News Digest — 1/28/22
Bennett To ‘Post’: Israel Will Continue Its Strategy To Stop Iran Even If There’s A Deal
Israel will follow its strategy to combat Iranian aggression regardless of whether world powers reach an agreement with the Islamic Republic in the negotiations in Vienna, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post this week.
“The Israeli strategy doesn’t depend on whether there’s an agreement or not,” Bennett stated. “We will protect ourselves by ourselves. Even if there is an agreement, we’re not committed to it. We will preserve our freedom to act.”
Bennett spoke as talks continue with Iran to return to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “We and the Americans don’t see eye to eye,” said Bennett, speaking out against easing sanctions on Iran.
“A deal that will send tens of billions of dollars to this rotten and weak regime will be a mistake, because this money will go to terror against IDF soldiers and Americans in the region,” Bennett stated. “When the money enters Iranian coffers, they attack American soldiers… through their proxies.”
“Iran is very weak, with its currency depleted, regions of the country lacking water, and large demonstrations taking place against the government in Tehran,” Bennett said.
Israel has relayed the message to its friends in the US and Europe who are negotiating with Iran, that the mullahs’ regime should not get “a tailwind of money,” the prime minister said.
“The last thing you do to a terror state like this is to give them tens of billions of dollars,” Bennett stated. “You should do the opposite – you have to weaken them, give them a choice between the continued pursuit of nuclear weapons or the regime itself.”
One part of Bennett’s strategy is “to keep Iran significantly far from nuclear breakout forever.”
The prime minister repeated his comparison of Iran to an octopus, whose head is in Tehran and whose tentacles surrounding Israel are Hezbollah in Lebanon, militias on Israel’s border with Syria, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas in Gaza.
In the past, he said, “Israel fell into the trap and fought the octopus’s tentacles tactically. But the octopus itself is Iran. My doctrine states that in the Cold War between Iran and Israel, I won’t allow it to be one-sided. I want to weaken them and hurt their forces in all dimensions. They have no business in our region over 600 miles from home. I don’t want to see Iran in Syria or on any border of ours.”
Levy: ‘The Holocaust Is A Scar That Will Never Heal’
In honor of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy addressed the German parliament on Thursday (27th). Levy is the first Knesset Speaker to ever address the Bundestag, and he did so in Hebrew.
“It is precisely here, in this historic building – the German parliament – that one can grasp, perhaps ever so slightly, how man can exploit democracy. In this place, humans stretched the concept of evil. This is a place where values were lost, and where democracy descended into racist tyranny.”
“That is why precisely here, within the walls of this building, we sit as silent witnesses and relearn how fragile democracy is and are reminded of our duty to protect it at all costs,” Levy said. “Preserving the memory of the Holocaust is a heavy responsibility that rests on the shoulders of every generation.”
A photograph of Levy, Bundestag President Barbel Bas, and President of the National Council of Austria Wolfgang Sobotka was taken outside the Reichstag – that houses the German parliament – next to a monument specially erected in honor of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“The Holocaust is a scar on the history of humankind that will never heal,” Levy said. “Our joint photograph is a milestone in the cooperation between our democracies. I wholeheartedly thank you for your pledge to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and the important work in fighting anti-Semitism.”
Levy arrived in Germany on Monday (24th) and will meet with several high-ranking German officials while on the diplomatic trip.
Muslim Arrested For Building Snow-Rocket On Temple Mount, Displaying Hamas Flag
A Muslim man was arrested by Jerusalem Police on Thursday (27th) after he was caught building a rocket from snow and displaying a Hamas flag on the Temple Mount.
Footage of the incident seen by TPS shows a man building a rocket-shaped snow figure, with the letters “M-75” etched on it in black, and Hamas’ green flag wrapped around it.
Police forces were alerted to the site and arrested a suspect. His identity is unknown.
The M-75, a medium-range missile based on the Iranian Fajr-5 rocket, is produced in the Gaza Strip and was used in attacks on Tel Aviv. Hamas has produced the M-75 rockets using the drawings and documentation supplied by Iran.
The incident on the Temple Mount was the latest of several violent incidents perpetrated by Arabs against Jews during the storm that blanketed Jerusalem in snow on Wednesday night (26th).
At the Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City Arabs took to the city walls, flew a PLO flag and threw rocks at police.
Similarly, police forces clashed with Arab rioters on Wednesday night (26th) in several neighborhoods in Jerusalem. The terrorists apparently took advantage of the stormy weather in the capital to attack Israelis.
The rioters attacked police forces, municipality tractors working to clean the roads of snow, and the light rail train system.
Police deployed massive forces and arrested 45 rioters.
Arabs also threw rocks covered in snow at Jewish vehicles breaking the front and rear windows of one vehicle near the Armon Hanatziv Promenade on Thursday (27th).
Similar attacks were committed against Haredi Jews who entered the Old City of Jerusalem through the Damascus Gate on Thursday (27th). The attackers threw snowballs at them, knocking their hats off and insulted them with laughter.
Two Elderly Jews Attacked On Eve Of International Holocaust Remembrance Day
On the eve of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, two elderly ultra-Orthodox men were assaulted in London after closing their shop for the day in the north of the capital.
Wednesday’s (26th) footage from a surveillance camera shows the perpetrator – who was later said to be 18 years old – punching the two men continuously, brutally, and without being provoked until they were knocked down.
Posting on Twitter, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the attack “despicable.”
“This attack is a terrible reminder, on Holocaust Memorial Day, that such prejudice is not consigned to history, but remains a very real problem in society. We must stamp out anti-Semitism,” he wrote.
The victims of the attack were taken to the hospital for treatment and released several hours later.
The London police arrested the perpetrator and are currently investigating the attack as a hate crime.
Book Store Pulls ‘The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion’ Title From Its Online Store
Following a social media outcry, Barnes & Noble has removed “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” from its website.
Twitter users began tweeting on January 25th about an online listing on the bookseller’s site, which had been offering the famously fabricated anti-Semitic text for $24.95. The retailer said in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the book was fed automatically to the website from “standard industry databases” and that the company took “prompt action to remove “ the title.
Twitter users also objected to the description of the book on the site, which summarized at length the book’s fictional description of “a Jewish plan for global domination” and suggested that “its authenticity is still an open question.” The description justified its sale as “an interesting book which deserves to be studied the same way the ‘War of the Worlds’ radio broadcast duped many thousands…we neither support nor deny its message, we simply make it available for those who wish a copy.”
“Like, what is even this synopsis?” responded Rachel Kaplan, a San Diego-based writer on Twitter. “We neither support nor deny it’s message, what??”
“Nothing like watching major corporations distributing long-discredited anti-Semitic forgeries for profit,” tweeted Jeremy Burton, executive director of the Boston Jewish Community Relations Council.
In their statement to JTA, a representative of Barnes & Noble said that the bookseller draws on industry databases and does the “utmost to diligently monitor such submissions for violations of our content policy.” According to the statement, the book was never stocked in the bookstores.
“We regret that it was listed inadvertently. As soon as we are made aware of any such offending titles, we take prompt action to remove them in accordance with our policy, as we did with this title,” said the representative.
While Barnes & Noble was the main focus of social media users’ outrage, other top online booksellers such as Walmart, Book Depository, Thrift Books and Hudson Books were selling dozens of versions, the Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday (27th).
(jta.org; jpost.com; isnn.com)
