English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For August 17/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.august17.20.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12/54-59/:”Jesus also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? ‘And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? Thus, when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case, or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.’”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 16-17/2020

Beirut explosion: Lebanon’s President Aoun calls blast probe ‘complex’
Aoun Hedges over Eventual Peace with Israel, Rules Out Resigning
Aoun: Blast Probe Needs Some Time, Hizbullah Not Blocking Govt. Formation
Maronite patriarch calls for new government to 'rescue Lebanon'
Al-Rahi: No Unity Govt. without Real Unity, No Rescue Govt. without Rescuers
Bassil Slams 'Conspiracy', Vows to Keep Backing Hizbullah, Urges Productive Govt.
Bassil: We are the true revolution, the father and mother of reform
Geagea Says LF to Seek Parliamentary Petition for Int'l Blast Probe
No Progress in Consultations over Govt. Shape, Premier
Canadian businessman of Lebanese descent keeps pace with Canadian aid to Lebanon
Lebanon faces ‘biggest danger’, needs elections: Maronite Patriarch
Lebanese president doesn't rule out possibility of peace with Israel
Coronavirus: UNRWA reports four new deaths in Lebanon Palestinian refugee camps
On Lebanon that's Dying Simultaneously Like an Old-Young Man/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/August 16/2020
Hizballah’s ‘deep state’ prepares to investigate itself/Jonathan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020
Why Lebanon won’t make peace with Israel so long as Hezbollah is around/Seith J.Frantman/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020
After the Beirut explosion, Lebanon’s political elite should be forced out/Hanin Ghaddar/Sunday 16 August 2020
Business owners suffer blow as Beirut explosion wrecks cafés, galleries, livelihoods/Bassam Zaazaa, Al Arabiya English/Sunday 16 August 2020
Zarif wary Hezbollah could lose grip over Lebanon/The Arab Weekly/August 16/2020
Aya, my daughter decided to share her story of the tragedy she witnessed and to offer a helping hand for those in need/Karol Chebli Tueni/August 16/2020

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 16-17/2020

Trump to trigger ‘snapback’ of sanctions on Iran
Lavrov, Pompeo discuss UN meeting on Iran, says Russia’s foreign ministry
Phone calls open between UAE and Israel, websites unblocked after agreement
Kuwait's position towards Israel unchanged - Al-Qabas newspaper
Yemen's remaining Jews to be transferred to UAE - report
France’s Macron prioritizes peace talks in call with Abbas after UAE-Israel deal
Ethiopian PM congratulates UAE’s Mohammed bin Zayed on peace treaty with Israel
UAE summons Iranian Chargé d’Affairs over Rouhani’s Israel deal threats
Israel shuts Gaza fishing zone after overnight cross-border fighting
Two IDF Gaza strikes when Hamas adds rocket fire to balloons. Israeli man injured
No significant losses reported as rocket lands near Baghdad’s Green Zone
Two rockets fall inside Iraq’s Taji camp hosting US troops, no casualties reported
Egypt disposing of dangerous materials at ports after Beirut’s massive blast
Torrential rain floods in Sudan kill 63 since July: Interior ministry
Seven killed, more than 20 injured in attack on hotel in Somalia’s capital
Talks on Ethiopia’s controversial dam pushed to Tuesday
Turkey slams Joe Biden’s past call for US to back Erdogan opponents
Erdogan Says 'Sanctions and Threats' Won't Deter Turkey
Russia Produces First Batch of Virus Vaccine

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 16-17/2020
Jewish community vocal over Kamala Harris's Jewish husband/Alicia Chandler/JTC/August 16/2020
Five countries that could be next to make peace with Israel/Seith J.Frantman/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020
Base set by UAE-Israel deal must be built upon/Alistair Burt/Arab News/August 16/ 2020
Israel-UAE Deal is a Win-Win for Peace/Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/August 16/2020
The Ignored Genocide of Christians in Nigeria/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/August 16/2020
Iran: Self-Harming with Anti-Americanism/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/August 16/2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 16-17/2020

Beirut explosion: Lebanon’s President Aoun calls blast probe ‘complex’
AFP/Beirut-Sunday 16 August 2020
Lebanese President Michel Aoun says the probe into a devastating blast in Beirut is “very complex” and won’t be finished quickly. Responding to calls that he steps down, Aoun told French TV station BFMTV in his first interview with foreign media since the August 4 blast that it would be “impossible” because it would create a power vacuum. The interview aired late Saturday. The cause of the fire that ignited nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut’s port remains unclear. Documents have emerged showing that the country’s top leadership, including Aoun, and security officials were aware of the chemicals that had been stored there for years. The blast killed 180 people and wounded more than 6,000. At least 30 people are still missing. Aoun said the probe is divided into three parts. The first aims to determine the circumstances surrounding the cargo, the second where it came from and who shipped it and the third who was responsible for handling and securing it. “We had the determination to reach conclusions quickly, but we found out that the issues are very complex and require time,” said Aoun. When asked about what measures he took when he learned of the explosives in July, Aoun said the information came to him “very late,” but his military adviser was reassured that those with direct responsibility were handling the matter. “They all were informed,” Aoun said, adding that he made sure those who could take measures to secure the area were in the loop.Aoun said FBI and French investigators were helping because “they more than us have the capability and ability to find out the details of what got the ship here, what is the source and who owns it.” Aoun, who is backed by the powerful Hezbollah militia, said he asked for satellite images to determine if there was an air raid, saying he hasn't ruled out the possibility of a foreign missile attack.Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has denied his group has any role in the explosion and said any international probe would likely seek to clear Israel of responsibility in the port explosion, if it had a hand. Israel has denied involvement and so far no evidence has emerged to suggest otherwise. Many Lebanese want the probe taken out of the hands of their government, fearing that bickering among the long-entrenched political factions, notorious for corruption, won’t allow any results to come to light that are damaging to their leadership. Popular anger has swelled over the ruling elite’s corruption, mismanagement and political uncertainty. Under pressure, Lebanon’s government resigned Aug. 10. For now, there are no formal consultations underway on who will replace Hassan Diab as prime minister and no likely candidate has emerged. Asked about the public anger, Aoun said he shares the rage. “They call me the father of the people,” he said. “I am one of them.” But Aoun said “it is impossible” for him to step down because it would create a power vacuum. He also said the moment is not right to hold presidential elections. “The political and popular atmosphere can't take new elections before restoring calm,” he said. “They would be emotional and not a true representation of the people.”Aoun was elected in 2016, breaking more than 2 years deadlock in which Lebanon remained without a president.

Aoun Hedges over Eventual Peace with Israel, Rules Out Resigning
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 16/2020
President Michel Aoun seemed to leave the door open to eventual peace with Israel, in an interview with French news channel BFMTV. Lebanon has technically been at war with neighboring Israel for decades, with tensions sporadically flaring in the border area in Lebanon's south, stronghold of Iran-backed Hizbullah. Asked in an interview on BFMTV whether Lebanon would be prepared to make peace with Israel, Aoun responded: "That depends. We have problems with Israel, we have to resolve them first."His statement came in the wake of an announcement Thursday that Israel would normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, only the third Arab state to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel since its creation in 1948. "It's an independent country," Aoun said of the UAE. Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement has for years been politically allied with Hizbullah. Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday of the Israel-UAE agreement that "it's a betrayal of Jerusalem and the Palestinian people. It's a knife in the back."A key point of contention between Lebanon and Israel concerns oil and gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean, where both countries have sought bids for exploration in their exclusive economic zones. The maritime border between the countries is disputed. Aoun's interview was aired in the aftermath of the Beirut blast on August 4 that killed 177 people and wounded at least 6,500 more, with many blaming systemic corruption and negligence of the entrenched political class for the disaster. Many Lebanese have demanded the ouster of the entire ruling class, dominated by ex-warlords from the country's 1975-1990 civil war, including of Aoun. Asked by the BFMTV journalist if he had thought of stepping down, Aoun said, "it's impossible, there would be a vacuum."

Aoun: Blast Probe Needs Some Time, Hizbullah Not Blocking Govt. Formation
Associated Press/Naharnet/August 16/2020
President Michel Aoun has said that “some time is needed” for results to start emerging from Lebanon’s probe into the devastating August 4 explosion in Beirut.
“We had the will to reach a quick result in the probe into the blast that occurred at Beirut port on August 4, but we eventually realized that things are intertwined and require some time,” said Aoun an in interview with French news channel BFMTV.
“All hypotheses are still on the table,” the president added. The cause of the fire that ignited nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut's port remains unclear. Documents have emerged showing that the country's top leadership, including Aoun, and security officials were aware of the chemicals that had been stored there for years. The blast killed 180 people and wounded more than 6,000. At least 30 people are still missing. Aoun said the probe is divided into three parts. The first aims to determine the circumstances surrounding the cargo, the second where it came from and who shipped it and the third to find who was responsible for handling and securing it. When asked about what measures he took when he learned of the explosives in July, Aoun said the information came to him "very late," but his military adviser was reassured that those with direct responsibility were handling the matter.
"They all were informed," Aoun said, adding that he made sure those who could take measures to secure the area were in the loop. Aoun said the FBI and French investigators were helping because "they, more than us, have the capability and ability to find out the details of what got the ship here, what is the source and who owns it."Aoun added that he asked for satellite images to determine if there was an air raid, saying he hasn't ruled out the possibility of a foreign missile attack. As for the formation of a new government, Aoun said he wants a government that would achieve quick results as to the much-needed reform. “We’re greatly running behind on that,” he added. Aoun also denied that Hizbullah is “obstructing reform” or “preventing the quick formation of a government.”Asked about the public anger, Aoun said he shares the rage. "They call me the father of the people," he said. "I am one of them."

Maronite patriarch calls for new government to 'rescue Lebanon'
The National/August 16/2020
President Michel Aoun rules out steppin down or early result from investigation into port blast.
Lebanon's top Christian cleric called on Sunday for a government to rescue the country, rather than the ruling "political class", after the explosion in Beirut's port threw the nation further into turmoil. The Cabinet resigned amid protests over the August 4 blast that killed at least 177 people, injured 6,000, left 300,000 homeless and destroyed large areas of Lebanon's capital, compounding a financial crisis. Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al Rai, head of the Maronite church, called for elections, saying Lebanon was facing "its biggest danger".
"We will not allow for Lebanon to become a compromise card between nations that want to rebuild ties among themselves," Mr Al Rai said in his Sunday sermon. "We must start immediately with change and quickly hold early parliamentary elections without the distraction of discussing a new election law and to form a new government."The patriarch holds sway as the head of Lebanon's Christian community, from which the president must be selected under the country's sectarian power-sharing system. Several MPs submitted their resignations after the port explosion but not enough to dissolve Parliament. Under the constitution, President Michel Aoun is required to designate a candidate for prime minister with the most support from parliamentary blocs. The presidency has yet to say when consultations will take place.
Mr Aoun said he could not step down because it would create a power vacuum, he told French station BFMTV on Saturday.
“The political and popular atmosphere can't take new elections before restoring calm,” he said. “They would be emotional, and not a true representation of the people.”Mr Al Rai said the Lebanese wanted a government that would reverse "national, moral and material" corruption, enact reforms and "rescue Lebanon, not the leadership and political class". he blast added to long-simmering public anger against Lebanon's ruling elite, who are blamed for bringing on the country's worst economic crisis through corruption and mismanagement.
Documents have emerged showing that the country’s top leadership, including Mr Aoun, and security officials were aware that the 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that caused the blast had been stored at the port for years.
He said he shared the rage. “They call me the father of the people,” Mr Aoun said. “I am one of them.”
He said the investigation into the explosion was “very complex” and would not be finished quickly.
It is looking into whether negligence, an accident or "external interference" caused the detonation of the chemicals.
Mr Aoun's son-in-law, Gebran Bassil, who leads the largest Christian political bloc, said investigating negligence should be quick as it was "known and documented". But he said the cause of the blast was "a mystery that requires deep investigation".Mr Bassil, whose party is allied with Lebanon's Iran-backed party and militia Hezbollah, said in a televised speech on Sunday that threats of further western sanctions would "drown Lebanon in chaos and discord". The US has imposed sanctions on Hezbollah, which it classifies as a terrorist group, and US officials have said those sanctions could be extended to allies of the heavily armed movement. During a visit to Beirut after the blast, French President Emmanuel Macron raised the prospect of sanctions as a last resort to push Lebanese action on reform. Senior French and US officials have said any foreign financial aid to Lebanon must come with reforms, including state control over the port and Lebanese borders.

Al-Rahi: No Unity Govt. without Real Unity, No Rescue Govt. without Rescuers
Naharnet/August 16/2020
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday warned against the formation of a so-called “national unity government” that would not reflect “real unity.” “Let everyone know that there can be no national unity government without real unity nor a rescue government without rescuer figures,” al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon. “There can be no consensus government without consensus on reforms. Together with the people we want a government for the state and the people, not a government for parties, sects or foreign countries,” the patriarch added. He cautioned that the Maronite patriarchate “will reject and confront every settlement plan that comes at Lebanon’s expense.”“This is what the patriarchate has done every time Lebanon has been in danger,” al-Rahi said. Warning that Lebanon today is facing “the gravest threats,” the patriarch said Bkirki “will not allow that Lebanon be turned into a settlement paper among nations seeking to repair their ties at the expense of the people’s pain.”“The people want a government for the rescue of Lebanon, not a government for the rescue of the ruling authorities and the political class. The people want a government that would be harmonious with them, not with the external powers, a government whose components would meet over a reform project,” al-Rahi added. He also said that reform should not only be limited to administrative reform but should also entail “the reform of the national decision with its political, security and military aspects.”

Bassil Slams 'Conspiracy', Vows to Keep Backing Hizbullah, Urges Productive Govt.
Naharnet/August 16/2020
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Sunday launched a counter-attack against those who hit out at the FPM in the wake of the August 4 catastrophic explosion. “Although in 2013 we did not have direct responsibilities related to the incident, accusations and incitement have been exclusively targeted against us,” Bassil decried in a televised speech. “Doesn’t this remind you of something? Doesn’t it remind you of 2005? Doesn’t it remind you of the incitement, spite and accusations against innocents whose innocence was proved later, of the calls for toppling the president, of the international tribunal and of the demands for instant elections?” the FPM chief asked. He charged that parties who called after the blast for the president’s resignation and for early parliamentary elections were seeking “presidential, governmental and parliamentary vacuum; the disintegration of the state, and void and chaos.”“Is there a bigger conspiracy?” he asked. Turning to the ties with Hizbullah, Bassil said some criticize the FPM for maintaining its alliance with the party “although they have not exerted efforts against corruption.”
“We tell them that it’s because we have stood by them against Israel and terrorism, and even if we pay a price, it is for defending Lebanon. We defend them against the outside parties, but we’re not obliged to defend their mistakes inside the country and it is our duty to confront these mistakes like we are doing,” Bassil added. “We did not make a mistake in standing by Hizbullah in their war against Israel and terrorism, or else we would have been slaves for religious unilateralism in the region,” the FPM chief went on to say.
Bassil also said that the FPM’s support for ex-PM Saad Hariri “in 2005 and 2017” was not a mistake.“The least that we can do is to stand by our premier in the face of foreigners,” he added. He charged that the FPM’s domestic rivals want to get rid of it because it is “opposed to sectarian, financial and political feudalism” and because it is their “antipode.”“Externally, we are annoying to the countries that have schemes for Lebanon and the region,” Bassil added. He said some want the FPM to “take part in an external and internal siege against an entire Lebanese component and not only against Hizbullah.”
“It is wrong to endorse the isolation of a Lebanese component, even if that cost us a lot,” Bassil went on to say. As for the new cabinet, Bassil called for “a productive, effective and reformist government in its premier, members and program.”
He also noted that he is not seeking to be a minister in the new government and that the FPM does not want to take part in a government that lacks “the conditions for productivity, effectiveness and reform.”He added: “We do not aggress against anyone, but we will not allow anyone to attack us.”
“Hear me well: do not drag us into a position that we do not want. We are upright but not weak. We are not a militia but we are the sons of the land and we know the land very well,” Bassil said, warning domestic rivals.

