Israel and Abraham Accords: A Tale of two Parallel Universes.

 Video Of The Week - Israeli-Arab Summit in the Negev - https://tinyurl.com/2xcn7kwt

For the full article by David M. Weinberg go to https://tinyurl.com/2p8bw8k8

Israel seems to exist in two parallel, contradictory worlds. One is a false, hackneyed, out-of-date, and threatening universe where recalcitrant and violent Palestinian leaders are venerated, and admirable Israeli leaders are criminalized. The other universe is real, promising, forward looking, and stabilizing, and is marked by a peace dynamic that runs from Jerusalem to Dubai, Manama, Rabat, Cairo and Amman; and from Jerusalem to the most important leaders in the world.  Consider the following very recent happenings.

GENEVA and NEW YORK: A new UN Human Rights Council (HRC) report this week accused Israel of apartheid, just in time for the annual debate on “Agenda Item 7,” the permanent council item reserved for Israeli “human rights abuses” against Palestinians and other Arabs.

“The political system of entrenched rule in the occupied Palestinian territory which endows one racial-national-ethnic group with substantial rights, benefits and privileges while intentionally subjecting another group to live behind walls, checkpoints and under a permanent military rule… satisfies the prevailing evidentiary standard for the existence of apartheid,” said the ugly report.  The report was the latest in a litany of one-sided, baseless reports, vilifying Israel and engaging in a full-scale lawfare assault on Israel’s very existence as a Jewish state.

Saleh Higazi, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International praised the HRC report as “an important and timely addition to the growing international consensus that Israeli authorities are committing apartheid against the Palestinian people.” In February, Amnesty International released its own tendentious report accusing Israel of apartheid.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett conducted two days of discussions this week to solidify their new regional alliance for peace and security. They discussed energy, market stability, and food security, as well as development of a regional radar security umbrella against Iran.

The Crown Prince also unfroze $10 billion in investments in Israeli companies that he promised former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The UAE’s large sovereign funds will divide the investments between them. The first fund to enter the Israeli market is the ADG (Abu Dhabi Growth) Fund, which plans on investing $200 million in 2022 in Israeli companies, and a similar sum each year over 10 years.

Also this week, Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum visited Israel’s national pavilion at the GISEC Global cybersecurity fair in Dubai; an Emirati think tank published book on Zionism written by Tel Aviv University researchers; the UAE-based retail giant Lula began talks on operation in Israel; Morocco signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for a joint research and engineering center; and the Israeli navy took part in another joint Red Sea naval drill with the US, UAE, and Bahrain, under auspices of the US Fifth Fleet (which is headquartered in Bahrain).

UNFORTUNATELY, Israel seems to exist in two parallel, contradictory worlds.

One universe, dominated by so-called Western “progressives” in cahoots with Arab/Islamic radicals, disses rather than embraces the Abraham Accords and is stuck in a time warp where Israel is an evil actor.. It is a tragic, forlorn universe.

The other universe – real, promising, forward looking, and stabilizing! – is marked by a peace dynamic. The discourse about Israel in corrupt international institutions and in some aspersive Western campuses and capitals couldn’t be more different than the discourse in Arab capitals and other calm and considered decision-making centers. It’s confrontation versus cooperation, demonization versus solidarity.

 

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Biden Faces Fury over Revival of Iran Nuke Deal

Video Of The Week -New U.S.-Iran Nuclear Deal? https://tinyurl.com/4jpayheb

 For the full Article go to “GC NewsDesk” https://tinyurl.com/f4sa8aak

Washington: US Republican Jim Banks has slammed Joe Biden-led administration for returning to the Iran nuclear deal and said it would make the President “biggest funder of terrorism in the world”. In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Banks said, “This is absurd that the Biden administration would go back to a deal that was disastrous under Barack Obama and are now hell-bent again on renegotiating a new deal that rewards Iran for their bad behavior.

“Now, the only thing I can guess is that the Biden administration is so desperate for oil they would rather negotiate with terrorists than work with American energy workers to open up oil and make America energy-independent once again. But that’s exactly what the Biden administration is well on its way to doing.” He further said that Biden will be sending billions of dollars to a terrorist group by passing this deal.

“And if it passes, Joe Biden will be the biggest funder of terrorism in the world, and American taxpayers are going to be the ones paying for it. “And lifting a terrorist designation on the IRGC just goes to show that this administration is more interested in dealing with bad guys than dealing with the good guys right here at home in America to put America back on top, to put America back where it can be, project strength instead of weakness like this White House does every single day,” he added.

Former President Donald Trump had aborted Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal despite International Atomic Energy Agency’s certification that Iran was abiding by the pact, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Trump not only withdrew from the agreement but also re-imposed sanctions on Iran.

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Israel's rescue of Arabs from Ukraine

 Video Of The Week - Justice, Justice Shalt Thou Pursue https://tinyurl.com/4uwf4ys3 

Israel has done what it can to help its Arab citizens and other Arabs to whom it owes nothing to find safety in the conflict.

