English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese
Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 27/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.may27.20.htm
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Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006
Bible Quotations For today
With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a
thousand years are like one day
Second Letter of Peter 03/01-09/:”This is now, beloved, the
second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere
intention by reminding you that you should remember the words spoken in the past
by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour spoken through
your apostles. First of all you must understand this, that in the last days
scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is
the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things
continue as they were from the beginning of creation!’ They deliberately ignore
this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was
formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world of that time
was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the present heavens
and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgement and
destruction of the godless. But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with
the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one
day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is
patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 26-27/2020
Questions, Facts & Doubts About Israel’s withdrawal from south
Lebanon/By: Charbel Barakat & Elias Bejjani/May 27/2020
Hezbollah’s bogus Liberation & Resistance Day/Elias Bejjani/May 25/2020
Letter to Mufti Qabalan/Elie Aoun: May 27/2020
Hariri Hospital: 365 tests performed, number of recoveries stable at 191
Coronavirus: Lebanon introduces fines for not wearing face masks
President Aoun grants the late Salah Steitieh the National Order of Merit
Nasrallah: Fighting corruption is more difficult than fighting Israel
Senior Hizbullah Official Hashim Safi Al-Din: Israel Will Not Last 25 Years
Future Bloc rejects calls for federalism and overthrowing Taef
Pro-Hezbollah Mufti declares end to Lebanon’s confessional system
No to changing land identity,” says Hawat
Series of enemy violations of the national airspace on Monday and Tuesday
Geagea, Foucher review local, regional developments
Mortada inspects Lebanese Cheese & Dairy Factory: To finalize refining station
to ensure environmental and health safety of the factory and its vicinity
Al Shamsi at the end of the Ramadan campaign: The UAE is in the first ranks in
comprehensive community service
Abdel Samad visits Sheikh Hassan: A duty visit at all times to draw inspiration
from the wisdom of His Eminence
Druze Sheikh Aql meets with Health Minister, Saudi Ambassador on Eid Al-Fitr
occasion
Lebanese Political Activist Dr. Naji Hayek: Lebanon Must Become a Federation,
Develop a Technology-Based Economy; Syrian Refugees Detrimental to Lebanon
Plight of migrant workers in Lebanon worsens as crises multiply
Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement: The end of an affair?/Makram
Rabah/Al Arabiya/May 26/2020
Joumana Haddad: Rebellion whirlwind versus opprobrium, via words/Christy-Belle
Geha/Annahar/May 26/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on May 26-27/2020
Bethlehem Nativity Church reopens after coronavirus closure
Third Iranian cargo reaches Venezuelan waters, others unloading
US military says Russia deployed ‘fourth generation’ fighter jets to Libya
Erdogan lifts 10-year Israel cargo ban while condemning Israeli actions in
Palestine
Erdogan seeks to extend his Libya gains into a foothold in Algeria
Aguila Saleh’s initiative tests international community on Libya
France says relations with Tehran ‘more difficult’ with detention of
French-Iranian academic
Leading security officials say ISIS resurgent amid coronavirus pandemic
Captured Senior ISIS Commander Abdul Nasser Qardash: Fanatics In ISIS Had The
Upper Hand; New Leader Not As Resolute As Al-Baghdadi
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on
May 26-27/2020
“White Harlots Eager for Sex”: Islam’s Medieval Fantasies Plague
Europe/Raymond Ibrahim/May 26/2020
France's Determination to End Free Speech/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/May
26/2020
Iran: The Ayatollah, Amid Coronavirus, Calls for Jihad Against the Jewish State/Majid
Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/May 26/2020
U.S. Troops Are Vulnerable. Israel Technologies Can Help/John Hannah and Jacob
Nagel/FDD/May 26/2020
Securing technological superiority requires a joint US-Israel effort/Bradley
Bowmanl/FDD/May 26/2020
COVID-19 in Latin America: Organized Crime Gains and States Weaken/Emanuele
Ottolenghi/FDD/May 26/2020
COVID-19 And Iranian Foreign And Security Policy: Stasis, Not Change/Behnam Ben
Taleblu/FDD/May 26/2020
Daesh exploiting Syrian, Iraqi vacuums to make a comeback/Osama Al-Sharif/Arab
News/May 26/ 2020
Tory party becoming a breeding ground for Islamophobia/Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab
News/May 26/ 2020
Helping the forgotten victims of coronavirus pandemic/Jonathan Gornall/Arab
News/May 26/ 2020
Everybody has role to play in war on COVID-19 ‘infodemic’/Maha Akeel/Arab
News/May 26/ 2020
Al Jazeera continues to ‘provide a platform to bigoted and violent extremists’/Tarek
Al Ahmad/Arab News/May 26/ 2020
Iran’s Khamenei sees himself as savior to Arabs – he is their nightmare/Hussain
Abdul-Hussain/Al Arabiya/May 26/2020
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published
on May 26-27/2020
Questions, Facts & Doubts About Israel’s withdrawal from
south Lebanon
By: Charbel Barakat & Elias Bejjani/May 27/2020
شربل بركات والياس بجاني: أسئلة وحقائق وشكوك حول الإنسحاب الإسرائيلي من جنوب
لبنان سنة الفين
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/86620/86620/
A Quotation from Mordechai Nisan’s Book “Politics & War In Lebanon” in regards
to a secret agreement between Hezbollah and Israel in year 2000 based on a
Derspiegal Report.
“A report From the Derspiegel newspaper carried a story about a secret agreement
between Israel and Hezbollah that had been reached shortly before the
withdrawal, concluded behind the back of the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The deal
assured that Hezbollah would with Israel’s consent freely enter the zone when
the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) withdrew, and this understanding allowed Israel
to secure the well-being of its fleeing soldiers. The SAL would decompose and
disintegrate and offer no opposition. In Late May (year 2000) this became the
scenario for the unfolding events. Not one Israel soldier was even scratched
during the ostensibly sudden pullout and perhaps we now understand and why. As
for Hezbollah it demonstrated its ability not just to fight Israel to the end,
but also to subjugate it to a humiliating agreement. Israel made an agreement
with the enemy that it hide form its friend. Within Lebanon the liberation of
the south was a source of pride and a vindication of the Shiites militia’s
resistance against the Zionist enemy. Hezbollah had defeated Israel and was on
the path to conquer Lebanon”.
There is no question that the withdrawal of a foreign army from any country
should be hailed with a sense of relief and joy; even if it was an ally its
withdrawal indicates that the country is self-governing and is capable of
defending itself independently.
Meanwhile, the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon on May 23/2000 was not
hailed by our people, because practically it was the beginning of a new tragedy
that was added to the many Lebanese tragedies. Why was there this bitter feeling
and why is it still painful after 20 years?
The other question is why our people who are patriotic and adore their land have
decided at that time to leave their beloved country and go into exile in
neighbouring Israel? Did they actually follow the withdrawing Israeli army?
The intention of this editorial is not to delve into many analyses, but to
summarize the actual reasons that made our people hastily cross the border and
seek refuge in Israel:
1-At that time Lebanon was still under the oppressive Syrian occupation and its
mere decision making process was fully controlled by Syria, the occupier.
2- Hezbollah, an armed militia, which is totally affiliated to the Iranian
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was in control of Lebanon’s Shiite
communities culturally, ideologically, militarily and economically, especially
in numerous parts of the south.
3- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stationed in south
Lebanon failed in their duty of reassuring the citizens of their safety, did not
show any interest in the outcome of the Israeli withdrawal and did not negotiate
with the southern citizens in the absence of the Lebanese authorities or even
ask for their opinion or protect them.
While Israel was logistically preparing for the withdrawal, Hezbollah waged a
merciless and savage media campaign against the southern Lebanese citizens.
The campaign was aired publicly on all local and international TV channels and
radio stations.
The most frightening threats were uttered personally by Hezbollah’s Secretary
General, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, who savagely said, “We will enter their
bedrooms, pierce their stomachs, slaughter them and slice their throats.”
But Nasrallah’s threats did not frighten the South Lebanon Army (SLA), on the
contrary this rhetoric was ridiculed on May 18/2000, six days before the Israeli
withdrawal, when the Hezbollah militia tried to overcome and control one of the
SLA military posts at the “Hamra Bridge”. The attack failed badly and Hezbollah
suffered huge losses.
Facing this disastrous milieu and all the other uncertainties, southern citizens
were left with two bitter options:
To militarily defend their land, engage with Hezbollah and repeat the status
that prevailed before 1978;
Or to succumb to Hezbollah, surrender their weapons and live under its
authority.
Encountering this dilemma, they decided to avoid more Lebanese bloodshed and to
leave Lebanon, the country that they cherished, without a fight and take refuge
in Israel.
As a result of the Israeli withdrawal, there has been an enormous global
escalation of terrorism not only in the Middle East, but in many other
countries.
Progress of peace efforts suffered a remarkable setback and worldwide violence
prevailed leading to the 9/11 attacks and to subsequent acts of terrorism
throughout Europe and the rest of the world.
The Free World countries responded by waging a massive global military
anti-terrorism campaign that primarily focused on both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Subsequently, the international community tried to amend the fatal mistakes that
were committed in Lebanon and issued UN Security Council Resolution 1559 that
addressed three important issues:
1-Syrian occupation: It called for the immediate withdrawal of the Syrian army
from Lebanon.
2-Weapons of terrorism: It called for the disarming of all militias, and in
particular, of Hezbollah.
3- Safeguarding Lebanon’s democratic system: It called for free parliamentary
elections without Syrian interference.
UN Resolution 1559 provided the Lebanese people with the incentives to take
action.
Accordingly, in year 2005 the Cedar Revolution emerged and the Lebanese people
by the hundreds of thousands peacefully took to the streets forcing the
withdrawal of the Syrian army.
Unfortunately, this revolution did not finish the job, which gave Hezbollah the
route to brazenly escape and instigate a war with Israel in 2006.
Sadly, due to the Lebanese authorities’ and politicians’ hesitation, poor
judgment and lack of courage, they did not fully utilize the available
circumstances to finish off the Hezbollah phenomenon.
Instead Hezbollah besieged the government’s headquarters, alleged a divine
victory on Israel in the 2006 war, and on May 07 and 11/2008, invaded the
western section of the capital Beirut and attempted to conquer the Shouf
Mountain, enforcing a new national balance equation in a bid to abort the Cedar
Revolution and circumvent and cripple UN Resolution 1559.
http://www.clhrf.com/un%20documents/1559.english1.htm
The Iranian endeavours for not allowing the disarmament of Hezbollah unveiled
the actual elements of its plot:
1-A well set plan to expand Iran’s hegemony on the whole Middle East was
viciously executed and topped with Hezbollah and many other Iranian proxies
entering Syria to support the Assad dictatorship regime
2-The establishment of a military base In Eretria and Yemen.
3-The mobilization of the Shiite Houthis tribes on the Saudi -Yemeni border…that
created an on going internal war.
4-Supporting and instigation of instability in neighbouring Iraq…and almost
occupying it at the present time.
5-The formation of numerous sleeping militant cells among the Shiite Arabian
Gulf countries’ communities.
6-Keeping Egypt unfocused on the actual Iranian scheme through instigation of
strife between Egypt and other African countries that share the Nile River…in
ddition to supporting, arming and financing the Brotherhood terroists in the
Sinai Peninsula.
7- Playing with and tickling Muslims’ emotions and instigating religious
fanaticism to fight Israel through Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
At the same time, Iran has been working day and night to become a nuclear power
and possess a nuclear weapon that is intended to be used for intimidating the
Middle East countries, control their resources and wealth and have a monopoly on
the region’s fate and decisions.
Hezbollah is pivotal for all of the above Iranian schemes and a primary source
of manpower. Its militant members who number in the tens of thousands speak the
Arabic language, are ideologically and religiously well prepared, and more than
ready to carry out missions in any country as instructed by their Iranian
masters..
There is no doubt that the current situation in the whole Middle East in
general, and in Israel, Gaza, West Bank, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon in particular,
is much worse from the day the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon was
implemented 20 years ago.
The Iranian danger to both Israel and Lebanon is escalating.
Lebanon that now is totally occupied by Hezbollah did not enjoy any kind of
stability despite the UN Resolutions, the bitter events’ experience, the great
sacrifices and the presence of new players (powers) on its arena…
Sadly, Lebanon is now living a repeat of same ghastly milieu that prevailed in
1982: tension, instability, chaos, and forced absence of any input on what goes
on its land.
The war-peace decision making process is again in the hands of Hezbollah and its
Iranian masters, while weapons of all kinds are smuggled to Hezbollah and to
other Lebanese – Palestinian armed terrorist groups via Syria without any kind
of control or impunity.
Based on all of the above, we suggest and call for the following:
1- Lebanese sovereign leaders and politicians to be prudent, patient, thoughtful
and not to fall prey to the axis of evil’s schemes, terrorism, fanaticism,
violence, intimidation, and whims of sabotage. Their patriotic duties and
obligations as responsible Lebanese leaders are to help in making Lebanon a
country of peace, prosperity, freedom and stability in the region and not to be
an arena and battlefield for Iran and its armed proxies. They must be aware that
for the past 44 years, our Lebanese people have endured much more than they can
tolerate, and as the saying goes: “He who does not learn from the past cannot
make the future.”
2- The Free Lebanese citizens to hold dearly to their solid faith in a free,
sovereign and independent Lebanon that should not under any circumstances be an
aggressor, but a peace maker and an advocate for human rights and democracy. We
encourage the masses to actively help in preserving the historic Lebanese role
in hailing the right of all countries and people in the region to live freely
without any kind of oppression. Lebanon’s mission and message are to protect the
weak and the oppressed and not to hail the conceited and arrogant.
3- Neighbouring Syrian Baathist Regime to overcome its ongoing
expansionism-hostility schemes and accept once and forever the reality that
Lebanon is an independent and sovereign country and not a Syrian territory or
satellite. Accordingly, the joint borders must be patrolled and all kinds of
infiltration and smuggling permanently stopped.
4- Israel to re-evaluate the achievements and setbacks of its hasty withdrawal
decision.
5-The Free World and Arab countries to completely support a free and democratic
Lebanon and take a courageous stance in this regard before it is too late. A
regime in Lebanon fully under the direct control of Iran or through its armed
terrorist proxy (Hezbollah) is a dire threat to peace and stability to not only
the Middle East but to the whole world.
6- Our people, the southern Lebanese citizens, who have been living a forced
exile in Israel since May 2000 to remain as tall as Lebanon’s Holy Cedars. They
should know that the free Lebanese people hail their heroism, courage, peaceful
inclinations, acceptance of others, tolerance, patriotism, sacrifices, love of
their homeland and deeply rooted faith. We know that they have proudly,
honourably and courageously defended their beloved land and rights and never
attacked others. We assure them that a free and independent Lebanon won’t have
long lasting stability until their honoured and dignified unconditional return
is achieved.
Hezbollah’s bogus Liberation & Resistance
Day
Elias Bejjani/May 25/2020
Believe it or not, on May 25 each year since 2000 Lebanon has been celebrating
the so-called “Liberation & Resistance Day.”
Sadly, this celebration commemorates a bogus event, and a phony heroism that did
not actually take place.
On May 22, 2000 the Israeli Army unilaterally and for solely Israeli domestic
reasons withdrew from the security zone of South Lebanon in accordance with UN
Resolution 425.
This miscalculated and hasty withdrawal was a fatal Israeli decision that has
inspired the Hamas terrorism acts and the on-going havoc in the Palestinian Gaza
strip.
During the last 19 years many Israeli officials and politicians from all parties
openly and harshly criticized Barak’s Government (Barak was PM at that time)
hasty and unwise decision through which Israel’ abandoned its ally the South
Lebanon Army (SLA) and gave Hezbollah all south Lebanon and the entire Lebanon
on a plate of sliver.
The unilateral Israeli withdrawal created a security vacuum in south Lebanon.
The Syrians who were occupying Lebanon at that time and fully controlling its
government, did not allow the Lebanese Army to deploy in the south and fill this
vacuum after the Israeli withdrawal.
Instead Syria helped the Hezbollah militia to militarily control the whole
southern region, and even patrol the Israeli-Lebanese border.
It is worth mentioning that the Israeli army’s withdrawal was executed without
any military battles, or even minor skirmishes with Hezbollah, or the Lebanese
and Syrian armies.
The Syrian regime, in a bid to justify both its on going occupation of Lebanon
and the avoidance of disarming Hezbollah, came up with the “Shabaa Farms
occupation big lie” and declared Hezbollah a Liberator, alleging it had forced
Israel to withdrawal from South Lebanon.
Syria, in the same camouflaging and devious context, dictated to both its puppet
Lebanese parliament and government to declare May 25th a National Day under the
tag of “Liberation & Resistance Day”.
In reality Hezbollah did not force the Israeli withdrawal, and did not play any
role in the Liberation of the southern Lebanese region.
In fact both Hezbollah and Syria deliberately hindered and delayed the Israeli
withdrawal for more than 14 years.
Every time the Israelis called on the Lebanese government to engage in a joint,
serious effort under the United Nations umbrella to ensure a safe and mutually
organized withdrawal of its army from South Lebanon, the Lebanese government
refused to cooperate, did not agree to deploy its army in the south, and accused
the Israelis of plotting to divide and split the Syrian-Lebanese joint track.
This approach to the Israeli calls was an official Syrian decision dictated to
all the Lebanese puppet governments during the Syrian occupation era.
Since then, Hezbollah has been hijacking Lebanon and its people, refusing to
disarm and advocating for the annihilation of Israel.
This Iranian mullahs’ terrorist army stationed in Lebanon, is viciously hiding
behind labels of resistance, liberation and religion.
Hezbollah has recklessly jeopardized the Lebanese peoples’ lives, safety,
security and livelihood.
It has been growing bolder and bolder in the last 19 years and mercilessly
taking the Lebanese state and the Lebanese people hostage through terrorism,
force and organized crime.
Sadly, Hezbollah is systematically devouring Lebanon day after day, and piece by
piece, while at the same time marginalizing all its governmental institutions in
a bid to topple the Lebanese state and erect in its place a Shiite Muslim
regime, a replica of the Iranian Shiite mullahs’ fundamentalist republic.
Meanwhile the free world and Arabic countries are totally silent, indifferent,
and idly watching from far away the horrible crime unfolding without taking any
practical or tangible measures to put an end to this anti-Lebanese Syria-Iranian
scheme that is executed through their spearhead, the Hezbollah armed militia.
Who is to be blamed for Hezbollah’s current odd and bizarre status?
Definitely the Syrians who have occupied Lebanon for more than 28 years
(1976-2005).
During their bloody and criminal occupation, Syria helped the Iranian Hezbollah
militia build a state within Lebanon and fully control the Lebanese Shiite
community.
But also the majority of the Lebanese politicians, leaders, officials and
clergymen share the responsibility because they were subservient and acted in a
dire Dhimmitude, selfish and cowardly manner.
If these so-called Lebanese leaders had been courageous and patriotic and had
not appeased Hezbollah and turned a blind eye to all its vicious and human
rights atrocities, intimidation tactics, crimes and expansionism schemes, this
Iranian Shiite fundamentalist militia would not have been able to erect its own
mini-state in the southern suburb of Beirut, and its numerous mini-cantons in
the Bekaa Valley and the South; nor would Hezbollah have been able to build its
mighty military power, with 70 thousand militiamen, or stockpile more than 200
thousand missiles and force the Iranian “Wilayat Al-Faqih” religious doctrine on
the Lebanese Shiite community and confiscate Lebanon’s decision making process
and freedoms.
Since Hezbollah’s emergence in 1982, these politicians have been serving their
own selfish interests and not the interests of the Lebanese people and the
nation. They went along with Hezbollah’s schemes, deluding themselves that its
militia and weaponry would remain in South Lebanon and would not turn against
them. This failure to serve the people of Lebanon allowed Hezbollah to make many
Lebanese and most of the Arab-Muslim countries through its terrorism propaganda
to blindly swallow its big lie of theatrical, faked resistance and Liberation.
Hezbollah would not have been able to refuse to disarm in 1991, like all the
other Lebanese militias in accordance to the “Taef Accord,” which called for the
disarmament of all militias.
Hezbollah would not have become a state inside the Lebanese state, and a
world-wide terrorism Iranian-Syrian tool which turned against them all after its
war with Israel in year 2006 and after the UN troops were deployed on the
Lebanese – Israeli borders in accordance with the UN Resolution 1701.
