LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 22/17
Compiled &
Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations
The Talents Parable/As for this worthless slave, throw him
into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 25/14-30/:"‘For it is as
if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to
them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each
according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five
talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In
the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents.But the one
who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid
his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and
settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came
forward, bringing five more talents, saying, "Master, you handed over to me five
talents; see, I have made five more talents."His master said to him, "Well done,
good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will
put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master."And the one
with the two talents also came forward, saying, "Master, you handed over to me
two talents; see, I have made two more talents." His master said to him, "Well
done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I
will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master."Then
the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, "Master, I
knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering
where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent
in the ground. Here you have what is yours." But his master replied, "You wicked
and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather
where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the
bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.
So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to
all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but
from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this
worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth."
So let us not grow weary in doing what is right,
for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up
If anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit
should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Letter to the Galatians
06/01-10/:"My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have
received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take
care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in
this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think
they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then
that work, rather than their neighbour’s work, will become a cause for pride.
For all must carry their own loads. Those who are taught the word must share in
all good things with their teacher. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for
you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap
corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal
life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we
will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an
opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the
family of faith."
Question: "Why do people reject Jesus as their Savior?"
GotQuestions.org?/Answer: The decision to accept or reject Jesus as Savior is
the ultimate life decision. Why do many people choose to reject Jesus as Savior?
There are perhaps as many different reasons for rejecting Christ as there are
people who reject Him, but the following four reasons can serve as general
categories:
1) Some people do not think they need a savior. These people consider themselves
to be “basically good” and do not realize that they, like all people, are
sinners who cannot come to God on their own terms. But Jesus said, “I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”
(John 14:6). Those who reject Christ will not be able to stand before God and
successfully plead their own case on their own merits.
2) The fear of social rejection or persecution deters some people from receiving
Christ as Savior. The unbelievers in John 12:42-43 would not confess Christ
because they were more concerned with their status among their peers than doing
God’s will. These were the Pharisees whose love of position and the esteem of
others blinded them, “for they loved the approval of men rather than the
approval of God.”
3) For some people, the things that the present world has to offer are more
appealing than eternal things. We read the story of such a man in Matthew
19:16-23. This man was not willing to lose his earthly possessions in order to
gain an eternal relationship with Jesus (see also 2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
4) Many people are simply resisting the Holy Spirit’s attempts to draw them to
faith in Christ. Stephen, a leader in the early church, told those who were
about to murder him, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and
ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” (Acts
7:51). The apostle Paul made a similar statement to a group of gospel rejecters
in Acts 28:23-27.
Whatever the reasons why people reject Jesus Christ, their rejection has
disastrous eternal consequences. “There is no other name under heaven given to
men by which we must be saved” than the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12), and those who
reject Him, for whatever reason, face an eternity in the “outer darkness” of
hell where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on October 21-22/17
Between Opposing Kurdish Separation and Sidelining Kurds/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq
Al-Awsat/October 21/17
Germany: Full Censorship Now Official Courts Rewrite History/Judith Bergman/Gatestone
Institute/October 21/17