Bassil: We are the true revolution, the father and mother of reform
NNA/August 16/2020
"We are before a catastrophe and a national tragedy that has struck our capital and country, denoting a huge shock to our people and to all of us...It is forbidden this time that anyone who has caused a tear in the eye of a father and a pain in the heart of a mother goes unpunished," said Free Patriotic Movement Chief, MP Gebran Bassil, on Sunday.
In a press conference held this afternoon, Bassil considered that "the spontaneous solidarity scene witnessed is the greatest proof of our national unity and its immunity," hailing the people's initiative, including FPM, in contributing to alleviating some of the suffering of the victims of this tragic explosion.
"It is no doubt that Beirut shall rise due to the determination, will, and effort of its people and the assistance of its friends," he corroborated.
On the moral side, Bassil deemed that "the sole consolation lies in truth and accountability.""We are facing a tragedy that took place in two phases and for two reasons: one over seven years due to negligence and the second in a moment due to an accident, whether unintentional or due to sabotage and aggression...In all cases, truth is required and accountability is obligatory. The difference is that negligence is known and documented and requires easy and quick investigations. As for the blast, it is enigmatic and requires an in-depth investigation," maintained Bassil.
"We are with every measure that would lead to truth and accountability, relying first on our security and judicial institutions to carry out their work in a speedy, transparent and effective manner with the help of all experts willing and able to contribute from outside. However, in the event that our apparatuses fail to carry out their duties, the door becomes open to all possibilities, and the claim becomes legitimate...All ought to be under the rooftop of the investigation and the law, including concerned ministers, directors, responsible staff, heads of apparatuses and judges who issued decrees...All are subject to the law...The huge mystery remains in the nature of the accident," Bassil went on.
Referring to the campaign targeting FPM in wake of the explosion, he stressed that "what happened was in the size of a conspiracy and not just negligence, especially since such unjust and false accusations are among a series of attacks we are exposed to.""We are targeted at all levels, personally, politically, and most importantly by the media, by holding us responsible for all misfortunes," he said, pointing to a "political assassination" aimed at FPM.
However, he stressed that his Movement is the "true revolution", vowing that it will not maintain silence anymore towards any insult or accusation. "Do not drag us to a place we do not want," he warned. "Our mistake is that we were silent, out of concern for national unity and stability, and also out concern for people and their feelings and suffering...We are the real revolution...We are the father and mother of reform...We have a clear conscience," he underlined.
Bassil called on the state to ensure security and tranquility in a serious manner for every home and every citizen, and to protect the buildings from collapsing and working to restore their heritage facet and prevent their sale and exploitation. He urged the state to facilitate the reconstruction of the damaged homes through providing the afflicted citizens with all financial support needed and to force insurance companies to pay their dues to those who have incurred damages, and to endorse laws that would exempt the afflicted from paying taxes on reconstruction and properties. Touching on the issue of reforms, the FPM Chief said: "Today the state is disintegrated and needs to be rebuilt, and priority is to prevent further destruction and chaos by ensuring security, stability and livelihood for the people, and this is not possible without stopping the collapse of the currency and the inflation, i.e. it is not possible without an integrated reform plan that has become known in all its financial, monetary, economic and social sections."
"Reforms require an effective and efficient government and a functioning parliament," he underlined, stating that the parliament council has been saved from a conspiracy and that priority at this point is for government reforms.
"Approving the set of reforms places us on the path to economic advancement and allows us to have a serious dialogue to develop the system, the cause of all ills and the reason for every failure we have reached due to a political sectarian regime...We are simply unable to continue except through a new national pact," Bassil underlined. "We are before a difficult and fateful year, either we fill it with serious work to develop the system and change the financial and economic model towards ensuring a decent life for the Lebanese and their free and unencumbered financial decision, or we fill it with conspiracies with the outside and against each other at home, hoping to turn the equations and turn against each other to improve conditions or impose conditions on the table of national dialogue," he noted. "Lebanon today is in a huge crisis, from which it can emerge if we affirm the will to coexist together...Lebanon must be renewed with all its citizens...What is important is that we remain present...The significant solution is on its way, and in order for us to be present, we only need to remain steadfast," Bassil underscored.

Geagea Says LF to Seek Parliamentary Petition for Int'l Blast Probe
Naharnet/August 16/2020
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Sunday that the LF will seek a parliamentary petition in order to push for an international probe into the cataclysmic August 4 explosion in Beirut. “As of Monday, we will begin collecting signatures on a parliamentary petition asking the government to endorse an international panel of inquire into the crime. At the same time we will send this petition to the U.N., seeing as this is the only way to reach the truth,” Geagea said following talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Diman. Turning to the issue of forming a new government, Geagea said: “We don’t believe that any government can be the solution at the current time in the presence of the same ruling camp.”He added that only a government of fully independent figures would be able to “achieve anything” amid the current circumstances.“We are totally and fully against the formation of a government of leaders or a national unity government despite our keenness on national unity,” the LF leader said. He added that “the real solution lies in shortening the term of the current parliament.”“In the presence of the current parliamentary majority, we will not reach anything, that’s why we will work on curtailing the tenure of this parliament, and on Monday the Strong Republic bloc will file a draft law for shortening parliament’s term,” Geagea went on to say.

No Progress in Consultations over Govt. Shape, Premier
Naharnet/August 16/2020
The binding parliamentary consultations to choose a new premier will certainly be delayed due to lack of consensus over the government’s shape and prime minister, media reports said. “The contacts carried out over the past 48 hours have not led to any result or agreement over the next premier,” Free Patriotic Movement ministerial sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Sunday. “It will be difficult to reach any agreement over the next two weeks,” the sources added. As for the stance of President Michel Aoun, the sources said the president supports the formation of a national unity government.
“It would be better to form a government of leaders, because he (Aoun) wants everyone to take part in the reform efforts and the fight against corruption, unless a certain group decided not to participate, opting instead to isolate itself,” the sources added. The sources also noted that in addition to leading candidates for the PM post Saad Hariri and Nawaf Salam, ex-minister Khaled Qabbani emerged over the past hours as a potential nominee. Informed sources meanwhile told the newspaper that “the consultations are mainly focused over Hariri, especially amid the clear U.S. and French support for him.”

Canadian businessman of Lebanese descent keeps pace with Canadian aid to Lebanon
NNA/August 16/2020
Canada - Mohammed Fakih, one of the founders of the Lebanese-Canadian group comprising Canadian women and businessmen of Lebanese origin, is expected to arrive in Lebanon this evening, coming from Canada, on a visit that will last till Saturday, to oversee the course of Canadian aid provided by the Canadian government, the Lebanese community and Canadians to aid the victims of the Beirut Port explosion. Accompanied by a staff member of the Canadian Embassy and a delegation of the Lebanese-Canadian Gathering in Lebanon, Fakih will be visiting the Lebanese Red Cross centers, the United Nations, and a number of societies under the banner of the Humanitarian Coalition (HC), to ensure that all aid provided by the Canadian government and members of the Lebanese expatriate community reaches the families affected by the tragic explosion. "According to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the aid is from the people and to the people," said Fakih. He told the National News Agency that his visit "falls under the clear message from the Lebanese Canadians to rebuild their country and stand side by side with Lebanon in its huge ordeal." In this context, NNA's representative in Canada indicated that "the Lebanese-Canadian congregation worked hard to raise the amount provided by the Canadian government to help Lebanon in wake of the explosion, from five million dollars to thirty million dollars."

Lebanon faces ‘biggest danger’, needs elections: Maronite Patriarch
Reuters/Sunday 16 August 2020
Lebanon’s top Christian cleric called on Sunday for early parliamentary elections and a government formed to rescue the country rather than the ruling “political class” after the vast explosion in Beirut’s port threw the nation into turmoil.
The now-caretaker cabinet resigned amid protests over the August 4 blast that killed more than 172 people, injured 6,000, left 300,000 homeless and destroyed swathes of the Mediterranean city, compounding a deep financial crisis.
Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, who holds sway in Lebanon as head of the Maronite church from which the head of state must be drawn under sectarian power-sharing, warned that Lebanon was today facing “its biggest danger.”
“We will not allow for Lebanon to become a compromise card between nations that want to rebuild ties amongst themselves,” al-Rai said in a Sunday sermon, without naming any countries.
“We must start immediately with change and quickly hold early parliamentary elections without the distraction of discussing a new election law and to form a new government.”Several MPs submitted their resignations over the port explosion but not in the number needed to dissolve parliament.
Under the constitution, President Michel Aoun is required to designate a candidate for prime minister with the most support from parliamentary blocs. The presidency has yet to say when consultations will take place. There has been a flurry of Western and regional diplomacy after the blast, which fueled public anger at politicians already accused of corruption and mismanagement. A financial meltdown has ravaged the currency and froze depositors out of their savings. Senior French and US officials have linked any foreign financial aid with implementation of long-demanded reforms, including state control over the port and Lebanese borders. Iran, seen as a major player in Lebanon through backing the Shiite movement Hezbollah that helped form the outgoing cabinet, has said the international community should not take advantage of Lebanon’s pain to exert its will. Al-Rai said Lebanese want a government that would reverse “national, moral and material” corruption, enact reforms and “rescue Lebanon, not the leadership and political class.”
Explosion ‘mystery’
Aoun has said the investigation is looking into whether negligence, an accident or “external interference” caused the detonation of more than 2,000 tons of ammonium nitrate warehoused for years without safety measures.
Aoun’s son-in-law Gebran Bassil, who heads the largest Christian political bloc, said probing negligence should be quick as it was “known and documented,” but that the blast itself “is a mystery that requires deep investigation.”
Bassil, whose party is allied with Hezbollah, also said in a televised speech on Sunday that threats of further Western sanctions would “drown Lebanon in chaos and discord.”His party would not “betray or backstab a Lebanese or act with those abroad against domestic interests,” he said. The United States has imposed sanctions on Hezbollah, which it classifies as a terrorist group. US officials have said those sanctions could be extended beyond direct affiliates of the heavily armed movement to its allies. During a visit to Beirut after the blast, French President Emmanuel Macron raised the prospect of sanctions as a last resort to spur Lebanese action on reform.
 

Lebanese president doesn't rule out possibility of peace with Israel
Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020
Concerning whether Lebanon would consider making peace with Israel, Aoun stated "That depends. We have problems with Israel and we have to resolve them first."Lebanese President Michel Aoun expressed willingness to consider peace talks with Israel in an interview with French BFM TV news channel on Saturday night, just days after the United Arab Emirates signed a historic normalization deal with Israel. In response to a question concerning whether Lebanon would consider making peace with Israel, Aoun stated, "That depends. We have problems with Israel, and we have to resolve them first."
Aoun did not specify what problems would need to be resolved. Recall, Aoun, represents Lebanon, and is an ally with the Hezbollah terrorist group. In 2006, Aoun signed a formal agreement of alliance between his Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah, and has consistently backed the Shi’ite group ever since.
In remarks made after his 2006 election aimed at Hezbollah backers, Aoun vowed to "release what is left of our lands from the Israeli occupation," referring to contested territories along the border with the Jewish state. Concerning the recent normalization deal signed between the UAE and Israel, Aoun stated that the UAE is an "independent country." In a statement made concerning neutrality in July, Aoun stated that Lebanon will "not attack anyone," but is "obliged to defend" itself, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. In a television interview in 2005, Aoun pointed to peace deals made between Israel and Jordan and Egypt and stressed that "Lebanon, which has been resisting for 35 years, cannot continue to resist Israel all by itself. It cannot go against the general Arab trend," according to MEMRI. He added that he was "not calling for peace" and that Lebanon would be the "last to sign a peace agreement with Israel."The statements on Saturday come amid continued tensions between Hezbollah and Israel and claims in Lebanon and Iran that Israel was behind the blast at the Beirut Port that killed 178 people and destroyed much of the nation's capital.
In the interview on Saturday night, Aoun said all hypotheses remained open in the investigation into the blast at the port of Beirut that wrecked huge swathes of the capital. On Friday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned that if it was found that Israel was responsible for the blast, it would pay an "equal price," according to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV. The Hezbollah leader called the deal between the UAE and Israel a "stab in the back."Nasrallah added that the terror group still intended to respond to the killing of a Hezbollah member in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Damascus last month, saying that it was a "matter of time."
Reuters contributed to this report.

Coronavirus: UNRWA reports four new deaths in Lebanon Palestinian refugee camps
AFP/Sunday 16 August 2020
The UN Palestinian refugee agency Sunday confirmed four new COVID-19 deaths in camps in Lebanon, calling for vigilance in observing hygiene measures as infections rise across the country. “During the past 24 hours, four deaths have been recorded among Palestine refugees” in Lebanon, UNRWA said in a statement. This brings to eight the total number of Palestinian refugees who have died from the COVID-19 illness since Lebanon first recorded an outbreak of the virus in February. Visit our dedicated coronavirus site here for all the latest updates. The UN agency, which provides health and education services to the Palestinians, called for vigilance in observing measures to combat the spread of the virus in the densely populated camps. “If prevention is not adhered to, things may get out of control in the Palestine refugee camps in Lebanon,” the statement said. A spokesperson for the UN agency told AFP that particular concern focused on the largest, most-populous camp of Ain al-Hilweh, near the southern city of Sidon. Lebanon has seen a spike in coronavirus-related cases and deaths, including 397 new infections on Saturday alone. That brought the total number of infections to 8,442 cases, including 97 deaths since the start of the outbreak in February. A planned fresh lockdown was abandoned in the wake of a massive explosion that ripped through large parts of the capital Beirut on August 4. The disaster sent thousands of people into the streets in the ensuing days, seeking medical attention, helping clean up and distribute aid and protesting in droves against the government, largely blamed for negligence that led to the explosion at the port. The Mediterranean country’s health services were already straining under the pandemic crisis before the blast, which killed nearly 200 people and injured at least 6,500 others.

On Lebanon that's Dying Simultaneously Like an Old-Young Man
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/August 16/2020
Could one die while he is an elder and yet a young man at the same time? This Lebanon's state today.
The horrifying and incomparable crime at Beirut’s port declared the country’s death at its 100 years of age. It can be added that omens of death have always been murmured throughout this country’s history, during both of its first and second republics. In the first republic, there were the 1958, 1969, and 1973 before the 1975 war, which lasted 14 years but was not the last of our sorrows. The country was 32 years old at the time. In the second republic, there were 1996, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2019-2020, in addition to the long periods during which parliament had been suspended or there was a presidential vacuum and forming governments had been difficult.
Then came the crime of genocidal nature. The Lebanese who had been awaiting the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s verdict on Rafic Hariri's assassination, are now awaiting an international investigation into a bitter and more serious crime. The people of Lebanon are in absolute despair.
The Lebanese project has always been difficult, and it has always had a strong propensity to die out. But now, with hundreds dead, thousands injured and hundreds of thousands displaced and suffering, all the pillars of the country are collapsing:
- Its system of governance and the class that governed it are collapsing. In its bankruptcy, it can do nothing but declare a state of emergency and hide behind the military's authority.
- Its economic system, which is closely tied up to politicians, is collapsing. The banks, which had been the economy's major source of pride, are now reeling.
- The state of affairs wherein amassing arms and establishing parallel armies that drag the country into avoidable regional conflicts is collapsing.
- A cultural system, with all its faces and different orientations, is collapsing, as it is incapable of taking on the tasks presented by this difficult project.
- Despite signs to the contrary, some of them empty symbols, what remains of "sectarian coexistence", which was the backbone of the Lebanese regime and national consensus, is collapsing.
- The tide of immigration is rising, especially among potential innovators: The educated and qualified young men and women, and those in the upper half of the social pyramid. All kinds of institutions are deteriorating, from universities to hospitals ... Until further notice, Lebanon will not have cities or ports...
These crises befall the country amid a major economic crisis that has recently been crowned by the recent disaster and the need for reconstruction.
It has become difficult to envision traditional methods solving things, to say nothing of the traditional political elite, while there are no substantial alternative political forces that cut across groups and sects on the horizon. As for the world’s ability to provide aid, it remains limited and is in doubt for several reasons, some of which have to do with Lebanon and others with the world: The massive volume of assistance required amid a global economic crisis, and also amid internal discord, rampant corruption and hesitation to reform, Hezbollah’s weapons, and conflicting positions amongst influential regional and international sates. All of this, and we have not gotten to the investigation yet, while its process and revelations may conclusively destroy what is left of the superficial peace.
In other words: “Lebanon’s revival”, this time, is far less likely than its death. Who knows, after a short while, the situation in Lebanon and Beirut may devolve into desertification, as happened to other devastated cities and countries (Baghdad after the conquest of Hulagu in 1258?).
The pain and grief invoked by this image are compounded by the fact that Lebanon remains an urgent need, not only for itself but for the entire region as well.
What is meant here is the freedom its elected parliament allows, its free press, and the parties and unions that are freely established and free to compete. What is also meant here is an economic and cultural openness to the world, especially the West, and a relatively wide margin of freedom of thought and freedom to do what one pleases with his or her body. What is meant is a formula that managed to evade transformation into a military regime and avoided its repression, and did not impose an official ideology on society that defines right and wrong. What is meant is that minorities did not feel, at least not in times of normalcy, afraid because they are minorities. What is meant here is the role played by this small country (when it had not yet been a country) in what has become known as the "Arab Renaissance.”
Reality is seldom removed from its idea, nor is an idea often removed from its reality, as is the case in Lebanon today. Thus, the dying country stops being merely a country, but rather a symbol of a mind-set and relationship that we neglected and mistreated until it eventually left us.
In this sense, Lebanon will die young, its people and the region will lose a lot as a result of its death. They will lose an image of the future, a project to emulate, and a potential path to modernity.
This is what justifies including the current - latest Beirut's disaster amongst the major disasters faced by Levantine Arabs: The 1948 Nakba in Palestine, the 1967 Arab defeat, the rise of military and security regimes, and the Khomeinist revolution in Iran... and this is the path we are walking down.