On May 7, 2008 Hezbollah invaded Sunni Western Beirut killing and injuring in
cold blood hundreds of its civilian citizens, and too attempted to take over by
force Mount Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s General Secretary Sheik Hassan Nasrallah called that day (May 7,
2008) a great and glorious victory for his resistance, and keeps on threatening
the Lebanese that a replicate of that day will take place if they do not succumb
and obey his Iranian orders.
Hezbollah is a deadly dragon that the Lebanese politicians have been allowing
him to feed on sacrifices from the southern Lebanese citizens, especially on
those who were living in the “Security Zone” and who fled to Israel in May 2000
after the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon.
This dragon who enjoyed devouring his southern sacrifices has now turned on all
the Lebanese and if they do not stand for their rights and dignity, he will keep
on devouring them all one after the other.
We call on the Lebanese government, the Lebanese Parliament and on all the free
and patriotic Lebanese politicians and leaders to cancel the May 25 National
Day, because it is not national at all, and also to stop calling Hezbollah a
resistance, put an end for its mini-state, cantons and weaponry, and secure a
dignified, honorable and safe return for all the Lebanese citizens who have been
taking refuge in Israel since May 2000.
N.B: The original version of the above article was first published in 2010..It
is republished with minor changes
Letter to Mufti Qabalan
Elie Aoun: May 27/2020
أيلي عون: رسالة إلى المفتي الجعفري الشيخ أحمد قبلان
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/86580/elie-aounletter-to-mufti-qabalan-%d8%a3%d9%8a%d9%84%d9%8a-%d8%b9%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%b1%d8%b3%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a9-%d8%a5%d9%84%d9%89-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%81%d8%aa%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d8%b9%d9%81/
Mufti Al-Jaafari Sheikh Ahmed Qablan stated that “we are required to protect the
country, save Lebanon, and confirm coexistence by dropping the sectarian formula
in favor of a country not sectarian.”
Anyone has the right to voice an opinion, regardless of what it may be. Some
people call for “dropping the sectarian formula”; some call for federalism; and
others have other ideas. The main issue is not in the “formula” but in (a) the
politicians and clergymen who benefit from it and (b) the laws that govern it.
We cannot say that we have a “sectarian system” when the conduct of those who
pretend to represent the respective communities reflect the behavior of pagans
rather than true Christians or true Muslims. We cannot say that there is an
adequate legal system when certain cases remain unresolved for more than ten
years.
The problem is not in sectarianism itself. Even if the country is transformed
within a single day into a non-sectarian system, the same problems will remain
as they are, as long as the same mentality continue to rule the nation.
If they are serious about abolishing “sectarianism”, can the Shiite political
parties abolish it now in their own community and provide us with an example on
how it ought to be done? Will the leaders of Hizballah and Amal place Lebanon
first, and not the blind allegiance to their persona or to Iran? Will the
Shiites who do not believe in the policy of these parties be allowed to run for
an elected office without threats, or will they be given political positions
based on merit? Will the political leaders refrain from falsifying the electoral
process to benefit themselves?
Sheikh Qablan stated “we will not accept injustice and corruption.” Can you
please ask the parliamentarian who stood up in parliament claiming to have
evidence that would expose the corruptive practices of high-ranking officials to
release that information? If he does not, can you take that information from him
and expose it yourself? If you cannot do so, ask him to send us the information,
and we will expose it ourselves. Otherwise, all the talk against corruption is
hypocricy.
Sheikh Qablan added: "We want a rescue policy.” Sure, but the problem is that
the political class is not adequate to implement any rescue policy. They do not
even know how to hire the right individuals for the right job to perform the
right functions. If they were fit for their positions, they would not be asking
for a “rescue policy.” They would be drafting it and implementing it themselves.
What they often call a “rescue” is nothing more than a prolonged mismanagement
of a crisis, rather than a viable solution.
Sheikh Qabalan, as a clergyman, it is not your responsibility to call for a
non-sectarian system. Your first priority is to speak in spiritual terms. Your
responsibility is to speak in favor of the truth and to educate people about the
dark spirituality that rules all political parties in Lebanon – beginning with
the phallic symbol on Hizballah’s flag, to the phallic symbol planned to be
erected at the so-called FPM office to be built on Nahr Al-Kalb (and as shown by
the diagram of the planned structure).
Your priority is to speak about ethics and to educate the public on the ethical
standards that should govern the political practice.
As a clergyman, you should know that the politicians who run the country lack
(1) the proper spiritual fabric, (2) the vision, and (3) the ethics to establish
a viable nation. If they do not hire individuals who have these criteria, all
that they do is being done in vain.
Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord
watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. (Psalm 127)
Sheikh Qabalan, the only message you or any other clergyman should preach to the
politicians is this: Repent or commit suicide. At the moment, there is no other
rescue plan.
Hariri Hospital: 365 tests performed, number of recoveries
stable at 191
NNA/May 26/2020
In its daily report on the latest developments of the novel Covid-19 virus, the
Rafic Hariri University Hospital announced on Tuesday, that the number of tests
conducted in its laboratories during the past 24 hours has reached 365.
It added that the number of patients infected with the virus currently present
in the hospital for follow-up is 64, while the number of suspected cases that
have been transferred from other hospitals during the past 24 hours has reached
15 cases.
Meanwhile, the hospital report stated that the number of patients who have
recovered is still maintained at 191 cases, with no new recoveries recorded
today, and no critical cases as well. It also indicated that more information on
the number of infected cases on all Lebanese territories can be found in the
daily report issued by the Ministry of Public Health. In conclusion, the
Hospital reminded that "the Corona Virus Contact Center for emergency response
and knowledge of test results, operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including
public holidays, and can be reached through the number 01-820830 or through the
WhatsApp contact service 76-979610."
Coronavirus: Lebanon introduces fines for not wearing face
masks
Emily Lewis, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday 26 May 2020
The Lebanese Internal Security Forces announced Tuesday that they will begin
issuing fines to anyone walking in public while not wearing a mask.Police
officers will begin issuing the penalties of 50,000 Lebanese pounds, or around
$16 at the semi-official rate of 3,200 pounds to the dollar, on Friday.
Anyone travelling by public transport - taxis, buses and minivans - will also be
subject to the fine, according to the ISF’s statement. A maximum of three
people, including the driver, can travel in the same private car if not from the
same family, and all are required to wear masks.
The ISF also called on people to call its emergency number to report behavior
that “is harmful to public health in light of coronavirus prevention
measures.”Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced 21 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday,
bringing the total number to 1,140. Twenty-six people have died from the virus
in the country. The last few days have seen a slight decrease in the numbers of
new cases, after 63 and 62 cases were reported on Thursday and Friday,
respectively. However, this is likely linked to a decline in test results as
laboratories were closed over the Eid al-Fitr holiday. Thirteen of the new cases
were among Syrian refugees living in a single residential building in the Bekaa
Valley town of Majdal Anjar, according to Bekaa governor Kamal Abu Joudeh.
Earlier Tuesday the Interior Ministry called on Lebanese people to continue
sticking to preventative measures not only to “protect themselves, their
families and their communities” but also to help reactivate economic activity as
soon as possible. The ministry said that it was necessary to issue the reminder
due to “low compliance” with measures. According to the government’s Disaster
Risk Management body, compliance with COVID-19 curfews and stay-at-home orders
ranged between only 50 and 65 percent over the last 24 hours.The DRM's report
listed examples of violations such as walks along the seafront, large Eid
celebrations and overcrowded shops. The Interior Ministry’s statement also
reminded people to keep their distance and cover their noses and mouths while
out and about, suggesting they could use pieces of cloth, instead of single-use
masks which should be thrown away after wearing. On Monday, Health Minister
Hamad Hassan announced that the ministries of health and interior would work
together to distribute one million masks for free.
In large towns and cities, local municipalities will be responsible for handing
out the masks, while health centers and pharmacies will issue the face coverings
in other towns and villages, the minister said.
President Aoun grants the late Salah Steitieh the National
Order of Merit
NNA/Tuesday 26 May 2020
The Lebanese Embassy in France announced, on Tuesday, that the President of the
Republic, General Michel Aoun, has bestowed upon the late poet and writer, and
artistic, literary and diplomatic critic, Salah Steitieh, the National Order of
Merit, of first doctrine. The Medal was presented by Lebanon’s Ambassador to
France, Rami Adwan, on behalf of the President of the Republic, during a special
ceremony held at the Cemetery of Tremblay-sur-Mauldre this morning.
In his word on the President’s behalf, Ambassador Adwan said: “Our dear
deceased, in appreciation of your contributions to Lebanon, His Excellency
General Michel Aoun, President of the Republic, has decided to bestow upon you
the Lebanese Order of Merit, of first doctrine. He has instructed and honored me
to place it on your coffin on the day of your farewell, and to extend the
sincerest condolences to your family.”
Nasrallah: Fighting corruption is more difficult than
fighting Israel
NNA/May 26/2020
Hezbollah Secretary General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, deemed Tuesday that
combating corruption is harder than fighting the Israeli enemy, stressing on
combating corruption through an impartial judiciary.
Speaking in a dialogue interview with “Al-Nour” Radio Station, broadcasted by
“Al-Manar” TV Channel this evening, marking the twentieth anniversary of the
Resistance and Liberation Day, Nasrallah proposed "the establishment of a
special judicial body, which preserves the sectarian balance, and is formed from
the most impartial judges of these sects, who would be the martyrs to fight
corruption."
Addressing those who are awaiting a revolutionary act, all at once, he said
“this is difficult, and needs time," reiterating his call to "fight corruption,
but with an impartial judiciary."The Secretary-General called for "the election
of a new political class in the upcoming elections, as one of the solutions and
one of the methods of change." "We must not step on the mine in order to be able
to open the road, and there are ways to reach the target, but we do not want to
step on the mine," he said. As for the call for a founding conference, Nasrallah
explained that it was meant to develop the Taif Agreement, stressing that the
country needs development, but not on the basis of destroying everything and
then re-building…He pointed to the “difficulty of change because it needs
comprehensive participation, and this is not currently available,” adding that
“it is not by force that change takes place."
“We do not want civil war in Lebanon, and we do not want to govern Lebanon…for
this country cannot be ruled except with the participation of all, and we are
against exclusion and isolation, and against the division of the country on
sectarian lines and against civil war, because this is what Israel aspires for,"
Nasrallah underscored.
Regarding the October 17th Movement, Nasrallah said: "If the demonstrations
continued back then without the political classification and attacks that
occurred, this movement would have been built upon, but there were those who
wanted to take the country elsewhere.”
“The solution to dealing with the economic situation would have occurred had the
pressure of the October Movement continued, but when it resorted to the
political option, it weakened its pressure, with my indication that most
political forces were feeling the pressure,” Nasrallah added.
On the country’s economic situation, the Secretary-General said: "There is a
solution to the economic crisis, by getting out of the American grip and heading
east," reiterating his call to establish communication with Syria on the market
issue, to exchange Lebanese products, and from there on to Iraq.
Referring to the banking sector and its role, Nasrallah indicated that
discussion is underway with the owners of the banks, adding that the official
authorities should reach solutions with them, while denying all the charges and
claims that Hezbollah wishes to destroy the banking sector.
On the relationship with the allies, the Hezbollah Secretary-General assured
that there are no disputes in this respect, expressing the Party’s keenness on
its relationship with its allies. He stressed on "the strength of the
relationship with the Free Patriotic Movement, which is built on sturdy
foundations," hinting that some forces do not want this relationship to
continue. Nasrallah also denied what was circulated that FPM Chief, MP Gibran
Bassil, had opened with Hezbollah the issue of his candidacy for the Presidency
of the Republic.
Moving on to speak about the resistance, the Secretary-General referred to its
advancement in equipment and military power, emphasizing extreme care for this
spirit, recalling that “in the year 2000, there was no national consensus over
the resistance, just like today, which means that the resistance did not lose
due to the nature of the divisions.” “The Israeli has begun to admit that those
who fought it were distinguished by impulsivity and perseverance," Nasrallah
underlined, renewing “confidence in the resistance environment, with keenness on
this spirit, and the side of faith, because it is the root of resistance.”
The Secretary-General assured that resistance has been from all parties, not
just Hezbollah, stressing on Hezbollah’s more forceful presence in the recent
period.
Addressing "those who are in a hurry for the resistance to surrender its
weapons,” Nasrallah urged them “to look at this state of deterrence, a
deterrence that is the protector of Lebanon,” asking anyone in possession of
another method, to come forward and reveal it.
The Secretary-General underlined that any Israeli air strike against Lebanon
"will not pass without a response." “The resistance has seen victory since the
very start of its endeavor, and it has worked steadfastly, patiently, and with a
long-lasting breath," affirmed Nasrallah, as he commented on the Israeli enemy's
reading of the results of this victory, which was evident in the words of most
of the enemy's leaders during the past two weeks, and in the Israeli media.He
added: “It is the first time that we read an Israeli text by Ehoda Barak, who
was defense minister, and then prime minister, in which he confesses the support
of the Gemayel family to reach power, followed by a peace agreement with Israel,
and the expulsion of Palestinians from Lebanon to Jordan, so that they would
overthrow the Hashemite rule and render Jordan as their alternative homeland.”
Addressing the Jordanian people, Sayyed Nasrallah said: "Just as the Israelis
conspired against you; today too, there is conspiracy through the Deal of the
Century.”
The Secretary-General went on to state that "the security belt theory
established by Israel was to protect its soldiers, and not to protect the
Lebanese in the belt, as Ehoda Barak has stated." He reminded that the Israeli
goal was to withdraw to the borders, and to keep the Lahd army in the belt, so
that fighting becomes among the Lebanese parties, and not with the Israeli
enemy. “This was the reason for the complete collapse of the Lahd army,” he
said. Nasrallah commended the model that the resistance presented when
liberating the security belt, by not attacking those who were dealing with the
Israeli enemy. “This is what led to sparing Lebanon a sectarian civil war," he
asserted, calling for "building upon this situation, as it is one of the most
important lessons in dealing with people."
The Secretary-General continued to describe Israel as being a "racist country”
and “from outside the fabric of the region,” adding that “it was founded on
terrorism and has no moral basis, and depends on the relaxed environment, and on
Western, especially American, support," hinting that "this support may not
continue."While criticizing the "Arab position" and describing it as "frequent
talk", Nasrallah praised the "credibility of the Arab people towards the
resistance, which differs from the regimes."He expressed his belief that "the
downfall end of Israel is a matter of time, and that there is no possibility of
a cancerous gland remaining," expecting that "the Israelis will carry their
belongings and leave to where they came from.” Sayyed Nasrallah declared that
the option to support the resistance of the Palestinian people today is higher
than in the previous times, due to the failure of negotiations, considering that
the growing strength of the resistance in Gaza, and the transformations in the
region, have brought about a balance.Referring to the Syrian front, Nasrallah
said: "The Israeli enemy did not target us at the beginning, and it was
providing support to the Syrian armed groups, not all the opposition,” deeming
that "Israel’s venturing into a battle between the wars in Syria, was a victory
for the axis of the resistance, and this is what made the Israeli resort to air
strikes."
Touching on the UNIFIL peace-keeping forces in South Lebanon, the
Secretary-General said: “It is customary for the Americans and the Israelis,
with every extension of the UNIFIL forces’ mandate, to threaten to stop funding
and change the mission of these forces, but this is a sovereign issue.”
He added that Hezbollah is not concerned with reducing the number of the
peace-keeping forces or whether or not they wish to leave, without this implying
that the Party does not want a good relationship with them. “We are reading what
the Israeli wants…and we are watching the change of the mission of these forces,
and we ask: why does the Israeli not accept UNIFIL forces on its side?”
questioned Nasrallah. The Hezbollah Secretary-General expected that the
Americans would leave the region, saying: "There is a real popular will in Iraq
that is working to get the Americans out of it, as well as in Afghanistan, and
there are signs of popular resistance in Syria that are taking shape against the
Americans." Nasrallah ruled out any American-Iranian war. He also ruled out a
war between Israel and the resistance at present, warning the Israelis of "the
great war that will open all fronts at once, and this is one of the ideas
discussed and we may get to it one day, and this major war, if it happens, will
be the end of Israel." "We are before an international scene that will be
different from the pre-Corona phase," Nasrallah corroborated.
Senior Hizbullah Official Hashim Safi Al-Din: Israel Will
Not Last 25 Years
MEMRI/May 26/2020
Source: Mayadeen TV (Lebanon)
Hashim Safi Al-Din, the Head of Hizbullah’s Executive Council, said in a May 19,
2020 interview on Mayadeen TV (Lebanon) that Israel will cease to exist within
25 years.
Host: "Do you believe that Israel will continue to exist for another 72 years?"
Hashim Safi Al-Din: "Absolutely not. In our opinion, this is settled. Israel
will not be able to continue to exist the way it has over the last few decades.
It will not be able to survive for many years the way it is."
Host: "So Israel will not last for 72 years more."
Al-Din: "It will not last for 50 or even 25 years."
Host: "That's a lot less than 72..."Al-Din: "It will not last even 25 years."
Future Bloc rejects calls for federalism and overthrowing
Taef
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri chaired this afternoon at the Center House a
meeting by the Future Parliamentary Bloc that focused on the latest political
developments.
After the meeting, MP Mohammed Hajjar read the following statement:
First: The bloc stressed the necessity of getting out of the state of
frustration and confusion in approaching economic and financial solutions, and
moving to a new stage of dialogue with the International Monetary Fund, which
expects from the Lebanese government one position and a clear practical program
that is not subject to political discretion and the personal agendas of some of
the ruling parties and political forces.
The bloc warned against returning, in the dialogue with the International
Monetary Fund, to the same logic that stalled the dialogue several months ago
under the pretext of preventing domination over the sovereign economic decision
and other arguments that are not in the interest of the Lebanese economy.
The bloc considered that the government’s confusion is one of the negative signs
that do not suit the urgent need for courageous and responsible initiatives that
contribute to curbing the financial and socio-economic deterioration, and
reducing the outrageous price hike affecting all Lebanese without exception.
The inventory of achievements that the government submitted 100 days after its
formation has been the subject of criticism by most analysts and observers,
including the parties that provide political coverage to the government and its
plans. The government still considers the wishes as being accomplishments. It
also acts as if the headlines of economic advancement that were mentioned in the
reform paper and the ministerial statement of the previous government, including
the program of the CEDRE Conference for investment in infrastructure, the
national anti-corruption strategy and other reform steps, were the brainchild of
this government and its achievements.
Second: The bloc noticed the escalation of the political debate around slogans
and proposals that have become remnants from the past, and there is no point of
evoking them at this delicate stage in the country's history.
What is being said in some partisan and sectarian circles about federalism and
other issues, brings the country back to the atmosphere that formed, for many
years, a fertile ground for civil discord, the collapse of the state and the
division of its institutions. The bloc emphasizes its firm rejection of these
proposals and warns against the dangers of any call to overthrow the Taef
Agreement and the Lebanese formula that established the independence state and
preserved coexistence among the Lebanese.
The national formula that emerged from the pillars of independence, just like
the formula of national entente, are two bright signs in the history of Lebanon,
that we should not deny under any circumstances, or consider them a historical
mistake that can be erased.
Third: The bloc is not surprised by what was mentioned by former President
General Emile Lahoud, and the accusations he made against Prime Minister Rafic
Hariri, because he suffers from chronic hatred against the martyr Prime Minister
and lives in a world of illusions and allegations.
The bloc hopes that General Lahoud would recover from this, and regrets that his
fabricated account coincides with the anniversary of liberation and the
withdrawal of the Israeli enemy forces from the Lebanese territory, which will
remain a symbol of the unity of the Lebanese in facing the occupation and its
plans.
Fourth: The bloc calls on everybody to respect the preventive measures taken in
the face of the corona pandemic and wishes recovery to all, especially in the
regions that recently witnessed a rise in the number of cases in Majdel Anjar,
Central Bekaa, Iqlim Kharroub, Akkar and other regions.
Fifth: The bloc denounced the decision issued by Beirut Implementation
Department regarding the imposition of a precautionary seizure of the property
of MP Hadi Habeish. It considered the decision a political one unprecedented in
the justice palace. In this context, the bloc wished that the cases committee at
the Ministry of Justice, which interfered in this affair in violation of the
law, would reconsider its decision and restore the right of the state from those
who robbed it and are still stealing its money and squandering it, who assaulted
its army and security forces and killed their officers, instead of entering in a
personal dispute between a deputy and a lawyer on the one hand and a judge on
the other one, which is not the first one in justice palaces and will not be the
last.
Sixth: The bloc discussed the parliament’s agenda and the draft laws put forward
for Thursday’s session, especially the amnesty law submitted by the bloc’s
president, Bahia Hariri. The bloc hoped this law would be approved because it
would close a period turn a page of conflicts in which the Lebanese were
involved that led to actions that violated the law. There was some injustice
towards some people, in addition to the fact that overcrowded prisons have
turned into places that do not respect the most basic human rights.
