they exclude these areas from Israel’s territory using the expression of “[a region with] no data”. Following is a map titled “Population Density in Israel according to Sub-Districts”:

Map No. 3 (Exploring a Country – Geography for Grade 6 [of] State and State-Religious [Schools] (CET, 2015) p. 69

Among the Palestinian maps in use in UNRWA schools, on the other hand, there are only few maps that show the contours of these areas. In the following example, the map does not say specifically what is found beyond them:

Map No. 4 (National and Life Education, Grade 2, Part 1 (2019) p. 62)

Another map treats the Israeli Negev region as part of Palesti beyond the contours of Judea, Samaria and Gaza:

“1. The physical features in Palestine variegate – plains, mountains, valleys and deserts. The surface of the Negev desert is estimated at about half the surface of Palestine. It is possible to present that by the fraction…”

Map No. 5 (Mathematics, Grade 3, Part 1 (2020) p. 82)

A third map titled “Palestine after the 1948 War” says specifically in its legend what is the area beyond these areas:

“[Orange] Arab territories

[Purple] Territories taken over by the Zionists following the war”

Map No. 6 (Geography and Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, Grade 10, Part 2 (2020) p. 8)

And back to the Israeli maps. The current political reality is described there as is, with the Palestinian Authority’s territories designated as area A, and sometimes its B territories as well, are clearly shown. It should be noted, though, that the PA is not a sovereign political body – even though it has been recognized by the UN as a non-member observer state. According to the Oslo Accords, by which the PA was established and which are still in force, it is an autonomous administrative body under the suzerainty of the Israeli Defense Force, which, in its turn, is subject to the jurisdiction of the Israeli government. Following are two Israeli maps. The first one presents areas A (colored dark brown), and the second one shows areas A (dark brown) and B (light brown):

Map No. 7 (Israel – Man and Space, Intermediate and High School grades (CET, 2007) p. 9)

Map No. 8 (Exploring a Country – Geography for Grade 6 [of] State and State-Religious [Schools] (CET, 2015) p. 10)

In total contrast to these Israeli maps (as well as many others in books examined by the author of this research), there is not even one map in the entire corpus of maps in use in UNRWA schools today that shows the State of Israel. Even in clearly political maps the whole country appears under the name “Palestine” only. Thus, Israel, a recognized sovereign state which has been a member of the UN organization since 1949, is erased from the maps used by UNRWA, an official UN agency!

The first map among the ones in the following examples, titled “Map of Palestine and the Levant”, presents the four states in the Levant region under the names: Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine:

Map No. 9 (Geography and Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, Grade 10, Part 1 (2020) p. 8)

The second example is taken from an English textbook. The map, untitled, presents the region’s states by their names with no additional details. Here again Palestine replaces Israel:

Map No. 10 (English for Palestine, Grade 6, Part 1 (2019) p. 55)

Another map, titled “Map of Palestine”, gives the names of the neighboring states:

Map No. 11 (Social Studies, Grade 6, Part 1 (2020) p. 9)

The exclusively Palestinian character of the country as a whole is emphasized in the following example. A map titled “Map of the Arab Homeland” presents the Arab states with their names. The name “Palestine” appears next to the country in its entirety (colored in red) with the Palestinian flag above it:

Map No. 12 (National and Social Upbringing, Grade 4, Part 1 (2020) p. 8)

This map appears in the textbook within the framework of Lesson 2 titled: “Palestine is Arab and Muslim”:

The exclusive Palestinian ownership of the country is emphasized within an exercise in which the student is requested to color the country’s map with the colors of the Palestinian flag:

“The second lesson: I am drawing my country

Preparatory activity: The shape of my country

I will color my homeland’s map with the colors of the Palestinian flag.”

