News Digest — 2/9/22
Syrian Missile Explodes Over Israel After IDF Hits Target Near Damascus
The IDF said it attacked batteries in Syria early Wednesday (9th) after an anti-aircraft missile was fired towards Israel during what Syrian state television reported was an earlier strike around Damascus.
An IDF spokesman declined to comment on the Syrian report of an initial Israeli attack near the Syrian capital, which reportedly killed one soldier and wounded five.
But the IDF said it carried out a counter-strike in Syria in response to the launching of the anti-aircraft missile. It said the missile triggered sirens in parts of Israel, and in Judea and Samaria, then exploded in mid-air.
At around 1:00 am, an explosion was reported over the so-called “triangle” region in Israel, around Wadi Ara towns, including Umm al-Fahm.
“Following the anti-aircraft launch earlier tonight, the Israel Defense Forces attacked surface-to-air missile batteries and radar that fired at Israeli Air Force planes,” the IDF said on Twitter.
Syrian state TV said earlier that Syrian air defenses had downed a number of Israeli missiles over Damascus.
Israel launched surface-to-surface missiles from the Golan Heights and Syrian air defenses shot down some of them, Syrian state TV said.
“Israeli aggression” also carried out an airstrike earlier on Wednesday (9th) with missiles from southeast of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, state TV added.
Israel has mounted frequent attacks against Iranian targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces led by Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist organization have supported Syrian President Bashar Assad over the past decade in Syria’s civil war.
Israel has stated it will not allow Iran or its proxies to operate in Syria.
Wednesday’s attack is one of the rare occasions that Israel commented on a strike.
The last alleged strike occurred in late January which also targeted the Damascus area. This followed reports of Israel allegedly considering limitations on attacks in Syria to appease Russia.
(israelhayom.com; tps.co.il)
‘Whoever Harms Us, Will Be Hit,’ PM Warns After Terrorists Killed In Nablus
Israel security forces killed three Palestinian terrorists near Nablus on Tuesday (8th) after a several-week manhunt.
The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed three Palestinians had been killed in the incident. A Palestinian source said the men belonged to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is loosely-linked to PA Leader Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah group. The Shin Bet security service described the men as a “terrorist squad” that had carried out shooting attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians in the area over the past few weeks. The Shin Bet said the three were in a vehicle and were killed in a clash with security forces. No Israelis were killed or wounded in the shooting, it said.
Recent weeks have seen a number of stabbing and shooting attacks by Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. An Israeli settler was killed in a drive-by shooting in December.
On Saturday afternoon (5th), in the latest drive-by shooting attack, a terror squad opened fire on Israeli troops patrolling in Samaria.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Israeli forces had shown that “terrorists have no immunity.” He added, “Whoever harms us will be hit.”
A video by Reuters showed paramedics carrying the bloodied men on stretchers into an ambulance near a car riddled with bullets.
Monir Al-jaghoub, a Fatah spokesman said, in response to the killing of the three men, “This is part of Israel’s ongoing crimes.” However, he never mentioned the terror squad’s drive-by shooting attacks on the IDF or Israeli civilians.
Nasrallah: If Israel Could Beat Hezbollah, It Would’ve Attacked Already
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah wrote-off Israeli threats against the movement’s precision missile program during an interview with the Al-Alam channel on Tuesday evening (8th), saying that Israel would need a full war to eliminate the missile program. “If the Israeli entity was certain of victory over Hezbollah through war, it would not have hesitated for one moment,” added the Hezbollah leader.
Nasrallah questioned whether Israel knows how many precision missiles the movement has and where they are located. He additionally warned that Hezbollah would respond to any military operation by Israel.
“We do not seek or dislike war, and we understand its dangers and challenges, but we do not fear it,” said Nasrallah. “There are surprises we hide for any war, and for the first time, we are using the air defense systems for the resistance, but the goal is not to bring down the drones, but to eliminate their danger.”
Nasrallah added that the movement has been using air defense systems for the past two years.
His comments about the precision missile program comes just days after Defense Minister Benny Gantz issued an administrative seizure order against three Lebanese companies for allegedly providing raw materials to Hezbollah for its precision missile project.
Nasrallah additionally referred to recent attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), saying “the UAE cried out and asked for the protection of the United States, Britain and France.”