The bloc also discussed the “Capital Control” draft law. It reiterates that
addressing this issue should be based on preserving the depositors' funds and
protecting them. The bloc believes that the proposed draft law needs more
discussion and a more detailed study in the parliamentary committees.
Seventh: The bloc congratulates the Lebanese in general and the Muslims in
particular on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr and hopes that the corona pandemic
would end and that we find solutions to the crises in Lebanon that exhausted the
Lebanese. – {Hariri Press Office}
Pro-Hezbollah Mufti declares end to Lebanon’s confessional
system
The Arab Weekly/May 26/2020
LONDON –Ahmed Qablan, a mufti close to the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, said
Lebanon’s confessional system is no longer warranted in a public address
lambasting the country’s leaders and warning of a “huge disaster.”
“The Lebanese state, as we know it today, was created on a sectarian and
authoritarian basis to serve the colonial and monopolistic project. This formula
has ended,” said the Shia Jaafaria mufti in a speech delivered on the Eid al-Fitr
holiday. “What Riad Al Solh and Bishara Al Khouri have created is no more
suitable for the people and the country. That was a phase and now, it is over,”
he said. In September 1943, Solh was chosen by then president Khouri to be his
first premier. They implemented the National Pact (al Mithaq al Watani) later
that year that served as the official framework for Lebanon’s confessional
system.The unwritten accord held that the positions of president, prime minister
and parliament speaker should be split between the country’s three major
confessional groups — Maronite Christians, Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims,
respectively.
Qablan’s speech urges Lebanon to disregard the nearly century-old agreement that
provides the basis for fair representation for the country’s diverse religious
groups.“The country has fallen because its constitution is corrupt,” said Qablan.
“The state’s system is corrupt. Sectarianism is corrupt. The political project
is corrupt, and the various agreements are corrupt.
“Loudly I say: No to the sects, not to the state of quotas, not to the quota
system, not to the state that starves the citizen and monopolizes his wealth.
Not to the federations of sects and barricades,” he added.
Qablan also levelled veiled criticism at former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, who
was assassinated in 2005. He held Hariri responsible for Lebanon’s post-war
instability in the 1990s.
After the end of Lebanon’s civil war in 1990, the country was plagued by
periodic rounds of violent conflict. Hariri, who became the first post-civil war
prime minister under President Elias Hrawi, attempted to put the country back on
the financial map by seeking aggressive economic reforms.
In his speech, Qablan responded to some Christian leaders who have criticised
Hezbollah’s control of weapons as being linked to the country’s economic crisis.
“Nobody is allowed to sum up our people, our citizens, our hopes, our torments,
and our project in one person or in one sectarian or political form,” he said.
“…Otherwise, we are facing a huge disaster and a fate of a defeater and
defeated, a poor and a rich, an owner and an owned, a monopolist and a
monopolised. This will lead the country into a dark tunnel that it will never
leave, ending the project of state and homeland.”
Qablan repeated Hezbollah’s attacks on some banks, businessmen and others who
believe Lebanon must chose “either the economy or illegal weapons.”
“As for the insistence of the banking community, the big merchants and
businessmen on confrontation, on the basis of facing, detecting and reducing the
threat, it is very, very serious matter, and it must not pass without
accountability,” he said. Qablan also repeated Hezbollah’s rally to pursue a
policy of economic resistance to the West, saying “what is required from the
government is full openness to all countries, especially in the East, as a major
rescue route, provided that we implement political, customs, supervisory and
social reforms to steer away from lobbies here or there.”Qablan implicitly
threatened that the Lebanese army could be thrown into disarray if the public
questioned Hezbollah’s role.
“Lebanon is a country that has its political function and its national and moral
project, and any play with priorities means a catastrophe, and we do not want a
new May 17,” Qablan said, in reference to the agreement of 1983 that was signed
between Lebanon and Israel calling for the withdrawal of the Israeli Army from
Beirut and which provided a framework for the establishment of bilateral
relations between the two countries.
Qablan’s statements drew the ire of many Lebanese politicians, who accused the
Shia mufti of stoking tensions in the country to support the objectives of
Hezbollah and its regional sponsor Tehran.
“Bishara Al Khouri and Riad Al Solh created the most beautiful country in the
region. You [Hezbollah] killed Lebanon and the Taif Agreement with your illegal
weapons,” said former deputy Fares Saeed.” However, we are children of hope and
no one is greater than Lebanon.”“History will record that you are leading
Lebanon into an unknown and that we will confront any recklessness from any
party,” Saeed said. A member of the powerful Republican bloc, MP Ziad al-Hawat,
also criticised Qablan’s statements, saying ” If the National Pact Bishara Al
Khouri and Riad Al Solh is no longer valid for some, let us return to the pact
of Emile Edde.”Edde, the third Lebanese president to serve during the French
mandate, was known for being pro-French and was accused of abusing his
constitutional powers.
No to changing land identity,” says Hawat
NNA/Tuesday 26 May 2020
"Truncation of communal lands in the interest of the government's economic plan
is rejected. We warn against tampering with the lands belonging to the towns and
villages under paragraph (5) of the area of ancient Lebanon, especially al-Aqoura,
where its lands are considered private property for the people of the town and
are guaranteed in the Lebanese Constitution…No to altering the identity of the
land!" underlined MP Ziad Hawat via his Twitter account on Tuesday.
Series of enemy violations of the national airspace on
Monday and Tuesday
NNA/Tuesday 26 May 2020
"An Israeli enemy reconnaissance plane violated the Lebanese airspace at 9:15
a.m. today over the southern town of Kfarshuba, conducted circular flights over
the western Bekaa and South regions, and then left at 11:30 a.m., flying over
the southern town of al-Naqoura,” a Lebanese Amy Command Orientation Directorate
announced in an issued statement on Tuesday. “At 10:30 a.m., two Israeli enemy
warplanes also breached the Lebanese airspace over the town of Alma al-Shaeb in
the South, circled over various Lebanese regions, and then left at 11:25 a.m.
from above the aforementioned town,” the statement added. “At 10:35 a.m., two
similar warplanes again breached the Lebanese airspace over the town of
Kfarshuba, circled over various Lebanese regions, and then left at 11:40 a.m.
flying above the town of Kfarkila,” the statement indicated.
In a second issued statement by the Army Command, it announced that “an Israeli
enemy reconnaissance drone violated the Lebanese airspace over the town of
Kfarkila on Monday at 16:35 hours, circled over various areas in the South, and
then left the airspace at 22:50 hours, flying over the town of al-Naqoura.”“A
similar enemy aircraft breached the national airspace over the town of Rmeish at
17:15 hours on Monday, roamed over various areas of the South, and then left the
airspace at 1:00 a.m. today, flying over the aforementioned town,” the second
statement went on.
“At 19:50 hours on Monday, an Israeli enemy reconnaissance aircraft violated
Lebanon’s airspace above sea, west of the town of al-Naqoura in the South,
circled over the Chouf areas, then over Mount Lebanon, Beirut and its suburbs,
Baabda and Aley, and then left the airspace at 00:45 a.m. today, flying over the
sea, west of the aforementioned town,” the Army statement indicated.“At 00:50
hours, a similar enemy aircraft violated the national airspace over the town of
Yaroun, carried out circular flights over various southern areas, and then left
the airspace at 4.10 p.m., flying above the town of Rmeish in the South,” the
Army statement concluded.
Geagea, Foucher review local, regional developments
NNA/Tuesday 26 May 2020
Lebanese Forces Party Chief, Samir Geagea, met in Maarab today with French
Ambassador to Lebanon, Bruno Foucher, accompanied by the Embassy Political
Advisor, Stephanie Salha, in the presence of the LF’s Foreign Relations
Department Head, Elie al-Hindi. Talks during the meeting centered on the latest
political developments on both the local and regional scenes.
Mortada inspects Lebanese Cheese & Dairy Factory: To finalize refining station
to ensure environmental and health safety of the factory and its vicinity
NNA/Tuesday 26 May 2020
Minister of Agriculture and Culture, Abbas Mortada, visited Tuesday the
"Lebanese Cheese and Dairy Factory” in the town of Hosh Sned in the Baalbek
district, after appeals by citizens residing in the villages surrounding the
factory “to intervene to limit the emission of bad odors from the wastewater of
the factory," in addition to their doubts about the safety of the water used to
irrigate the planted areas belonging to the factory. After visiting the
factory’s various sections, Mortada stressed "the necessity of completing and
operating the refining plant, since that would serve the public interest and
ensure environmental and health safety for the factory and its vicinity."The
Minister also pledged to support the local food industries to achieve food
security and self-sufficiency, emphasizing “the need to achieve a balance
between developing these industries and keeping pace with modern methods on one
hand, and preserving environmental safety on the other hand."
Al Shamsi at the end of the Ramadan campaign: The UAE is in
the first ranks in comprehensive community service
NNA/Tuesday 26 May 2020
Marking the end of the humanitarian campaign for the month of Ramadan, which
included more than 250,000 people, United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Lebanon,
Hamad Saeed Al Shamsi, thanked Tuesday the Emirati leadership, charitable and
humanitarian organizations and institutions in the country for their continuous
support to the Lebanese people in all their sects and regions. "The sisterly
Lebanese Republic is one of the countries that have received continuous and
ongoing Emirati support for decades, including all sectors." Al Shamsi said. He
pointed out that "the aid reached various parts of Lebanon from the far north,
to the Bekaa, the southern borders and the capital Beirut, despite the delicate
circumstances that the country is going through as a result of the Corona
virus." He noted that special care was devoted to families with difficult social
conditions, orphans and elderly citizens. “The dynamism and effectiveness of the
UAE government's strategy in extending humanitarian aid, and in always seeking
to provide assistance to the needy and the underprivileged in brotherly and
friendly countries has rendered it at the top in comprehensive community
service, drawing the world's attention to what it provides to different peoples,
especially in disasters and crises,” Al Shamsi concluded.
Abdel Samad visits Sheikh Hassan: A duty visit at all times
to draw inspiration from the wisdom of His Eminence
NNA/Tuesday 26 May 2020
Minister of Information, Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd, visited on Tuesday, the
Sheikh Aql of the Unitarian Druze Sect, Sheikh Naim Hassan, at the Druze Dar Al-Taifa
in Verdun, expressing her well-wishes on the Fitr Eid occasion, in the company
of her spouse, Mr. Youssef Najd.
The encounter was a chance for Sheikh Hassan to congratulate the Information
Minister on her post, praying for "success in her endeavors and the goals that
she intends to achieve, so that the Lebanese media remains a pioneering beacon
that reflects the culture, thought and ethics of our unitary society, in light
of the technological and scientific revolution and the multiple communication
means that must take into account the unity of the word and preserve
traditions."Following the meeting, Abdel Samad said: "This visit is a duty not
only during the feast, but at all times, to draw inspiration from the wisdom and
rational stances of His Eminence, and to enhance kindness and solidarity in the
service of a one country.”“Our message is one nation, one Lebanon, one people,
in the hope that the situation of the country will improve," Abdel Samad
corroborated.
Druze Sheikh Aql meets with Health Minister, Saudi
Ambassador on Eid Al-Fitr occasion
NNA/Tuesday 26 May 2020
Druze Unitarian Community Sheikh Aql, Naim Hassan, received this morning Public
Health Minister Hamad Hassan, who visited him at the Druze Dar Al-Taifa in
Beirut to express his well-wishes on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr, which also
coincides with the Liberation Day.
The meeting was a chance to discuss the health situation in the country and the
Public Health Ministry's procedures in this regards, especially towards the
concerns about a second wave spread of the coronavirus epidemic.
The Druze Sheikh Aql praised the "important health and guidance steps and proper
care demonstrated by the Public Health Ministry, led by Minister Hassan, in
closely following-up on the epidemic developments, and the efforts made in this
framework to reduce its dangers and overcome the difficult stage the country is
going through, which requires that all officials and stakeholders join efforts
to get out of this ordeal.”
In turn, Minister Hassan said after the meeting: “We were honored today by
visiting the Druze Sheikh Al-Aql, Naim Hassan, to congratulate him on Eid Al-Fitr,
wishing him all health and well-being in this wisdom that he enjoys…At the same
time, the Eid occasion coincides with the Resistance and Liberation Day, a
bright spot in the modern history of Lebanon, which we hope will remain shaded
and crowned with such victories. We have commended the positions of His
Eminence, and have taken note of his instructions and directives regarding
public mobilization, the commitment of the believers to safe spacing and proper
geographical distance, while adhering to wearing the mask to limit the
transmission of the virus. We consider that every official, whether civil,
spiritual or political, plays an exceptional role in this stage, in which we
face an epidemic that is one of the most dangerous epidemics that have swept the
world.”
“A great credit goes to politicians and spiritual leaders in establishing a
unified Lebanese formula to protect Lebanon from all evil,” he added.
Responding to a question on the easing up of mobilization measures, Minister
Hassan said: "The government’s plan is clear, i.e. to reduce some of the general
mobilization caveats. We are going systematically and realistically to return to
normal life and we hope that all citizens adhere to the guidelines. We will
gradually ease the measures to avoid falling into the second wave or record a
number of infections that exceed the aiding capacity of the Ministry of Health.”
“What is required is to abide by all the guidelines of the government,” Hassan
reiterated, adding, “With respect to extending closure or opening the country,
it is up to the government collectively according to a report issued by the
Ministry of Public Health in this regard."
At noon, Sheikh Hassan received Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Al-Bukhari,
who came to congratulate him on the Fitr Eid occasion, with talks touching on a
number of topics of mutual interest, as well as on the Lebanese-Saudi bilateral
relations.
The Druze Sheikh Aql commended the "Lebanese-Saudi historical relationship,
which has always been and remains a point of appreciation by the Lebanese people
towards the generous and benevolent positions that the Kingdom has taken, in
standing besides our homeland at all levels, and through which it demonstrated
its great concern for our country, its stability, security and prosperity."
On emerging, Ambassador Bukhari said his visit to the Druze Sheikh Aql was “to
offer congratulations on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr; a visit of kindness and
great affection for His Eminence."
On another note, the Druze Sheikh Al-Aql continued to receive congratulatory
calls on the Fitr Eid, most notably from Prime Minister Hassan Diab; Maronite
Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi; Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch
and the Entire East, John X Yazji; MPs Jean Obeid and Wael Abu Faour; Grand
Shiitte Jaafari Mufti, Sheikh Ahmed Qablan; President of the Druze Supreme
Court, Judge Faisal Nassereddine; in addition to a number of spiritual, social,
political and security figures and a number of bodies and communities in Lebanon
and abroad.
For his part, Sheikh Hassan contacted Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdul-Latif
Derian, and the Vice-President of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali
Al-Khatib, expressing his well-wishers on the Fitr Eid.
Lebanese Political Activist Dr. Naji Hayek: Lebanon Must
Become a Federation, Develop a Technology-Based Economy; Syrian Refugees
Detrimental to Lebanon
MEMRI/May 26/2020
Source: OTV (Lebanon)
Lebanese Political activist Dr. Naji Hayek of the Free Patriotic Movement said
in a May 18, 2020 interview on OTV (Lebanon) that Lebanon should become a
federation like the U.S. or Canada. He said that a federal system is most
suitable to the Lebanese people and that the majority of Lebanese people,
especially the Christians, feel this way. He also stated that Lebanon should
maintain good relations with the U.S. and European countries. He said that
Lebanon’s economy should be based on technology, like Israel, and that it should
not wage wars on behalf of foreign causes. Furthermore, Dr. Hayek said that
Syrian and other refugees in Lebanon cause the country great financial losses,
and that the “hidden Syrian civil occupation of Lebanon” is one of the reasons
the country has collapsed. For further information about Dr. Hayek see MEMRITV
clip #7294.
https://www.memri.org/tv/lebanon-naji-hayek-become-federation-tech-based-economy-syria-refugee-regime-detrimental
Plight of migrant workers in Lebanon worsens as crises
multiply
AP/Tuesday 26 May 2020
Long before the pandemic struck, they lived and worked in conditions that rights
groups called exploitative - low wages, long hours, no labor law protections.
Now, some 250,000 registered migrant laborers in Lebanon – maids, garbage
collectors, farm hands and construction workers – are growing more desperate as
a crippling economic and financial crisis sets in, coupled with coronavirus
restrictions. Read more: Migrant workers on weeks-long strike in Lebanon close
to deal with employer. Lebanon’s unprecedented foreign currency crisis means
that many migrants have not been paid for months or that the value of salaries
is down by more than half. Others have lost their jobs after employers dumped
them on the streets or outside their embassies.
“We are invisible,” said Banchi Yimer, an Ethiopian former domestic worker who
founded a group that campaigns for domestic workers’ rights in Lebanon. “We
don’t even exist for our governments, not just the Lebanese government.”
In just three days, she said, 20 Ethiopian domestic workers were abandoned by
their sponsors and left outside the embassy. A video she posted showed women
with as little as a backpack or a purse, lined up along the walls of the embassy
- some sitting on the floor. The pandemic delivered just the latest blow to a
Lebanese economy, already devastated by a financial crisis brought on by decades
of corruption and mismanagement. In recent weeks, the Lebanese pound, pegged to
the dollar for more than two decades, has lost 60 percent of its value against
the dollar and prices of basic goods soared.
Unemployment has risen to 35 percent and an estimated 45 percent of the
country’s population is now below the poverty line. In this crisis, migrant
workers are among the most vulnerable. Among them are 180,000 domestic workers,
most of them women and many from Ethiopia and the Philippines. Thousands live
illegally, after escaping their employers to whom they were tied under an
ill-reputed sponsorship system, known in Arabic as ‘kafala,’ which dates back to
the 1960s.
Many are trapped, unable to go home, because they cannot afford the exorbitant
costs of repatriation flights or because global air travel is severely
restricted.
Their plight is similar to that of migrant workers in other countries, including
foreign laborers in oil-rich Gulf Arab states who now find themselves jobless,
as COVID-19 stalks their labor camps. In the Lebanese capital of Beirut, the
financial chaos has added to their despair. On Saturday, a Filipina domestic
worker took her own life a day after arriving at a shelter run by the
Philippines Embassy for workers waiting to return home after losing their jobs.
In a statement Monday, the embassy said she died after jumping from a room she
was sharing with two others. Both the Philippines Embassy and Lebanese
authorities said they were investigating the death.
Suspected suicides or escape attempts of foreign household workers have become a
frequent occurrence in Lebanon, with local reports recording at least one
incident a month.
Such desperate acts are often blamed on the sponsorship system, which rights
groups say creates near slave-like conditions. Some employers do not allow their
helpers to go out on the street alone or have a day off.
Domestic workers are not protected by labor law and are often shackled in a 24-7
work schedule with no right to resign.
“Some of their employers abuse them mentally physically and there is no law to
protect them. Their employers ... treat them like slaves,” Brihanu said.
A 2016 International Labor Organization study found that out of 1,200 employers
surveyed, more than 94 percent withheld their workers’ passports.
Last week, security forces violently quelled a protest by Bangladeshi sanitation
workers who were demanding an adjustment of their salaries to new market rates.
The pandemic has also taken its toll. A few dozen foreign workers living in
overcrowded apartments in Beirut have tested positive for the coronavirus. Riot
police are often deployed outside their buildings to enforce isolation.
Last week, Ethiopian workers staged a symbolic demonstration outside their
embassy to demand free repatriation.
“We don’t have the power to bring a plane and to take out everybody from this
country. I wish we can do that,” said Tsigereda Brihanu, an Ethiopian activist
with Egna Legna, Yimer’s organization. “Regular life in Lebanon is very
difficult even to survive. It is not worth it to stay here.”
One Ethiopian worker said that even though her sponsor still pays her salary,
she is already checking into going home because she knows the dollars will run
out and prices will continue to increase. “Lebanon’s finished,” she said,
declining to give her name in order to speak freely.
The virus lockdown has exacerbated work conditions. Some workers are not able to
communicate with their own families and friends, the hours are much longer and
the demands by employers are unrealistic, said Zeina Mezher of the International
Labor Organization.
“They say that we are all in the storm, but it doesn’t affect us all in the same
way,” she said. Yimer, who founded Egna Legna in 2017, is now in Canada, where
the group is registered as a non-profit organization, because it is illegal for
domestic workers to be activists in Lebanon, and the government has refused to
register a union for them. Egna Legna, meaning “from us migrants to us migrants”
in Amharic, Ethiopia’s official language, now offers food packages for some who
lost their jobs and helps others pay rent.