For the full Article By David May go to - https://tinyurl.com/mxmc83f8

  Russian invasion of Ukraine has given us an unexpected snapshot of the dueling realities and propaganda surrounding Israel. The truth: Israel has done what it can to help its Arab citizens and other Arabs to whom it owes nothing to find safety in the conflict. And yet for a substantial slice of the Left, Israel is South Africa reborn, a racist state segregating Arabs out for inhuman treatment. What actually happens on the ground – see Ukraine – doesn’t seem to dent this alternate reality.

What’s actually happening:

On February 12, with tensions mounting in Ukraine, Israel warned on its Arabic Twitter account, known as Israel in Arabic, that Israelis should not travel there. Two days later, the Arabic spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry tried to expedite the evacuation by announcing that five Ukrainian universities will allow Israeli students to study via Zoom amid the turmoil. Israel’s Arabic language social media messaging made sure its Arabic-speaking minority would face no language barriers while escaping Russian aggression.

Israel in Arabic’s pinned tweet from February 24, the start of the invasion, warns Israelis that the situation is dangerous and that they should leave Ukraine. The post linked to a website with specific instructions on how to exit. Israel in Arabic also tweeted the preferred border crossings Israelis should use, which crossings had Israeli officials stationed at them and how to reserve spots on buses to the border. To assist in evacuating Arabic-speaking Israelis, Israel dispatched its deputy consul in Turkey, Yara Shibli, a Bedouin, to the Ukrainian border.

Israeli-Arab parents have enjoyed tearful embraces with their children safely back in Israel. Popular Arab-Israeli media personality Eman Kassem Slimani praised Israel for rescuing hundreds of its Arab citizens from Ukraine, including many Bedouin.

And Jerusalem helped others. Israeli medics assisted a Gazan who approached them after seeing the Israeli flag. Israeli medics aided an Iranian. Israel also facilitated the evacuation of east Jerusalemite students fleeing Ukraine, most of whom are Israeli residents but not citizens. A Syrian sent Israel a thank you note for helping him. In another instance, an Israeli official invited a Lebanese citizen to board an Israeli bus headed for the border. Similarly, Israel helped individuals from Morocco escape.

But then there’s the alternate world of Israeli villainy: On February 1, Amnesty International held a press conference in the posh St. George’s Hotel in east Jerusalem to announce the release of its report condemning Israel for practicing apartheid. Even though Israel allowed this event to take place in its capital, Amnesty’s secretary-general, Agnès Callamard, called Israel a repressive regime. Leaders and officials in Israel, Germany, France, US and other countries have rejected Amnesty’s findings. But two weeks into Russia’s brutal campaign, Amnesty International’s Facebook banner photo still presents a call to end Israel’s apartheid.

In an interview after the launch of Amnesty’s report, Middle East and North Africa research and advocacy director Philip Luther acknowledged that Israel is democratic, but called it a smokescreen. In this view, Jerusalem’s rescue of its Arab citizens in Ukraine is just a ploy to whitewash its record and score points in the West.

What Amnesty doesn’t want to deal with: Israeli Arabs have full voting rights, serve in all professions, including as Supreme Court justices, and are treated equally in Israel’s hospitals. An Arab party is currently part of Israel’s governing coalition. And Israel has none of the separate beaches, bathrooms, water fountains, benches or other facilities that were the hallmarks of the South African regime. Nevertheless, Luther, Callamard, and their comrades argue that Israel need not resemble South Africa to be guilty of the crimes against humanity forever associated with South Africa.

Israel constantly wrestles with its identity as the world’s only Jewish state and its responsibility to represent its entire population, Arabs included. Jerusalem’s efforts to rescue its Arab citizens and fellow Middle Easterners from Ukraine are part of that struggle, even if they inconvenience certain narratives.

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Bennett "The Mediator" in Moscow

 Video Of The Week – Bennett Visits Putin - https://tinyurl.com/32p9t9yt

For the full article by Pesach Benson go to- https://tinyurl.com/565yyatf

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett returned to Israel on Sunday morning after making a surprise visit to Moscow to discuss the Russia-Ukraine crisis with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

From Moscow, Bennett headed to Berlin where he updated German chancellor Olaf Scholz before flying back to Israel in time to lead Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting.

Israel has historically kept a low diplomatic profile in international power games. So despite days of buzz about possible Israeli mediation — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had been calling for it — Saturday night’s news still stunned Israelis.

An Israeli premier was the first Western leader to meet with Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine. The mission had American and European blessings. Underscoring the gravity of the gravity of the situation, the Sabbath-observant Prime Minister departed for Moscow on Saturday morning.

It’s too soon to know if Bennett’s trip will bear any fruit. Certain aspects of his three-hour meeting at the Kremlin may not be known for years, if ever.

But the talks clearly have significant implications for Israel and the Jewish people. Here are four takeaways.

1. Israeli diplomacy is on the map.

No European country is suited to mediate. Russia is their neighbor. The European Union’s decision to send arms to Ukraine is the first time it has ever sent weapons to a conflict zone. Finnish public opinion suddenly supports joining NATO — which prompted menacing comments from Moscow to Helsinki.