Iranian Aggression Intensifies/UN ambassador Nikki Haley takes the "outlaw"
regime to task./Joseph Klein/Front Page/October 21/17
How Israel misread Lebanon, failed Ron Arad and helped Hezbollah rise to power/Haaretz/Clinton
Bailey/October 21/17
Exposing mainstream media: America’s Iraq antics in North Korea/Ramzy Baroud/Al
Arabiya/October 21/17
Is Egypt’s religious tourism industry ready for Christian pilgrimages/Sonia
Farid Special to Al Arabiya/October 21/2017
Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on
October 21-22/17
MP. Dory Chamoun Says Situation in Lebanon Hasn't Changed Since Dany's
Assassination
Army Chief on Official Visit to the United States
Geagea: Ruling against Chartouni a Conviction against March 8 Camp
Report: Asmar Says Time for 'Wage Growth in Private Sector'
Chartouni, Alam Sentenced to Death over Bashir Gemayel Assassination
Khoury: Country's Economy Can No Longer Endure Burden of Displaced Syrians
Army Rescues 32 Syrians from Boat Off Anfeh
Army Arrests IS Fugitive after Luring Him to Leave Ain el-Hilweh
Marouni: Verdict in Bachir's Case to Become Dead Letter if Assassins Not
Apprehended
Rahi from LA: Lebanon can no longer bear displacement repercussions
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports
And News published on October 21-22/17
Knife-wielding Man Wounds Several People in Munich
35 Egyptian Police, Troops Die in Clashes with Islamists
Gunmen Kill 12 Niger Gendarmes Near Mali Border
Israel Hit Syrian Artillery after Golan Fire, Army Says
Israel Hits Syrian Artillery, Warns to Intensify Response
German Intelligence Warns from New Generation of ISIS Recruits
US to Americans: Terrorist Groups in Sudan Intend to Harm Westerners
Madrid to Suspend Catalonia's Government, Call Regional Elections
Pakistan carries on with petty politics, while mothers give birth on roads
Spain to Grab Catalonia Powers as Crisis Intensifies
US Treasury Secretary to visit Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar
Air Force could recall as many as 1,000 retired pilots to address serious
shortage
Latest Lebanese Related News published on
October 21-22/17
MP. Dory Chamoun Says Situation in Lebanon Hasn't Changed
Since Dany's Assassination
Saturday 21st October 2017/Kataeb.org/National
Liberal Party chief Dory Chamoun on Saturday said that his late brother, Dany,
chose to stay in Lebanon while he could have abandoned his responsibility and
left the country, deploring the stagnation that Lebanon has been witnessing
since then. "We wish the situation has improved since then; we are trying to
preserve what was achieved as we still hope that we reach the Lebanon we are
aspiring to, not the one they are trying to drag us into,” Chamoun said after a
mass commemorating the 27th assassination anniversary of Dany Chamoun and his
family. "It took more than 30 years to issue a verdict against the assassins of
President Bachir Gemayel. I don’t expect anything new to come up in my brother's
case," he said.
Army Chief on Official Visit to the United
States
Naharnet/October 21/17/Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun flew to
the United States on an official visit and at the invitation of General Joseph
Dunford, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, media reports said Saturday.
Aoun is expected to hold talks with several “military and civilian officials to
discuss ways to strengthen relations and cooperation between the armies of
Lebanon and the US,” said the reports.
Geagea: Ruling against Chartouni a Conviction against March 8
Camp
Naharnet/October 21/17/Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea said the death
sentence verdict against the assassins of president-elect Bashir Geamyel is a
ruling against the whole of the March 8 camp which “seeks violence and political
assassinations.”“The Judicial Council's ruling that sentenced Habib Chartouni
and Nabil al-Alam to death in the assassination of Gemayel is a ruling against
all of March 8,” said Geagea, as he accused the alliance of “seeking violence
and political assassinations.”“The ruling issued is not only for one person but
for all of March 8 because this person belongs to one of the parties of this
camp. This man's party has carried out the operation as mentioned in the minutes
of the investigation. He was definitely linked to one of the March 8 parties and
to the Syrian intelligence at that stage,” added Geagea. The LF leader pointed
out saying that March 8 resorts to political assassinations in order to each its
goals. “This provision confirms the fact that March 8 group pleads for political
assassination to reach its goals. We all know that there are members of a
political party of March 8 being prosecuted before the International Tribunal,”
added Geagea, in reference to Hizbullah members reportedly accused in the
assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri. On Friday, the Judicial Council,
Lebanon's highest state security court, sentenced Chartouni and al-Alam to death
in absentia in the case of the 1982 assassination of President-elect Bashir
Gemayel. The in absentia trial had kicked off on November 25, 2016. During that
session, the Judicial Council called on Chartouni -- who confessed to planting
the bomb before escaping prison -- to turn himself in. It also decided to launch
in absentia proceedings against the other suspect in the case, al-Alam, after
media reports said he had died of illness in Brazil in 2014. Gemayel was a
senior member of the Kataeb Party and the supreme commander of the Lebanese
Forces militia during the early years of the civil war. He was elected president
on August 23, 1982 while the country was torn by civil war and occupied by both
Israel and Syria. Gemayel was assassinated on September 14, 1982, along with 26
others, when a bomb exploded in Kataeb's headquarters in Ashrafieh.