“I have not worked for nearly three months,” said Kumari, a household worker
from Sri Lanka. Kumari used to hold down work in several homes in order to send
money to her 5-year-old daughter who is being raised by her mother back home.
“Nobody has work. I want to go home but I can’t until corona finishes,” she
said.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement: The
end of an affair?
Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/May 26/2020
On February 6, 2006, the Free Patriotic Movement, current Lebanese President
Michael Aoun’s Christian party, and Hezbollah signed a memorandum of
understanding, thus establishing what many thought at the time to be a feeble
alliance which was doomed to fail. Despite the ebbs and flows of their alliance,
over the last 14 years, the FPM and Hezbollah were able to work together with
the former providing Christian political cover, while the latter provided the
political muscle, consequently leading to the election of Aoun as President.
But recently, visible cracks have appeared in this not-so sacred alliance as
hawkish figures within the FPM have taken to various media outlets commenting on
the harmful effect Hezbollah’s arsenal has on Lebanon’s ability to respond to
its abysmal economic conditions.
Ziad Aswad, an FPM lawmaker, and Naji Hayek, a senior member of the FPM, brought
the matter into the open as they blamed Hezbollah for Lebanon’s predicament,
stressing that for Hezbollah “to keep their weapons means the Lebanese going
hungry.” Hayek was equally critical of Hezbollah and its allies accusing them of
working toward coopting and seeking to hegemonize all aspects of society,
provoking a response from the Amal movement, Speaker Nabih Berri’s faction,
which accused the FPM of plotting to establish a federalist state.
Despite all the ruckus that came with the FPM’s reservations of their main ally,
there are many indications that confirm that this alliance will linger and that
the FPM criticism are disingenuous to say the least, with both sides benefiting
in the process. The fact that these remarks came via Aswad and Hayek and not the
FPM’s President Gebran Bassil simply means that they can be brushed away as
irresponsible comments and the relationship between the two can be swiftly
repaired.
It is no coincidence that this supposed schism between the FPM and Hezbollah
conveniently surfaced at a time that news is circulating that the next round of
sanctions against Iran and Syria especially the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection
Act might go beyond Hezbollah to even include Bassil and many businessmen who
orbit his network.
Thus, the FPM attack can be seen as an attempt to prevent such sanctions from
becoming a reality. By Bassil claiming his alliance with Hezbollah and Iran
allows for backdoor diplomacy and containment, Bassil maintains that his
arrangement with Hezbollah protects Lebanon and the Christians, a pretext which
many foreign diplomats, either naively or dubiously seem to buy. An equally
important reason for the FPM’s latest maneuver is that it empowers Bassil within
the Christian community and reinforces his shattered image, one which has
worsened with the deteriorating economic conditions. By bolstering his damaged
image, he boosts his chances in the next presidential elections.
Hezbollah, on the other hand, stands to benefit from this FPM attack, as it
allows it to come out as supposedly democratic and open to constructive
criticism. Perhaps Hezbollah will entertain the idea of discussing defense
strategy under the state, rather than through its own devices.
Such a tactic – portraying Iran’s Lebanese outfit as a political actor rather
than the militia it is – at least in the mind of Bassil and Hezbollah would help
to improve Lebanon’s chances for aid as it begs the International Monetary Fund
and other donors for funding.
Additionally, being on the receiving end of an attack by Bassil, perceived by
the majority of the Lebanese as the face of corruption, is not necessarily bad
as it helps Hezbollah appear as a crusader for reform and anti-corruption.
In reality, the FPM, more specifically Bassil, and Hezbollah are umbilically
connected and neither can breakaway without one dying out. Without Hezbollah and
its weapons to use as his muscle, Bassil has no chance of controlling nor
enforcing his will on the country, the moment that Hezbollah decides to drop
Bassil, he will be open to criminal and judicial action or simply go back to
losing elections like he did twice before, and his chance of replacing his
father-in-law as Lebanon’s next president will simply fade away. Bassil equally
knows that Hezbollah will never leave him out in the cold as long as he
continues to act as its Christian fig leaf, a service which he has done
proficiently.
Perhaps more importantly, the FPM-Hezbollah alliance is a manifestation of their
mutual belief in the exclusionary principle of the alliance of minorities, one
which has driven Aoun and later Bassil to drag Lebanon into the Iran’s axis of
resistance, placing the country and its future in the wind. Rather than become
distracted by the sideshow that is a Hezbollah schism with the FPM and
accompanying hopes this fallout would save Lebanon, it is more prudent for the
Lebanese and, more importantly, for the international community to put an end to
the current Lebanese political system that allows for such sinister and
destructive alliances to become the norm.
Joumana Haddad: Rebellion whirlwind versus opprobrium, via
words
Christy-Belle Geha/Annahar/May 26/2020
BEIRUT: By the age of 12, Joumana Haddad had already devoured the works of
Dostoevsky, Balzac, Eluard, and Salinger, from her father’s library, and moved
to the Marquis de Sade, whose world scandalized the young girl. Years later, she
became an award-winning poet, renowned journalist, and literary translator.
Haddad registered her Ph.D. subject on the Marquis de Sade at Sorbonne
University in France, but never completed it because academia “never quite
attracted” her.
She preferred dedicating her time to a new book rather than to a thesis, as she
told Annahar, the newspaper whose cultural pages she headed for 20 years,
growing into the first woman in the Arab region to occupy such a position.
“Language is a beautiful tool through which the world can be looked at, named,
discovered, loved, reinvented, have its stories told,” Haddad said. However,
language is also a “dangerous tool to distort the world and lie about it as
well.”
Discovering De Sade was Haddad’s “baptism by subversion” as she wrote in her
2010 “I Killed Scheherazade: Confessions of an Angry Arab Woman,” her first book
in English, in which she confessed that literature “has been [her] original
emancipator.”
Alongside generating brainchildren in English, Haddad masters six other
languages, among which her native Arabic tongue, French, Armenian, and
Spanish.“I never avoid saying something in a particular language and thus
‘escape’ to another,” she noted. “I say what I want to say, period. Whatever the
language is. It’s just that the idea of a book often comes carrying with it its
own genre and its own language, and I surrender to that.”
During Annahar’s conversation with Haddad, she elaborated that she relishes
abandoning herself to her volatility, and she subsequently adopts the null
literary routine or daily writing rituals, given that her “fickle type of
creativity doesn’t appreciate discipline.”
As neither academia nor discipline attracts Haddad, she abhors the tendency
among Arab women towards submission to clichés and victimhood, triggering her to
speak, write, and transgress the human-fabricated constraints.
“Poetry, to me, is the closest dwelling to freedom, and the shortest path to the
core of all things. It is the nucleus of truth under the innumerable layers of
deceit, and that’s a yearning in me,” she explained.
With a favorite-poets spectrum oscillating between Akl Awit, Ounsi El Hajj,
Cesare Pavese, Sylvia Plath, Paul Eluard, and Fernando Pessoa, Haddad thinks
that all poets and avid readers might face the risks of their readings’
influence on their expression.
“We almost always carry some essence of what we have read and loved in our own
texts,” Haddad said. “The important thing is to absorb that influence and
personalize it and enrich it with our individual voice so that it stops being an
influence and rather becomes the hybrid descendant of ancestral matrimony. We
all produce cross-breeds when we write.”
In parallel with publishing widely-acclaimed poetry in French like “Le temps
d’un rêve” (1995), her Arabic “The return of Lilith” (2004), “Mirrors of the
passers by” (2008), and “The Geology of I” (2012) among others, and “Invitation
to a Secret Feast” (2008) in English, Haddad also published several works of
translation - which she delved into for her Master's degree at the Holy Spirit
University of Kaslik (USEK) - including an anthology of Lebanese modern poetry
in Spanish, “Allí donde el río se incendia, Antología de la poesía libanesa
moderna” (2005).
Her explicit and daring poetry and prose earned her international prizes such as
Italy’s International Prize North-South for poetry in 2009, the Blue Metropolis
Al Majidi Bin Dhaher Arab Literary Prize and the Rodolfo Gentili Prize in Porto
Recanati in 2010, as well as the 2014 Italian “Career Poetry Prize,” after she
was appointed honorary ambassador for culture and human rights for the city of
Naples in the Mediterranean in 2013.
“When I’m writing, there’s no ‘audience,’ no readers, no calculations and
formulas.” She explained. “No ‘what will happen next?’ or ‘how will this text be
received?’ Nothing from the outside world interferes with the flow of my
thoughts and words. I become completely impermeable, as well as totally free
from the earthly notions of time and space, and the weight these might cast on
me.”
For Haddad, this attitude comes as a result of years of training in the art of
fighting self-censorship and the nagging voices in her head. “I learned not to
surrender to those, because without the absolute freedom of writing whatever I
wanted to write, I cannot produce anything,” she added.
Obloquy cascades flooded Beirut - the city where Haddad was born in 1970 - and
the surrounding Arab region, when she published “Jasad” (or “Body”) starting
2008, a quarterly magazine unprecedentedly tackling Arab cultural taboos
including polygamy, masturbation, homosexuality, virginity, marriage, in
addition to erotic stories and personal testimony.
Haddad herself scandalized her father at the age of 26 when she opted for the
word “penis” in a poem, rather than “column,” the preferred term by her father.
“As long as you’re alive, you’re oppressed, whether you realize it or not,
whether you accept it or not. Humans are oppressed by the small details as well
as by the big picture, by the obvious and by the less obvious, by the
patriarchal laws and by the inequitable economy, by international politics and
by biased media,” she expressed.
Haddad believes that waking up is a constant “going to war,” as every day, there
are new “oppression monsters to defeat.”
Given her harsh fight against prevalent notions of womanhood and misogyny in the
Middle East, as well as western stereotypes on Arab women, Haddad’s most
vociferous opponents slide into her inbox and threaten her for her “provocative”
cerebral products, initially thought to be written by men.
But despite it all, she admits not being affected by criticism, as “it doesn’t
steer the direction that only [she] decides to take, nor the content that nobody
but [her] chooses to express.”
“Anger generates beauty when it is the right kind of anger, that is, outrage in
the face of indignity and the will to do and say something about it,” she added.
“All strong emotions can generate beauty. The only indifference is sterile. But
we don’t write to ‘generate beauty.’ We write to create earthquakes and move
mountains, or at least that’s what I try to do.”
Her scientific approach to life helped her in her career as she confirmed, and
“‘Parole parole parole’ doesn’t work for [her].”
For Haddad, her mind needs to be “addressed and convinced with a solid reason,”
which many might consider a weird characteristic in a poet and writer.
“I look at my young self with compassion, and she looks at me with the grateful
eyes of someone who’s been somewhat avenged,” she concluded
*Welcome to Carpe Diem, Annahar's new literary section featuring poetry- old and
new, published or hidden within the nooks of unveiled pages of Lebanese writers.
We welcome all contributions with the caveat that the section hopes to see
rawness and authenticity in thought and emotion.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
May 26-27/2020
Bethlehem Nativity Church reopens after coronavirus closure
AP/May 26/2020
BETHLEHEM, West Bank: Bethlehem’s storied Church of the Nativity reopened to
visitors on Tuesday, after a nearly three-month closure due to the coronavirus
pandemic.The church, built over the spot where Christians believe Jesus was
born, was closed on March 5 as the first cases of the virus were reported in the
West Bank. mThe church is one of Christianity’s most sacred shrines and the
closure came ahead of the busy Easter holiday season that typically draws tens
of thousands of visitors and worshipers.Bishop Theophylactos, a Greek Orthodox
cleric, called the reopening a day of celebration for Bethlehem since “all the
people now can enter the church and pray like before.”The Palestinian Authority
has reported some 400 cases of the coronavirus in the West Bank, with two
deaths. Most of the cases were traced to Palestinians who worked inside Israel,
which has been coping with a much larger outbreak.Israeli authorities have begun
to gradually reopen schools, houses of worship and markets as the spread of the
novel coronavirus has slowed. Israel’s Health Ministry has reported over 16,700
confirmed cases of the disease and 279 deaths. More than 14,000 have recovered.
Third Iranian cargo reaches Venezuelan waters, others
unloading
Reuters, Venezuela/Wednesday 27 May 2020
The third cargo of an Iranian tanker flotilla carrying fuel for gasoline-thirsty
Venezuela on Tuesday reached the nation’s exclusive economic zone as the
previous two were discharging at state run PDVSA's ports, according to Refinitiv
Eikon data. The Iran-flagged tanker Petunia crossed the Caribbean Sea earlier on
Tuesday, following the route taken in recent days by vessels Fortune and Forest.
The Fortune was welcomed on Monday at PDVSA's El Palito refinery by Venezuela's
oil minister, Tareck El Aissami, who thanked Iran for its support during the
crisis, which has forced Venezuelans to wait in long lines for gasoline.For all
the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app. The
deal has been criticized by the United States as both OPEC-member nations are
under sanctions. A US official said earlier this month that President Donald
Trump’s administration was considering responses to the shipment, prompting the
Iranian government to warn Washington against any military action. The vessels
did not appear to encounter any interference during their journey. The second
tanker in the flotilla, the Forest, docked on Tuesday at a port serving PDVSA’s
second largest refinery, Cardon, on the nation's western coast, according to two
sources and the Eikon data. As the tankers discharge the imports, which include
gasoline and components for motor fuel production, PDVSA is working to recover a
portion of the domestic refining capacity it has lost in recent years due to
mismanagement, lack of qualified personnel and delayed maintenance due to
limitations under the US sanctions. The Venezuelan firm, whose nameplate
refining capacity reaches 1.3 million barrels per day, increased crude
processing for fuel production to 215,000 bpd this month, from 110,000 bpd in
March, according to sources and company data. But its crude output and exports
took another hit in May due to lack of buyers amid sanctions, which has pushed
stocks up.
US military says Russia deployed ‘fourth generation’
fighter jets to Libya
The Arab Weekly/May 26/2020
CAIRO--The US military Tuesday accused Russia of deploying “fourth generation”
fighter planes to conflict-stricken Libya to support the Libyan National Army (LNA)
in its offensive on the capital, Tripoli. US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said the
Russian military aircraft arrived in Libya recently from an airbase in Russia
via Syria. AFRICOM did not say how many aircrafts were transferred or when
exactly they arrived in Libya.“For too long, Russia has denied the full extent
of its involvement in the ongoing Libyan conflict. Well, there is no denying it
now. We watched as Russia flew fourth generation jet fighters to Libya — every
step of the way,” said US Army General Stephen Townsend. Libya was plunged into
chaos when a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi in
2011.“Russian military aircraft are likely to provide close air support and
offensive fire,” the AFRICOM said in a statement posted on its website and on
Twitter.The US statement quoted US Air Force General Jeff Harrigian as warning
that if Russia seized bases on Libya’s coast, it would “create very real
security concerns on Europe’s southern flank.”Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov on Tuesday told Libyan Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh, who is allied
with the LNA commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, that Moscow backed an
immediate ceasefire and political talks for a settlement. Lavrov conveyed that
message to Saleh in a phone call, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Libya is now split between a government in the east allied with Haftar and the
Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by Prime Minister Fayez
al-Sarraj and backed by Turkey, Qatar and Islamic militants. Last Monday, GNA
forces captured al-Watiya airbase after Turkey stepped up its military
intervention, sending drones, air defence systems, armoured vehicles and
thousands of Syrian mercenaries. However, Haftar said Saturday his forces would
continue fighting and they have stepped up airstrikes. Acting UN special envoy
Stephanie Williams warned last week that the war in the North African country
will “intensify, broaden and deepen” because of increasing foreign intervention
and the influx of weapons, military equipment and mercenaries to both sides.
Erdogan lifts 10-year Israel cargo ban while condemning
Israeli actions in Palestine
Matthew Amlôt, Al Arabiya English/Monday 25 May 2020
Turkish President Erdogan condemned Israel’s plans of annexing Palestinian land
while a cargo plane landed in Istanbul from Israel carrying cargo for the first
time in 10 years on Sunday. Israel’s El Al airlines, the country’s flag carrier,
landed in Istanbul on Sunday morning, according to a tweet from the Israeli
embassy in Turkey. The tweet added that the flight will help trade between the
two countries. Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced Israel’s
actions on the same day and voiced support for Palestine in the lead up to Eid
al-Fitr, a holiday which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. “We will
not allow the Palestinian lands to be offered to anyone else … Last week we
witnessed that a new occupation and annexation project, which disregards
Palestine’s sovereignty and international law, was put into action by Israel,”
Erdogan said in a video message on Sunday, Turkish state news Anadolu Agency
reported.“I would like to reiterate that al-Quds Al-Sharif, the holy site of
three religions and our first kiblah, is a red line for all Muslims worldwide …
It is clear that the global order has long failed to produce justice, peace,
serenity, and order,” he added. In April, Turkey began supplying medical
equipment to Israel to help the country fight the coronavirus pandemic,
Bloomberg earlier reported.
Erdogan seeks to extend his Libya gains into a foothold in
Algeria
DebkaFile/May 26/2020
Turkey is cajoling Algeria into signing a defense pact with the Libyan
Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli after capturing the strategic
Watiya air base from Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s (LNA) forces, DEBKAfile’s Mid East
sources report. On Sunday, the 1,200-1,500 Russian mercenaries fighting for
Haftar were flown to Jufra in southern Libya to regroup and chart their next
steps, after the GNA and Turkish-backed troops destroyed the LNA’s air defenses
in Watiya, including the Russian Pantsir-1 battery posted there. Russia, which
supports the general’s yearlong battle to conquer Tripoli, responded by
transferring half a dozen warplanes from Syria to Libya to enable the LNA to
keep on bombing GNA forces and Turkish assets. Erdogan countered with a threat
to bring Turkish Air Force warplanes over to bomb Haftar’s troops. The Turks
have hitherto used drones.
GNA control of al-Watiya not only puts a stop to Haftar’s use of the facility to
mount air raids on GNA forces in Tripoli. It also provides Turkey with a
strategic base for building up a military presence in Libya and its
Mediterranean coastline. Haftar’s backers, Russia, Egypt and the UAE may have
second thoughts about helping the Libyan general’s thrust from his eastern
stronghold to seize the capital. In December, Erdogan signed a military
cooperation pact with the UN-recognized Tripoli government’s prime minister
Fayez al-Sarraj for countering the offensive mounted by Gen. Haftar.
Algeria has consistently fought shy of foreign adventures and stood aloof from
the troubles in Libya – even when Muammar Qadhafi was overthrown, thereby
setting off the still-raging civil war. The Turkish president saw an opportunity
in the new Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s apparent openness for
abandoning its traditional doctrine of non-intervention under the late
Boutefliqa. Article 95 of new constitutional reform bill that Tebboune’s
instituted earlier this month allows the Algerian army to intervene for the
first time outside its borders. Threats to this huge, largely desert, oil-rich
country’s stability abound from its volatile Sahel neighbors, on the one hand,
and Libya on the other. If Erdogan succeeds in harnessing Algeria to the Libyan
GNA, which is already tied to the Turkish chariot, he will be able to shift the
balance of power in a broad, volatile region. His military gains in Libya
already bring him into position to impact the security of its North African
neighbors – not least, Egypt – as well as Mediterranean navigation between that
continent and southern Europe and the offshore oil projects in between. The
Turkish president is in serious need of success in his foreign adventures to
boost his failing fortunes at home. The economy is in free fall, and his former
cronies have been able to establish an opposition grouping that could seriously
challenge his party at next year’s election. When he talked by phone with
President Donald Trump last week, Erdogan boasted that the Libyan conflict was
no longer small potatoes among local forces and minor parties like the UAE, but
a game led by the big players like Vladimir Putin, his off-and-on ally, and
himself.
Aguila Saleh’s initiative tests international community on
Libya
Mona El-Mahrouki/The Arab Weekly/May 26/2020
TUNIS – The political initiative launched by Libyan Parliament Speaker Aguila
Saleh tests the international community's seriousness in finding a just
political settlement that takes into account the balance of military forces in
the country and breaks with the Skhirat agreement, which has cemented the
Islamists’ takeover of the government in Tripoli following what was then known
as “the Fajr Libya coup."Fathi al-Mrimi, media advisor to Saleh, said: “We need
the United Nations Mission and the international community to oversee this
initiative, with the participation of the major powers, including Russia and the
United States, to help the Libyan people out of their crisis.”On Saturday, Saleh
reiterated the initiative that he announced at the end of last April, coinciding
with the retreat of the Libyan National Army (LNA) from several fronts due to
increasing Turkish intervention on the side of the Government of National
Accord’s (GNA) militias, which are allegedly taking in weapons, mercenaries and
extremists from ISIS and the Nusra Front. In a statement broadcast on Eid al-Fitr,
Saleh said that “the political process has been blocked by ignoring the outcome
of the Berlin conference, and in light of the risks of foreign invasion, the
halt to oil production and exports, falling oil prices, high exchange rates, the
effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on international economies and the takeover of
the Libyan Central Bank, the National Oil Agency and branches of foreign banks
by the illegitimate Presidential Council and other groups, militias and armed
gangs, all of which serves the interests of these groups and enables them to
consolidate their control of the capital and continue looting the wealth of
Libyans.”
