News Digest — 2/1/22
Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board Publishes Op-Ed Trashing Amnesty International Over Upcoming Anti-Israel Report
The Wall Street Journal editorial board published a scathing critique of Amnesty International Monday (1/31), charging the group with libeling Israel and questioning the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Released a day before the publication of Amnesty International’s new report on Israel, the op-ed cites a draft of the 211-page report obtained by the Journal.
The report which is being published on Tuesday (1st) is expected to label Israel an “apartheid state” and call for international sanctions.
“Israel has established and maintained an institutionalized regime of oppression and domination of the Palestinian population for the benefit of Jewish Israelis – wherever it has exercised control over Palestinians’ lives since 1948,” the report says in its summary.
The Journal editorial board accused Amnesty International of questioning Israel’s right to exist, noting that the report mentioned the year 1948 – marking Israel’s establishment – rather than 1967, the year Israel liberated Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
“The report treats Israel’s founding as the original sin from which all other offenses flow,” the WSJ editorial board wrote. “In the 27-page executive summary alone, we counted at least 26 references to 1948 or 1947-1949. Amnesty’s message is that Israel was created as an apartheid state and continues as such today.”
“This is a libel that distorts history. Israel was founded in the wake of the Holocaust with broad international support. The Jews who settled in historic Palestine had to fight to survive against Arab militias and national armies that wanted to push them into the sea.”
The editorial board called on the Biden administration to denounce the report and to prevent its use in efforts to impose sanctions on Israel or to probe Israelis at the International Criminal Court.
Herzog Opens Israel’s National Day At Dubai Expo 20, Celebrates Israel-UAE Ties
“Expo 2020 Dubai is a reminder of what can be accomplished when we work together to break down borders by connecting minds and imagining a different future,” President Isaac Herzog said Monday (1/31) as he launched Israel’s National Day at Expo 20 in Dubai, following a ceremonial welcome in the central plaza where “Hatikvah” was played.
Herzog reiterated the hope and belief he had expressed on Sunday (1/30) in Dubai that other Arab states in the region will follow the UAE’s lead and join the Abraham Accords. Expo 2020 Dubai is a huge achievement for all the participating nations and also a huge achievement for Dubai itself and its brave leaders, Herzog said, adding, “It is a remarkable celebration of each nation’s unique identity.”
Herzog said he was proud of Israel’s contribution to the vision of a common future, as has been seen on display over the past several months both in the UAE and in Israel, where he said he had the honor to inaugurate the UAE Embassy in Tel Aviv. “Israel is a country in which obstacles become opportunities and where the impossible is a tantalizing challenge,” Herzog said.
“This pavilion has provided a phenomenal taste of what we have to offer – from water tech and sustainable agriculture to public health, including smart cities and groundbreaking solutions for a circular economy,” he said.
“It has also been a stage for the beautiful mosaic of cultures, faiths, music, and arts that make up Israel’s vibrant society, and it has been a practical display of cooperation between nations, of the future we can all imagine,” he added. “This imagination turned into reality right here, when the UAE and its leaders bravely signed the historic Abraham Accords.”
That decision was not only to normalize ties, “but to shape a new tomorrow for the next generation of both our nations and of the entire region,” Herzog said, adding that “In the short time since the accords were announced, bilateral trade has topped $1 billion, more than 120 agreements have been signed, and a $100 million bilateral R&D fund was recently established. Israelis and Emiratis are studying together and learning each other’s cultures and languages, and 250,000 Israelis have already visited the Emirates, while Israel awaits the arrival of many Emiratis following the pandemic.”
Herzog heaped praise on the Gulf nation and its leaders throughout his visit, saying “part of the novelty of the UAE is the combination of an innovative spirit and forward-thinking approach, with deep respect for the glorious Muslim tradition.”
“We the people of Israel, as children of the same Abraham, share your high regard for religious faith bound with ingenuity. We admire the course you have charted.”