Map No. 13 (National and Life Education, Grade 2, Part 1 (2019) p. 8)

And another example. The inscription next to it says: “Together we shall protect the homeland”:

Map No. 14 (Islamic Education, Grade 2, Part 1 (2020) p. 42)

Palestine’s exclusive appearance on the country’s map is also seen in a product sold to tourists which depicts the country’s map colored with the Palestinian flag’s colors, alongside the name “Palestine” in Arabic and English. Following is an example given in another textbook:

Map No. 15 (Social Studies, Grade 5, Part 2 (2020) p. 57)

If Israel’s pre-1967 territory is an occupied one, as indicated in map No. 6, then, it should be liberated. The struggle for this goal is hinted in the following illustration that presents the map of the whole country against the background of Al-Aqsa Mosque and a veiled face of what might be regarded as a member of a terrorist organization, under the title “Palestine is the heart of the nation”:

Map No. 16 (Arabic Language, Grade 7, Part 1 (2020) P. 13)

In this context, cities within Israel’s pre-1967 territory where Arabs live, or used to live, are considered Palestinian cities – even if the majority of the population there is Jewish:

“6. I will indicate on a silent map of Palestine the following Palestinian cities:

Acre, Haifa, Gaza, Jericho, Jerusalem, Nablus, Safed, Beer Sheba, Hebron, Rafah.” It should be noted that the bold-lettered names are those of cities inside pre-1967 Israel (including western Jerusalem) and their population is mostly Jewish.

Map No. 17 (Social Studies, Grade 5, Part 2 (2020) p. 39)

The next example, titled “Palestinian cities”:

“Activity 3: We will look at the map below and then will accomplish the following [requirements]:

We will give examples of Palestinian cities:

-On the coast

-In the hinterland mountains

-Cities located in the Jordan Valley

-Cities located in the desert region”

On the map, titled “Map of Palestine” appear the following cities: Acre, Safed, Haifa, Tiberias, Nazareth, Jaffa, Beer Sheba – all are Israeli cities before 1967, as well as Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem (of which the western part was Israeli before 1967), Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza and Rafah.

Map No. 18 (Social Studies, Grade 5, Part 2 (2020) p. 36)

Apart from ignoring the existence of Israel as a sovereign state, having presented its entire territory as occupied – with the implied notion that it should be liberated, there is total non-recognition in the maps used in UNRWA school of the Jews who live in this country and who number today some seven million people. That non-recognition is expressed by the total absence from the map of cities established by Jews in modern times, chiefly Tel Aviv. The message is clear: Jews are foreign to Palestine and they have no legitimate place there. Following is one example out of many: The cities appearing on the map – Safed, Tiberias, Nazareth ,Acre, Beisan (today’s Beit She’an), Umm al-Fahm (declare officially as a city under Israeli rule), Jenin, Tubas, Tulkarm, Nablus, Qalqilyah, Jaffa, Lydda, Ramleh, Ramallah, Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza, Beer Sheba. The missing cities: Tel Aviv, Holon, Bat Yam, Ramat Gan, Beney Berak, Petah Tikvah, Herzliya, Netanya, Hadera, Afula, Upper Nazareth (lately renamed Nof Hagalil), Kiryat Shmona, kiryat Gat, Beit Shemesh, Dimona, Ofakim, Shderot, Netivot, Karmiel, The Krayot near Haifa, and many others.

Map No. 19 (National and Life Education, Grade 2, Part 2 (2019) p. 58)

And another example: The cities the names of which are indicated on the map – Acre, Safed, Haifa, Nazareth, Nablus, Ramallah, Jaffa, Asqakan (today’s Ashkelon), Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, Beer Sheba, Gaza, Rafah.

Map No. 20 (Social Studies, Grade 5, Part 1 (2020) p. 55)

See also maps Nos. 6, 11, 18 and there are many more.

Two exceptions are cities established by Jews which appear on the map under the Arabic names of the desolate places where they were later built: Eilat (Umm al-Rashrash) – several times (see maps Nos. 11, 18 above) and Hadera (Al-Khudaira) – once (Mathematics, Grade 4, Part 1 (2020) p. 86).