“Our success in restructuring the Presidential Council, forming a national
government, and reaching a mechanism for distributing the national wealth will
enable us to provide budgeted funds to cover the needs of citizens and putting
them on the path for a decent living, and supports efforts to improve the
military institution so that it can carry out its role in combating terrorism,
protecting borders, and preserving state sovereignty,” he added.
It must be pointed out that Saleh’s initiative was rejected by the LNA, and that
was reflected in Field-Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s address to his troops on Eid in
which he urged them to continue fighting. The Libyan Parliament and its speaker
have been among the army’s most prominent allies since 2014.
To convince Haftar to side with his initiative, Saleh needs to secure
international guarantees not to have the scenario of the Skhirat agreement
repeated, because that agreement was the reason for the outbreak of the Battle
of Tripoli, since the Islamists and their international allies were planning to
impose a new settlement tailored to fit the wishes of the Muslim Brotherhood
through the Ghedames conference, which was cancelled when the battle for Tripoli
was declared. When the LNA launched the battle for Tripoli on April 4, 2019, it
was accused of undermining the political process, but political figures
affiliated with the LNA said that launching the battle came in response to the
coup against the understandings reached in Abu Dhabi between Haftar and GNA
President Fayez al-Sarraj.nding allowed the LNA to enter Tripoli and hold
presidential and legislative elections. The Islamists had turned their backs on
these understandings because they realised that their popularity was declining
among Libyans due to their involvement with and support of terrorist groups in
various regions of the country, in addition to the deterioration of living
conditions and the spread of chaos and corruption. Since the outbreak of the
battle more than a year ago, the international community has been trying to
resume the political process and reach a settlement that guarantees the
participation of all political groups in the government, which explains why it
has turned a blind eye on Turkey’s intervention despite its illegality and arms
trafficking.
By freeing Turkey’s hand in Libya, the international community is seeking to
indirectly strike a military balance that might force the LNA to return to the
political process, especially after Haftar had refused last January to sign a
Russia-Turkey sponsored cease-fire agreement that seemed to him no to to take
into account the LNA’s military superiority. Countries like the United States
and the United Kingdom are accused of being biased in favour of the Islamists
despite the chaos caused by the latter in Libya. The Skhirat agreement is seen
by many as an international “reward” for the Brotherhood for their coup against
the democratic path in 2014. While the countries that support the Islamists are
betting on weakening the army’s position militarily, the Islamists and their
regional allies (Qatar and Turkey) are focusing their efforts on driving a wedge
in the alliance between the army and parliament on the one hand and between the
army and the tribes supporting it on the other, in an effort to curtail any role
for Haftar in the talks and give way to Saleh, who is perceived as less
intransigent and more open to the Islamists. On Monday, Turkish and Qatari media
outlets tried to amplify the support of 11 deputies for Saleh’s initiative and
highlight differences between the army and parliament. Those media outlets and
pro-GNA websites have launched a campaign targeting Haftar and belittling his
victories by amplifying the army’s recent losses. But Saleh’s latest statement,
stressing his side’s continued support for the LNA in its war on terrorism, came
to reduce the chances of success of these campaigns “There is no disagreement
between Field Marshal Haftar and Speaker Aguila Saleh, as some would like you to
believe,” said the speaker’s media advisor. “We agree to support the army and
liberate all Libyan land from terrorism, but this is a political initiative and
all solutions can be presented. The one proposal that will end the Libyan crisis
and achieve stability and the interest of the Libyan people, everyone will
support it.”
France says relations with Tehran ‘more difficult’ with
detention of French-Iranian academic
The Arab Weekly/May 26/2020
PARIS--France’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that relations with Iran had
become more difficult after Tehran sentenced a French-Iranian academic to prison
in what he said was a politically motivated decision.
“This sentencing was founded on no serious elements and was politically
motivated. So we firmly say to the Iranian authorities to release Fariba
Adelkhah without delay,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France
Inter radio. “This decision make our relations with the Iranian authorities a
lot more difficult,” he said. French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah was
sentenced to six years in jail May 16. Iran has previously rejected France’s
call to release Adelkhah, a 60-year-old anthropologist who has been detained
since June 2019, saying the demand is an “interference in Tehran’s internal
affairs.” Tehran does not recognise dual nationality. In March, Iran released
Adelkhah’s partner, French academic Roland Marchal, who was detained along with
her. Marchal was released after France freed Iranian engineer Jalal
Ruhollahnejad, who was detained over alleged violations of US sanctions against
Tehran and was facing extradition to the US. Washington has said that it “deeply
regrets” the French decision. Sixty year-old Adelkhah is a research director at
Sciences Po university in Paris and a well-known expert on Shia Islam. She is
best known for her book “Being Modern in Iran” and has done extensive research
on women, youth and social changes in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Experts pointed out that prisoner swaps encourage Iran to continue its practice
of abducting and detaining dual nationals in order to blackmail foreign nations
into policy concessions or the release of Iranian nationals suspected of
espionage and terrorist activities. The IRGC has arrested dozens of dual
nationals in recent years, mostly on “espionage” charges. Adelkhah’s lawyer
Saeid Dehghan said Marchal’s release gives grounds for appeal against the charge
of “gathering and conspiring against national security.”
“At least two people must be involved for this charge to stand,” he said.
Adelkhah’s defence team also plans to argue that her personal academic opinion
regarding the Islamic dress code enforced in Iran cannot amount to “propaganda
against a political system.”Visiting Western academics and journalists face
constant harassment in Iran when they are allowed a visa to enter the country.
Leading security officials say ISIS resurgent amid
coronavirus pandemic
Thomas Harding/The National/May 26, 2020
Western powers distracted by crisis, allowing extremists to regroup
Western security sources said that ISIS was resurgent and was using the
coronavirus crisis to rebuild its strength for an offensive.
The terrorist group has capitalised on the confusion and chaos caused by the
pandemic to recruit and rearm, the sources said.
With the US distracted by the crisis and in the process of pulling troops from
the front lines in Afghanistan, pressure on the extremists has eased, allowing
them to regroup.This month, ISIS attacked Iraqi paramilitaries, killing at least
10 people.
The assaults included a bomb planted in the path of reinforcements and the use
of boats to outflank security forces. “You cannot take your eye off the ball
with these people as they have not gone away,” a western security source told
The National. “They are resurgent. They’re not at their high point by any means,
but their trajectory is going up, whereas a couple of years ago it was going
down, and Covid is certainly making it a bit difficult to keep a lid on
Daesh.”Daesh has evolved – it is now going back to traditional sleeper cells,
gradually building up its strength. ISIS is continuing to exploit refugee camps
for training, influence and radicalisation, in particular the 70,000 people in
Al Hol in north-east Syria.
The militants are well funded and used "significant" numbers of women to
co-ordinate their activities. “They are enabling these attacks and the
opportunity from Covid to recruit, train and get back on the front foot,” the
security source said.
“Daesh is now going back to traditional sleeper cells, gradually building up its
strength. There is also no shortage of money.”Since the pandemic struck, ISIS
has started firefights with Iraqi security forces rather than using roadside
bombs and snipers. “They’re bolder, more aggressive,” a western diplomat told
International Crisis Group analysts for a report published this month. “They use
IEDs but more and more they engage in firefights. And they kill.” But Iraqi Brig
Gen Yahya Rasool played down reports that the terrorist group was resurgent.
“You have some remnants of the organisation, cells, that try to carry out
operations here and there, in desert areas like western Anbar or on plains,
ravines and mountains – areas where the nature of the terrain is difficult,
which are hard to totally control," the Iraqi defence spokesman told Crisis
Group.
Coalition forces have continued to provide aircraft and drone support for Iraqi
soldiers in the past month. But there were growing concerns that a weakening of
Iraq's relationship with Washington had emboldened the terrorists.
The US has had a presence in Iraq since it invaded in 2003, but President Donald
Trump has insisted on reducing troop numbers, which has taken pressure off the
extremists. With Iran providing precision missiles to its proxies in Iraq, US
troops were under greater threat and were now relying on air support for
protection. It was understood that the Americans were also pursuing the
offensive against ISIS with “less energy”, the security source said. Tension
between the US and Iraq has also been high after the assassination of Iran’s
Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad by a US drone in January.
There was also a perceived failure in the West to understand the implications of
killing Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis alongside Suleimani.
“The Iraqis were seriously annoyed,” the security source said. “He was the main
connection with the government and he was a key player.
"Fortunately, now that Iraq has a new government, the ability for the US and
Iraq to talk is getting stronger. "Meetings are planned for next month about the
future of the coalition.” America faces further hostility with Iraqi opponents
calling its presence an “occupation” and a heated debate over whether its troops
should be expelled. ISIS is also exploiting the fact that joint operations
between Kurdish peshmerga fighters and Iraqi security forces are not as
co-ordinated as in the past. With Iraqi security forces distracted by enforcing
coronavirus measures, ISIS in March urged its followers to use it as an
opportunity to step up attacks. With low oil prices and spreading Covid-19
infections, Iraq’s new government faces a testing summer. ISIS is unlikely
extend its reach to the size of its self-declared "caliphate" of five years ago
but there is real concern about its resurgence.“It’s clear something is
happening,” one western diplomat said.
Captured Senior ISIS Commander Abdul Nasser Qardash:
Fanatics In ISIS Had The Upper Hand; New Leader Not As Resolute As Al-Baghdadi
Al-Arabiya TV (Dubai/Saudi Arabia)
Captured senior ISIS commander Abdul Nasser Qardash said in a May 20, 2020
interview on Al-Arabiya Network (Saudi Arabia) that when ISIS lost vast
territories, the ISIS leadership re-examined things. He said that it became
clear that fanatics had infiltrated ISIS and gained the "upper hand." In
addition, Qardash said that former ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who had
been killed by U.S. forces in 2019, had been a resolute leader who rarely
changed his mind and who would cover up his faults rather than admit to them. He
added that the current ISIS Caliph is not as resolute as Al-Baghdadi had been.
Abdul Nasser Qardash: "When the Islamic State lost vast areas, including Kobani,
things were re-examined and discussed with the leaders of the Islamic State.
There were three of us who sat with the leaders of the Islamic State - myself,
Abu Muhammad Al-Furqan, and Abu Ayyub Al-Raqqawi. During the discussions, it
became clear that the fanatics in the Islamic State had the upper hand."
Host: "So there were fanatics in ISIS and they had the upper hand?"
Qardash: "It turned out that there were fanatic students who infiltrated [our
ranks]. We decided to form an inspection [committee] that would summon anyone
who was problematic, and clarify matters with him.
"Abu Bark Al-Baghdadi was known to be resolute. He would not go back on a
decision unless he was 100% certain that it was wrong. Only then would he change
his mind. He would not admit any faults. Rather, he would try to cover them up.
[Current ISIS leader] Abdullah Qardash is not a resolute person."
Host: "900 men were taken from the provinces under your control, especially Al-Anbar,
and after they 'repented,' they were slaughtered in Syria."
Qardash: "I consider this to be a betrayal.
"These people repented, yet they took them and killed them, in accordance with
the orders of Abu Mu'taz."
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on May 26-27/2020
“White Harlots Eager for Sex”: Islam’s Medieval Fantasies
Plague Europe
Raymond Ibrahim/May 26/2020
Speaking under the pseudonym of “Ella,” a British woman recently revealed that
her Muslim rapists called her “a white c*nt, a white wh*re, and a white b*tch,”
during the more than 100 times she was raped in her youth by the mostly
Pakistani grooming gang.
“We need to understand racially and religiously aggravated crime if we are going
to prevent it and protect people from it and if we are going to prosecute
correctly for it,” she said in her recent interview. “Prevention, protection and
prosecution — all of them are being hindered because we are neglecting to
properly address the religious and racist aspects of grooming gang crimes…. It’s
telling them that it’s OK to hate white people.”
That there are “racial” and “religious” aspects to the epidemic of Muslims
raping Western European women cannot be overstated. Put differently, the males
of a particular religion tend to fantasize that the females of a particular race
are nymphomaniacal masochists who are hot for being degraded and abused.
Consider a few earlier examples:
Another British girl was “passed around like a piece of meat” among Muslim men
who abused and raped her between the ages of 12 and 14. Speaking now as an
adult, a court heard how she “was raped on a dirty mattress above a takeaway and
forced to perform [oral] sex acts in a churchyard,” and how one of her abusers
“urinated on her in an act of humiliation” afterwards.
Another British woman was trafficked to Morocco where she was prostituted and
repeatedly raped by dozens of Muslim men. They “made me believe I was nothing
more than a slut, a white whore,” she recollects. “They treated me like a leper,
apart from when they wanted sex. I was less than human to them, I was rubbish.”
A Muslim man explained to another British woman why he was raping her: “you
white women are good at it.”
A Muslim man called a 13-year-old virgin “a little white slag”—British slang for
“loose, promiscuous woman”—before raping her.
In Germany, a group of Muslim “refugees” stalked a 25-year-old woman, hurled
“filthy” insults at and taunted her for sex. They too explained their
logic—“German girls are just there for sex”—before reaching into her blouse and
groping her.
Another Muslim man who almost killed his 25-year-old German victim while raping
her—and shouting “Allah!”—afterwards inquired if she liked it.
In Australia, a Muslim cabbie groped and insulted his female passengers,
including by saying “All Australian women are sluts and deserve to be raped.”
In Austria, an “Arabic-looking man” approached a 27-year-old woman at a bus
stop, pulled down his pants, and “all he could say was sex, sex, sex,” prompting
the woman to scream and flee.
Even Dr. Taj Hargey, a British imam, confirms that the majority of the UK’s
“imams promote grooming rings.” He said Muslim men are taught that women are
“second-class citizens, little more than chattels or possessions over whom they
have absolute authority” and that the imams preach a doctrine “that denigrates
all women, but treats whites with particular contempt.”
For those acquainted with history, such Muslim behavior towards European women
should be unsurprising—stretching, as it does, all the way back to the founder
of Islam: In order to prompt his men to invade Byzantine territory—where the
Arabs’ nearest European neighbors lived—the prophet Muhammad enticed them with
the potential of sexually enslaving the “yellow” women (an apparent reference to
their fair hair). It is “impossible to disconnect Islam from the Viking
slave-trade,” M.A. Khan, a former Muslim, writes of the following centuries,
“because the supply was absolutely meant for meeting [the] Islamic world’s
unceasing demand for the prized white slaves” and for “white sex-slaves.”
Moreover, just as Muslim rapists see Western women as “pieces of meat,” “nothing
more than sluts,” and “white whores,” so did Islam’s earliest luminaries always
describe European women, beginning with those nearest to them, of Byzantium.
Thus, for Abu Uthman al-Jahiz (b. 776), a prolific court scholar, the females of
Constantinople were the “most shameless women in the whole world … [T]hey find
sex more enjoyable” and “are prone to adultery.” Abd al-Jabbar (b. 935), another
prominent scholar, claimed that “adultery is commonplace in the cities and
markets of Byzantium”—so much so that even “the nuns from the convents went out
to the fortresses to offer themselves to monks.”
Several centuries later, in a written excerpt that goes to great (if not
pornographic) lengths, Muhammad bin Hamed al-Isfahani (b. 1125), a celebrated
Persian court scholar and poet, explained how he once saw a ship containing
“three hundred lovely Frankish women, full of youth and beauty” arrive by sea.
The flattery ends there and the fantasying begins:
They glowed with ardour for carnal intercourse. They were all licentious
harlots, proud and scornful, who took and gave, foul-fleshed and sinful . . .
making love and selling themselves for gold . . . with nasal voices and fleshy
thighs, blue-eyed and grey-eyed. . . . They dedicated as a holy offering what
they kept between their thighs. . . . They maintained that they could make
themselves acceptable to God by no better sacrifice than this. . . . They made
themselves targets for men’s darts.
After Saladin conquered Jerusalem from the Franks in 1187, this same Muhammad
bin Hamed, who was present and aged 62, launched into yet another
sadomasochistic “poem” extolling the sexual debasement of European women and
children—approximately eight-thousand of whom were enslaved:
How many well-guarded women were profaned, how many queens were ruled, and
nubile girls married, and noble women given away, and miserly women forced to
yield themselves, and women who had been kept hidden [nuns] stripped of their
modesty . . . and free women occupied [meaning “penetrated”], and precious ones
used for hard work, and pretty things put to the test, and virgins dishonoured
and proud women deflowered . . . and happy ones made to weep! How many noblemen
[Muslim lords] took them as concubines, how many ardent men blazed for one of
them, and celibates were satisfied by them, and thirsty men sated by them, and
turbulent men able to give vent to their passion. How many lovely women were the
exclusive property of one man, how many great ladies were sold at low prices . .
. and lofty ones abased . . . and those accustomed to thrones dragged down!
In short, past and present, not only have Muslim men had a “penchant” for
European women; they have always justified this lust by portraying their victims
as wanton nymphomaniacs, eager to be sexually debased.
Accordingly, “Ella”—this British woman who like many others was repeatedly raped
while being called “a white c*nt, a white wh*re, and a white b*tch” who “wants
it”—is at the very least correct to point out that this ongoing epidemic will
continue “because we are neglecting to properly address the religious and racist
aspects of grooming gang crimes.”
Historical quotes used in this article were sourced from and referenced in the
author’s book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and
the West. Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom
Center; a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum; and a
Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute.
France's Determination to End Free Speech
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/May 26/2020
Private companies will now be obliged to act as thought police on behalf of the
French state or face heavy fines.
"Under the pretext of fighting 'hateful' content on the Internet, it [the Avia
law] is setting up a system of censorship that is as effective as it is
dangerous... 'hate' is the pretext systematically used by those who want to
silence dissenting opinions.... A democracy worthy of its name should accept
freedom of expression." — Guillaume Roquette, editorial director of Le Figaro
Magazine, May 22, 2020.
"What is hate? You have the right not to love... you have the right to love, you
have the right to hate. It's a feeling... It cannot be judicialized,
legislated." — Éric Zemmour, CNews, May 13, 2020.
Asking private companies -- or the government -- to act as thought police does
not belong in a state that claims to follow a democratic rule of law.
Unfortunately, the question is not whether France will be the last European
country to introduce such censorship laws, but what other countries are next in
line.
With a new law, the French government has decided to delegate the task of state
censorship to online platforms such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, YouTube,
Instagram and Snapchat. Private companies will now be obliged to act as thought
police on behalf of the French state or face heavy fines. (Images source: iStock)
On May 13, the French parliament adopted a law that requires online platforms
such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat[1] to remove
reported "hateful content" within 24 hours and "terrorist content" within one
hour. Failure to do so could result in exorbitant fines of up to €1.25 million
or 4% of the platform's global revenue in cases of repeated failure to remove
the content.
The scope of online content deemed "hateful" under what is known as the "Avia
law" (after the lawmaker who proposed it) is, as is common in European hate
speech laws, very broadly demarcated and includes "incitement to hatred, or
discriminatory insult, on the grounds of race, religion, ethnicity, gender,
sexual orientation or disability".
The French law was directly inspired by Germany's controversial NetzDG law,
adopted in in October 2017, and it is explicitly mentioned in the introduction
to the Avia law. "This law proposal aims to combat the spread of hate speech on
the internet," it is stated in the introduction to the Avia law.
"No one can dispute the exacerbation of hate speech in our society... the
attack[s] on others for what they are, because of their origins, their religion,
their sex or their sexual orientation... hints... [at] the darkest hours in our
history... the fight against hatred, racism and anti-Semitism on the Internet is
an objective of public interest that justifies...strong and effective
provisions... this tool of openness [the internet] to the world, of access to
information, to culture, to communication, can become a real hell for those who
become the target of 'haters' or harassers hidden behind screens and pseudonyms.
According to a survey carried out in May 2016, 58% of our fellow citizens
consider the internet to be the main locus of hate speech. More than 70% say
they have already been confronted with hate speech on social networks. For
younger people in particular, cyber-harassment can be devastating...However...
Few complaints are filed, few investigations are successful, few convictions are
handed down - this creates a vicious circle..."