The Hezbollah leader also referred to Israeli and American threats to conduct a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program, saying that such a strike would be “futile,” during the interview with Al-Alam.
“This current American administration is very unlikely to go to war and talk about war as it would intimidate and pressure Iran,” said Nasrallah, adding that the US’ priorities are with Russia and China, not Iran.
“I tend to assume that what the Israelis say about Iran is intimidation, and most of the security and military levels contradict the implementation of a military strike on Iran because such a strike is useless,” he added.
The Hezbollah leader warned that any Israeli strike could accelerate the military nuclear program, seemingly acknowledging the existence of such a program, and added that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said many times that Iran is not interested in a nuclear weapon. Iranian officials in the past have denied the existence of a nuclear weapons program.
Nasrallah also warned that Iran would respond directly if Israel attacks it, saying such a strike would be “folly.”
Responding to accusations that Hezbollah is working for Iran and not Lebanon, Nasrallah stressed that “Hezbollah, from head to toe, is Lebanese, and it is from the Lebanese.”
“The resistance in Lebanon is a major national interest,” said Nasrallah, adding that “Iran is not interfering in internal affairs in Lebanon.”
The Hezbollah leader also accused the US of supporting Israel and acting as a spy for Israel in Lebanon.
Referring to ongoing negotiations between Israel and Lebanon concerning the maritime border between the two countries, Nasrallah stated that Hezbollah is not concerned with the issue and will abide by whatever the Lebanese government decides.
Nasrallah warned, however, that Hezbollah would not tolerate any attempt at friendly ties with Israel, saying the movement would not interfere as long as Lebanon does not try to normalize relations with Israel.
(jpost.com; reuters.com)
German Dictionary Says Word ‘Jew’ Is Discriminatory
Germany’s leading “Duden” dictionary, the world’s foremost German-language dictionary, is under fire from Josef Schuster, President of the “Central Council of Jews in Germany,” after their online dictionary entry for “Jude” – the German word for Jew – contained a disclaimer saying that the word could be used in a discriminatory fashion.
“For me, the word ‘Jew’ is neither a swear word nor discriminatory,” Schuster told German media Deutsche Presse-Agentur while pointing out that the association he heads is called the “Central Council of Jews.”
“Even if ‘Jew’ is used in a derogatory manner in schoolyards or hesitantly by some people, and if the Duden editorial staff meant well by referring to this context, everything should be done to avoid solidifying the term as discriminatory,” Schuster explained.
The head of the Duden editorial team, Kathrin Kunkel-Razum, told Deutsche-Presse-Agentur that the editors take the criticism very seriously – specifically that a discrimination disclaimer could in or of itself be perceived as discriminatory. “I understand that, but that’s not our intention in any way,” Kunkel-Razum said.
The disclaimer has been found in the “Duden” entry since 2007, and online since 2011. The Duden editorial team has since announced that they will review the disclaimer in question.
Report: Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes In NYC Up By Nearly 300% In January Comparison
Anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York City almost quadrupled in January 2022 compared to the same month last year, US media outlets reported, citing NYPD crime statistics.
Throughout the month of January, 15 different anti-Semitic incidents were reported. This is a stark contrast with January 2021, which only saw four incidents reported.
But as January ended, anti-Semitic incidents did not, with more happening in the city at the beginning of February.
Over the weekend, a school bus for a yeshiva in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with visible Yiddish writing was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti, including the use of the Nazi swastika.
Another incident occurred Friday night (4th), when a 24-year-old ultra-Orthodox Jewish man was suddenly assaulted when an unidentified individual ran up behind him and attacked him on the sidewalk, knocking him to the ground.
Another incident also reportedly occurred on the same day, in the same area where another Jewish man was assaulted.
All three incidents were highly criticized by the Anti-Defamation League, which is offering a $7,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the assailants involved.
The NYPD is also investigating these incidents as hate crimes, and is looking for information that could lead to arrests.
The anti-Semitic assaults on Friday night (4th), which took place during Shabbat, led New York City politicians, police, the Williamsburg Shomrim and the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn (UJO) to meet and seriously address the matter.
“We are grateful for the strong response, and look forward to a continued beefed-up-presence here to end this scourge of hate,” the UJO said.