Hizballah’s ‘deep state’ prepares to investigate itself
Jonathan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020
The death toll in the August 4 explosion at the Beirut port has now reached 163. More than 6,000 people were injured. Large parts of the city were destroyed. The latest information detailed this week by Reuters suggests that the Lebanese authorities were warned in the weeks prior to the explosion of the need to secure the 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in Hangar 12 at the port.
Public anger in Lebanon is now at white heat. Demonstrators in Beirut this week occupied a number of government buildings. The resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab and a number of other ministers has had little effect on the public mood. The resignation will not trigger elections, or anything resembling real change. Lebanon has long experience with ‘caretaker’ governments whose terms stretch on for months or even years, lacking any mandate or capability for taking significant decisions.
The focus of public anger is on the corrupt, shoddy and inefficient nature of governance in Lebanon. The explosion at the port was the most extreme and dramatic manifestation of a deep decay infecting every part of Lebanese public life and infrastructure. This is a country well on the way towards ‘failed state’ status. In March, Lebanon for the first time defaulted on $1.2 billion in foreign debts. The Lebanese pound has experienced a 70% drop in value since October. The country is experiencing hyperinflation.
But while the focus of international coverage of Lebanon since the blast has been on the corrupt, graft-ridden and inefficient nature of Lebanese public life, this is only part of the picture of the country’s malaise – and not the most significant element.
Beneath the morass of Lebanon’s debased political culture, there is another structure. This structure is not, in general, corrupt. It is not inefficient. It is not unaware of where its assets are placed, and it is not subject to replacement by elections, or by street demonstrations. This structure is the Hizballah deep state. It is the true arbiter of power in Lebanon, both visibly and invisibly.
On the overt level, the parliamentary bloc controlled by Hizballah maintains control of 74 seats in the 128 member parliament. This enabled it to dictate the composition of the now collapsing Cabinet (19 out of 30 portfolios were affiliated with its bloc). It will give Hizballah a powerful voice in deciding the content of its replacement.
Hizballah possesses a military force, according to an estimate by Janes Information Group, of 25,000 full time fighters, along with 20-30,000 reservists. The official army, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), has 72,000 personnel. But it is riven with sectarian division. Thus, Hizballah has an armed capacity in Lebanon superior to all competitors, including the army of the nominal state.
But it is at the unseen level that the power of the Hizballah deep state is at its most profound. The head of the country’s most powerful security organ, the General Directorate of General Security (GSDG) is General Abbas Ibrahim. Ibrahim is a close ally of Hizballah. This is no great secret in Lebanon. Abbas Ibrahim is close to and appears regularly in public with Wafiq Safa, the head of Hizballah’s security apparatus. Safa, meanwhile, as described by Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt with admirable simplicity, ‘decides what the army and security forces can do.’
Behind Wafiq Safa, is Hizballah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. And behind him is the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is the structure against which there is no right of appeal in Lebanon.
The GSDG, as the main internal security service, is set to play a prominent role in the internal investigation of the explosion at the port.
Ibrahim’s friend and comrade Wafiq Safa, meanwhile, was described by the US Treasury Department in July 2019 as having ‘exploited Lebanon’s ports and border crossings to smuggle contraband and facilitate travel on behalf of Hizballah, undermining the security and safety of the Lebanese people, while also draining valuable import duties and revenue away from the Lebanese government.’ That is, Hizballah’s deep state is about to investigate itself.
It is not difficult to imagine the results of the Hizballah power structure’s self-investigation. The ‘mystery’ of who exactly owned 2750 tonnes of an explosive material known to be favored by Hizballah, in a port known to be under the security control of Hizballah, will no doubt be deemed another of the baffling riddles of the Orient.
It is important, nevertheless, that any remaining obscurity regarding who really holds power in Lebanon be dispelled. One enthusiastic supporter of Hizballah tweeted this week, ‘The Lebanese government can resign 100 times. But Hizballah wont disarm.’ That succinctly sums up the reality.
It is the Hizballah power structure which prevents the possibility of normal practices at Lebanon’s entry and exit points. It does so because these points, and the clandestine transport and storage of war materiel at and through them, are essential elements in its deployment for a future conflict with Israel.
If a new Prime minister is found, a new Cabinet cobbled together, a ‘national unity’ government declared, and international largesse then piled on Lebanon, the beneficiaries of the blast in the port will be the Hizballah power structure.
This would come as a welcome relief for the movement at a time when it is facing unprecedented difficulties. As the dominant force in government, Hizballah has been unable to shield itself from public criticism for the disastrous economic collapse of recent months. International financial bodies are reluctant to bail Lebanon out without a commitment to financial transparency. The Hizballah power structure prefers opacity, behind which it conceals itself. As a result, having defaulted on its debts, Lebanon remains without a bailout package from the IMF.
The Gulf countries that might have once helped have turned their backs on Lebanon, because of its domination by Hizballah.
Iran, Hizballah’s patron, is unable to offer substantial help because the US policy of maximum pressure has placed it deep in its own economic crisis. The full results of Iran’s hostile takeover of Lebanon are thus currently becoming apparent.
Khalid al-Bari, writing in the Saudi Sharq al-Awsat newspaper this week, noted that ‘Hezbollah is the only group of criminals who creates transnational security, military, and economic crises that destroy lives, and no one touches them; they are here to stay.’
Western governments need to grasp the fact of Hizballah and Iran’s full spectrum ownership of Lebanon at the present time. They should then understand the implications of this. And they should then design policy to contain or change it. Anything else risks turning the disastrous explosion at the Beirut port into a windfall for the true rulers of Lebanon – the IRGC and its local franchise, Hizballah.

Why Lebanon won’t make peace with Israel so long as Hezbollah is around
Seith J.Frantman/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020
Discussions about countries making peace with Israel come in the wake of the United Arab Emirates agreeing to normalize relations with the Jewish state.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun made a cryptic comment over the weekend when asked about Lebanon and Israel making peace. “That depends,” Asia Times quoted him as saying. “We have problems with Israel, and we have to resolve them first.”
This was taken to mean that such a peace was possible. It isn’t. Discussions about countries making peace with Israel come in the wake of the United Arab Emirates agreeing to normalize relations with the Jewish state. For Lebanon, things are much more complex than for the Gulf monarchies. Beirut’s complex politics mitigate against any peace because most of the groups in the country would have to be on board with the concept, and key players are not.
Aoun is a Christian former general who holds the presidency thanks to a deal with Iranian-backed Hezbollah. The presidency is reserved for Christians, but the Christian community, in general, has not been linked in alliance with Hezbollah over the years.
Aoun changed all that by dividing the Christian community, which is made up of a diverse plethora of groups including Maronites, Orthodox, Armenians and others. He chose Hezbollah for a variety of reasons, but it illustrates the increasing stranglehold the terrorist group has on Lebanon.
As long as Hezbollah remains in Lebanon with its massive terrorist army, there will be no peace with Israel. Hezbollah has only increased in power in recent years. In the 1980s and ’90s, it was a terrorist group posing as an insurgency “resisting” Israel. When Israel left in 2000, it reinvented itself, occupying southern Lebanon as a de facto state within a state.
In 2005, when Hezbollah, working with the Syrian regime, allegedly killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri, it appeared to literally get away with murder. This caused a protest movement that ejected Syria from Lebanon. Hezbollah, angry to see its power reduced, launched a war on Israel in 2006.
In the wake of that war, it grew in power and occupied Beirut in 2008 clashes. A series of assassinations, perhaps linked to Hezbollah, also killed off men like Pierre Gemayel and Samir Kassir, who were critical of Syria.
Since the period between 2006 and 2008, Lebanon has come even more under the grasp of Hezbollah. It traffics missiles from Iran. It seeks to build precision-guided munitions factories. It sent fighters to fight in Syria’s civil war. It conducts Lebanon’s foreign policy. It imports items illegally via the seaport and airport. It stockpiles munitions. No state in the world has a situation involving a group like Hezbollah, with members of parliament and a large extralegal terrorist army running part of the country outside the control of the armed forces. Hezbollah even kept the opposition from obtaining the presidency between 2014 and 2016. FOR ALL these reasons, any peace with Lebanon is impossible. Hezbollah takes orders from Iran, which is the foremost anti-Israel voice in the region besides Turkey. Together, these two countries want to influence Lebanon. The allies of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf who are in Lebanon, which tend to be the Sunni Arab parties, are not strong enough to make peace.
The Christians who oppose Aoun, such as the Kataeb Party, already tried a flirtation with Israel in the ’70s and ’80s during the Lebanese Civil War. Fighters for the South Lebanon Army, which aided Israel up until 2000, recall the IDF’s rapid withdrawal and how they had to flee. This bitter experience means they would not likely go this route again. They would prefer more influence from France; they also fear jihadists being empowered by instability.
But, like Israel, it is not just those voices – and the rise of Hezbollah and extremist groups, as well as the civil war and the role of the Palestinian groups in Lebanon – that made sure the country could never have peace with the Jewish state. Lebanon has gone from being occupied by Palestinian groups in the ’70s to being occupied by Hezbollah today. Insofar as it may have practical people who could foresee discussions with Israel, those voices will be outranked by the Iranians who work with Hezbollah.
In some ways, the irony of Lebanon is that as a country with diversity, clinging to the Mediterranean, it has much in common with Israel. Intellectually and architecturally, it has European influences that in some respects matched the ways and norms of Tel Aviv in the ’20s and ’30s.
For Lebanon to achieve peace with Israel, the Iranian regime would have to either accept this logic, or it would have to decline or implode, leaving Hezbollah alone.
The Syrian regime would also have to agree to the concept of peace with Israel. As we know, the Syrian regime held intense discussions about a deal with Israel in the ’90s and 2000s. However, the current Syrian regime is embattled and also more under Iran’s influence, making such an attempt more difficult.
Bizarrely, Lebanon, which has much in common with Israel in many ways, may be the last country in the region to make peace with its southern, Jewish neighbor.
The only thing that might be expected from Lebanon is some US-brokered discussions about delimitation of rights to offshore energy blocs, which is an issue both countries care about.

An international probe into Beirut explosion seems far-fetched
Rami Rayess/Sunday 16 August 2020
A week after the huge Beirut blasts, the Lebanese people have not discovered yet what happened and who was responsible for this atrocity, making an international investigation more necessary than ever.
Had this explosion happened in any other state, as a moral step forward, resignation of the civil or military servants directly in charge and the politicians concerned would have been immediate, even before investigations began.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said he was aware of the deadly chemicals stored in the port, but added that he does not have direct authority over the port and that there is a chain of command he was beholden to respect.
According to leaked information, now-former Prime Minister Hassan Diab was also aware of the danger of a potential blast at the Beirut port because of the 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored there. Diab, however, postponed the removal as he wanted to arrange a media tour that would highlight his success in saving the capital from such an enormous explosion. Local outlet Al- Jadeed TV announced in its Friday night bulletin that Secretary General of the Higher Defense Council General Mahmoud el Asmar convinced him to delay his visit.
What happened was quite the opposite.
Right after the explosion, reports emerged that there was a container of fireworks that had somehow caught on fire.
Later, a senior security official sarcastically said that this was a silly pretext that could not be taken into consideration. Sounds of air jets were heard in several Lebanese areas right before the blast, which meant that the possibility of an Israeli air strike could not be discarded as well. Though, it would later be revealed that the sound was that of the massive explosion.
The Higher Defense Council, an umbrella institution that is headed by the president and includes representatives of the various security and military apparatuses, convened in an extraordinary session the same night of the blasts. It established an investigative committee that was given a five-day period to raise its conclusions to the concerned judicial authorities. The period expired last Sunday, August 9.
But so far, no one has explained to the public who was on this committee, the extent of its investigations, or the results.
In its last meeting before resignation, Diab’s cabinet called for the judicial court to look over the case and the investigation, and try those found responsible.
This court is a one-degree court and its rulings cannot be overruled by any means. The court does not have a good reputation, and it rarely reaches conclusive judgments.
There are fears that political intervention is possible in this court’s work as the judge who will lead the investigation is proposed by the minister of justice and approved by the Higher Judicial Council. Reasons behind those fears is the necessity of earning political approval for a judicial appointment, a step that does not fully respect the separation of powers.
After the council refused the first nominee, a second was approved after fierce debate between the minister and the council.
This behavior of consuming time for judicial appointment and the airing of differences between the different branches of government, at a time when Lebanon is in agony, reflects the irresponsibility of the concerned Lebanese officials. People have lost their loved ones, their homes and offices, while officials are negotiating prerogatives pertaining to judicial appointments.
A few hours after the blasts, there were political calls from several Lebanese parties for an international investigation that were born out of fear that the Lebanese judiciary was incapable of divorcing itself from political intervention. These calls were automatically and categorically rejected by Hezbollah, who said such an investigation would pave the way for direct foreign intervention in local affairs.
Some parliamentarians accused “the minister of justice of pressing to appoint an investigator who could change the course of the investigation,” and said that this is an additional reason why there should by an international investigation, especially given “that there are certain files missing from the concerned official agencies.”Calls for an international investigation triggered a flashback to 2005 when former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated on February 14, and there were attempts to tamper with the crime scene by asphalting the road that was deeply damaged within 48 hours and then continue business as usual.
Local calls for an international investigation into the assassination were heard when the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was established. It was supposed to announce its verdict after fifteen years on August 7, but the verdict has now been delayed to August 18 because of the blasts.
Far from home, yet so close: Lebanese abroad haunted by Beirut explosion
Over the last decade and a half, Hezbollah has turned a blind eye to the tribunal, and it is unclear how the party will react when the verdict is issued. Prior investigations have said that Hezbollah members may have been involved in the assassination.
This time, like last time, Hezbollah does not want any investigation into the explosion that might indict the Iran-backed group.
Whether the explosion was caused by negligence or another reason, it is questionable how 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate could be stored for seven consecutive years in Beirut’s port, which is adjacent to the city.
Was this material for Hezbollah, who has quite an enormous influence on Beirut’s port, airport, and of course the Lebanese-Syrian borders?
The party leader has staunchly refused such accusations, but this shall be a matter of investigation if an international committee is ever created.
A local investigative body cannot give conclusive answers for the reality of the blasts and how they really happened. By local Lebanese standards, and because of the delicate balance of power, unveiling the truth is not an easy mission.
Setting up an international investigative committee is not easy either. Bringing in outside foreign technical expertise to support their Lebanese counterparts could be a more viable solution, but what results this strategy might yield are not yet known.
Lebanon has said it will not give way to an international committee, but it would welcome technical support. It has been no coincidence that Aoun, a staunch ally to Hezbollah, was the first senior official to explicitly refuse the calls for an international investigation.
French President Emmanual Macron is trying to broker a deal on the political track that would lead to the creation of a new cabinet that would launch the long-awaited reforms. Whether these efforts will be toward the judicial track by convincing the international community and the United Nations Security Council to create an international investigating committee is yet to be examined. Until then, establishing such a committee is still far-fetched.