Having acknowledged that online "hatred" is tricky to prosecute under the
existing laws because "few complaints are filed and few investigations are
successful, few convictions are handed down", but nevertheless determined that
censorship is the panacea to the perceived problems, the French government
decided to delegate the task of state censorship to the online platforms
themselves. Private companies will now be obliged to act as thought police on
behalf of the French state or face heavy fines. As in Germany, such legislation
is bound to lead to online platforms exhibiting overzealousness in the removal
or blocking of anything that might conceivably be perceived as "hateful" to
avoid being fined.
The purpose of the law appears to have been twofold -- not only to achieve the
actual censorship of speech by the removal or blocking of online posts, but also
the (inevitably) chilling effects of censorship on online debate in general.
"People will think twice before crossing the red line if they know that there is
a high likelihood that they will be held to account," French Minister of Justice
Nicole Belloubet said in what sounded ominous for a government representative to
say in a country that still claims to be democratic.
From the beginning, when French President Emmanuel Macron first tasked the group
led by Laetitia Avia with preparing the law, the proposal was met with criticism
from a number of groups and organizations. France's National Consultative
Commission on Human Rights criticized the law proposal for increasing the risk
of censorship, and La Quadrature du Net, an organization that works against
censorship and surveillance online, warned that, "Short removal times and large
fines for non-compliance further incentivize platforms to over-remove content".
The London-based free speech organization Article 19 commented that the law
threatened free speech in France. According to Gabrielle Guillemin, Senior Legal
Officer at Article 19:
"The Avia Law will effectively enable the French state to devolve online
censorship to the dominant tech companies, who will be expected to act as judge
and jury in determining what is 'manifestly illegal' content. The Law covers a
wide range of content so this is not always going to be a straightforward
decision.
"Given the timeframes by which companies have to respond, we can expect them to
err on the side of caution when it comes to deciding whether content is legal or
not. They will also have to resort to using filters that will inevitably lead to
the over-removal of content.
"The French government has ignored the concerns raised by digital rights and
free speech groups, and the result will be a chilling effect on online freedom
of expression in France".
The passed law was also met with disapproval in France. On May 22, Guillaume
Roquette, editorial director of Le Figaro Magazine, wrote:
"Under the pretext of fighting 'hateful' content on the Internet, it [the Avia
law] is setting up a system of censorship that is as effective as it is
dangerous... 'hate' is the pretext systematically used by those who want to
silence dissenting opinions.
"This text [law] is dangerous because, according to lawyer François Sureau, 'it
introduces criminal punishment... of the conscience'. It is dangerous...because
it delegates the regulation of public debate... on the internet to American
multinationals... A democracy worthy of its name should accept freedom of
expression". Jean Yves Camus. from Charlie Hebdo, called the law "a placebo for
fighting hate" and pointed out that the "hyper-focus on online hate" masks the
real danger: "It is not online hatred that killed Ilan Halimi, Sarah Halimi,
Mireille Knoll, the victims of the Bataclan, Hyper Cacher and Charlie; it is an
ideology called anti-Semitism and/or Islamism... Who determines what hatred is
and its [distinction from] criticism? A Pandora's box has just been opened...
There is a risk of a slow but inexorable march towards a digital language hyper-normativized
by political correctness, as defined by active minorities".
"What is hate?" asked French writer Éric Zemmour rhetorically. "We do not know!
You have the right not to love... you have the right to love, you have the right
to hate. It's a feeling... It cannot be judicialized, legislated."
Nevertheless, that is what hate speech laws do, whether in the digital or the
non-digital sphere. Asking private companies -- or the government -- to act as
thought police does not belong in a state that claims to follow a democratic
rule of law.
Unfortunately, the question is not whether France will be the last European
country to introduce such censorship laws, but what other countries are next in
line.Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a
Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
[1] As well as other online platforms and search engines that reach a certain
threshold of activity in France (this threshold will be specified by decree at a
later date).
© 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: The Ayatollah, Amid Coronavirus, Calls for Jihad
Against the Jewish State
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/May 26/2020
It is mystifying that Twitter, which wantonly censors so much, continues to
allow... Iranian leaders to spread Nazi-inspired language and anti-Semitic
sentiments on its platform. In general, "Big Tech" -- Google, Facebook, YouTube
and Twitter -- have long since ceased being "neutral" transmitters of
information as if they were "utilities". Instead, they have become America's
Thought Police. They urgently need to be regulated the same way media is.
The ruling mullahs of Iran need to be held accountable by the international
community for threatening to annihilate a fellow- member of the United Nations,
the Jewish state. Not only are these threats unacceptable according to Chapter
I: Article 2(1)-(5) of the Charter of the United Nations... They are also
unacceptable as part of a double-standard in which the United Nations and the
international community continue to be silent about Iran's threats against
Israeli citizens -- not to mention Iran's malign actions against its own
citizens. Perhaps the time... is long overdue... for the U.S. to cease funding
the UN, which seems only to conserve injustice and war.
Under no circumstances should the US, the UN or any other entity -- read: Europe
-- in any way be assisting the malign mullahs of Iran.
It is mystifying that Twitter, which wantonly censors so much, continues to
allow Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (pictured) and other Iranian leaders
to spread Nazi-inspired language and anti-Semitic sentiments on its platform.
(Photo by Punit Paranjpe/AFP via Getty Images)
Instead of concentrating on assisting and improving the living standards of its
citizens, the ruling mullahs of Iran seem to be prioritizing the advancement of
their anti-Semitic agenda.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently called Israel a "cancerous
tumor to be destroyed," promised "to support any nation or group that fights
Israel," and urged the Palestinian militant groups to cooperate more closely
with each other and "expand the field of jihad in all Palestinian lands."
The Iranian regime has, since its Islamic revolution of 1979, been among the
world's leading sponsors of terrorist organizations that target Israel. Some of
the leaders of terrorist groups have surprisingly admitted that Tehran is their
military and financial lifeline and that their survival depends on Iran.
Ismail Haniyeh, for instance, the head of Hamas's political bureau, recently
praised the Iranian regime for being its foremost financial and military
supporter. He pointed out in a video speech on May 20:
"The essence of this strategy is the resistance project. Complete resistance
including the armed military resistance at the top. From here, I salute all the
components of the nation that embrace and support the choice of resistance on
the ground in Palestine".
He emphasized that he was particularly specifying the Islamic Republic of Iran,
"which has not faltered in supporting and funding the resistance financially,
militarily, and technically. This is an example of the Republic's strategy that
was established by Imam Khomeini, may God have mercy on his soul".
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite militant group,
also acknowledged previously that Hezbollah's survival depends on Iran: "We are
open about the fact that Hezbollah's budget, its income, its expenses,
everything it eats and drinks, its weapons and rockets, come from the Islamic
Republic of Iran," he said. He also pressed the notion that his group "will not
be affected" by any type of sanctions.
In his latest speech, Iran's supreme leader said that "The Zionist regime is
a... deadly... detriment to this region. It will undoubtedly be uprooted and
destroyed." Iran's state-owned newspapers followed up with similar anti-Israel
threats. The front-page headline of Iran's leading newspaper Kayhan read,
"Victory over Virus of Zionism Guaranteed: Leader". Khamenei's official website
recently featured a poster image with the text "Palestine Will Be Free. The
final solution: Resistance until referendum."
Those people in the West who call Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif a
moderate, should be aware that he posted on Twitter the same image with the Nazi
euphemism, along with these comments:
"Disgusting that those whose civilization found a 'Final Solution' in gas
chambers attack those who seek a real solution at the ballot box, through a
REFERENDUM. Why are US and West so afraid of democracy? Palestinians should not
have to pay for your crimes, or for your guilt."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reacted by stating:
"Khamenei's threats to realize the 'final solution' against Israel are
reminiscent of the Nazi 'final solution' plan for the destruction of the Jewish
people. He must know that any regime that threatens Israel with extermination
will find itself in similar danger."
Khamenei thoughtfully replied that he did not mean destroying the Jewish people,
just Israel.
It is mystifying that Twitter, which wantonly censors so much, continues to
allow Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and other Iranian leaders to spread
Nazi-inspired language and anti-Semitic sentiments on its platform. In general,
"Big Tech" -- Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter -- have long since ceased
being "neutral" transmitters of information as if they were "utilities".
Instead, they have become America's Thought Police. They urgently need to be
regulated the same way media is.
Regarding Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accurately accused Khamenei
and Zarif of "echoing Hitler's call for genocide" and in a tweet, responded:
"Incredible that @JZarif and Iran's Supreme Leader are echoing Hitler's call for
genocide. This depravity should dispel any notion the regime belongs in the
community of nations. We stand with Germany and Israel against this oldest &
most vile form of hatred, and say #NeverAgain."
The ruling mullahs of Iran need to be held accountable by the international
community for threatening to annihilate a fellow- member of the United Nations,
the Jewish state. Not only are these threats unacceptable according to Chapter
I: Article 2(1)-(5) of the Charter of the United Nations... which states: "All
Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of
force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any
state...". They are also unacceptable as part of a double-standard in which the
United Nations and the international community continue to be silent about
Iran's threats against Israeli citizens -- not to mention Iran's malign actions
against its own citizens (here, here, here and here).
Imagine if the situation were reversed, and Israel threatened to annihilate
Iran: the international community would likely be up in arms to defend the
Iranian regime. Perhaps the time has come -- in fact is long overdue -- for the
U.S. to cease funding the UN, which seems only to conserve injustice and war. At
the very least, the US, instead of automatically handing over roughly a quarter
of the UN's budget every year – in 2017, for instance, the listed US payment was
more than $10 billion, an amount that has surely not decreased since then –
instead, as the former US former ambassador, John. R. Bolton, suggested, the US
should start "paying only for what the country wants—and [expect] to get what it
pays for. "
Under no circumstances should the US, the UN or any other entity -- read: Europe
-- be assisting in any way the malign mullahs of Iran.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated
scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and
president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has
authored several books on Islam and US foreign policy. He can be reached at *Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 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.
U.S. Troops Are Vulnerable. Israel Technologies Can Help
John Hannah and Jacob Nagel/FDD/May 26/2020
The recent U.S. decision to withdraw two Patriot missile defense batteries from
Saudi Arabia has again highlighted how vulnerable U.S. interests in the Middle
East remain to Iran’s growing arsenal of short- to medium-range ballistic
missiles, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and rockets.
Repeatedly over the last year, Iran and its regional proxies have used these
weapons to attack U.S. personnel and partners in the Persian Gulf, inflicting
significant damage on lives and property while exposing dangerous gaps in
current American defense capabilities. Finding fast and practical solutions to
fill those gaps should be an urgent U.S. priority. Battle-proven Israeli
technology could be of significant help.
On March 10, the commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), General Frank
McKenzie, testified that Iran’s inventory of 2,500 to 3,000 ballistic missiles
constituted the primary threat faced by the United States and its allies in the
Middle East. Though McKenzie provided no breakdown of Iran’s missile arsenal, he
indicated that most fall into the category of shorter-range systems.
On April 22, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) successfully
launched a very small (6U CubeSat, weighing about 30 pounds) military satellite
into space using a 3-stage rocket – marking potentially important progress in
its efforts to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of
striking the United States. While requiring careful monitoring and planning,
however, Iran likely remains years away from an ICBM capability. When it comes
to spending America’s limited missile-defense resources, the priority against
Iran should clearly remain on defeating the full spectrum of short- to mid-range
threats that are capable of wreaking havoc on U.S. interests today.
The immediate danger comes not from Iranian weapons with ranges over 3,000
miles, but from those that operate under 1,500 miles. Indeed, within days of its
satellite launch, Iran’s regular Army announced that it had added three new
types of combat drones to its arsenal, while the IRGC claimed that it was
preparing to deploy an updated “Fotros” long-range attack drone, capable of
flying for 30 hours with a range of 1,250 miles, threatening Israel, U.S. forces
across the Gulf region, and parts of Europe as well.
The two Patriot systems being withdrawn from Saudi Arabia had been protecting
the country’s critical energy infrastructure. They were deployed on an emergency
basis last fall after more than 20 low-flying Iranian drones and cruise missiles
conducted an unprecedented precision strike against two of the kingdom’s most
important oil facilities, temporarily knocking out 5 percent of the world’s
supply of crude. With the withdrawal of the U.S. batteries (allegedly for
maintenance and redeployment to Asia), those installations are potentially once
again acutely vulnerable. For reasons not entirely clear, Saudi Arabia’s own
extensive air defense capabilities, including multiple Patriots, proved woefully
ineffective in the face of Iran’s surprise attack last September.
The threat to the United States from Iran’s short-range weapons is even more
directly apparent in Iraq. Since May 2019, Iranian-backed militias have launched
more than 40 rocket attacks against U.S. military, diplomatic and commercial
targets, resulting in the deaths of an American contractor, two U.S. troops, and
a British soldier. On January 8, just days after a U.S. drone strike killed
Iran’s top general, the terrorist mastermind and IRGC paramilitary leader Qassem
Soleimani, Iran itself conducted an unprecedented direct attack on the U.S.
military, launching at least 16 short-range missiles at two Iraqi bases hosting
U.S. troops, scoring several near-direct hits, including on housing barracks.
Though there were no fatalities (thanks to a combination of advanced warning and
sheer luck), more than 100 U.S. soldiers suffered traumatic brain injuries.
One of the most disconcerting aspects of the Iraq attacks has been the seeming
absence of any active U.S. defenses. Despite the sustained severity of the
Iranian-backed threat, it was only in late March 2020 that Patriots were finally
sent to Iraq to protect the two bases where the majority of U.S. forces have
consolidated in recent months – at least in part due to force protection
concerns. Up until that point, the limited number of available Patriots in the
U.S. arsenal had been deployed at high-priority targets elsewhere in the Middle
East and around the world, including the Saudi oil facilities. As a result,
until very recently, the only real option available to U.S. personnel in Iraq
who received warning of incoming missiles or rockets was to take cover and pray
that their positions did not suffer a direct hit.
Unfortunately, even the deployment of Patriots is, at best, a partial solution
to the Iranian threat. Designed for taking out high-flying planes and ballistic
missiles, the Patriots – with Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment
Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) missiles – would no doubt have been well-suited for
neutralizing Iran’s January 8 ballistic missile attack. But they are far less
capable against the other elements of the Iranian short to mid-range arsenal, in
particular rockets, drones, and cruise missiles.
How well Patriots would have fared against the ground-hugging drones that struck
the Saudi oil processing facility at Abqaiq last September, much less the
Katyusha rockets that actually pose the greatest threat to U.S. personnel in
Iraq, is very much in doubt. Indeed, in the wake of the Abqaiq attack, the
Pentagon’s third highest ranking official admitted publicly that the United
States and its NATO allies were not ready to defend against the sort of swarming
drones and cruise missiles used in the Saudi attack, calling it a “serious
problem.”
A better short-term solution would ideally supplement Patriots with a mixture of
two existing Israeli air-defense systems. The first and most urgent is Iron
Dome, developed by the Israeli company Rafael, and now co-produced with the
American defense firm Raytheon. Since Iron Dome was first deployed in 2011, the
United States has provided more than $1.5 billion to support its production for
the Israel Defense Forces. To date, Iron Dome has successfully intercepted more
than 2,000 short-range rockets fired at Israel’s population centers, mostly
coming from Hamas in Gaza – a similar threat to the one that U.S. personnel
currently face from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. Iron Dome’s interception
rate is close to 90 percent, making it by an order of magnitude the most
battle-tested and successful missile defense system in the world.
Though Iron Dome is advertised as being able to defeat drones and cruise
missiles as well, its track record with regard to those threats is far less
established. Nevertheless, when Congress in 2018 recognized that the United
States faced a dangerous gap in defending against cruise missiles, and mandated
that the Army field an interim solution by 2020, the Army opted to purchase two
Israeli Iron Dome batteries over other competitors. Recent improvements have
reportedly further enhanced the system’s effectiveness against both cruise
missiles and drones.
Even Army officials skeptical of whether Iron Dome can be part of the long-term
solution to the cruise missile threat that the U.S. hopes to develop by 2024
have acknowledged Iron Dome’s success. The system has “demonstrated the ability
to deal with some cruise missiles” (though not all), said the Army’s acquisition
chief, Bruce Jette. Iron Dome, said Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, “brings more
capability [against cruise missiles] than we have in our missile defense today”
– i.e., more than Patriots.
The second Israeli technology that the U.S. should give serious consideration to
is the Skyceptor missile from Rafael and Raytheon. Based on the Stunner
interceptor developed for Israel’s David’s Sling missile-defense system,
Skyceptor can be fired from Patriots and was specifically designed to intercept
not only ballistic missiles but also low altitude, maneuverable cruise missiles
and drones as well. The United States has provided nearly $2 billion to support
David’s Sling. Though operational in Israel since 2017, it has yet to accumulate
the battlefield experience of Iron Dome. Critically, however, Skyceptor costs
less than half the price of the PAC-3 MSE missile.
The issue of affordability strongly reinforces the argument for incorporating
Israeli systems into America’s defense architecture against Iran. At the upper
end, each Iron Dome interceptor missile (known as Tamir) costs at most $200,000.
Each Skyceptor is around $2 million. The PAC-3 MSE, by contrast, can approach $6
million per missile. A crude calculation based on the Iranian attack against the
Saudi oil facilities underscores the Israeli value proposition. Assuming one
interceptor was used to defeat each of the approximately 25 drones and cruise
missiles that Iran fired, Iron Dome would have cost $5 million, Skyceptor
approximately $50 million, and the PAC-3 MSE upwards of $150 million.
Especially in the wake of the deadly rocket attacks in Iraq, Congress has
pressed the Pentagon to accelerate its deployment plans for the two Iron Dome
batteries already contracted for. For its part, the Army has expressed deep
skepticism about investing further resources in Iron Dome based on an assessment
that the system is likely not compatible with its comprehensive, long-term
missile defense architecture, known as the Integrated Air and Missile Defense
Battle Command System (IBCS).
In a recent interview, the head of Army Futures Command, General Mike Murray,
said, “it would be … exceptionally difficult to integrate Iron Dome into our
layered air defense architecture [and] to get Iron Dome to talk to other
systems, other radars.” In that case, Murray concluded, “What you’re probably –
almost certainly – going to see is two standalone [Iron Dome] systems, and if
the best we can do is standalone systems, we do not want to buy another two
batteries.”
The Army has still allowed elements of the Iron Dome system, including the Tamir
interceptor, to compete in a “shoot off” to be held in the spring of 2021 for a
chance to become part of its next-generation Indirect Fire Protection Capability
(IFPC), which hopes to use multiple types of missiles, lasers, high-powered
microwaves, and other technologies to deal with every conceivable mid- to
short-range threat, from rockets to small drones to supersonic cruise missiles.
All competitors will need to prove that their missile can “talk” to IBCS and be
fully compatible with the Army’s overarching missile defense vision. Given the
urgent need to enhance the protection of U.S. forces as soon as possible, the
Army should also require proof that systems participating in the shoot-off can
be fielded quickly, in less than a year’s time.
Whether or not Iron Dome would be as difficult to integrate as the Army has
suggested is subject to significant dispute. Some experts strongly argue that
the ability to connect Iron Dome to U.S. systems through an interface is an
eminently solvable technological problem, one that doesn’t require Iron Dome’s
manufacturer to hand over the system’s so-called source code – its most
sensitive and commercially valuable proprietary information – as some reports
claim the Army has demanded.
Though by no means dispositive, the fact that the U.S. Marine Corps has
conducted successful tests to integrate Iron Dome missiles with Marine radars
lends credence to the idea that making Iron Dome talk to U.S. systems is by no
means an insurmountable challenge. Further evidence is provided by the excellent
connection that Israel’s longer-range Arrow system has demonstrated with its
American counterparts using the Link 16 military data link network.
Even if the Army is right about Iron Dome’s incompatibility with its long-term
vision for an all-in-one missile-defense solution, the fact remains that the
lives of U.S. troops and diplomats in Iraq today are under immediate threat from
the type of rockets for which Iron Dome is almost certainly the most effective
and affordable answer available. They shouldn’t have to wait years until the
IFPC finally becomes operational when a short-term solution could be deployed
almost immediately that would dramatically enhance their protection.
That’s precisely the point that Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-CO) made about Iron
Dome during a hearing in March, just days after a militia rocket barrage killed
two U.S troops and a British soldier in Iraq. “I don’t want to see the perfect
be the enemy of the good. I don’t want to see a perfect, hoped for, and expected
capability deter us from using something that is available and usable right now
– and will save lives.”