The Israeli pavilion has been visited by more than 600,000 people, including local officials, the general public, heads of state and ministers from around the world. 192 countries are taking part in the Dubai Expo 20 event.
Prior to leaving the UAE for their trip home to Israel, the Herzogs visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and were amazed by its beauty and grandeur.
Tuesday morning (1st), Isaac Herzog is back working in his Jerusalem office. But in all probability, he will be traveling abroad again in the coming weeks, this time to Turkey.
Elpis Winter Storm Piled Snow On Mount Hermon To Record High
Mount Hermon’s lowest levels were blanketed with no less than 71 inches of snow over the past four days, courtesy of last week’s short but significant Elpis winter storm.
Meanwhile, the site’s ski resort opened its gates on Sunday (1/30) for reservations only after it was forced to shutter last week due to the inclement weather, with snow piling on the mountain’s higher slopes to about 79 inches.
“I am pleased to say that Elpis’ peak is behind us, and I can safely say the storm was hard at work here,” Hermon Ski Resort spokeswoman Miki Inbar said.
“We had great stormy days here. The snow did not stop falling – we had snowfall up until Saturday afternoon (1/29).
While Elpis has mostly gone away, another short winter storm is already afoot and is expected to be accompanied by snow and rain. The snow will remain at the Mount Hermon area and is unlikely to reach the rest of the northern Golan Heights.
The Sea of Galilee’s water level had also risen by about 1.7 inches within a 24-hour period, over the weekend, thanks to Elpis. Since the storm arrived last Wednesday (1/26) the Sea of Galilee has risen 9 inches.
Now, the massive freshwater body is only 5 feet short of full capacity.
London Synagogue Targeted By Bus Blaring Anti-Semitic Message
A bus driving through the heavily Jewish Stamford Hill area of London, England targeted Jews leaving synagogue on Shabbat blaring an anti-Semitic slur on speakers.
The open-top bus drove past a Stamford Hill synagogue while playing the offensive phrase “Yiddos go home” over loudspeakers on Saturday (1/29th), according to a video shared by Shomrim, (a neighborhood watch group).
“An open bus was driven along Stamford Hill at 12:20pm with speakers blaring “Yiddos go home.” They appeared to be targeting Orthodox Jews as they left the synagogue,” Shomrim wrote on Twitter.
The video showed a red open-top bus driving through Stamford Hill. There were passengers on the top deck. A banner hung down the side of the bus.
London police told The Daily Mail that they had been contacted about the video.
The incident took place only days after two elderly Jews were viciously attacked by a man as they stood conversing on a street in Stamford Hill.
The bus company that rented out the bus responded to the incident with a statement on Twitter.
“We hired out our vehicle to what we thought was a church group,” Ensignbus said. “We had absolutely no idea that this would happen or was planned and we are now investigating the matter and will be speaking to the client. We are happy to assist the police with any investigation.”
The company added that “our driver unfortunately did not hear anything due to the general amount of noise from the number of people upstairs. If anyone has audio (or video with audio) of what was said, we would like to hear it to help with our own investigation.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Marked Holocaust Remembrance Day At Camp Where Grandfather Was Killed
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid on Thursday (27th) addressed the International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, saying:
“On March 19, 1944, my grandfather was sent to Auschwitz, and after that, he was sent here, to Mauthausen… He never wronged anyone. He wasn’t an important man. He didn’t hate anyone. He was simply… Jewish. So they took him in the middle of the night…. When he arrived here, the Nazis already knew that they had lost the war…yet they continued to kill Jews up until the very last moment…. My grandfather died in April 1945.”
“Grandpa Bela…sent me here today to say on his behalf that the Jews have not surrendered. They’ve established a strong, free, and proud Jewish state, and they sent his grandson to represent them here today. The Nazis thought they were the future, and that Jews would be something you only find in a museum. Instead, the Jewish state is the future and Mauthausen is a museum. Rest in peace grandfather, you won.”
(al-monitor.com; imfa.gov.il)