After the Beirut explosion, Lebanon’s political elite should be forced out
Hanin Ghaddar/Sunday 16 August 2020
As soon as US State Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale landed in Beirut on Thursday a week after the deadly port explosion, the Lebanese parliament approved a state of emergency, giving the military curfew power and authorizing it to ban public gatherings. The timing of this declaration, along with a series of other moves, signals the current political elite is unwilling to assume responsibility or accept the street’s demands for a fundamental change in the system.
The system, therefore, must be forced out of power.
Another sign of this defiance is the rejection of various officials and parties – mainly President Michel Aoun and Hezbollah – of an international investigative committee to look into the explosion that caused destruction to half of Beirut, at least 178 deaths, and left thousands injured. While this explosion pushed Lebanon to the brink, it did not occur in a vacuum. Lebanon has been hurling toward financial and economic collapse for months now as reforms required by the international community to receive financial assistance have not been implemented.
But Lebanon does not have the luxury of waiting anymore, and the international community needs to understand that this is probably the last chance to save Lebanon from its corrupt and sectarian political class, and contain Hezbollah’s power and its control over state institutions. Therefore, there should be a coordinated internal and external effort to implement change, using all the available tools that could lead to it.
The street demands are very clear: an independent international investigation of the port explosion, an independent government to oversee reforms and early elections with a new, representative electoral law, and the resignation of all political leadership. Instead, the political elite and Hezbollah decided to refuse an international probe, move to form a national unity government that incorporates the same current political leadership, and impose a state of emergency that would crack down on protests.
Obviously, this is not going to end well.
The resignation of the Hassan Diab government is not enough, and people will no longer accept a scapegoat. They need real accountability and real political transformation. Both the street and the international community have efficient tools, which – if used properly – cold help shape the future of Lebanon.
Hezbollah accepted Diab’s resignation fearing that the former prime minister would hold early elections, which he had suggested a few days before resigning.
A woman stands inside a damaged restaurant a day after an explosion hit the seaport
Early elections – especially if based on a new and representative electoral law – would take away Hezbollah’s control over the state and its institutions. Proper elections would reveal how Hezbollah’s and its allies’ popularity has shrank, and that the Lebanese people have lost their trust in both Hezbollah and its allies.
And that’s exactly why both the street and the international community should push for early elections based on a new electoral law.
To do that, the next Lebanese government should be an independent government – preferably short-termed – with a clear mission: to overlook elections and reforms. Elections then would produce a new government, a new parliament, and a new president. A national unity government that Hezbollah is working toward is only going to produce the same old system, which Lebanon can no longer afford.
How then, can the international community push for such change? One of the main tools is sanctions.
It is now time for the United States – also for Europeans, and mainly the French – to impose sanctions on Hezbollah’s allies, particularly the Christian-dominated Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) officials. Former foreign minister and the head of the FPM Gebran Bassil should be at the top of the list, as he is both one of the most corrupt politicians and Hezbollah’s favorite ally and presidential candidate. If such sanctions are imposed, Bassil’s presidential dreams would evaporate and Hezbollah would lose a very important ally, as the Christian street won’t stand behind someone who has no leverage in the West.
The French – and many European countries – could also move to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, not only its military wing. Both Hezbollah’s’ military and political wings are responsible for what happened at the port and for the country’s economic meltdown. It is time to realize this reality worldwide. In addition, the security forces – including the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) – should understand that protecting the protesters should be their priority. The US has been providing assistance to the LAF and European countries have been assisting the Internal Security Forces for many years, and this assistance should be used as leverage to pressure the Lebanese security apparatus to protect the victims, not the criminals.
Finally, an international investigative committee should be everyone’s priority at this point. And the international community should not allow the truth to be determined by the Lebanese government’s version of the truth. Without the full truth, the country and the people cannot move on.

Business owners suffer blow as Beirut explosion wrecks cafés, galleries, livelihoods
Bassam Zaazaa, Al Arabiya English/Sunday 16 August 2020
Rania, standing cleaning the debris and saving undamaged electronic items at her store after Beirut’s enormous explosion, said she “lost everything.”
“Today I was asked to evacuate as surveyors have marked the building as unsafe for inhabitation and subject to collapse. There’s nothing I could do ... August 4’s explosion took it all,” Gholam Electronics shop manager, Rania Ghantous, said.
Ghantous, like many in Beirut, has been left in the dark not knowing, how or who would compensate her for the damages. Unable to estimate her primary losses though her store is insured, the future remains ambiguous and confusing. The electronics shop is one of many businesses located in areas near the Beirut port, where a massive August 4 explosion wiped out swaths of Lebanon’s capital city. Now, with the country in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis before the explosion, many business owners are unsure how they will afford to rebuild. According to Rania, most of the electronic items – new and those under repair – at her shop were destroyed and that she was packing the unharmed items to move them out as she was asked to leave the damaged building soon. “It’s [been] 10 days now. Not a single official checked on us or offered assistance or compensation. They didn’t even offer condolences. It is only those volunteers from the public, who rushed to help us clean and remove the rubble. I have lost everything,” she mumbled bitterly.
It remains unclear yet just how many businesses, restaurants, retail outlets and homes were damaged or destroyed in the areas nearby the port.
The damage done
For one business owner, he estimates his damages to be around $50,000.
Born in 1952, Toni Shadarevian manages a workshop and an atelier for Krikor Zohrab’s paintings. Zohrab was an influential Armenian painter and writer who was assassinated in 1915. The workshop and atelier are located opposite the Electricite Du Liban, the state’s large, imposing electricity building that was massively damaged. The shop contains tens of drawings, according to Shadarevian, who said four of Zohrab’s paintings that are worth $10,000 each were damaged. “The ruins remain un-estimated, but definitely it is more than $50,000. We are still cleaning up the mess and don’t have insurance to cover our damages. Pre-explosion, the business was already suffering, like Lebanon’s economic situation. The explosion has added up to our financial losses,” said Shadarevian who confirmed that he could reopen the next day. However, because of the economic situation, there are no clients as no one has money to invest in art, Shadarevian said as he supervised maintenance workers at the shop. “Even the atelier is in total chaos,” he said. He added that the explosion pushed the business into the red, as the two premises and the items inside are uninsured.
Down the street, Sip café, once a hip hangout on Gemmayzeh Street, is now gone. The views of the horrific wreckage tell its own story.
With its laid back and trendy ambiance, Sip café used to attract packs of loyal coffee-addicts day and night. Aside from the financial and materialistic damages inflicted on the café, the owner, Omar Jheir, fractured his arm in the blast that completely destroyed his nearby home.
Estimating the damage as around 70 percent of the actual shop, Jheir said: “Physically there is just the walls that are hanging on … the furniture, machines, façade and glass – everything got damaged.”When asked if he had communicated with insurance companies, he explained that they are still collecting their data and getting quotations to see what the repairs will cost so he can submit the papers to the insurer.Without insurance money, Jheir said he cannot afford to repair the café.
A bad situation turns worse
Since the October 2019 revolution when Lebanese thronged the street to protest government corruption and a worsening economy, business has slowed for Jheir, who pointed out that Sip was one once of the busiest coffee shops in the neighborhood.
“People have less money and are spending less. We were already suffering from October 2019 until the devaluation of the currency started … we were still hanging on. The currency was still equivalent to the dollar but when the devaluation happened, it drained our bank accounts,” he said.
Over the past few months, the local currency has been subject to sharp inflation as dollars – needed to pay for imports – have dried up in the country. Jheir said they bought their supplies with a currency that was 80 percent devalued, but they only increased their prices by 25 percent.
Media reports cited Beirut’s Governor Judge Marwan Abboud estimated the total losses to reach nearly $15 billion due to the explosion of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that was stored in hangar 12.
Health ministry officials have said at least 178 have been killed by the blast, and over 6,000 were injured. Nearly 20 people remain missing while rescue teams continue searching. Government estimates say the blast left some 300,000 homeless.
Just 200 meters from the wheat silos that were badly damaged at the port, Nails and Spa was once the business salon in the area. The owner Elias Hayek was busy removing wrecked machines and assisting his staff in cleaning the debris as he spoke to Al Arabia English.
“Basically 70 percent of the spa was damaged. All machines that we used are destroyed … I had between 10 and 15 machines, each cost between 20,000 euro and 50,000 euro. Walls and ceilings were destroyed,” Hayek said. “The washrooms and tiles remain safe; meanwhile 15 percent of the products are okay.”Hayek said two of his staff were critically injured, and at the time of writing, one client remained in intensive care. “I have insurance but we have to wait the investigation’s to conclude and see if we will be compensated,” said Hayek, who fears that they might not be compensated if investigations into the explosion determine the cause was a terror attack or an act of war. He said no officials checked on them after the blast.
Too risky to reopen
When asked if he could reopen soon, Hayek pointed out that his financial loss is beyond description and that the catastrophe has pulled him down to “below-zero-level.”He dismissed the potential of reopening soon. “It will be a major risk to reopen soon because there’s a building that could collapse any moment from the backside of the spa,” he said.
Sevag Panosian, owns a factory that manufactures shawarma burners called Vapa Burners in the Mar Mikhael neighborhood that suffered heavy damage.
The façade of his factory was destroyed, and the building suffered structural damages as well. “The hydraulic pressers and eccentric presses got badly hurt. I don’t have a rough estimate for our damages but definitely above $15,000. I have insurance, but I am unsure that it will be covered,” Panosian said.
Insurance companies hold out
Due to Lebanon’s economic situation and compounded banking crisis, Panosian said that he cannot reopen anytime soon. For months, a series of informal and illegal capital controls have reigned over the banks, and people have been unable to access money in their bank accounts.
He ridiculed recent bank promotions of zero-interest loans describing them by “virtual money” as everybody wants hard cash due to the crisis.
Meanwhile, Al Arabia English contacted a number of insurance company officials, who all said that as long as investigations were underway into the cause of the explosion, nothing can yet be confirmed regarding paying out insurance policies.
“We have to wait for the results of the investigation … if it proves to be an accident then each policy holder will be compensated according to the type and/or clauses of their policies,” said a senior partner in an insurance company.
He refused to comment further.

Zarif wary Hezbollah could lose grip over Lebanon
The Arab Weekly/August 16/2020
BEIRUT –Statements made Friday by Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif in Beirut reflected fears of Hezbollah losing its hegemony over Lebanon, at a time when 700 French soldiers are expected to arrive in Lebanon, only a couple of days following French President Emmanuel Macron’s phone call to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani telling him to stop meddling in Lebanese affairs.
This comes at a time when the political class in Lebanon is facing mounting international pressure to form a government dedicated to combatting corruption and saving the country from its political and economic meltdown.
In the past few days, senior American, French and German officials held talks with Lebanese officials, headed by President Michel Aoun. The latter has agreed to have the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) participate in investigating the August 4 massive explosion at Beirut port which destroyed part of the Lebanese capital. The French Minister for the Armies, Florence Parly, invited the Lebanese to form a government capable of taking courageous decisions, noting that 700 French soldiers are preparing to come to Lebanon.
Parly indicated, during her visit to the site of the explosion at Beirut port, that “these painful scenes leave a great impact on my country, and every French felt that he was concerned with what happened.”
As if to respond to Parly, Zarif said, “Only the Lebanese people and their representatives can decide on the future of their country, after the massive explosion that rocked the city’s port and killed 172 people and pushed the government to resign.”In a joint press conference with the Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs in the caretaker government, Charbel Wehbe, Zarif added: “From our point of view, it is not humane to exploit peoples’ pain and suffering to achieve political goals.”
Iran supports the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which, along with its allies, played a key role in forming the outgoing government headed by Hassan Diab.
Zarif’s visit to Beirut coincided with a flurry of Western diplomatic activity, urging Lebanon to eradicate corruption and enact long-awaited reforms so as to open the way for international financial aid to address the country’s economic crisis.
A former Lebanese minister ridiculed Zarif’s accusation to other countries of exploiting the pain of the Lebanese to achieve political goals.
He told The Arab Weekly “It seems that Zarif is still speaking in the manner of a tendentious agenda, while the whole world has revealed the position of the Lebanese people, all sects included, which rejects sectarianism and corruption of the ruling political class, a class subjected to Hezbollah’s agenda.”
“Lebanon’s real problem is that it has become a hostage of Hezbollah, a party run from Tehran. This is the reality that is pushing the Lebanese to stand up to the Iranian foreign minister,” he added, asking not to be named.
The Lebanese political class has been the target of ongoing popular protests, blaming it for the country’s many woes, even from before the August 4 blastthat killed and wounded thousands and destroyed entire neighbourhoods of the coastal city. The blast left 300,000 people homeless and about 30 people are still missing. On Friday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun held separate talks with David Hale, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and French Minister for the Armies, Florence Parly.
Hale said that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will participate in investigating the cause and circumstances of the explosion that had occurred in a warehouse in the port and sent a huge cloud over the city sky. He further called for an end to “lame governments and hollow promises.”
There was no shortage of international humanitarian aid to Lebanon, but foreign donors conditioned their financial aid on the state introducing reforms. The country is already defaulting on its huge sovereign debt.
Meanwhile, the French Navy helicopter carrier Tonnerre docked on Friday in the devastated seaport of Beirut. The Lebanese authorities had said that more than 2,000 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate have been stored in a warehouse at the port for years without the appropriate security measures being taken. President Aoun promised to conduct a speedy investigation into the explosion. He said the investigation will look into whether the cause was negligence, “outside interference” or just an accident.
Representatives of the victims’ families held a press conference and appealed to the UN Security Council, urging it to appoint an international investigation committee and refer the case to an international court.
A website created to provide a voice to the victims and their families said, “Government negligence and corruption have played a fundamental role in this crime.”“We have decided to demand justice for all the victims to ensure that this crime is investigated and those responsible are properly prosecuted and punished,” the site added. “We are convinced that only an independent international investigation can get to the truth and achieve justice for us … The international investigation and international trial are necessary to achieve justice for us. Enough impunity already and enough injustice!”
The Lebanese national news agency said that a scheduled interrogation of some ministers on Friday was postponed after the judge appointed for this task said that he had no authority to question government ministers.
The government’s resignation added to the uncertainty. Agreement on a new government is likely to be a difficult task in a country suffering from deep sectarian divisions and is governed under a sectarian power-sharing system.
A prominent Christian cleric in Lebanon expressed his concern Thursday that a new Lebanon “is being cooked in the kitchens” of foreign countries, without naming them.
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, who demands that Beirut distance itself from regional conflicts, said in a sermon, “They started to cook things that are not in the interest of Lebanon at all, but for the benefit of some politicians and factions, and this we categorically reject and we will fight it.”

Aya, my daughter decided to share her story of the tragedy she witnessed and to offer a helping hand for those in need.
Karol Chebli Tueni/August 16/2020
Aya, my daughter decided to share her story of the tragedy she witnessed and to offer a helping hand for those in need.
I am very proud of you Aya. Yes, we will rise again and we will overcome this sad event. I promise you. Love you❤️
"Hi, my name is Aya Anna Twainy, I’m 14 years old and I’m from Lebanon, Beirut.
On the 4th of August 2020 a traumatizing event happened that left 100+ deaths, 4000+injured, 300000+ homeless people with numbers still increasing.
Now this is my story.
It was a normal day. I was at my best friend Ariana’s house. I had been sleeping there for two days respecting quarantine because of COVID-19. My mom and sister were in the mountains far from me and my father wasn’t in the country.
I have known Ariana and her family for at least nine years.
She isn’t just my best friend, through the years she had become my sister and her family is like my family. We did everything together. She didn’t go to my school and it made us even closer.
They lived in Beirut right in front of the port at a distance more or less close where little did we know the explosion was going to happen.
It was 5 o’clock in the afternoon and we were doing our workouts in front of the TV in the living room, laughing and having fun. When it was almost 6 o’clock her mom had heard that something happened in the port. We got a little worried but didn’t think it was such a big deal. We went to check what was going on and went to see the neighbors because they had a better view on the port from their living room and saw a fire. We then felt scared but never expected an explosion even though i had a very wrong feeling in my guts. I told Ariana a few seconds later “ Ariana imagine if there is a chemical reaction and it creates a bomb” she reassured me and said “ Don’t worry Aya, nothing will happen”. A few minutes later we heard a HUGE EXPLOSION which felt as if 50 buildings were collapsing on top of our heads. My heart dropped and started racing at an extremely fast rate. I started praying and praying, hoping that nothing would happen. I then held my best friend and her 8 year old brother’s hand Vartan so tight. The terror, anxiety, fright had already taken control of our bodies. I was so thankful that my sister wasn’t with me.
We had started to panic. During the sound of the extremely strong blast, Ariana, Vartan and I were between walls in the hallway. Her mom Delia was trying to get us away from the glass and the windows but unfortunately while she was trying to get to safety with us, the hole house exploded. It was too late. The glass shattered, the tables, chairs, and sofas flew. The wind was so strong that the entrance door flew away. The metal, iron, TV, paintings .. were all over the place. Everything happened in front of our eyes as we were screaming our lungs out for Delia. But there was no answer..
I had never in a billion years thought that we would witness something so traumatizing. Tears and tears and tears started to fall on my best friend’s face and mine. The little boy holding my hand was so lost and afraid. I had never seen such a look on his face. His cheeks had become so red, and the look in his eyes fractured my heart into thousands of pieces. We were screaming for help but no one answered. I ran as fast as i could trembling to Ariana’s room to find a phone or anything to contact anyone. When i got in the room, everything was all over the place. I was so shocked by what had just happened that the only thing on my mind was to save her mother that could still be breathing and that I had to get a phone for help, that i found seconds laters under wood, glass and ripped up books.
When I got out of the room I gave my phone to my friend so that she could call anyone while i was searching for the mother with bare feet on broken glass. A man then came in the house and helped after I found the mother unconscious under layers of furniture. Her thin body was bleeding on the floor. We were so desperate. The man then told us that we had to evacuate before the building collapses. My friend stayed a little with her mom trying to lift her head and calling for help, while i took her little brother down the emergency stairs to get to safety. My feet were scratched and glass was everywhere.
I had never felt this kind of pain in my life. We had just seen our lives flash in front of our eyes, but we were walking, breathing and it was a miracle. He then said to me while i was taking him down the stairs as fast as we could “oh no, mom, what happened!? Who will help me with my grammar now? “
I tried staying strong for him and Ariana and told him “Everything will be fine. Don’t worry. Be careful”.. My friend then followed us to the parking far away from the buildings, electrical cords, and broken cars. We were begging for help, but no one was able to get to the 9th floor. Hundreds of people were calling on my phone but we needed to contact our families. When my mom heard about the news, she left the mountains as fast as she could to get to us. Ariana’s dad was at Downtown Beirut working during the explosion but then came running back to us because of the traffic. Two young men were trying to calm us down and then a very nice man let us sit in his car as we were getting weaker and weaker.
Later on, we received a call from my friend’s dad as he was with Delia and announced that she had sadly passed away. I don’t even have words to express what i felt at that moment and didn’t even wanna imagine what Ariana was feeling. Her screams, the image of her crying will forever be scared in my mind. We were hurting so bad. I held her so tightly in my arms. Her loving mother had just passed away in front of us. All hope was gone. She was such a kind, sweet, loving woman. So generous, beautiful and full of love. I never felt like a stranger in their home. She always made me feel as a member of their family. It’s hard to admit that life has separated us from her. But at least now we know that an angel is watching over us and heaven has received a beautiful soul.
May she fly high, rest in peace gracious Delia. You may be gone but never forgotten. We will forever love you.
My heart and prayers also go to all the families who had to deal with the loss of their loved ones and who have lost their homes.
I wrote this to spread awareness, and to show people they are not alone. If they need someone to talk to, they will find the right person who will be there for them. What happened isn’t something normal and nobody deserves to go through what We’ve been through. Stay safe everyone, it will get better. We will rise again, together ❤
For the people who want to help you can :
(Repost from @theslacktivists go on their account for the details )
•share the news on your social media platforms
•stay up to date on the news and educated about the situation
•Donate to organizations like :
Food and necessities relief:
* @lefoodbank
* @ahlafawda
* @their.work
* @foodblessed
* @gestures_from_the_heart
* @beitelbaraka
* @atfalouna.leb
* @matbakhelbalad
Refugees:
* @sawafordaid
* @aneraorg
* @basmehzeitooneh
Domestic Workers:
* @thisislebanon961
* @egnalegna
* @alinedeloscampos
 