Israeli maps, by contrast, usually show central cities such as Nablus, Hebron and Gaza in the areas of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip (and see maps Nos. 1, 3, 7, 8 above).

Hiding the Jewish presence in the country in schoolbooks used by UNRWA finds its expression in the historical context as well. Following is a text accompanying the map of this country and its surroundings in an English textbook. The text, titled “About Palestine”, refrains from mentioning the country’s Jewish past:

Map No. 21 (English for Palestine, Grade 10, Part 2 (2017) p. 4)

In conclusion, a simple comparison between the maps in UNRWA’s schoolbooks and their Israeli counterparts provides us with one conclusion: The Israeli maps reflect the existing reality, while the Palestinian maps used by UNRWA express the Palestinian vision. In that vision Israel does not exist, the whole country is under Palestinian sovereignty, the seven million Jews who live in Israel “disappear” – with their cities and their ancient history there, and the way of realizing this vision is by struggle. That struggle is explicitly mentioned in texts examined in former research studies and is hinted here as well (see map No. 16 above).

There is no way of justifying the use of these maps by a UN agency that is committed to the principles of respecting the sovereignty of each member state of the UN organization – including the State of Israel, total neutrality vis-à-vis the parties to the conflict, and the resolution of that conflict peacefully according to UN resolutions. The use of these maps by UNRWA betrays a gross disrespect of these three principles and the donor states should act vigorously in order to change this dismal situation.

Part X: The Peace Institutes

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September 20, 2022

Despite the daily accounts of the destruction of European Jewry, the leading American Jewish organizations believed that at the end of the war, there would be a significant number of surviving Jews who would face a multitude of problems.

In The Price of Liberty, A History of the American Jewish Committee, Nathan Schachner wrote that on February 9, 1940, the American Jewish Congress asked the American Jewish Committee to join with the Alliance Israélite Universelle, (an international Jewish organization founded in 1860 by the French statesman Adolphe Crémieux to safeguard the human rights of Jews around the world), and the Board of Deputies of British Jews in establishing a Peace Institute in Geneva under the auspices of the Congress.

The Congress had hoped that although this institute would be established by the World Jewish Congress, every Jewish organization in the US and around the world would cooperate with it. In February and May 1940, the Congress Bulletin reported on the institute, which would become “the instrument of the entire Jewish people for the purpose of obtaining our Jewish peace aims as well as united Jewish front in the fight for Jewish rights, security and freedom of our people everywhere.”

The proposal aroused much discussion in the American Jewish Committee, but they voted against the idea Schachner asserted. Members of the Committee believed it “inadvisable” to participate with the World Jewish Congress because it was “the symbol of the nationalist Jewish Weltanschauung [worldview] with a fundamental position that the Jews are a nation and constitute a separate political entities in the countries in which they live; a position which the Committee had consistently opposed.” They also felt that Geneva was not an appropriate location for the institute, since the city was surrounded by countries under Nazi rule, and that the proposed structure was too elaborate.

The Committee’s refusal to participate in this effort did not suggest an insensitivity to the many critical issues the Jews would encounter at the end of hostilities. At the American Jewish Committee’s annual meeting on January 12, 1941, the delegates heard a report from the Committee on Peace Studies describing the research projects in post-war challenges presented the Research Institute on Peace and Post-War Problems, which was under the direction of Dr. Max Gottschalk the 1941 American Jewish Yearbook reported.

The “magnitude and diversity” of these problems was so “staggering” that the Committee recognized that it would have been “quixotic to pretend” that its own resources or that of any other single organization could adequately deal with all these issues. Yet it did not believe that all institutions devoted to this work should be consolidated into one organization. What is essential, the Committee believed, was that all those engaged in this work should pool their resources to avoid duplication, and that this information be made readily available to those who could put it to good use.