Having sent its personnel into harm’s way, the highest U.S. obligation should be
finding fast, effective and affordable responses to defeat the threats that they
face in the next few months – not just developing the ultimate solutions that
may not be ready to deploy for the next five to ten years. As part of that
effort, the Army should prioritize getting the two Iron Dome batteries it has
already purchased onto the battlefield as soon as possible, while remaining open
to acquiring more should they prove to have the same kind of game-changing
strategic effects in Iraq as they have already had in Israel.
*Brigadier General (Res.) Jacob Nagel is a senior fellow at the Foundation for
Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a visiting professor at the Technion Faculty of
Aerospace Engineering. He previously served as Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s acting national security advisor and head of Israel’s National
Security Council. He was also the former deputy director of the Israeli Ministry
of Defense’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development.
*John Hannah is senior counselor at FDD and a former national security advisor
to Vice President Dick Cheney. FDD is a nonpartisan policy institute focused on
national security.
Securing technological superiority requires a joint
US-Israel effort
Bradley Bowmanl/FDD/May 26/2020
The United States is now engaged in an intense military technology competition
with the Chinese Communist Party. The ability of U.S. troops to deter and defeat
great power authoritarian adversaries hangs in the balance. To win this
competition, Washington must beef up its military cooperative research and
development efforts with tech-savvy democratic allies. At the top of that list
should be Israel.
Two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee understand this well. Sens.
Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced S 3775, the “United
States-Israel Military Capability Act of 2020,” on Wednesday. This bipartisan
legislation would require the establishment of a U.S.-Israel
operations-technology working group. As the senators wrote in a February letter
to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, the working group would help ensure U.S.
“warfighters never encounter a more technologically advanced foe.”
Many Americans may be surprised to learn that they can no longer take U.S.
military technological superiority for granted. In his new book, “The Kill
Chain,” former Senate Armed Services Committee staff director Chris Brose notes
that, over the last decade, the United States loses war games against China
“almost every single time.”
To halt this trend, the Pentagon must shift its ongoing modernization efforts
into high gear. Early cooperative R&D with the “Startup Nation” can help in this
regard. Israel is one of America’s closest and most technologically advanced
allies. The country boasts an “innovative and agile defense technology sector”
that is a “global leader in many of the technologies important to Department of
Defense modernization efforts,” as the legislation notes.
Some may deem the working group unnecessary, citing the deep and broad
cooperation that already exists between the United States and Israel. But, as
the legislation explains, “dangerous United States military capability gaps
continue to emerge that a more systematic and institutionalized United
States-Israel early cooperative research and development program could have
prevented.”
Consider the fact, for example, that the Pentagon only last year acquired for
U.S. tanks active protection systems from Israel that had been operational there
since 2011. Consequently, U.S. soldiers operated for years in tanks and armored
vehicles around the world lacking the cutting-edge protection Washington could
have provided against missiles and rockets. That put U.S. soldiers in
unnecessary risk.
Such examples put the burden of proof on those who may be tempted to reflexively
defend the status quo as good enough.
Given the breakneck speed of our military technology race with the Chinese
Communist Party, it’s clear the continued emergence of decade-long delays in
adopting crucial technology is no longer something we can afford.
One of the reasons for these delays and failures to team up with Israeli
partners at the beginning of the process is that U.S. and Israeli defense
suppliers sometimes find it difficult to secure Washington’s approval for
combined efforts to research and produce world-class weapons. Some requests to
initiate combined U.S.-Israel R&D programs linger interminably in bureaucratic
no-man’s land, failing to elicit a timely decision.
Confronted by deadly and immediate threats, Israel often has little choice but
to push ahead alone with unilateral R&D programs. When that happens, the
Pentagon misses out on Israel’s sense of urgency that could have led to the more
expeditious fielding of weapons to U.S. troops. And Israel misses out on
American innovation prowess as well as on the Pentagon’s economy of scale, which
would lower unit costs and help both countries stretch their finite defense
budgets further.
Secretary Esper appears to grasp the opportunity. “If there are ways to improve
that, we should pursue it,” he testified on March 4, 2020, in response to a
question on the U.S.-Israel working group proposal. “The more we can cooperate
together as allies and partners to come up with common solutions, the better,”
Esper said.
According to the legislation, the working group would serve as a standing forum
for the United States and Israel to “systematically share intelligence-informed
military capability requirements,” with a goal of identifying capabilities that
both militaries need.
It would also provide a dedicated mechanism for U.S. and Israeli defense
suppliers to “expeditiously gain government approval to conduct joint science,
technology, research, development, test, evaluation, and production efforts.”
The legislation’s congressional reporting requirement would hold the working
group accountable for providing quick answers to U.S. and Israeli defense
supplier requests.
That’s a benefit of the working group that will only become more important when
the economic consequences of the coronavirus put additional, downward pressure
on both defense budgets.
Once opportunities for early cooperative U.S.-Israel R&D are identified and
approved, the working group would then facilitate the development of “combined
United States-Israel plans to research, develop, procure, and field weapons
systems and military capabilities as quickly and economically as possible.”
In the military technology race with the Chinese Communist Party, the stakes are
high and the outcome is far from certain. A U.S.-Israel operations technology
working group represents an essential step to ensure the United States and its
democratic allies are better equipped than their adversaries.
*Bradley Bowman is the senior director of the Center on Military and Political
Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
COVID-19 in Latin America: Organized Crime Gains and States
Weaken
Emanuele Ottolenghi/FDD/May 26/2020
COVID-19 cases in Latin America are surging as the region heads into the
Southern Hemisphere winter. Across the region, the pandemic has created
opportunities for organized crime to step into the void left by insufficient
government responses and economic downturn.
Situation Overview
Latin America has surpassed the United States and Europe in new daily
coronavirus cases. In the absence of stimulus packages and basic services in
rural areas, the economic and social impact of the region’s lockdowns is
devastating.
The United Nations expects Latin America and the Caribbean to suffer a 5.3
percent economic contraction in 2020, the region’s worst economic downturn in
history. Latin America’s largest airline, LATAM, just announced 1,400 layoffs.
Colombia’s flagship carrier, Avianca Airlines, has filed for bankruptcy, while
the country’s number of confirmed cases has reached over 18,000.
Mexico, with almost 60,000 confirmed cases, has already shed more than 750,000
jobs. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has proven unwilling to
shift economic priorities to initiate stimulus for the country’s most affected
sectors. Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, has tallied over 310,000
confirmed cases. This is the third-highest in the world.
Implications
Latin America’s organized crime has also suffered. The pandemic has disrupted
fentanyl supplies from China and caused global cocaine exports to slow.
Nevertheless, the pandemic has created opportunities for Latin America’s cartels
to improve their standing and develop new revenue streams.
Mexican cartels have filled the void left by struggling state institutions,
distributing care packages to cash-strapped residents. The cartels’ charm
offensive not only helps them win sympathy among the needy. It also sends a
clear message: The cartels, not the state, meet the poor’s basic needs.
In Brazil, crime gangs have also taken to distributing assistance to the needy
and enforcing curfews in poor areas. Salvadoran gangs have similarly threatened
violence against anyone breaking curfew or social distancing rules. They are now
enforcing the law where state authorities fail to do so.
Lawlessness works both ways for some nonstate actors. Colombian media, for
example, report a 113 percent increase in rebel groups’ forced conscription of
minors. Panama’s prohibition of alcohol sales has led to increased smuggling of
beer and liquor from Costa Rica. Contraband of medicine and medical equipment is
also on the rise, with a chronic shortage of sanitizers and personal protection
equipment driving illicit trade.
Elsewhere, Argentina’s decision to shut down tobacco manufacturing for the
duration of the crisis has led to an increase in cigarette contraband from
neighboring Paraguay. Brazilian authorities report sustained contraband seizures
in the Tri-Border region of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil and drug seizures at
Brazil’s ports.
What to Watch for
Organized crime’s provision of social services likely will continue to erode
state authority among the region’s most vulnerable states. Economic contraction
will put additional strains on local governments’ abilities to provide basic
services. This will invariably engender resentment among the lower social strata
across the region. The perceived legitimacy of governments is certain to fall in
the short term, but perhaps longer. Protests are possible, if not likely. As
economic hardships persist, jobless people will be driven to the welcoming arms
of cartels.
The weakening of the Latin American state may rank among the most enduring
consequences of the pandemic. With case numbers increasing across the region,
that process appears to be happening more quickly by the day.
*Emanuele Ottolenghi is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD), where he also contributes to FDD’s Center on Economic and
Financial Power (CEFP). For more analysis from Emanuele and CEFP, please
subscribe HERE. Follow Emanuele on Twitter @eottolenghi. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD
and @FDD_CEFP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute
focusing on national security and foreign policy.
COVID-19 And Iranian Foreign And Security Policy: Stasis,
Not Change
Behnam Ben Taleblu/FDD/May 26/2020
Leading up to and throughout the coronavirus crisis, the Islamic Republic of
Iran has continued its policy of graduated escalation against its adversaries.
Tehran’s underwriting of such activities while facing a pandemic at home is a
measure of their ideational and strategic importance for the regime. This means
that Iran’s five main threat vectors – nuclear, missile, maritime, cyber and
regional – remain relatively unaffected by the onset of COVID-19 and will
continue in the short-to-medium term.
On the nuclear front, in March, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
detailed Iran’s ongoing breaches of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal known as the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). These violations include excess
enrichment and accumulation of uranium. Iran now has enough uranium that – if
enriched to weapons-grade – could be sufficient for one nuclear bomb. It has
also prevented inspectors from accessing undisclosed facilities. Iran’s
stockpile and other nuclear violations are set to grow this summer.
On the missile front, the regime went public this April with what was once a
secret Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) space program, and launched a
military satellite mounted on a three-stage satellite launch vehicle (SLV). The
SLV’s functioning second-stage solid-propellant motor furthers the Islamic
Republic’s longer-range missile capabilities and aspirations. According to the
2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, Iran’s
ballistic missile arsenal, which is currently of short-to-medium range, is the
biggest in the Middle East.
In the maritime domain, the Islamic Republic has been gearing up for another
summer of escalation. Tehran has reportedly increased the range of its anti-ship
cruise missiles and deployed rockets and anti-ship systems overlooking the
narrow Strait of Hormuz. It has also stepped-up harassment and provocations
against U.S. vessels – actions that had diminished during President Trump’s
first year in office. In April of this year, 11 IRGC-Navy small boats harassed
U.S. forces engaged in a military drill in the Persian Gulf. The harassment
followed Iran’s decision to briefly detain an oil tanker that same month.
But perhaps most importantly, Tehran has not ceased using neighboring countries
as a theater for furthering strategic competition against its adversaries.
In the cyber domain, the Islamic Republic continues to see cyber tools as useful
ways to continue conflict with adversaries while limiting the prospects of overt
and kinetic escalation. Recently, Iran attacked an Israeli water facility, which
is critical infrastructure for the Jewish state. Israel is believed to have
retaliated by a cyber-attack against an Iranian port.
But perhaps most importantly, Tehran has not ceased using neighboring countries
as a theater for furthering strategic competition against its adversaries.
Prior to the onset of the coronavirus, Iran was stepping up material support for
the Houthi rebels in Yemen. From November 2019 to February 2020, the U.S.-led
maritime coalition intercepted two shipments of weapons heading from Iran to
Yemen. In early February, a UN Panel of Experts on Yemen found that the weapons
from the November interdiction were Iranian in origin. In March, the Houthis
attempted to strike Riyadh – the first time since August 2019 – using a missile
that likely came from Iran. Attempts by Saudi Arabia or the UN to midwife a
ceasefire in the Arabian Peninsula or deal with intra-Yemeni issues will amount
to naught if Tehran continues to pump weapons into the hands of rebels.
In Syria, reports of airstrikes – likely by Israel – against pro-Iran targets
imply that the regime’s project of trafficking technology related to a precision
guided munitions project is continuing. So, too, are efforts to establish
warehouses, bases, and a land bridge connecting key routes to surge men and
munitions to conflict zones across the region. Recently, an Iranian
parliamentarian bemoaned the money his country had spent on propping up the
Assad regime in Damascus, placing the figure at $20-$30 billion.
For the remainder of the year, the Islamic Republic can be expected to further
embrace, rather than shun, the risks of confrontation with America.
In Iraq, despite the ongoing health crisis and political turbulence, pro-Iran
Shiite militia groups launched at least two rocket attacks this month against
the U.S. presence in that country. These strikes bring the total tally of rocket
and mortar attacks against the U.S. in Iraq from May 2019 to the present to 45.
While militias are facing financial and operational hardships, they remain at
the forefront of Iran-backed efforts to evict American forces from Iraq,
something Tehran has long hoped for as it continues to try to rope Baghdad
deeper into its orbit.
If Washington or other international actors are hoping the coronavirus will
induce Iran towards restraint abroad, data from the past few months should
temper that expectation. Tehran has continued funding its revolutionary foreign
policy, indicating that the country’s diminishing revenue streams are likely
being diverted or used to support its malign activities. If Washington is hoping
to change or reverse Iran’s gains abroad, it will need to double-down on
existing economic tools, as well as explore non-economic tools of punishment,
coercion, and deterrence.
The connective tissue and domestic engine behind between every single Iranian
threat vector abroad is the IRGC. According to analysis of the latest Iranian
budget, the IRGC’s payout is increasing. This means that more resources are
being allocated toward a group spearheading confrontation at the exact same time
that a global pandemic is raging.
Given what Tehran has been able to do abroad with increasingly limited
resources, any attempt to put more resources in the hands of Iranian officials
at this time – be it through diverted humanitarian aid or potentially even
premature sanctions relief by the U.S. – will grow the lethality of Iran’s
security policy.
For the remainder of the year, the Islamic Republic can be expected to further
embrace, rather than shun, the risks of confrontation with America and its
regional partners across the nuclear, missile, maritime, cyber, and regional
domains. Hit hard by the coronavirus, Iran has been busy locking in, rather than
rolling back, longstanding trends in its foreign policy.
*Behnam Ben Taleblu is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD) in Washington D.C., where he covers Iranian political and
security issues.
Daesh exploiting Syrian, Iraqi vacuums to make a comeback
Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/May 26/ 2020
Amid the global health crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, there are
disturbing signs that Daesh is re-emerging, especially in the open deserts of
Syria and Iraq. Last week, newly appointed Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi
announced that Iraqi forces had foiled a major operation by Daesh, while his
intelligence body revealed it had arrested a key figure in the group, Abdel
Nasser Qardash, who is thought to have been nominated as the successor to Abu
Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who was killed by US Special Forces in Idlib last October.
Reports point to the fact that clusters of the extremist group have become
active in Iraq, especially during Ramadan. Militants have struck several
military and civilian targets in western and central Iraq in recent weeks. The
head of Iraq’s joint military operations, Maj. Gen. Tahsin Al-Khafaji, confirmed
that Daesh-related attacks had increased as the country shifted its resources
toward containing the spread of the coronavirus.
The scene is even worse in Syria, where Daesh militants claimed responsibility
for a number of bloody attacks against pro-Damascus militias, as well as Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters, during Ramadan. The Syrian Human Rights
Observatory announced that no less than 60 government and SDF members have been
killed in Homs and Deir Ezzor in the past few weeks, while Daesh claimed
responsibility for a number of these attacks. On Friday, US Central Command
announced that coalition forces had killed two key Daesh leaders in an airstrike
in Deir Ezzor.
Following the group’s defeat in Syria in March last year, thousands of Daesh
fighters were taken prisoner by the SDF in northeastern Syria. Efforts to
repatriate foreign fighters have failed, while the SDF’s hold weakened as a
result of attacks against its positions by Turkish troops and pro-Ankara rebel
groups. In October, it was reported that hundreds of Daesh fighters had escaped
from internment camps in northern Syria. Experts believe that most of them were
able to regroup while hiding in the vast deserts straddling Syria and Iraq.
Iraq had declared victory over Daesh in 2017, but political squabbling, Iranian
interventions in Iraqi affairs and the controversial role played by the pro-Iran
Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) deflected attention from the main task of
rounding up the hundreds of Daesh fighters who were able to flee. Tensions
between the US and Iran, especially following January’s assassination of Iranian
commander Qassem Soleimani and a PMF leader near Baghdad airport, have allowed
clusters of Daesh fighters to regroup and carry out fresh attacks.
There is no doubt that Daesh, like Al-Qaeda, is changing its strategy and trying
to adapt to new geopolitical realities. With Russia, Turkey, the US and Iran
carrying out conflicting agendas in Syria, and with economic and political
turmoil still crippling Iraq, militants are making good use of the resultant
vacuum.
What is particularly worrying is that the nefarious ideology perpetuated by
Daesh continues to attract volunteers at various levels. The lack of a political
solution in Syria has compounded the humanitarian catastrophe there, allowing
Daesh to pursue its recruitment efforts. A dysfunctional sectarian-based
political system in Iraq has failed to stamp out corruption, end ethnic and
sectarian tensions, and undercut foreign interference in Iraqi affairs. Again,
under an inequitable system that disenfranchises millions, Daesh is bound to
find disillusioned supporters.
Meanwhile, the international coalition against Daesh is unraveling for a number
of reasons. Iraqis want the US and its NATO allies out of their country, while
demanding an end to Tehran’s interventions. And fighting the coronavirus crisis
and containing its dire economic and social consequences has become the main
objective for most world governments. But these governments should be aware that
the current health crisis will deepen socioeconomic disparities in the form of
rising poverty and unemployment rates as economies struggle to recover. In the
absence of transparency, good governance and openness, extremist ideologies can
only flourish. Opting for an iron-fist rule, under the guise of fighting the
pandemic, could easily backfire.
In the absence of transparency, good governance and openness, extremist
ideologies can only flourish.
And even when the dust settles and the coronavirus is contained, we must
remember that our region continues to suffer from civil wars, foreign
interventions and sectarian divides — all elements that contribute to
instability, injustice and radical backlashes. We are yet to see an end to the
conflicts in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Libya, among others. All of these ongoing
conflicts could act as incubators for Daesh-like groups.
Security solutions are needed momentarily to offset a regional threat that can
still be contained. But governments must look beyond the short term and focus on
the core reasons why extremist ideologies continue to attract disillusioned men
and women. While Daesh may never be able to repeat its initial success of
building an entity that stretched between Syria and Iraq, resulting in horrific
and unforgettable crimes against humanity, states cannot afford to look the
other way as militants attempt to regroup. Taking our eyes off Daesh at this
critical moment may prove catastrophic.
*Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman.
Twitter: @plato010
Tory party becoming a breeding ground for Islamophobia
Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab News/May 26/ 2020
Preoccupied with the current pandemic, policymakers and the media alike took
little notice of this month’s decision by the Equality and Human Rights
Commission not to conduct an inquiry into allegations of Islamophobia within
Britain’s ruling Conservative Party. The decision of the watchdog to forgo an
investigation is indicative of a political callousness concerning the slander of
British Muslims that is unfortunately increasingly mainstream. As a lifelong and
indeed active Conservative, I can only regret a state of affairs that has led to
the growing alienation of hardworking and patriotic British Muslim voters.
In the autumn of 2010, I attended my first Oxford University Conservative
Association meeting. Held at the Oxford Union, the world’s oldest debating
society, its raucous gatherings have, for almost a century, been the auspicious
setting where future leading party figures and indeed prime ministers have cut
their political teeth. As the only new member of a minority background present
that evening, the prospect of speaking was daunting to say the least.
Thankfully, the respect to a certain custom that demands silence for maiden
speakers to be heard was welcome encouragement. I was actually complimented for
the clarity of my delivery and the validity of my argument and the ordeal came
to be one of my best university memories.
This experience encapsulates the ethos of a party that I, like many others,
identified with and chose to join. A party whose blind meritocratic principles
have traditionally welcomed members from all walks of life. This is the party in
which Benjamin Disraeli, a politician of Jewish parentage, was able to become
Queen Victoria’s most celebrated prime minister and in which grocer’s daughter
Margaret Thatcher led a Cabinet of aristocrats.
These values, however, are seemingly no longer so important to the party. In the
political mudslinging that has characterized the incredibly divisive experience
of Brexit, the party has all but surrendered to a hitherto latent and
dangerously xenophobic force within it. There are no fewer than 300 cases of
alleged Islamophobia within the party, ranging from its local activists to its
highest representatives.
Anthony Browne, the MP for South Cambridgeshire, dared question the loyalties of
British Muslims in regards to the Iraq War. Zac Goldsmith, whose political star
faded with his poorly-fought campaign to be London’s mayor, was singled out by
party grandees for encouraging sentiment against his Muslim opponent that had
the unmistakable, telltale stench of Islamophobia.
The real tragedy, however, is not in the discriminatory nature of these
sentiments, but rather that the party and its leadership simply continues to
fail to deal with the issue head-on.