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 16-17/2020.

Trump to trigger ‘snapback’ of sanctions on Iran
AFP/Sunday 16 August 2020
US President Donald Trump says he will trigger a snapback of sanctions at the United Nations on Iran. A UN Security Council vote on Friday rejected a bid from the United States to extend an arms embargo on Iran. Only two of the council's 15 members voted in favour of the US resolution, highlighting the division between Washington and its European allies since President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear accord in May 2018.

Lavrov, Pompeo discuss UN meeting on Iran, says Russia’s foreign ministry
Reuters/Sunday 16 August 2020
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke on the phone on Sunday about Russia’s proposal to hold a video summit at the United Nations to discuss Iran, the Russian foreign ministry said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a video summit with the United States and the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers - Britain, France, China, Germany and Iran - to try to avoid further “confrontation and escalation” over Iran at the United Nations. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump said he will trigger a snapback of sanctions at the United Nations on Iran, after the UN Security Council vote on Friday rejected a bid from the United States to extend an arms embargo on Iran.

Phone calls open between UAE and Israel, websites unblocked after agreement
Emily Judd, Al Arabiya English/Sunday 16 August 2020
The UAE confirmed on Sunday that a phone link has been set up with Israel following a historic agreement between the two countries. UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi “inaugurated a phone link between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel following the historic Peace Accord,” said UAE Director of Strategic Communications at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hend Al Otaiba in a post on Twitter on Sunday. Telephone calls between the UAE and Israel are now unblocked. HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE FM and HE Gabi Ashkenazi, Israeli FM, today inaugurated a phone link between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel following the historic Peace Accord signed by the two countries Friday. pic.twitter.com/tyX7Ttr5pt

— هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba (@hend_mana) August 16, 2020. The Israeli news website The Times of Israel was also available in the UAE on Sunday, after being previously blocked in the country.
On Thursday the UAE and Israel announced a peace deal to normalize relations between the countries, in exchange for the Israeli government halting its annexation of Palestinian land. Known as the “Abraham Accord,” the diplomatic agreement between the UAE and Israel is Israel’s first peace treaty with an Arab country in 25 years. Israeli and Emirati delegations will meet in the coming weeks to establish bilateral agreements on a range of issues including telecommunications, tourism, and healthcare.

Kuwait's position towards Israel unchanged - Al-Qabas newspaper
Reuters/August 16/2020
A Kuwait foreign ministry official was not immediately available to comment.
Kuwait's position towards Israel is unchanged after its accord with the United Arab Emirates and it will be the last country to normalize relations, newspaper al-Qabas reported on Sunday citing Kuwaiti government sources.
Israel and the UAE announced an agreement on Thursday that will lead to a full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two states, making the UAE the only third Arab state to do so. A Kuwait foreign ministry official was not immediately available to comment. "The Kuwaiti position is consistent with its decades-old foreign policy approach in support of the Palestinian cause, as it is the premier Arab issue, and only accepting a solution if it is what the Palestinians accept," al-Qabas said. Palestinians denounced the Israel-UAE deal, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar have remained silent. Fellow Gulf nations Oman and Bahrain praised the deal.

Yemen's remaining Jews to be transferred to UAE - report
Jerusalem Post/Reuters/August 16/2020
Reports in July claimed that the Houthi militant group in Yemen was rounding up Yemeni Jews and pressuring them to leave. These reports were denied by both Yemeni and international sources. The few remaining Jews left in Yemen plan to emigrate to Abu Dhabi in light of the normalization deal signed between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, according to a report by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. A Yemeni rabbi who asked to remain anonymous told Al-Araby that the plan is to transfer 100 Jews to Abu Dhabi. The Al-Araby report remains unconfirmed by any official source.
In July, Egyptian reports claimed that the Iran-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen was rounding up Yemeni Jews and pressuring them to leave. These reports were denied by both Yemeni and international sources, as well as by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
According to the Al-Araby report from over the weekend, about 40 Yemeni Jews have agreed to move to the UAE and others are being persuaded to move by being told that they will not have any trouble integrating into Emirati society. The move is reportedly being made due to a request by the US government.
The UAE has reportedly asked Iran to help facilitate the transfer of the Yemeni Jews to the UAE. Iran expressed opposition to the normalization deal reached between the UAE and Israel, with the Iranian hardline daily Kayhan, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying, “The UAE’s great betrayal of the Palestinian people... will turn this small, rich country which is heavily dependent on security into a ‘legitimate and easy target’ for the resistance.” The transfer of the Yemeni Jews is reportedly being conducted under the supervision of the US, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths and Emirati-Iranian coordination.
Griffiths reportedly visited Abu Dhabi on Saturday and may have worked to complete arrangements for the transfer of the Yemeni Jews.
While most of Yemen’s Jews were airlifted out of the country shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel, a couple of hundred Jews stayed behind and have trickled out of the country since then. About 50 Jews are estimated to be left in Yemen, but information about them is sparse. The Jews who have stayed in Yemen have resisted efforts to get them out of the country, both from the Houthis and from Israel. According to Al-Araby, some of them fear that they won’t be able to integrate into Israeli or US society. In July, Rabbi Faiz Gradi, a leader of the Yemeni Jewish community who emigrated to the US, told the Hebrew Yated Ne’eman paper that the Jews who remained behind have refused to leave due to “their fear of educational and tznius (propriety) issues,” according to Yeshiva World News. “They heard from their brothers who made aliyah before them and understand that Israel is not for them. The US is also not appropriate for their lifestyle,” said Gradi. “They searched for an Arab country that would agree to accept them and there are a number of countries that may be willing to host them with assistance from the US. Perhaps we’ll merit to soon see a new Yemenite community in a country with a similar Arab nature but without threats to its security and yahadus (Judaism).”
Yemen’s Information Minister Moammer al-Iryani stated in 2017 that the state of the 50 or so remaining Jews in the country was “unknown.” A source from the Yemeni Jewish community told Al-Araby that Houthi officials have forced them to sell their homes and land for low prices.
The UAE has begun a publicity campaign to express an atmosphere of coexistence and tolerance in the country, including the establishment of the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi which features a mosque, a church and a synagogue.
Critics have denounced the attempts to portray the UAE as promoting coexistence and tolerance, pointing to the country’s involvement in Yemen’s civil war, its opposition to the uprisings of the Arab Spring movement and its backing of counter-revolutionary movements and leaders, such as Abdul Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt and Khalifa Haftar in Libya, according to Al-Araby. Reuters contributed to this report.

France’s Macron prioritizes peace talks in call with Abbas after UAE-Israel deal
Reuters, Paris/Sunday 16 August 2020
The resumption of peace negotiations remains a priority to reach a just solution in the Middle East, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter on Sunday. Macron said he had spoken with Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority. “I told him of my determination to work for peace in the Middle East,” Macron said.

Ethiopian PM congratulates UAE’s Mohammed bin Zayed on peace treaty with Israel
N.P. Krishna Kumar, Al Arabiya English/Monday 17 August 2020
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abyi Ahmed congratulated Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on the UAE's announcing a peace treaty with Israel, reported Emirates News Agency (WAM). In a statement he posted on his Twitter account, the Ethiopian Prime Minister said: “On behalf of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to both the people and governments of the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel for taking the monumental decision to normalise relations between the two countries.” He further said, “I would like to commend my brother Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his leadership and I am confident the path to enduring peace in the Middle East will be nurtured.”

UAE summons Iranian Chargé d’Affairs over Rouhani’s Israel deal threats
Arab News/August 16/2020
The ministry said the statements would have serious repercussions on security and stability in the Arabian Gulf. The summons comes as telephone lines between the UAE and Israel were opened on Sunday.
LONDON: The UAE summoned the Chargé d’Affairs at the Iranian embassy in Abu Dhabi on Sunday over threats made in response to a peace deal with Israel. The official was handed a "strongly worded memo" over threatening statements made by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani regarding the UAE’s agreement with Israel to normalize relations, the state WAM news agency reported. The Emirates' foreign ministry said Rouhani’s statements were echoed by Iranian officials and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and that it considered this rhetoric “unacceptable and provocative.”The ministry added that these statements will have serious repercussions on security and stability in the Arabian Gulf.

Israel shuts Gaza fishing zone after overnight cross-border fighting
The Associated Press/Sunday 16 August 2020
Israel closed the Gaza Strip’s offshore fishing zone on Sunday following a night of cross-border fighting with Palestinian militants, the most intense escalation of hostilities in recent months. Palestinian militants in Gaza fired two rockets into southern Israel after Israeli airstrikes targeted sites belonging to the territory’s militant Hamas rulers. The military said the Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted the two rockets that militants in Gaza launched at southern Israel. But police said rocket fallout caused damage to a house in the town of Sderot, and paramedics treated a 58-year-old man for minor wounds from the exploding glass. The Israeli army said the strikes were a response to explosive balloons launched by Hamas-affiliated group over the border, and attempts by Palestinian protesters to throw explosives at the Israel-Gaza perimeter fence and soldiers stationed along it.
Dozens of Palestinians took part in the protests. The military said the protesters “burned tires, hurled explosive devices and grenades towards the security fence and attempted to approach it.” Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israeli gunfire at protesters wounded two Palestinians.
Israel holds Hamas, the Islamist militant group ruling the Gaza Strip, responsible for all attacks emanating from the Palestinian territory. Incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip have caused damage to Israeli fields in recent days. It comes as Hamas, like otherPalestinian factions, denounced the United Arab Emirates for agreeing to formal ties with Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered the fishing zone off the coast of Gaza closed until further notice in response to the rocket fire. Following a meeting Sunday with the top army brass, Gantz said in a statement that Israel “will respond forcefully to any violation of sovereignty until complete quiet is restored in the south. If Sderot isn’t quiet, Gaza won’t be either.” Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade of the Gaza Strip since Hamas took power in an armed coup in 2007. Israel has fought three wars with Hamas in the Gaza Strip in the years since.
The two sides have largely upheld an informal truce, and fighting has ceased almost entirely since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Two IDF Gaza strikes when Hamas adds rocket fire to balloons. Israeli man injured
DebkaFile/August 16/2020
The second IDF air strike over the Gaza Strip demolished a Hamas rocket depot on Saturday night, Aug. 15, after a twin-rocket attack on Sderot and a day of balloon barrages. The IDF reported that Iron Dome intercepted both Palestinian rockets. Local police said one exploded. A Sderot home was damaged and a man injured. Israel’s defense minister Benny Gantz ordered the second air strike and the Palestinian fishing zone off the Gaza coast to be closed until further notice. After a week of more than a 100 arson and incendiary balloons started fires in Israeli fields and natural areas, another 30 landed in Israel on Saturday. Then came the rocket alarm at 1 am, in which two Sderot women were slightly hurt while running for shelter and several others went into shock and were treated by paramedics. The first IDF air and tank attack on Saturday night, its sixth in a week in reprisal for the balloon offensive, targeted a Hamas naval compound, bunkers and observation posts, stating that Hamas is held responsible for the violence emanating from the Gaza Strip which it rules.. Also on Saturday, Hamas relaunched its “nocturnal harassment” campaign against Israel with hundreds of Palestinian gathering on the Israel border near the Karni crossing and hurling explosive devices, grenades and burning tires at Israeli soldiers. Crowd dispersal measures were used to break up the mob. In line with former routines, Egypt is stepping in to control the fray. A group of Egyptian officers is expected this week in Gaza to intercede with Hamas leaders and tell them to rein in their offensive.

No significant losses reported as rocket lands near Baghdad’s Green Zone
N.P. Krishna Kumar, Al Arabiya English/Sunday 16 August 2020
A Katyusha rocket landed in the vicinity of Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone which houses the US embassy, other diplomatic missions, and government buildings, according to Iraq’s state news agency quoting the military. There were no significant losses, the reported added. The security forces found a rocket pad launcher and dismantled two missiles that were ready to be fired at the site. The attack was at least the ninth within a week apparently aimed at US interests, according to a Reuters tally based on official statements and security sources.
 

Two rockets fall inside Iraq’s Taji camp hosting US troops, no casualties reported
Reuters/Saturday 15 August 2020
Two Katyusha rockets fell in Iraq’s Taji base that hosts US-led coalition troops, with no casualties reported, the state news agency said on Saturday, citing a military statement. The incident on Saturday comes a day after three rockets landed in the vicinity of Baghdad airport near a military base in the complex that houses US forces, after one of the busiest weeks of attacks against US targets in Iraq for months.
The incident caused no casualties, the military said.

Egypt disposing of dangerous materials at ports after Beirut’s massive blast
Reuters/Sunday 16 August 2020
Egypt has started disposing of abandoned and dangerous materials at ports after the massive explosion in Beirut’s port this month, the finance minister said on Sunday. “What happened in Beirut made us examine our own situation and we actually got rid of large quantities of abandoned and neglected and dangerous materials that were in the ports,” Mohamed Mait told parliament. “There are materials that have been delivered to multiple ministries including oil and defense and interior, and by next December Egyptian ports will be completely cleaned.”New customs procedures would also improve controls at ports, Mait said. A few days after the Beirut explosion, Egypt’s civil aviation ministry said it had ordered a review of materials at airports and the transfer of any hazardous goods to safe storage. The August 4 blast in Beirut, caused by the detonation of more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at its port, killed more than 170 people and wreaked destruction over swathes of the Lebanese capital.

Torrential rain floods in Sudan kill 63 since July: Interior ministry
AFP/SudanSunday 16 August 2020
Sudan on Sunday said floods caused by torrential rains have killed 63 people since July, with thousands more forced from their homes by the seasonal storms. Over 14,000 homes and 119 public buildings were destroyed, while more than 16,000 homes have been badly damaged, government civil defense organizations calculate, according to a statement from the interior ministry. Heavy rains usually fall in Sudan from June to October, and Sudan faces severe flooding every year. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that over 185,000 people have been affected by the floods, with more rainfall expected in the months ahead. The rains have caused flooding, landslides and damage to houses and infrastructure in 17 of the 18 states across the country, OCHA said.
“Humanitarian needs are rapidly increasing in Sudan, as the country faces multiple shocks, including the economic crisis, recent floods, violence and disease outbreaks,” OCHA said Sunday. The two most affected states are Gezira and Kassala, in the east of the North African country.

