News Digest — 2/4/22
Israeli Intelligence Contributed To Killing Of ISIS Leader
The US informed Israel in advance of the killing of ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayishi on Wednesday (2nd) in the village of Atma in Idlib province in northwestern Syria, Hebrew-language news sites and agencies reported.
Also known as Abdullah Kardash, he held the “Israel file” in the terrorist organization. Israel provided intelligence to the US before the operation was carried out, Hebrew-language media reported.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who was in Bahrain at the time, said it was an “important and courageous operation.”
The US forces carried out a “determined and courageous operation,” which sent “an important message to the world that when America wants to do it, it can.”
It was the largest US military operation in Syria since 2019 during the Trump administration, when former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was assassinated by the US in Idlib province, in a village near Atma where his successor was killed Wednesday night (2nd).
President Joe Biden told reporters that the operation removed a major threat to the world, vowing the US will continue to pursue senior ISIS and other terrorists wherever they may be.
“The US has the capabilities to reach out to any terrorist threat and eliminate it, no matter where they try to hide around the world,” he said, adding that “no American soldier was injured in the Wednesday (2nd) operation.”
Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett tweeted, “The world is a safer place now that the leader of ISIS has been eliminated. I commend our great ally the United States and the brave American soldiers for executing this daring operation.”
“We must continue the global fight against terror – with strength and determination.”
The Amnesty International Hate Group – Melanie Phillips
Anyone with a functioning brain can see that Amnesty International’s claim that Israel is an “apartheid” state is as ludicrous as it is malevolent. It’s ludicrous to claim apartheid is enforced against the Palestinian Arabs living in the disputed territories of the “West Bank” because they aren’t even citizens of Israel. It’s ludicrous to claim apartheid is enforced against Israel’s Arab citizens because they have full civil and religious rights.
An Arab Islamic party, for heaven’s sake, holds the balance of power in Israel’s ruling coalition. An Arab judge sent a previous Israeli president to jail. Arab Israeli supporters are making strides in culture, sports, medicine, environment, fashion, diplomacy, education and technology.
Where Amnesty really ties itself in knots is over its needs to prove that the Palestinian Arabs are a racial group, as international law holds that the crime of apartheid relates specifically to the systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over another racial group.
But the Palestinian Arabs are not a race. Nor are they people of a different color from Israeli Jews, more than half of whom are Middle Eastern in origin and dark-skinned. They aren’t a distinct ethnic group. Nor are they a national group because they were never a nation – Palestinian national identity having been invented in the 1960s as an artificial construct solely in order to write the Jews out of their own history and destroy the State of Israel.
Amnesty International is a hate group, and should be treated by all decent people as a pariah organization beyond the pale.
The writer is a columnist for the Times of London
Ukraine Asks Israel For Assistance With Air, Cyber Defenses
Ukraine has asked Israel for assistance with air and cyber defenses, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Israeli media on Wednesday (2nd).
Kuleba said there was “very deep cooperation” between the two countries during a press conference. “We are also interested in deepened defense cooperation… in particular, related to air defense,” he told reporters.
“We would welcome the effort of Israel to play a diplomatic role between Ukraine and Russia,” he added.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told Axios on Wednesday (2nd) he doesn’t believe there will be a violent confrontation between Russia and Ukraine.
“At the moment, the Israeli assessment is that we don’t see a violent confrontation soon – we don’t think war is about to start there,” Lapid told Axios.
He stressed that Israel faces a complicated situation due to the large Jewish communities in both Russia and Ukraine.
“We have a duty to act with caution about the Russia-Ukraine crisis that no other country has,” he said according to Axios.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Lapid on Monday (1/31), asking Israel to convey to Russia a message of the need for de-escalation, Axios reported, citing unnamed Israel officials.
“This was the second time in recent weeks Blinken asked Israel to pass on such a message.”
(i24news.tv; axios.com)
South African Ex-Chief Justice Ordered To Apologize For Pro-Israeli Comments
South Africa’s former chief justice on Thursday (3rd) apologized for comments he made in 2020 pledging support for Israel in the pro-Palestinian country.
The apology came nearly a year after Mogoeng Mogoeng, who is a devout Christian, was ordered to apologize for misconduct by getting entangled in political controversy, “criticizing and proposing changes to the official policy of the South African Government towards Israel.”
At the time of the offense in June 2020, he told an online conference organized by The Jerusalem Post that South Africa deprived itself of “a wonderful opportunity of being a game-changer in the Israeli-Palestinian situation.”
The South African government supports the Palestinian cause, and in 2019 it downgraded its embassy in Tel Aviv to a liaison office.
The country’s Judicial Conduct Committee which probed the judge’s comments following a complaint last year, found the remarks “offending” and “particularly aggravating,” and ordered him to apologize, but he appealed that decision.
But the earlier decision was upheld, and on Thursday (3rd) he said in a statement: “I am now forced by law… to apologize unconditionally.” The appeals panel found him to have involved himself in “extrajudicial activities.”
He retired last year. Interviews for the new chief justice are underway this week.
He also came under heavy criticism when he in December 2020 publicly prayed against the quick production of the COVID-19 vaccines, calling them “satanic.”
Five Anti-Semitic Incidents Occurred Over Three Days At Boston Area College
Police in the Boston area are investigating a series of anti-Semitic incidents which occurred at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts over a recent three-day period.
Administrators from Curry College met with students on Tuesday (1st) after five different cases of anti-Semitic graffiti and hate speech took place on campus, the Boston Globe reported.
Milton deputy chief of police James O’Neil said that his officers are investigating the five incidents that occurred at the end of last week.
The wave of Anti-Semitism began last Thursday (1/27) International Holocaust Remembrance Day, when a residence laundry room was vandalized with swastikas and anti-Semitic language, said Curry College in a statement.
Between Friday (1/28) and Saturday (1/29) “incidents in four other residential and public spaces around campus” occurred, leading police to open an investigation.
“Our support and care goes out to everyone in our community, but particularly to our fellow Jewish and Black community members affected by these acts.,” Curry College said. “The college has both clear policies against hostile and hateful speech and a full commitment to creating a safe, welcoming, and diverse campus. These acts are contrary to all that Curry, its students and faculty and staff stand for, and will not be tolerated.”
“While we believe these incidents are not reflective of the overall respectful, intelligent, inclusive, and diverse environment at Curry College, we are addressing it with the utmost seriousness and care for any individuals directly affected and the impact on our entire community,” they added.
The ADL was notified about the incidents by Milton police.
“We are aware of a series of anti-Semitic incidents involving swastikas at Curry College and have been in touch with the school and Milton Police who are actively investigating them,” Robert Trestan, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of new England, told news outlets. “It is especially disheartening to see this so soon after the recent commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.”