The last general election was sullied by allegations of anti-Semitism in the
Labour Party that rightly drew the consternation of the public and politicians
alike. The media and the Tory party were quick to denounce prejudice of this
sort and the political career of Labour’s firebrand former leader Jeremy Corbyn
came crashing down as a result.
Under significant pressure, Conservative leadership hopefuls jockeyed to
recognize the importance of similarly confronting Islamophobia. Late last year,
a promise was made to hold an independent inquiry into allegations of
Islamophobia, only to be politically mothballed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson,
who has instead agreed to a “general investigation into prejudice of all kinds.”
It would seem, therefore, that some forms of prejudice are more equal than
others for a party that is fast becoming a breeding ground for anti-Islamic
sentiment.
The party has all but surrendered to a hitherto latent and dangerously
xenophobic force within it.
Mindful of the changing makeup of British society, the Conservative Party has
gone some way to reach out to Sikh and Hindu communities to increase its
electability. These communities have been integrated into Conservative Party
politics in a manner that British Muslims can only dream of. So it is
unsurprising that the overwhelming majority of British Muslims voted for Labour
in December’s election.
For a party that ostensibly promotes a one-nation ideal, the Conservatives are
making a pact with bigotry that will continue to marginalize hardworking British
Muslims — among them professionals, leading academics, award-winning athletes
and, most importantly, peace-loving, patriotic citizens. If no serious and
meaningful steps are taken, the Conservative Party will no longer be a party for
all Britons.
*Zaid M. Belbagi is a political commentator, and an adviser to private clients
between London and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Twitter: @Moulay_Zaid
Helping the forgotten victims of coronavirus pandemic
Jonathan Gornall/Arab News/May 26/ 2020
Compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves is easy to summon when all is
well in our world. Right now, of course, all is far from well for millions of
people around the globe, with some of the wealthiest nations seeing the worst of
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and suffering more than their share
of the approximately 5.6 million global cases and 350,000 deaths recorded so
far. For once, the citizens of the developed world have a First World problem
worthy of the name.
That is why UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, is keenly aware that raising money
and support for “Save Generation Covid,” the biggest appeal in the
organization’s 73-year history, will not be easy. The appeal follows a shocking
prediction that, over the next six months, up to 6,000 children around the world
could die every day — not from the coronavirus, but from preventable causes as a
direct consequence of the pandemic’s impact on health systems in some of the
world’s poorest countries.
The UN, in collaboration with national governments and charitable institutions
such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Al
Maktoum Global Initiatives, has spent much of the past few decades working
successfully through a range of interventions to drive down child mortality in
deprived parts of the world. Since 1990, when one in 11 children died before
their fifth birthday, the under-five mortality rate has fallen by more than
half. That is certainly a great achievement, but there’s still much more to do.
In 2018, one child in 26 died before reaching the age of five.
The looming calamity now facing the world, according to UNICEF, is that the
impact of the coronavirus on vulnerable health systems is threatening to undo
decades of progress in reducing preventable child deaths.
Every year, 5 million children under five still die of avoidable causes. To that
grim total, we can now add another 2.5 million child deaths over the next 12
months and an extra 56,700 deaths of women in childbirth. This sobering
prediction is based on research published last week in the Lancet Global Health
journal by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in
Maryland. The researchers were attempting to assess how much the coronavirus has
taken attention away from a range of standard but vital interventions, ranging
from malaria prevention and care during pregnancy and childbirth to vaccinations
and the availability of antibiotics to treat conditions such as neonatal sepsis
and dysentery.
They modeled three scenarios for each of 118 low and middle-income countries,
including Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan,
Palestine, Syria and Yemen. Essential maternal and child health interventions in
those 118 countries had been reduced by between 9.8 and 51.9 percent, they
found. Acute malnutrition increased by between 10 and 50 percent. The “least
severe” scenario, they concluded, would result in 253,500 additional child
deaths and 12,200 additional maternal deaths over six months. In the worst-case
scenario, more than 1.2 million additional children would die and 56,700
mothers.
Although based on “tentative assumptions,” these estimates nonetheless show
that, “if routine health care is disrupted and access to food is decreased, as a
result of unavoidable shocks, health system collapse or intentional choices made
in responding to the pandemic, the increase in child and maternal deaths will be
devastating,” according to the report.
However, it isn’t only in the developing world where the most vulnerable are
being neglected thanks to the strain on health and social care systems because
of COVID-19. According to data published last week by the UK’s Office for
National Statistics, the virus accounted for only a third of 30,000 extra deaths
recorded in care homes, private homes and hospices in England and Wales over the
five-week period to May 1. In other words, in the UK alone, where more than
35,000 lives have been lost so far to COVID-19, another 20,000 people might have
lived longer if the pandemic had not affected the level of care given to them.
Regardless of the worldwide battle against the coronavirus, UNICEF is calling
for governments and individuals to step forward with donations to support a
six-point “Agenda for Action” that will help hard-pressed nations build
“sustainable and strong health systems to ensure the world’s poorest countries
can fight the pandemic while protecting the delivery of essential health
services.”
The impact of the coronavirus on vulnerable health systems is threatening to
undo decades of progress in reducing preventable child deaths.
UNICEF says it is vital that vulnerable children are kept healthy and well fed,
supplied with water, proper sanitation and hygiene, and are able to keep
learning. Families must be supported “to cover their needs and care for their
children” and children must be protected from violence, exploitation and abuse.
Refugee and migrant children and those affected by conflict are especially
vulnerable.
With schools closed, nearly 370 million children across 143 countries who
normally rely on school meals must now look to other sources. As of April 14,
more than 117 million children in 37 countries may miss out on their measles
vaccination as the pandemic brings immunization campaigns to a halt. These are
just two examples of the upheaval caused by the coronavirus. As those in the
developed world struggle with the disruption and horror of what their “new
normal” looks like, they also face an additional test — of their compassion and
humanity.
As UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore puts it, while all of us are focused
on keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe, “we must also remember the
millions of children who risk becoming the forgotten victims of this pandemic.
What their world looks like tomorrow, and what their futures ultimately look
like, is also our responsibility today.”
*Jonathan Gornall is a British journalist, formerly with The Times, who has
lived and worked in the Middle East and is now based in the UK. Copyright:
Syndication Bureau
Everybody has role to play in war on COVID-19 ‘infodemic’
Maha Akeel/Arab News/May 26/ 2020
At first, we heard about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from a distance, as
we read about it spreading in Wuhan in faraway China. It was not a pandemic, we
were told at the time. It was like influenza and produced flu-like symptoms —
nothing to worry about, we were assured. Then it spread to other countries,
coming closer and closer.
Still, the news was generally reassuring about the ability of countries to
contain the infection. We were impressed that China was building a whole
hospital in 10 days to treat the infected and had quarantined cities with a
combined population of 57 million, not knowing that we too would soon be under
lockdown.
Nevertheless, tidbits of worrying news started seeping through. This is a new
virus, it spreads very fast through touching, it is serious, it could lead to
death, and there is no vaccine or cure. The situation in Italy sounded like an
apocalypse. The numbers in several developed countries were shooting up fast,
surpassing China. Suddenly, countries all around the world enforced
precautionary measures, banning travel, ordering 24-hour lockdowns, and
preventing any kind of direct human contact. “Wear masks, wash your hands, and
keep a safe distance from other people” became the mantra.
We gobble up every bit of news about COVID-19. Stuck at home, our entire lives
now take place indoors, whether school, work, hobbies, shopping, sports or
staying in touch with family and friends. We find ourselves glued to our
smartphones, computers, TVs, newspapers and every kind of online communication
and news source. Officials, spokespersons and the mainstream media constantly
feed us the latest facts and figures and the impact on health care, the economy
— including unemployment, bankruptcies and poverty rates — and on our own
disrupted family and social lives, with reports of increased domestic violence,
depression and anxiety. We follow the numbers of infected and dead as if we are
watching the stock market; what’s up, what’s down, which country reached the
peak, which is recovering. It is as if we exist in parallel worlds: What we are
seeing inside our homes and what is happening outside. All this while trying to
maintain our calm and composure.
Meanwhile, unofficial sources and rumor mills are spewing unverified and
malicious information at lightning speed through social media. Some of those
most affected by misinformation and fake news are immigrants and minorities,
such as Muslims in India and Sri Lanka, who were wrongfully blamed for spreading
the virus and viciously attacked, exposing a hitherto dormant xenophobic side of
society. Talk shows hosted guests and “experts” giving us all kinds of health
advice, natural therapies and traditional remedies. Then there were the clips
from sci-fi books and movies that predicted everything about this virus years
ago. But all this was child’s play compared to the big shots: The conspiracy
theorists with their web of global, mega, high-ranking, deep-state, top-secret,
“Big Brother” scenarios that just left you dumbstruck and hopeless. This is the
major league, with slick “documentaries” full of half-truths and twisted facts.
Big names are mentioned, supposedly hushed-up documents and studies are
revealed, and investigations exposed. We are told that elite, powerful, rich
individuals want to control us, reduce the population through vaccines, monitor
us by putting microchips into our bodies or via 5G networks, and on and on.
Trying to untangle this web is daunting, especially when some people — even
intelligent, well-educated people — buy into these scenarios and seem to be
convinced. Then you start finding yourself going down the rabbit hole of “what
if.” It does not help when two powerful countries exchange accusations and hype
up the debate about how and when the virus spread and who caused it. The problem
with these scenarios is not only that they throw a shadow on the credibility of
and confidence in governments, the medical and research community, and the
media, but they also put people’s health and lives at risk by thwarting efforts
to control and contain the disease. However, the fact remains that even
scientists and doctors do not know enough about COVID-19 or how to treat it so
sometimes give contradictory information, which only adds to the confusion.
It is a challenge for governments and international organizations to debunk,
refute and discredit every piece of information that roams social media in
multiple languages and variations. It is a war not just on the pandemic itself,
but also on the related “infodemic” — an overabundance of news that mixes facts,
rumors and fake news.
Unofficial sources and rumor mills are spewing unverified and malicious
information at lightning speed.
Some countries have pursued criminal prosecutions and other measures related to
tracking and countering rumors and misinformation on COVID-19. More importantly,
the tech giants are removing content that contains misleading information, but
sometimes, by the time they do that, the information has circulated the globe.
Some sites are dedicated to debunking conspiracy theories and verifying the
information claimed in various films and documents. These are important
initiatives, but it remains for us the people to do our part. Just like it is
our responsibility to follow the precautionary measures against spreading the
virus for the sake of our health, it is also our responsibility to stop the
spread of misinformation and rumors for the sake of our peace of mind. We can do
this by being vigilant in verifying information and only taking it from credible
and trustworthy sources.
*Maha Akeel is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah. Twitter: @MahaAkeel1
Al Jazeera continues to ‘provide a platform to bigoted and
violent extremists’
Tarek Al Ahmad/Arab News/May 26/ 2020
LONDON: Al Jazeera’s recent interview with terrorist-designated group Hamas’
leader Ismail Haniyeh, as well as its podcast glorifying killed Iranian Gen.
Qassem Soleimani, has stirred the ongoing debate surrounding the network’s
alleged promotion of terrorism.
The exposure given to the controversial figures has prompted experts into
stating that the station and news site continue to provide extremists with a
platform to present themselves on.
“The fact that Qatar’s Al Jazeera Arabic continues to provide a platform to
bigoted and violent extremists, including terrorists, obviously undermines the
Qatari government’s claim to be a steady force for tolerance and coexistence,”
Washington director for international affairs at the Anti-Defamation League,
David Weinberg, told Arab News.
The station’s interview with Haniyeh served as a stage to threaten Israel with
the fact that Hamas was still capable of kidnapping more Israeli soldiers, while
the podcast allowed the Soleimani character a free rein to explain his support
of terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah and why he helped Syrian
President Bashar Assad massacre his own people.
These were not the only controversies the network found itself embroiled in this
month.Last week, Al Jazeera’s Arabic news site carried a headline reading,
“Martyr shot by Occupation forces in the West Bank for being accused of trying
to run over soldiers,” to report on a Palestinian man who was shot while
attempting to ram into Israeli soldiers with his car.
“Every time Al Jazeera calls somebody — anybody — a martyr, it violates the
journalistic ethic of impartiality. What makes it much, much worse is that Al
Jazeera consistently uses the term martyr to glorify terrorists, provided the
civilians those violent extremists are trying to murder happen to be Israeli
Jews,” Weinberg said.
“Encouraging slaughter of this sort does nobody any favors, not Palestinians or
Israelis, neither Jews nor Arabs.”
“Al-Qaeda in Syria? Flattered by Al Jazeera. The Taliban? Flattered by Al
Jazeera. Iranian proxies like Hamas and Islamic Jihad? Flattered by Al Jazeera.
Al-Qaeda financier Muthanna Al-Dhari? Flattered by Al Jazeera. Media practices
like these are unacceptable, immoral, and bad for people of all faiths and all
nations,” he added.
Al Jazeera has a turbulent past when it comes to extremist and anti-Semitic
rhetoric. Last year, its youth channel AJ+ Arabic drew widespread condemnation
over an alleged Holocaust denial video that claimed Jews exaggerated the scale
of the genocide in order to establish Israel.
The chairman of UK nonprofit organization Muslims Against Anti-Semitism, Ghanem
Nuseibeh, told Arab News: “Al Jazeera has a direct editorial input from the
Diwan in Doha (the sovereign body and administrative office of the Emir of
Qatar), with the Arabic channel focused on promoting the extremist ideological
discourse. This is their core constituency.
“It is particularly troubling that Al Jazeera Arabic website still to this day
continues to host articles and videos of interviews by proscribed groups in the
UK such as Al-MuHajjiroun, and freely accessible in the UK,” he added.
Earlier this month, a Shariah expert from the Qatari Ministry of Religious
Endowments advocated the beating of women in an interview on the network,
stating that they “need to be subdued by muscles.” And this was not the first
time.
The station has also broadcasted a religious program hosted by extremist cleric
Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual
leader. Al-Qaradawi, an outspoken Hamas loyalist who was featured in Arab News’
“Preachers of Hate” series, issues fatwas riddled with comments advocating
suicide bomb attacks and praises to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler for “punishing the
Jews,” on Al Jazeera’s media platforms.
“Al Jazeera’s motto is, ‘the opinion and the other opinion,’ but when it comes
to the Muslim Brotherhood’s bigots and violent extremists, Al Jazeera Arabic
still just presents one opinion, giving ikhwani (brotherhood) intolerance an
unquestioning platform for broadcasting into millions of homes around the
world,” Weinberg said.
The media network has also been called a “useful tool” for Qatar’s ruling elite
notorious for their sympathies with the Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist
and extremist groups. In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain severed
diplomatic ties with Qatar in order to pressure it to halt its alleged terrorism
financing and shut down the network.
US Embassy cables acquired by UK newspaper The Guardian in 2009 proved just how
interconnected the Qatari government and Al Jazeera are.
“Al Jazeera, the most watched satellite television station in the Middle East,
is heavily subsidized by the Qatari government and has proved itself a useful
tool for the station’s political masters … Despite (the government of Qatar’s)
protestations to the contrary, Al Jazeera remains one of Qatar’s most valuable
political and diplomatic tools,” the cable read.
Al Jazeera tangoes with terrorism
Favoring Daesh
• Do you support the Daesh group’s victories in Iraq and Syria?
• More than 54,000 people voted on the official page of ‘Opposite Direction.’
81.6 percent voted ‘Yes,’ while 18.4 percent voted ‘No.’
Sectarian discourse
• Al-Qassim said: ‘Why do you blame the regime? I want to ask you. Al-Nubl and
Al-Zahraa are Shiite colonies in the heart of Sunni land. Kafarayah and Fu’aa
are still living among you. Why don’t you expel them out as they did to you and
curse the ones who gave birth to them?’
Party for a terrorist
• Al Jazeera host: ‘Brother Samir, we would like to celebrate your birthday with
you. You deserve even more than this. I think that 11,000 prisoners – if they
can see this program now – are celebrating your birthday with you. Happy
birthday, brother Samir.’
Al-Julani interview
• Interviewer: ‘What was the strategy of Al-Qaeda’s Sheikh Osama bin Laden?’
• Al-Julani: ‘He wanted to fight the Americans on their own turf, and that way
to drag them into Afghanistan – because we were unable to send armies to (the
United States). Sheikh Osama bin Laden’s goal in fighting the Americans was not
to put an end to the American presence…’
Boosting terrorism
• ’We call upon the Islamic nation to rise up, and not make do with a futile
economic boycott, in the face of this affront to our honorable Prophet. We call
upon them to drive out the Danish embassies and ambassadors from the lands of
the Muslims, and to expel them from the Muslim countries. They should take
serious and immediate action to burn down the offices of the newspapers that
affronted our Prophet, and to bomb them, so that body parts go flying, and with
these body parts, Allah Almighty will quench the believers’ thirst for revenge.’
Iran’s Khamenei sees himself as savior to Arabs – he is
their nightmare
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Al Arabiya/May 26/2020
While Israeli fighter jets routinely pound sites of pro-Iranian militias in
Syria, Tehran has found a creative way to respond: Tweeting posters of its
imagined victory over Israel.
The posters, just one example of Iran’s expansionism propaganda, prove that
Iran’s bark is louder than its bite.
In the last week Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei tweeted “art” about
Jerusalem. The first poster showed the city under the control of Iran and its
militias. The second showed Iranian officials and protegees praying at the Dome
of the Rock, the third holiest site in Islam.
The title of the first poster read “the final solution” and caused an
international stir for channeling Nazi propaganda that led to the Holocaust and
the demise of six million Jews. Khamenei responded by saying he was not against
the Jews, but against the existence of Israel.
In Iraq’s Diyalah province, Iran’s Khomeini’s Foundation erected posters showing
images of Yemeni Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi alongside slogans reading “death to
Israel and America,” and “curse be on the Jews.” Khamenei might not say it in
English or on Twitter, but among allies of the Iran-led “resistance axis,”
animosity toward Judaism - not only Zionism - is widespread.
Khamenei attempted to rebut accusations against his hatred of Jews with a
Twitter thread. He claimed the meaning behind his use of “final solution” was
that the UN should hold a referendum over the fate of Palestine.
But the poster reflects a reality in Iran and its satellite countries: militia
thugs standing on every corner, touting their arms.
In Khamenei’s mind, it seems fair if public opinion is goaded by violent
non-state actors. Such thinking was reflected in a speech by Lebanese
Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah, who said that “the image of those
normalizing (with Israel) and surrendering does not reflect the true image of
our nation.”
What Nasrallah clearly does not understand is that no nation has one solitary
image or one single opinion. Arab and Palestinian preferences toward Israel vary
between those who think turning a new page is the best course of action, and
those who advise holding out for a better deal.
Nasrallah’s thinking that all Arabs support Iran’s maximalist position of
categorically refusing to recognize Israel is at odds with the position of the
Arab League and its Beirut Peace Initiative, which recognizes Israel and offers
it full normalization in return for its withdrawal from the West Bank and East
Jerusalem.
To Tehran, however, it does not matter what the Arabs or Palestinians think.
Iranian art depicts crowds celebrating Iranian occupation of Jerusalem with
posters of presumed heroes. Remarkably, except for a single picture of Hamas’
founder Ahmed Yassin, these illustrated crowds in Jerusalem do not celebrate any
other Palestinian like late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, who received
the Nobel Peace Prize with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin for their
efforts to create peace with the Oslo Accords.
Instead, these crowds celebrate Iranian leaders Khomeini, Khamenei and Qassem
Soleimani, Iraqi Abu Mahdi Al-Mohandes, Lebanese Nasrallah and Ragheb Harb,
Iran’s other “allies,” like Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, are not recognized in the imagined Iranian crowd
in Jerusalem.
In a second poster released by Khamenei, al-Assad is depicted as standing
somewhere in the fourth or fifth row, just before the rows where the faces of
those praying become indistinguishable. Most visible are Iran’s Nasrallah and
Hamas’ Ismail Haniyyah.
Khamenei does not understand how popular will can be gauged through ballot
boxes. He does not understand how detrimental militias are to any state. He does
not realize that calling for the destruction of a fellow member state of the UN
is hate speech. He does not see that his diktats of what should happen in
Palestine is Iranian imperialism, just like the imperialism that Iran spends its
days complaining of.
Khamenei does not understand Arab culture, clothing style, or history, yet has
the audacity to try to dictate his ideas on Arab societies. Unlike how Khamenei
might perceive himself, he is no savior or liberator of the Arabs, but more like
their nightmare.