Research Institutes

In addition to these two institutes, which began their work in 1941, there were the Research Institute for Jewish Post-War Problems of the Jewish Labor Committee, and a Research Institute of the War Problems of Torah Jewry under the auspices of the American branch of Agudath Israel.

In discussing the need for these preparations, Morris Raphael Cohen, Chairman of the American Jewish Committee’s special commission on peace studies, noted that in the US and the British Commonwealth, a large number of organizations had already given serious thought and study to the problems of ensuring an enduring peace. Among these diverse groups were the Federal Council of Churches, the Catholic Association for International Peace, The American Association of University Woman, The League Nations, the Foreign Policy Association, The Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, The Institute of International Education, and The National Policy Association at Washington D.C.

If Jewish issues in the post-war were to be seriously considered, the Jewish community had to be prepared to present their demands at the peace conference. They could not presume that the democratic powers would understand the unique problems would pose to Jewish survivors. Even the most dedicated friends of the Jewish people were likely to “gloss over” their immediate needs and fail to safeguard their equal rights, a lesson the Jews had learned from their experiences in World War I.

The institutes were also charged with countering the venomous antisemitic propaganda misleading many Jews and Gentiles in the US and provide a true picture of Jewish life under Nazi terror. If American Jews sought the cooperation of its fellow citizens, they needed to be kept informed. American Jews were the only group in position to provide this information.

The American Jewish Year Book of 1941 published the American Jewish Committee’s Report of the Committee on Peace Studies that outlined the issues: relief and rehabilitation, migration and questions about their political, culture and cultural status.

From the experiences of the American Jewish Distribution Committee (JDC) and other relief agencies after WWI, members of the Committee recognized that relief would be “of a magnitude and complexity far beyond anything we have ever thought of before.” They expected that more than 5,000,000,000 Jews in Europe and possibly even more in Northern Africa and the Near East who would be “in unprecedented heart-rending distress,” with American Jews being the only ones in position assist them.

The Committee realized that existing agencies, employing current procedures, could not provide adequate help. At that point, they had no idea of how the war would affect their own financial resources. Even if the Committee managed the “superhuman” effort of raising $100,000,000 a year, this would probably be insufficient to fund permanent relief for more than 5,000,000 people.

This daunting task of how to maximize the Committee’s limited resources, in view of this “overwhelming catastrophe,” required extensive study. Though the Committee members understood that definite plans could not be formulated at that point, they wanted to be prepared with information about the political, economic and social conditions in the countries where relief would be needed. The JDC’s experience would be invaluable in administering aid, yet this assistance would be augmented by “the relief and rehabilitation agencies that the Jews have themselves developed.”

“A Surplus Population in Europe”

With regard to migration and colonization, the Committee admitted that “in principle, the Jews are a surplus population in Europe.” Nevertheless, Jews must insist that have been natives of Europe for centuries, that no-non-Jew can claim his family had been there longer, and that Jewish labor and intellect have contributed to the development of these countries, and Jews have sacrificed their lives in their defense. Yet, no matter how entitled Jews are to return to their former homes, hundreds, if not millions of Jews, “will want, or be compelled, to leave Europe” at the end of the war. Questions of where they would go in terms of economic, social, legal, social affairs and climactic considerations, and how will they transported to their new homes, were some of the issues they needed to be addressed.

The possibility of a German-dominated Europe also had to be considered. This required a strategy to counter Nazi plans to expel Jews “to uncivilized territories, without regard to their inhabitability.” There were “reliable reports” that Hitler planned to transport Jews to Madagascar, where they would be promised autonomy. World Jewry would be expected to finance this plan or “it would be carried out in a more brutal way.”

An underlying assumption in this activity was the conviction, at least on an organizational level, that millions of Jews would survive. The institutes had the effect of assuring the average American Jew that there was “a body of Jewish men and women to whom the coming victory is a reality.” Raising the spirits of Jews who had given up hope was clearly an objective.