Seven killed, more than 20 injured in attack on hotel in Somalia’s capital
Reuters, Mogadishu/Sunday 16 August 2020
Militants stormed a high-end seaside hotel in Mogadishu on Sunday, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 20, in the second attack by insurgents on a highly fortified target in the Somali capital this week. Militant group al Shabaab claimed the attack on the Elite Hotel in Lido beach, which started with a suicide car bombing. Its gunmen later battled security forces. The hotel is owned by Abdullahi Mohamed Nor, a lawmaker and ex-finance minister and frequented by many government officials, government workers and people from the Somali diaspora. “There were officials of (President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s) government inside the hotel when we attacked,” said a statement broadcast on al Shabaab's Radio Andalus. The attack follows an uprising at Mogadishu’s central prison on Monday. State news agency SONNA reported that at least 15 prisoners and four guards were killed when Somali security forces beat back the rebellion. Militants stormed a high-end seaside hotel in Mogadishu on Sunday, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 20, in the second attack byinsurgents on a highly fortified target in the Somali capital this week. A witness, Ahmed Ali, said on Sunday he had heard “a huge blast at the hotel, gunfire followed, and then clouds of smoke.”“So far we confirmed seven people died, including two attackers, two junior directors and three civilians,” information ministry spokesman Ismail Mukhtar Omar told Reuters. “Fifteen people were injured and the operation is still going on.” Aamin ambulance service head Abdikadir Abdirahman had earlier told Reuters the service had transported 28 injured people from the scene before exchanges of gunfire started. Hotel owner Nor posted on his Facebook page after escaping the building: “May Allah have mercy on all those who died in the attack by the terrorists on civilians particularly on Elite Hotel in which I was in.”Mohamed Nur, a government worker who lives near Lido beach, said government security forces had been deployed to stop the attack. “The exchange of gunfire is terrible and stray bullets reached us near the beach,” he added. Somalia has been embroiled in deadly violence since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew leader Siad Barre and then turned on each other. Since 2008, al Shabaab has been fighting to overthrow the internationally-recognized central government and establish its rule based on its own interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

Talks on Ethiopia’s controversial dam pushed to Tuesday
AFP/Monday 17 August 2020
Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia agreed Sunday to present draft proposals over the management of Addis Ababa’s massive and controversial Nile dam within two days, Sudan’s water ministry said. “After lengthy discussions, the attendees decided to resume negotiations on Tuesday... to work on unifying the texts of the agreements submitted by the three countries,” the ministry said in a statement. The decision came during an earlier round of talks between water and foreign ministers from the three countries on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).Talks organized by South Africa, the current chair of the African Union, resumed Sunday after a short suspension, one day after Egypt and Sudan voiced optimism that a deal could be reached. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), situated in western Ethiopia on the Blue Nile River, has been contentious ever since Ethiopia broke ground on the project in 2011. Egypt and Sudan view it as a threat to vital water supplies, while Ethiopia considers it crucial for its electrification and development. While Ethiopia’s Abiy praises start to dam filling, Egypt seeks legally binding pact. Multiple rounds of talks have failed to yield a breakthrough on how the dam will be managed and operated. Nevertheless Ethiopia announced in July that it had reached its first-year target for filling the dam’s massive reservoir, a move that sparked anxiety in Cairo and Khartoum. The South Africa-led talks were suspended earlier this month after Addis Ababa insisted on linking them to renegotiating a deal on sharing the waters of the Blue Nile. It was not clear Sunday whether that issue had been addressed. Meeting in Khartoum on Saturday, the prime ministers of Sudan and Egypt said they were optimistic that the talks would ultimately bear fruit. “It is important to reach an agreement that guarantees the rights and interests of all three nations,” the leaders said in a joint statement, adding that a “mechanism to resolve (future) disputes” should be part of any deal.

Turkey slams Joe Biden’s past call for US to back Erdogan opponents
Reuters/16 August 2020Text size A A A
Turkey on Saturday condemned as “interventionist” comments that US Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden had made in December when he advocated a new US approach to the “autocrat” President Tayyip Erdogan and support for opposition parties. Biden’s comments to New York Times editors resurfaced in a video that made him the most popular topic on Twitter in Turkey, where Erdogan has governed for 17 years and has good relations with US President Donald Trump. Biden, the former US vice president, says in the video he is “very concerned” about Erdogan’s approach to Kurds in Turkey, his partial military cooperation with Russia, and access to US airfields in the country, a NATO ally. “What I think we should be doing is taking a very different approach to him now, making it clear that we support opposition leadership,” Biden said in the video and verified by a transcript published in January by the Times. “He has to pay a price,” Biden said at the time, adding Washington should embolden Turkish opposition leaders “to be able to take on and defeat Erdogan. Not by a coup, not by a coup, but by the electoral process.” In response, the Turkish president’s communications director Fahrettin Altun said the comments “reflect games and an interventionist approach towards Turkey” and are inconsistent with current diplomatic relations. “Nobody can attack our nation’s will and democracy or question the legitimacy of our President, who was elected by popular vote,” Altun said on Twitter, noting the failed coup in Turkey in 2016. “We believe that these unbecoming statements which have no place in diplomacy by a presidential candidate from our NATO ally, the United States, are unacceptable to the current administration too,” he added.
There was no immediate response from the Biden campaign. While Trump and Erdogan speak regularly, diplomatic relations have been strained over Ankara’s purchase of Russian air defenses, policy in Syria and over US charges against a Turkish state bank for allegedly helping Iran evade sanctions.
Turkey’s main opposition party won a handful of big city elections last year in a stinging defeat for Erdogan and his ruling AK Party, which polls show still has the most support nationwide. Biden made the comments on December 16 2019, before he emerged as the Democratic candidate.

Erdogan Says 'Sanctions and Threats' Won't Deter Turkey
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 16/2020
International threats and sanctions will not deter Turkey from carrying out energy research in disputed eastern Mediterranean waters, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. The search for oil and gas in contested energy-rich waters not far from Cyprus has pitted Turkey against its uneasy NATO ally Greece and the entire EU bloc. Turkey's decision to send a scientific vessel accompanied by a small navy fleet into the volatile region on Monday prompted Greece to dispatch in its own military assets to observe what was going on. France on Thursday also announced it was "temporarily reinforcing" its presence in the eastern Mediterranean in support of Greece. But on Saturday Erdogan was adamant. "On this question, our country is entirely in the right and we will continue to defend our rights, using all the means at our disposal," the Turkish head of state promised in televised comments. "We will not back down in the face of sanctions and threats," he insisted. Turkey argues that Greece is using its control of a few tiny islands off the coast of Turkey to claim an outsized share of the Mediterranean Sea. It also cites examples of past international agreements that gave the coastal power the right to waters despite another nation's islands near its shores. The diplomatic jostling saw Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias seek Washington's backing at a meeting in Vienna with U.S. Secretary Mike Pompeo this week. Yet both Washington and Brussels are keen to avoid head-on confrontations with Erdogan.A European official told AFP that German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Erdogan in July that Turkey would face EU sanctions if it drills in Cypriot waters or off the Greek island of Kastellorizo. On Thursday, EU chief Charles Michel underlined EU solidarity with member states Greece and Cyprus and urged Erdogan to "de-escalate tensions and avoid provocations". Erdogan said his country is ready for dialogue, but again attacked Greece on Saturday, accusing Athens of mistreating the Muslim and Turkish-speaking minorities on its territory. The Greek authorities "must, without delay, end to the measures which resemble state terrorism. There are attacks on our mosques and our schools," the Turkish president declared, without giving any details.

Russia Produces First Batch of Virus Vaccine
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 16/2020
Russia says it has produced the first batch of its coronavirus vaccine, after President Vladimir Putin announced it had been first in the world to approve a vaccine. Putin's announcement on Tuesday about the vaccine was met with caution from scientists and the World Health Organization who said it still needed a rigorous safety review. "The first batch of the novel coronavirus vaccine developed by the Gamaleya research institute has been produced," the health ministry said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies. Putin said the vaccine was safe and that one of his own daughters had been inoculated, though clinical trials were not yet complete and final stage testing involving more than 2,000 people only started this week. Western scientists were skeptical, with some warning that moving too quickly on a vaccine could be dangerous, but Russia denounced criticism as an attempt to undermine Moscow's research. The Russian vaccine is called "Sputnik V" after the Soviet-era satellite that was the first launched into space in 1957. It was developed by the Gamaleya research institute for epidemiology and microbiology in Moscow in coordination with the Russian defense ministry.
The head of the institute, Alexander Gintsburg, told the TASS state news agency on Saturday that volunteers taking part in the final stage testing of the vaccine's safety and efficacy would have two inoculations. Russia has said that industrial production is expected from September and that it plans to manufacture 5 million doses per month by December or January. Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said this week that the vaccine would first be made available to medics and would later be available to all Russians on a voluntary basis. With more than 917,000 confirmed infections, Russia's coronavirus caseload is currently fourth in the world after the United States, Brazil and India. Currently Russia has 92,000 people hospitalized with the virus and 2,900 in intensive care, according to the health ministry.
 

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 16-17/2020

Jewish community vocal over Kamala Harris's Jewish husband
Alicia Chandler/JTC/August 16/2020
American Jews want to celebrate the Jewish ties of any famous person while still discriminating against the relationships that tie these individuals to the Jewish community.
BIRMINGHAM, Mich. — Around the country, you hear the bubbies kvelling:
Did you know Kamala Harris’ husband is Jewish?
Did you know her step kids call her mamele?
Did you see the video with her doing the cute impression of her Jewish mother-in-law?
Did you hear that he broke a glass at their wedding?
It is not surprising that the Jewish community is excited to be represented on the Biden-Harris ticket. Political leanings of the community aside, Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, is a member of the tribe, and two of Joe Biden’s children are married to someone who is Jewish.
But sadly, the Jewish community is a bit selective in celebrating interfaith marriage. If it brings us a Jewish second gentleman, we will cheer. But interfaith marriage is still taboo to many, and an Orthodox or Conservative rabbi would not have been allowed to preside over the Harris and Emhoff wedding.
American Jews want to celebrate the Jewish ties of any famous person while still discriminating against the relationships that tie these individuals to the Jewish community.
Don't miss the voices that kept the Jewish world talking and thinking all week long.
One Jewish parent will likely get you placed on a list of Jewish celebrities (Zoe Kravitz, Michael Douglas, Maya Rudolph), but without awards lining your mantle, your Jewish lineage may be questioned or denied.
Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff married in March 2014 at a courthouse ceremony officiated by her sister, Maya. Could they have been married in your synagogue, or join as members afterwards? If Doug’s children were younger, would Kamala be allowed on the bimah during a b’nai mitzvah? After both of them, God-willing, live to 120, could they be buried together in your local Jewish cemetery?
As a Jewish woman married to a Catholic man, I am often heartbroken as committed Jews who married outside the faith share their stories of rejection by the community. One Jewish mother, whose children are enrolled at our local day school, spoke to me about how angry it makes her that, if her husband was the Jewish parent instead of her, there would be no day school options available to her children.
How many Jews of patrilineal descent are denied educational opportunities because of the gender of their Jewish parent? Other conversations about interfaith families are frequently about the difficulties of getting married — from outright refusals to officiate to interrogations on how the couple plans on keeping their home and raising their children.
While I cannot speak from experience, having never married another Jewish person, I cannot imagine that Jewish couples are subjected to such a gauntlet.
Thinking back to my own youth, I remember youth group discussions about whether intermarriage was doing what Hitler could not — and I fear that my own children would be exposed to similar programs sanctioned by Jewish institutions that would compare their own parents’ love to the Third Reich that murdered their ancestors. I hear community members discussing whether people “look” Jewish and cringe that this false notion could be used to make my blonde-haired blue-eyed children feel like their Jewish lineage is incomplete.
But more than the countless conversations I have, I am worried about the people that have just left. The couple who had a rabbi refuse to officiate at their wedding, and never walked into a synagogue again. I worry about the young professional who went to his first Jewish conference, heard a speaker say that marrying someone of another faith meant leaving the community, and decided to leave the organization. I worry about the college student considering a future in the rabbinate who learns that she will have to choose between marrying the person she wants and becoming a Rabbi in her denomination. The family who cannot find a mohel to perform a bris, and never ends up educating their child in Judaism.
The part that breaks my heart is when I meet a non-Jew who shares with me that their mom or dad was Jewish, but their parent was forced to choose between love and religion. This person is now lost to the community forever.
It is time for full inclusion of all interfaith families in the Jewish community, not just vice presidential nominees and celebrities. In 2013, 44% of all Jews were married to a non-Jew; 58% of those married since 2005, and the trend is seemingly on the rise.
Doug and Kamala are not a rare exception — they represent much of the American Jewish community today. We should make a greater effort to make families like them feel just as included and celebrated. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