Even ever-neutral Switzerland is freezing the assets of Russian individuals and organizations on the EU blacklist.

Spearheading an effort to end the war in Ukraine carries great rewards and great risks. Israel has opened the door on a new level of international diplomacy, which reflects three particular changes.

• Buoyed by the Abraham Accords, Israel has more secure standing in the Mideast.

• American and European trust in Israeli mediation seems to reflect that Washington, Paris and Berlin don’t believe that so many world problems will disappear if Israel would just make peace with the Palestinians.

• Israel’s insistence on striking Iranian targets in Syria — despite Moscow’s occasional objections — has apparently earned Putin’s grudging respect.

Those are all reasons to be optimistic.

2. Israel will be better poised to evacuate Jews from the Ukraine.

The biggest perk of being mediator is the extra access and leverage it provides.

If Russia is trying to extricate itself from the conflict, what better goodwill gesture than to create humanitarian corridors and safe zones for refugees — including Jews?

And if Russia proves to be insincere, having Putin’s ear will be all the more important if an emergency evacuation of Jews proves necessary. According to Haaretz, Israel had contingency plans in the late 1980s for an emergency airlift of large numbers of Jews from the Soviet Union. Those plans are being dusted off and updated now.

Israel’s last major airlift was Operation Solomon, a covert operation in which 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were evacuated within 36 hours amid a civil war in 1991.

3. Israel will be better poised to influence Iran nuclear deal.

Israel’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program were never taken seriously by the West. That could change.

That’s because Moscow created a new linkage between the Iranian nuclear deal and its own interests. Specifically, Russia wants written guarantees that its own trade and military cooperation with Iran won’t be impacted by sanctions the West is levying in response to the Russian invasion. Washington and Tehran panned Moscow’s demand as “unrelated” and “not helpful.”

But the U.S. is relying on Russian help to finalize the nuclear agreement. That could give Israel room to exploit improvements in the deal.

Putin also has leverage over Iran’s presence in Syria — when it chooses to exercise it. Once upon a time, in 2018, Russian officials talked of keeping Iran and its proxies at 85 km (53 miles) from the Israeli border.

Iran has also endangered Russians by smuggling weapons through the Syrian port of Latakia. Perhaps Putin will take Tehran’s recklessness more seriously now that Israel has his attention.

4. This is Bennett’s chance to shine.

When news broke from the Kremlin, plenty of Israelis imagined Benjamin Netanyahu eating his heart out. After all, It wasn’t so long ago that Netanyahu’s re-election campaign prominently featured him with Putin and then-President Donald Trump.

The campaign’s message was powerful. Netanyahu was the only heavyweight Israeli capable of standing up for Israel’s interests with the world’s super powers.

Yes, Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid have paid historic visits to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. But they were building on the Abraham accords which were finalized on Netanyahu’s watch.

Bennett put himself in this position by navigating between U.S. and popular Israeli demands for stronger criticism of Russia with sensitivity to Jerusalem and Moscow’s security coordination in Syria. Whether or not Netanyahu could’ve done it too is beside the point. Bennett pulled it off.

Mediating the Ukraine crisis is Bennett’s accomplishment and his opportunity to put a unique stamp on Israeli and international diplomacy.

What will that look like? Will he succeed?

Only time will tell.

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Ukrainian Jews Arrive in Israel

 Video Of The Week -Ukraine's Jews Face Russian Attacks -  https://tinyurl.com/2p87arc2

An estimated 10,000 Ukrainian Jews will arrive in Israel in the coming weeks, according to Israeli government officials.

By Zvika Klein

Israel's government estimates that around 10,000 Ukrainians will immigrate to Israel in the coming weeks, government officials told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday. 

The Ministry of Immigration and Absorption would not comment on this estimate, but responded saying: "The Ministry of Immigration and Absorption is prepared for the emergency immigration of Ukrainian Jews, and in view of the escalation in Ukraine, the ministry, headed by Minister Tamano Shata, is preparing all sectors to assist and absorb any Jew seeking to immigrate to Israel."

"In light of the drastic increase in applications for immigration from Ukraine and in view of the security situation in the region", the ministry said that Tamano-Shata and Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman agreed on providing additional budgets to actualize the emergency immigration operation from Ukraine.

The Ministry of Immigration and Absorption convened an emergency discussion last Thursday during which Tamano-Shata assembled an inter-ministerial team to remove bureaucratic hurdles for potential olim and to issue immigration visas digitally, in light of a drastic increase in applications. This is in addition to reinforcements in the Absorption Division at Ben Gurion Airport and the cooperation with the IDF.

The Ministry concluded, "We call on the Jews of Ukraine to immigrate to Israel - your home."

In the entire year of 2021 a total of 13,006 Jews made Aliyah from Eastern Europe to Israel. Therefore, 10,000 immigrants from Ukraine in one month is substantial and dramatic.

 As revealed by the Jerusalem Post, Israel offers fleeing Jews from Ukraine free shelter and meals. The Ukrainian Jews will be offered to stay in hotels for a time of two weeks till one month – with possibilities to extend this time further.

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