Significantly, these institutes generated much discussion in the Jewish and non-Jewish press. There were articles in: the Congress Weekly in February, March and October 1941, January and February 1942; Der Tog on July 29, 1941; The Jewish Spectator, March 1941, Jewish Frontier March and October 1941; Forward, July 1941; The Jewish Exponent, May, 1941 and January 1942; The Call December 1941; The New Palestine January and February 1941; Foreign Affairs, January 1942; The New York Times July and December 1941; Christian Science Monitor, August, 1942; Harper’s Magazine, September 1941.

Did the institutes represent an escape from dealing with the rescue of European Jewry? When large numbers of Jews were dying or seeking refuge, and crying to be rescued, why did a number of American Jewish organizations focus on the future? This is the question I posed to Salo Baron, professor of Jewish History and Institutions at Columbia University, who was known as “the greatest Jewish historian of the 20th century.”

Baron was among a number of distinguished academics who served on the Committee on Peace Studies of the American Jewish Committee. My question struck a raw nerve. In response to my inquiry, he sent a letter to Yehuda Bauer, a professor of Holocaust Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and one of the world’s leading Holocaust scholars, complaining about the impertinence of my question. As a student of Bauer’s, he wanted him to know of my audacity in asking such a question.

After chastising me, Baron explained that the institutes were created for pure research and constituted but one part of their organization’s total activities on behalf of European Jewry. The institutes developed in response to these real needs and should be viewed in this context.

Many years later, Arthur Hertzberg, a student and an assistant to Baron, told me that Baron’s parents and sister were murdered by the Nazis in Tarnów, Poland. Twenty thousand Jews lived in Tarnow before the war, but after Hitler, there were no more 20. This explained his sensitivity and sense of guilt I had awakened.

Israel Justified in Closing Palestinian NGOs Argues Renowned Human Rights Lawyer

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September 20, 2022

David Matas, B’nai Brith Canada’s Senior Legal Counsel and a world-renowned human-rights activist, recently penned an op-ed arguing that Israel’s closure of several Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) was justified.

In October 2022, Israel closed six organizations – al‑Haq, Addameer, Defense for Children International ‑ Palestine, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, the Union of Agriculture Work Committees, and the Bisan Center for Research and Development, after having designated them as terrorist groups. Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz has stated that the organizations assisted in raising funds for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) by forgery and fraud. The PFLP has been designated a terrorist organization by Canada and Israel, among other countries, for its deadly assaults against innocents.

Matas notes that “it is common for terrorist organizations to escape the rigors of the terrorist designation, to work through associated entities” and that Canada has had to deal with such scenarios previously.

As an example, Matas notes that in 2014, the International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy‑Canada (IRFAN‑Canada) was designated a terrorist entity under the Canadian Criminal Code, on the basis that it had transferred “million worth of resources to various organizations associated with Hamas.” Hamas had previously been designated a terrorist entity by the Canadian government.

Although Israel offers a legal process for groups to be removed from the terrorist listing, to date, none of the six organizations have applied to do so.

“By challenging the listings and closings publicly but not legally, Al Haq and the others leave the impression that they have no hope of persuading legal experts in closed proceedings, with access to all relevant information, that the designations were made in error,” says Matas.

Matas goes on to argue that their failure to legally challenge the terrorist designation indicates that there are solid grounds for Canada also to list the six organizations as terrorist entities.

Israel Behind the News

Jordan, Sweden seek further funding for UNRWA

Australia promises to double aid to UNRWA to 20 million AUD

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China in the Middle East

From S.R.

He said. She said.

Focus

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Ticker Tape

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Pray for peace – prepare for action

Revealing Maps: The Palestinian Vision as Taught in UNRWA Schools

Part X: The Peace Institutes

Israel Justified in Closing Palestinian NGOs Argues Renowned Human Rights Lawyer

Column from the Director