Five countries that could be next to make peace with Israel
Seith J.Frantman/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020
Some view the UAE decision as a trial balloon, and will react positively based on how the next weeks and months play out.
In the wake of the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, there are rumors that several other states could be next to sign an agreement with Israel. While there are hurdles to normalizing relations with some states in the Middle East, there are others who view the UAE decision as a trial balloon and will react positively based on how the next weeks and months play out between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi.
What follows is a list of some countries that reports suggest may be in line to normalize relations.
Bahrain
Bahrain was long thought to be the first country in the Gulf that might normalize relations with Israel. The small kingdom has often made relatively positive comments about Israel over the years and appeared open to the Trump administration’s “Deal of the Century” by hosting discussions about the economic aspects of it. Bahrain has welcomed the UAE deal with Israel, and initial reports indicated it was working on normalizing relations after the UAE. Last December, media reports in the Gulf noted that Bahrain was reaching out to Israel.
In May, Bahrain shut down a symposium aimed at supporting a boycott of Israel. Last year, Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar visited Bahrain and met King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa in Manama, the capital. Also last year, Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa supported Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran’s threats. “Iran is the one who declared war on us,” he said. The Kingdom made similar statements in 2018.
Bahrainis participated in a bike race in Israel in 2018. Israel Katz, foreign minister at the time, met his counterpart, Khalifa, in Washington in 2019. Bahrain has a small Jewish community and has reached out to the Simon Wiesenthal Center in California.
Bahrain’s hurdles not only include Iran’s threats to try and stir up protests among the Shi’ite minority, but also that the country faced protests in the 2011 Arab Spring. As such, it appeared wiser for it to let the UAE to move first regarding relations with Israel. Oman
In October 2018, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a trip to Oman and met with Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Oman’s minister responsible for foreign affairs, Yusuf bin Alawi, made positive comments about accepting Israel in the region during subsequent discussions in Manama. In April, the Omanis made similar comments in Jordan at a conference, saying it was important to assure Israel that it was not being threatened. While Jordan slammed the comments, Oman continued to push forward with relatively positive views on Israel.
Oman, like other Gulf states, had actually been open to discussions with Israel in the 1990s. Prime minister Shimon Peres visited Oman in 1996. Much of this honeymoon period was changed by the Second Intifada, when Israel saw a reduction in trade offices in the Gulf. Oman, like Qatar, once had an Israeli trade office. It was closed in October 2000.
Nevertheless, in the wake of Netanyahu’s 2018 visit, there was increased talk of more ministerial visits across the Gulf. Oman, however, also hosts visits by top Iranian delegations and attempts to be neutral in other Gulf disputes, such as with Iran and the Qatar dispute.
Morocco
Morocco is reported to be one of the states on the short list of opening relations with Israel in the near term. There is a Jewish community in Morocco, and the country has made some gestures in recent years that show warming, people-to-people relations despite diplomatic ties being stagnated.
Israelis were brought back to Israel from the country in May during the coronavirus crisis. Cultural events in Morocco have shown more tolerance for Jews and Israel in recent years, despite pro-Palestinian activists being against them. Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote over the weekend that Morocco, Oman and Bahrain were the next countries that could normalize ties.
Morocco has been supportive of the Trump administration’s efforts on peace issues. In February, there were even rumors at Axios about Israel and the US recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over the West Sahara.
Israel-Morocco ties go back to the 1960s. King Hassan II played a key role in these warming relations, including working with Egypt’s Anwar Sadat before his historic 1977 visit. Peres visited Morocco in 1986, and prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and foreign minister Peres met Hassan II in 1993.
The Intifada in 2000 harmed relations, and they have been slow to return. Nevertheless, since 2003, there have been positive gestures, including the visit by foreign minister Silvan Shalom that year.
In 2019, a meeting between Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was called off at the last moment. That meeting was rumored to have included Netanyahu, according to Morocco World News and Israel’s Channel 12.
Netanyahu had met Pompeo in Lisbon, and the report said he could have traveled on to Rabat with Pompeo, but Morocco canceled the meeting. This may have been due to controversy over whether it would have been seen as a political issue supporting Netanyahu’s election campaign.
Either way, the central issue is that this has been something the US has been keen on for years.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has appeared to be more open to Israel in recent years. That has come about as a result of several processes. The kingdom is threatened by Iran and is fighting Iranian-backed forces in Yemen. Riyadh also opposes the Muslim Brotherhood and has broken relations with Qatar. The Muslim Brotherhood is linked to the ruling party in Turkey and to Hamas. Saudi Arabia has tried to clamp down on the kind of extremism that roiled the kingdom in the 1990s and in the last decade has appeared to share more interests with Israel.
However, Saudi Arabia has preferred to let other Gulf states that it works closely with go first in discussions with Israel. This includes Oman, the UAE and Bahrain. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has sought close relations with the Trump administration and has also made relatively positive comments on issues relating to the peace process in Israel. This is a shift from the old days, when the Palestinian issue was seen as front and center of everything in the Middle East.
Riyadh was a leader of the Arab initiative to recognize Israel in the 2000s in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank. This was proposed in 2002, and Riyadh has thus shown support for opening relations with Israel in this context. Saudi Arabia doesn’t want Turkey to take over the mantle of being the main supporter for the Palestinians and thus displace Saudi influence. However, that is a main concern in places like Jordan, namely, that Turkey is pushing influence in Jerusalem. To stop that, Riyadh would like to work with Jordan and the Gulf and see shared interests across the region. Toward that end, Riyadh has also hosted Evangelical delegations, and Arab News, a media outlet, has published writings by World Jewish Congress president Ron Lauder. This is part of regional outreach to Jewish voices in the US, as well as rabbis who visited the UAE and the Gulf, and a burgeoning Jewish community in the UAE. Riyadh is the more conservative of the Gulf group, however, recalling sensitivity in the ’90s over issues of having non-Muslims in the Kingdom. Today, Riyadh is pursuing Vision 2030 to modernize the country.
Recent reports have indicated that key members of the Trump administration, including Jared Kushner, think normalization is inevitable with the kingdom. An Israeli blogger reportedly received a friendly reception in Saudi Arabia in February, and Israelis can ostensibly travel to Riyadh, according to Israeli media reports. Saudis have been more open on social media in support of relations with Israel. Some media, perhaps seeking to sabotage these positive signs, have tried to claim Riyadh is in “secret talks” with Israel.
Qatar
Qatar and Israel had historically warm relations in the 1990s, and it was thought years ago to be the first in line for normalization. This happened after the Gulf War in 1991. There has been an Israeli trade office there since 1996. Qatar, Israel and the US formed a kind of tripartite relationship in light of this.
Doha sought to play an increasing role throughout the Middle East. As part of this wider role, it also wanted to play a role in peace discussions with Israel. In 2007, foreign minister Tzipi Livni met Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani in New York.
Qatar tried to cultivate pro-Israel supporters after a crisis developed between it and Saudi Arabia and the UAE in 2017. Working through lobbyists, it invited a long list of pro-Israel voices to Doha. It appeared that both Qatar and the UAE were working at the time to cultivate closer ties with the Trump administration, and Qatar thought that Jewish insiders were key to this. Qatar also tried to play an increasing role in discussions with Israel and Hamas. It provided cash for Gaza and kept Hamas afloat, part of a long-running attempt to be the paymaster for the Muslim Brotherhood across the region and to prop up Gaza. The young emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, is key to Qatar’s relationships across the region. The 40-year-old leader came to power in 2013. Qatar had helped fuel the Arab Spring and used Al Jazeera to fan protests across the region to gain influence. However, it saw many of these protests fail and regimes defeat Qatar-backed candidates. More isolated now, Qatar has Turkish troops in Doha after the 2017 crisis with Riyadh. That means it must rely on Turkey, which, except for Iran, is the most hostile regime in the region to Israel. Qatar is also close to Tehran. This means whatever feelers Qatar once had for peace, and even attempts to cultivate pro-Israel voices through junkets to Doha, are largely on ice.
Nevertheless, Qatar does have discussions with Israel about Gaza, where it plays a key role. Some Israelis see Qatar as playing a potential positive influence. Former defense minister Avigdor Liberman revealed a trip by the head of the Mossad to Qatar in February 2020. In 2018, Liberman met the Qatari foreign minister.
Qatar’s emir once made a historic trip to Gaza in 2012. That seems like a bygone era now. However, it is possible that Doha, thinking it could solve the Gulf crisis and get something from the Trump administration, would talk about normalizing relations. With Turkish troops in Qatar and Iran able to destabilize the emirate if it sees betrayal, this would not likely be seen as a wise move. Instead, Qatar prefers to be more open to moderate stances, such as hosting Israeli athletes and making itself a center of meetings and intrigue rather than a peace partner.
What about Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Libya and the rest?
Israel lacks relations with other countries in the region, from Tunisia to Pakistan. Netanyahu met Sudan’s new leader in February. Sudan is now closer to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, but it could consider more discussions with Israel. Turkey had been trying to move into Sudan via an island base it wanted to lease. Now Sudan is closer to countries that are closer to Israel. Tunisia was once one of the moderate states that could be foreseen as making a deal with Israel. However, Tunisia today has several internal crises and a conflict with its next-door neighbor Libya. Turkey is also competing for hearts and minds in Tunisia via a party that is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. While there is a Jewish community in Tunisia and also more-liberal elements, Tunisian leaders have called relations with Israel “treason.” Tunis has played a historic role hosting Palestinians since the 1980s, and this is a hurdle as well.
Algeria seems like a country that is far from any normalization with Israel. It even jailed a blogger for an interview with Israel last year. Algeria has its own internal problems, such as protests last year and a historic Islamist insurgency that tore the country apart in the ’90s. It also has the background of the anti-colonial struggle that was framed as part of the same struggle as the Palestinians in the ’60s and ’70s.
Lebanon could be a peace partner if not for Hezbollah. Hezbollah has only gotten stronger in recent years, holding the country hostage to Iran’s threats to Israel.
Syria also has more Iranian influence today and has given up discussions it once held in the ’90s and early 2000s with Israel.
Libya is riven by civil war and, despite rumors suggesting that Israel is on the side of the Egyptian-backed Khalifa Haftar, has no way to normalize relations with Israel. Instead, it forms part of the larger context of Israel, the UAE and Greece sharing views on the Mediterranean. Turkey is involved in supporting the government in Tripoli, while Egypt backs Haftar in Benghazi.
Yemen is also in the midst of a civil war, and the Iranian-backed Houthis have an official slogan, saying: “Death to Israel, curse the Jews.” There will be no peace there.
Iraq has too much Iranian influence to normalize relations with Israel. Nevertheless, it has historically moderate voices, especially in the Kurdistan region, which have been warmer toward Israel. But the Kurdistan region today is threatened by economic problems and Iran’s role in Baghdad, and it also has to balance challenges with a Turkish military campaign against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Iran could make peace with Israel if the regime falls. Tehran and Jerusalem had good relations prior to 1979. Similarly in Somalia, there are chances Israel could reach out to the region of Somaliland, which has declared itself independent since the ’90s.
Further afield, Israel faces hostility from Pakistan and Malaysia. Whereas Indonesia once seemed more moderate, it, too, has hostile elements in its political landscape.

Base set by UAE-Israel deal must be built upon
Alistair Burt/Arab News/August 16/ 2020
The UK will have noted the agreement between the UAE and Israel with more than academic interest. The two states are friends of the UK and strategic allies, despite their very different historical relationships. It has long been an aim of the UK to see Israel plugged fully into the region, economically and politically. The Arab world, needing to diversify its economy and with a rapidly increasing population, will benefit from the consequences of such a change. But for this to happen it has always been assumed that “normalization” would be as a consequence of agreed political change between Israel and Palestine, and that the missed opportunities of the past would have been overcome. As UAE Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Anwar Gargash still emphasized this week in a UK newspaper: “We eagerly anticipate the day when we can see an independent and sovereign Palestine alongside the State of Israel.”
But the UAE-Israel agreement has not come about as a result of that change. There are a number of other good reasons, including the growing security relationships between those who feel threatened by common sources, as well as the economic gains to be made. But the overwhelming sense of the agreement and its timing will be seen as marking out a seismic shift in thinking in the region, and an attempt to move away from the history and memory that traps the Middle East in its past more often than it opens doors to its future.
As surprises go, it was pretty big. A White House not unreasonably under siege has been a serious party to the public affirmation of an already steadily building relationship. The extent to which the agreement has emerged from a position of strength or as a salvage job from a road crash depends on the view taken of the Trump peace plan. Some will claim that this was the idea all along: An audacious attempt not to solve everything, but to move the peace process forward, knowing it could not be achieved in full. I do not buy that. The UK, along with many others, did not believe that the proposals, particularly those of annexation, could deliver a deal between the two parties, one of which had been humiliatingly excluded from the table for some time. Quite correctly in my view, London voiced its opposition.
But it is also true that, as time went on, however tempting it was to rally behind a “no annexation” platform, that was not a policy in itself. Something else had to happen. Stopping annexation was a vital step, not least to Jordan, which faced an existential crisis if it went ahead. Significant pronouncements from King Abdullah II and the UAE through its ambassador in Washington seem to have landed with the US, as well as important Israeli voices, if not the Israeli government. Annexation would have left a status quo of occupation, “facts on the ground” settlements and not just a stalled peace process, but one effectively in reverse. However tempting it was to rally behind a ‘no annexation’ platform, that was not a policy in itself. Something else had to happen.
This matters to the UK, for we are irrevocably tied to the Balfour Declaration and all its consequences. The centenary in 2017 drew attention in Parliament not just to the existence of the state of Israel, but also to the unfulfilled second element of the declaration and our strong commitment to both. The uncompromising statements by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab at the beginning of July, warning Israel — of which Johnson is a passionate supporter — of the dangers of annexation, should not be glossed over. It will be key to how the UK sees the next developments.
Somehow, therefore, an opportunity emerged from the undeliverable Trump deal. I wrote in Arab News three months ago, on May 20: “Perhaps, therefore, this moment of hesitation provides — once again for the eternal optimists in this process — an opportunity. We should be encouraging Arab leaders to seize it.” I hope this is indeed what has been seized by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
The agreement has not so much changed everything, but rather affirmed what has already changed; hence the understandably anguished reaction in Ramallah. But that reaction is also not a policy in itself. Israel has made one agreement on the basis stated by the UAE for an end to annexation (despite Benjamin Netanyahu insisting it has merely been delayed) — no mean achievement when one considers the fears on display just weeks ago. The agreement appears applicable not only to the existing Israeli and US administrations, but significantly also to new, different ones. But if “normalization” is to proceed with others, the base set by the UAE must be built upon. It must be possible to bring a revived and restructured Arab Peace Initiative into the equation, which should demand effective post-Palestinian election participation and continuing international encouragement.
It is hard to see the effective seizure of an opportunity for decisive change in the Middle East without some further evidence that those who claim “no one cares” about the Palestinian people are wrong.
*Alistair Burt is a former UK Member of Parliament who has twice held ministerial positions in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office — as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State from 2010 to 2013 and as Minister of State for the Middle East from 2017 to 2019. Twitter: @AlistairBurtUK

Israel-UAE Deal is a Win-Win for Peace
Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/August 16/2020
The United Arab Emirates will derive many benefits from closer relationships with the Middle East's most stable and advanced county. These include economic and technological partnerships, military and intelligence sharing, mutual tourism and better relationships with the US and much of the rest of the world.
The deal also demonstrates how quickly changes occur in this volatile part of the globe. It was only a few decades ago when Israel's strongest allies were Iran and Turkey, and its most intractable enemies were Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf states. Now the reverse is true. The only constant constructive element in the region is a democratic Israel, with its close ties to the United States.
The other constant — but a destructive one— has been the Palestinian leadership. They constantly say no to everything that involves normalization with Israel. This stance goes back to the 1930s when they rejected the Peel Commission recommendation that would have given them a state in the vast majority of the British Mandate. But because it would also have given the Jews a tiny, non-contiguous state, the Palestinians said no. They wanted there not to be a Jewish state more than they wanted there to be a Palestinian state. This naysaying... continues today with their refusal even to negotiate over the Trump peace plan.
The agreement by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to normalize relations with Israel bodes well for the future of Israel and the dangerous region in which it lives. Pictured: Israeli and UAE flags line a road in Netanya, Israel on August 16, 2020.
The agreement by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to normalize relations with Israel bodes well for the future of Israel and the dangerous region in which it lives. It was not the first such agreement — there were peace treaties with Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) — but it will probably not be the last. It is likely, though not certain, that other Gulf nations may follow. Even the president of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, has "hinted at the possibility of peace talks with Israel." In any event, he has not precluded eventually joining other Arab countries in normalizing relations with Israel.
Although the Palestinian leadership opposed the deal — it always opposes everything — it too may benefit from it. The UAE will press for a two-state solution and its voice will be more influential both in the United States and in Israel. A two-state solution that assures Israel's security would require a demilitarized Palestine with an Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley and territorial swaps that keep the current settlement blocks as part of Israel. This would allow for a contiguous, viable Palestinian state that could thrive if it maintained peace with Israel. The Palestinians could secure such a state if they agree to negotiate with Israel over the current Trump plan that is now on the table.
The deal makes clear that the Palestinian leadership no longer has a veto on the actions and attitudes of its Arab neighbors who will do what it is in their own best interest. It has also become clear that strengthening ties with the militarily, technologically and economically powerful Israel is the best protection against the dangers posed by an Iran that for decades has been seeking to have its own deliverable nuclear weapons capability.
Most US Democratic Party leaders including presidential candidate Joe Biden and his vice-presidential pick, Kamala Harris, have praised the deal. One of the very few prominent Americans who belittled the agreement, nevertheless, was Ben Rhodes, a foreign policy adviser to former President Barack Obama, who was instrumental in making the terrible deal with Iran that essentially green-lighted the mullahs' quest for a nuclear arsenal. Ironically and perversely, it was the pro- Iranian policy of Obama and Rhodes that contributed to the fear that drove the UAE closer to Israel. The Emirates know that Israel will never allow Iran to develop or acquire nuclear weapons, no matter what it takes to stop them. For the rest of the world — including the US— a nuclear Iran is a regional diplomatic problem. For Israel, it is an existential threat. For the Gulf States, it poses a serious threat to their regimes.
The deal, however, is more than "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." The UAE will derive many benefits from closer relationships with the Middle East's most stable and advanced county. These include economic and technological partnerships, military and intelligence sharing, mutual tourism and better relationships with the US and much of the rest of the world.
The deal also demonstrates how quickly changes occur in this volatile part of the globe. It was only a few decades ago when Israel's strongest allies were Iran and Turkey, and its most intractable enemies were Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf states. Now the reverse is true. The only constant constructive element in the region is a democratic Israel, with its close ties to the United States.
The other constant — but a destructive one— has been the Palestinian leadership. They constantly say no to everything that involves normalization with Israel. This stance goes back to the 1930s, when they rejected the Peel Commission recommendation that would have given them a state in the vast majority of the British Mandate. But because it would also have given the Jews a tiny, non-contiguous state, the Palestinians said no. They wanted there not to be a Jewish state more than they wanted there to be a Palestinian state. This naysaying approach continued in 1948, 1967, 2000 and 2008. It continues today with their refusal even to negotiate over the Trump peace plan. As Abba Eban once put it: The Palestinians can't take yes for an answer and never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. But the UAE can take yes and does not miss opportunities. The rest of the Arab world should follow. Maybe then the Palestinian leadership will realize that they, too, should sit down and negotiate a full peace with the nation state of the Jewish people.
*Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School and author of the book, Guilt by Accusation: The Challenge of Proving Innocence in the Age of #MeToo, Skyhorse Publishing, November 2019. He is the Jack Roth Charitable Foundation Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2020 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

The Ignored Genocide of Christians in Nigeria
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/August 16/2020
Earlier this year... [Boko Haram] released a video of a masked Muslim child holding a pistol behind a bound and kneeling Christian hostage, a 22-year-old biology student who was earlier abducted while traveling to his university. After chanting in Arabic and launching into an anti-Christian diatribe, the Muslim child shot the Christian several times in the back of the head.
Aside from some of the most grisly incidents... the so-called mainstream media does not report on the bulk of the persecution. Could journalists be worried that a politically incorrect pattern might emerge, in which attacks might appear ideologically driven, as opposed to just "crimes"?
The reason formerly simple Fulani herdsmen have, since 2015, managed to kill nearly twice as many Christians as the "professional" terrorists of Boko Haram.... is, to quote Nigerian bishop Matthew Ishaya Audu, "because President Buhari is also of the Fulani ethnic group."
"Since the government and its apologists are claiming the killings have no religious undertones, why are the terrorists and herdsmen targeting the predominantly Christian communities and Christian leaders?" — The Christian Association of Nigeria, International Centre for Investigative Reporting, January 21, 2020.
"What Obama, John Kerry and Hilary Clinton did to Nigeria by funding and supporting [current president Muhammadu] Buhari in the 2015 presidential election and helping Boko Haram in 2014/2015 was sheer wickedness and the blood of all those killed by the Buhari administration, his Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram over the last 5 years are on their hands." — Femi Fani-Kayode, Nigeria's former Minister of Culture and Tourism, Facebook, February 12, 2020.
The mass slaughter of Christians in Nigeria, which some international observers have classified as genocide, is reaching unprecedented levels. Pictured: The town of Auno, Nigeria on February 10, 2020, following an attack the previous day in which jihadists murdered at least 30 people and abducted women and children.
The mass slaughter of Christians in Nigeria, which some international observers have classified as genocide, is reaching unprecedented levels.
According to an August 4 report, at least 171 Christians were slaughtered by Muslim Fulani herdsmen in the space roughly three weeks:
"And these are only those we know of. In reality, the toll is likely to be far higher. Many thousands are also being displaced by the violence from homes and such livelihoods as they had left after covid lockdown brought economic havoc.... Our news desk has been swamped by such stories for many months, yet this relentless and bloody toll of Christian lives is disturbingly absent from wider mainstream media."
In one of the recent raids, on July 10, Muslim herdsmen massacred 22 Christians — "mostly women and children" — and torched many homes in a farming community. "The Fulani came in and were shooting," recalled Bilkisu James from her hospital bed. "They killed two of my children [and husband]." They also "hacked another five of Bilkisu's relatives to death with machetes including a mother and her baby daughter and a mother and her two sons."
A Muslim neighbor had apparently exposed the Christian family to his invading coreligionists: "Before I was shot," Bilkisu continued, "I saw the Fulani man who is my neighbour, he even identified me. I surrendered to him on my knees" — to no avail. They shot her in the chest and back and left her for dead, even as she "heard them light the match and set the house on fire."
The next day, a neighboring village was raided: "ten women, a baby and an elderly man were burnt to death in a house where they had taken refuge. Another seven villagers were injured and four houses burnt out." On July 19, people attending a wedding celebration were among at least 32 Christians massacred in Fulani attacks.
In a separate "horrific night attack during a torrential rain storm on 23 July, at least seven Christians died... as militants brutally hacked unarmed men and women and children to death with machetes." The report adds that "This was the second attack on the village within days, with seven murdered in an attack days earlier on 20 July."
On July 29, Muslim herdsmen murdered another 14 Christians — 13 of whom belonged to one extended family. Only one member of the family remained alive; his wife, all his children, aunt, uncle, brother, and other relatives were slaughtered.
Last week, armed jihadis stormed the Lion of Judah Church in Azikoro and opened fire on worshippers; four Christians were killed.
Listing more atrocities — there are hundreds through the years — is futile in one article. (For a comprehensive look at Christian suffering in Nigeria and other Muslim nations, see Gatestone's monthly "Persecution of Christians" reports.)
Consider just April 2020. Machete-wielding Muslim herdsmen murdered at least 13 Christians between April 1-2. "[W]e woke up to bury seven people burnt to death... from an overnight attack," one source said. Those killed "are mostly elderly Christians who were unable to escape as members of the community ran into surrounding bushes during the attack."
Then, on April 7, the Fulani herdsmen slaughtered a pastor and three members of his congregation, including a 10-year-old boy. The pastor, Matthew Tagwai, who was murdered in his home, is survived by a pregnant wife and two small children.
On April 10, Muslim Fulani herdsmen murdered pastor Stephen Akpor, 55. "Two herdsmen came to a branch of our church, Celestial Church... where they shot him as he was praying and counseling five members in the church," his colleagues said. "The herdsmen shot the pastor several times and then stabbed him to death." He is survived by his wife and five children.
On April 11, Muslim Fulani herdsmen shot a Christian farmer dead.
On April 13, Muslim Fulani herdsmen decapitated two Christians, in a manner that required them to be "buried without their heads."
On April 14, Muslim Fulani herdsmen butchered nine Christians, six of whom were children, one a pregnant mother. "They were armed with machetes and AK-47 rifles as they attacked us," a survivor recalls: "They attacked our village at about 8 p.m., and they were shouting, 'Allahu Akbar!' as they shot into our houses." Thirty-three homes were set ablaze.
On April 16, Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed Sebastine Stephen, a young Christian student. "The Fulani herdsmen were over 50 carrying sophisticated guns and shooting sporadically. After they killed the young man," a survivor reported, "they then broke into the house of Mr. Jack Nweke and abducted him with his wife, leaving behind their three children."
On April 19, Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed four Christians. "Thirty-eight houses with 86 rooms were also razed down, while about 87 families are affected," a source said.
On April 20, "A Christian farmer, Titus Nyitar, was shot to death, and his head was cut off," an area resident said. Titus was "working on his farm when he was killed by the herdsmen." Afterwards they "proceeded to the village to burn down houses and kidnapped three villagers."
On April 22, Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed 12 Christians; earlier, the report notes, they kidnapped a couple as they were being married inside their church.
On April 23, the Fulani "killed two people, kidnapped another and burned down a church building that included the pastor's home in attacks on predominantly Christian areas in north-central Nigeria."
Aside from some of the most grisly incidents — such as the rape and slaughter of a Christian student sheltering in a church — the so-called mainstream media does not report on the bulk of this persecution. Could journalists be worried that a politically incorrect pattern might emerge in which the attacks would appear more ideologically driven, as opposed to just "crimes"?
"It is as if the lives of Christians no longer matter," said a Nigerian pastor about the wedding attack that claimed 32 lives.
"It is very disturbing that these daily onslaughts on Christians ... have been going on far too long unattended by the Federal and State governments.... there are no sympathy visits to the remnant victims in the communities... There are no steps taken to alleviate their sufferings by providing relief materials to them since they have been made internally displaced persons in their thousands."
"I strongly believe," said a survivor of a recent Fulani attack that claimed the life of his sister and four other Christians, "that some of these security personnel who are Muslims are conniving with these armed men to attack our people.... the sad reality is that our people have made representations to the government at both the state and federal levels and nothing has been done."
"What is the crime of these innocent people against Fulani herdsmen?" another local asked concerning an attack that left a pastor and a 10-year-old child dead.
"For how long shall we continue to experience this killing? For how long shall we continue to beg the government and the security agencies to come to the aid of our people?"
Their questions are especially relevant in light of recently released statistics: Since 2009, "not less than 32,000 Christians have been butchered to death by the country's main Jihadists" — with next nothing done about it, said a May report:
"Militant Fulani Herdsmen and Boko Haram ... have intensified their anti-Christian violence ... with hacking to death in the past four months and half of 2020 of no fewer than 620 defenseless Christians [470 by Fulani herdsmen and 150 by Boko Haram], and wanton burning or destruction of their centers of worship and learning. The atrocities against Christians have gone unchecked and risen to alarming apogee with the country's security forces and concerned political actors looking the other way or colluding with the Jihadists. Houses burnt or destroyed during the period are in their hundreds; likewise dozens of Christian worship and learning centers."
The reason formerly simple Fulani herdsmen have, since 2015, managed to kill nearly twice as many Christians as the "professional" terrorists of Boko Haram, according to numerous Christian leaders in Nigeria, is, to quote Nigerian bishop Matthew Ishaya Audu, "because President Buhari is also of the Fulani ethnic group."
In a January statement, the Christian Association of Nigeria, an umbrella group representing most denominations, further accused "the federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari" of "colluding" with the Islamic terrorists "to exterminate Christians in Nigeria." The Association asked:
"Since the government and its apologists are claiming the killings have no religious undertones, why are the terrorists and herdsmen targeting the predominantly Christian communities and Christian leaders?"
Some Nigerian leaders go beyond Buhari and blame "the evil called Barack Obama" — in the words of Femi Fani-Kayode, Nigeria's former Minister of Culture and Tourism. On February 12, the former government official wrote the following on his Facebook account:
"What Obama, John Kerry and Hilary Clinton did to Nigeria by funding and supporting [current president Muhammadu] Buhari in the 2015 presidential election and helping Boko Haram in 2014/2015 was sheer wickedness and the blood of all those killed by the Buhari administration, his Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram over the last 5 years are on their hands."
Although President Buhari's fellow Fulanis have claimed the lion's share of attacks on Christians since his presidency, Boko Haram — the original scourge of Christians in Nigeria — is still active. Earlier this year, for instance, it released a video of a masked Muslim child holding a pistol behind a bound and kneeling Christian hostage, a 22-year-old biology student who was earlier abducted while traveling to his university. After chanting in Arabic and launching into an anti-Christian diatribe, the Muslim child shot the Christian several times in the back of the head.
Weeks earlier, Islamic gunmen abducted Reverend Lawan Andimi, a pastor and district chairman of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. After the terrorists demanded an exorbitant ransom for his release — two million euros, which his church and family simply could not raise — they beheaded the married father-of-nine. Earlier, in a January 5 video that his abductors released, Pastor Lawan had said that he hoped to be reunited with his wife and children; however, "[i]f the opportunity has not been granted, maybe it is the will of God. I want all people close and far, colleagues, to be patient. Don't cry, don't worry, but thank God for everything."
The Nigerian government, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah said about the beheading of another 10 Christians earlier this year, is "using the levers of power to secure the supremacy of Islam. The only difference between the government and Boko Haram is that Boko Haram is holding the bomb."
*Raymond Ibrahim, author most recently of Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2020 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Iran: Self-Harming with Anti-Americanism
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/August 16/2020
What Ails the Islamic Republic in Iran?... one may suggest another, in my opinion more pertinent, ailment: Anti-Americanism or, to coin a word, Americanitis.
It consists of a mixture of professed hatred of the United States, as reflected in the regime's uber-slogan "Death to America", on the one hand, and sadomasochistic fascination with all things American on the other.
Despite all that, poll after poll shows that the "Great Satan" remains more popular in Iran than in some Western democracies.
Hope of immigrating to the US has created a bustling visa-hunting industry with over 80 "specialist offices". The US consulate in Istanbul claims it is processing more than 100,000 Iranian files each year.
Iran's Anti-Americanism, or Americanitis, consists of a mixture of professed hatred of the United States, as reflected in the regime's uber-slogan "Death to America", on the one hand, and sadomasochistic fascination with all things American on the other. Poll after poll shows that the "Great Satan" remains more popular in Iran than in some Western democracies. American fast food, under Islamic names, is also competing with Persian cuisine. (Photo by Patrick Baz/AFP via Getty Images)
What Ails the Islamic Republic in Iran?
This is the topic of a symposium that, coronavirus permitting, is slated to bring a number of European Iran-watchers together next month.
Some answers could be anticipated, among them a democratic deficit, not to say a totalitarian culture of government. There is also rampant corruption, which some experts believe has become a way of life in Iran. Another ailment is economic dislocation caused by poor management and the greed of a narrowly based nomenclature. A surrealistic cult of personality and a never-ending factional feud may also be cited. No prize for guessing, but sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, too, are sure to be mentioned.
However, at the risk of veering away from academic method, one may suggest another, in my opinion more pertinent, ailment: Anti-Americanism or, to coin a word, Americanitis.
One may go so far as to suggest that many of the other ailments that have kept the Khomeinist regime in perpetual crisis are rooted in Americanitis.
What does Americanitis consist of?
It consists of a mixture of professed hatred of the United States, as reflected in the regime's uber-slogan "Death to America", on the one hand, and sadomasochistic fascination with all things American on the other.
The Iranian gets up every morning to a barrage of abuse on the United States from official media. When he goes to work he may have to trample on a star-spangled banner before entering buildings.
The walls of his city are covered with posters and tags calling for the destruction of America. Every year he is invited to a march against the "Great Satan" and, if he is somebody, is invited to an international "A World Without America" seminar. If he visits a bookshop he is offered cheap editions of anti-American literature mostly by American and European America-haters.
If he goes to a Friday prayer session at the local mosque, he hears mullahs' tirades against the "Great Satan."
A study by Soraya Nasiri shows that Friday sermons devote more time to fomenting hatred of the US than on bona fide religious issues. Another study, by a Ph.D. candidate who wishes not to be named, claims that anti-Americanism is the central theme of some 60 percent of speeches by "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenei. Even when he talks of writing poetry, successful Islamic marriages, or a healthy Islamic diet, the ayatollah seasons his sermons with hate-America spices.
Despite all that, poll after poll shows that the "Great Satan" remains more popular in Iran than in some Western democracies.
Why is that?
The reason is that regime propaganda portrays the US as an omnipotent hegemon dominating the world.
President Hassan Rouhani has said that the US is the Headman (kadkhoda in Persian) of the global village.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described the deal he made with the Obama administration on Iran's nuclear project as "the greatest diplomatic victory for Islam." With eyes filled with tears of pride he announced that America had recognized the right of Iran to enrich uranium, a right that every nation has under international law.
Overestimating America's power while expressing hatred for it has created a situation in which almost every domestic and foreign policy option is predicated on its effect on relations with the US. Because Russia is supposed to be a rival to the US, it is cast as an ally, although it treats Iran with disdain. The same goes for China in its recent lovers' tiff with the US. Suddenly, the mullahs re-write themselves as Sinophiles, inviting Beijing to a banquet of Iranian resources.
Fascination with America started with Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini, the mullah who created the weird regime. In his first government, five ministers were US citizens or Green Card holders. Of the nine foreign ministers the Islamic Republic has had, six are American-educated. In contrast, of the 24 foreign ministers who served under the Shah, only one had studied in US. According to a report by Islamic Majlis, more than 1,500 senior Khomeinist officials have sent their children to US for education or business.
Until 1978, Iran never filled its US immigration quota, as Iranians were reluctant to emigrate. In 1974, the Iranian Embassy in Washington estimated the Iranian immigrant community at around 6,000, not counting some 40,000 students. Under the mullahs, however, over eight million Iranians have emigrated, nearly two million of them to the US.
Hope of immigrating to the US has created a bustling visa-hunting industry with over 80 "specialist offices". The US consulate in Istanbul claims it is processing more than 100,000 Iranian files each year.
There are other signs of the mullahs' fascination with America.
Every now and then, the mullahs organize a jihad against American DVDs, pop music albums and "sinful" clothes, with little success.
A year after seizing power, the mullahs changed the uniform of Iranian military, including the caps, copied from the German army in the 1930s, replacing them with US-style khakis and baseball caps. Revolutionary Guard chiefs wear uniforms copied from the one John Wayne wore in his film "Iwo Jima."
The mullahs also replaced goose-stepping in the Shah's army with American-style duck-march. In 2018, General Muhammad Baqeri, newly appointed Chief of Staff, adopted the reform project presented by General David Petraeus for the American military, to replace classical divisions with smaller more mobile brigades.
Under the mullahs, Iran has also replaced French with American English as official diplomatic language, ending a 200-year old tradition.
When the mullahs wish to claim credit for their views, they cite American figures sympathetic to their cause, among them Noam Chomsky, Barbara Slavin, Fareed Zakaria, Thomas Friedman, Robert Malley, Mark Gazirowski and Louis Farrakhan. Visits by little known American "scholars" hit headlines in official media, especially if the visitor adds a dose of anti-Semitism. The "Supreme Guide" is addicted to CNN while the New York Times is often quoted as gospel truth.
Under the mullahs, Iranian universities replaced the French system of examinations with the American system of credits.
For years, Khamenei has been calling for reforms to end the use of American textbooks in Islamic universities, to no avail. American fast food, under Islamic names, is also competing with Persian cuisine.
A British travel writer says he was surprised to have a delicious cheeseburger with General Lee onion rings and a milkshake in a remote town in Iranian Kurdistan.
The Islamic Republic has propelled itself into Americanitis which, like alcoholism, is known to be deadly but cannot be abandoned either.
*Amir Taheri was the executive editor-in-chief of the daily Kayhan in Iran from 1972 to 1979. He has worked at or written for innumerable publications, published eleven books, and has been a columnist for Asharq Al-Awsat since 1987. He is the Chairman of Gatestone Europe.