Report: Asmar Says Time for 'Wage Growth in Private Sector'
Naharnet/October 21/17/Head of Lebanon's General Labor Union Beshara al-Asmar
said that practical consultations have begun to raise the minimum wage level in
the private sector after the latest tax hikes that were initially approved to
fund the wage scale for the public sector, al-Joumhouria daily reported
Saturday. “Wage correction in the private sector is supposed to take its way to
implementation in order to update the salaries, correct them and raise the
minimum wage level,” Asmar told the daily. Asmar pointed out that the Economic
Bodies have always rejected the issue every time it was raised “but today we see
some acceptance. Negotiations have begun but they need time. We hope that things
will be positive otherwise we will resort to our right and take to the streets,”
warned Asmar. He added that the latest approved tax hikes will affect all
Lebanese segments, arguing that “wage increases for the public sector have
imposed new taxes which the private sector will be part of. It is unacceptable
not to initiate a correction in salaries.” After long and arduous debates,
Lebanese lawmakers have recently approved a long-awaited new wage scale for
civil servants and armed forces paralleled with tax hikes laws intended to
initially fund the scale. "As we exercised our right to reach the wage scale, we
will resort in the same way to reach our right to correct wages in the private
sector,” stressed Asmar. “The private sector includes about 900 thousand
workers, therefore complacency on this subject is a crime. The private sector
wages have to be corrected with acceptable rates that will satisfy the workers
in the sector,” he emphasized.
Chartouni, Alam Sentenced to Death over Bashir Gemayel
Assassination
Naharnet/October 21/17/The Judicial Council, Lebanon's highest state security
court, on Friday sentenced Habib Chartouni and Nabil al-Alam to death in
absentia in the case of the 1982 assassination of President-elect Bashir Gemayel.
The Council also stripped Syrian Social National Party members Chartouni and
Alam of their civil rights. The in absentia trial had kicked off on November 25,
2016. During that session, the Judicial Council called on Chartouni -- who
confessed to planting the bomb before escaping prison -- to turn himself in. It
also decided to launch in absentia proceedings against the other suspect in the
case, al-Alam, after media reports said he had died of illness in Brazil in
2014. Protesters from the SSNP organized a demonstration outside the Justice
Palace on Friday to demand the acquittal of Chartouni. Supporters of Chartouni
had called on the Lebanese state to consider Chartouni “a hero not a
criminal.”Gemayel was a senior member of the Kataeb Party and the supreme
commander of the Lebanese Forces militia during the early years of the civil
war. He was elected president on August 23, 1982 while the country was torn by
civil war and occupied by both Israel and Syria. Gemayel was assassinated on
September 14, 1982, along with 26 others, when a bomb exploded in Kataeb's
headquarters in Ashrafieh. Chartouni, a member of the SSNP, was later arrested
in connection with the assassination. His sister was a resident of the apartment
above the room Bachir was in. He had visited her the previous day and planted
the bomb in her apartment. The next day, he called her and told her to get out
of the building. Once she was out, he detonated the bomb from a few kilometers
away from the building. Two days later Chartouni was arrested by the Lebanese
Forces. At a press conference before being handed over to the Lebanese judiciary
by the LF, he called Gemayel a traitor and accused him of “selling the country
to Israel.”He said he was given the explosives and the fancy long-range
electronic detonator in West Beirut’s Ras Beirut district by Nabil al-Alam, who
was reportedly SSNP's intelligence chief at the time. Alam reportedly had close
ties to the Syrian intelligence services and he swiftly fled to Syria after the
assassination.Chartouni spent eight years in Roumieh Prison without an official
trial until he escaped on October 13, 1990 during the Syrian offensive to oust
Michel Aoun from the Baabda Palace.
Khoury: Country's Economy Can No Longer Endure Burden of
Displaced Syrians
Naharnet/October 21/17/Minister of Economy Raed Khoury said on Saturday that the
Syrian crisis has entailed economic costs on Lebanon worth $18 billion dollars,
as he urged displaced Syrians to return back home. “The Syrian crisis has cost
the Lebanese economy 18 billion dollars since 2011 until today. The economic
situation can no longer endure,” stressed Khoury in a press conference. The
Minister pointed to the spike in Syrian workforce that left thousands of
Lebanese unemployed, he said: “Syrian workforce has increased to 380 thousand,
and unemployment among the Lebanese has risen to 30%.”“We sympathize with the
displaced Syrians, but we wish them to return home,” he remarked, pointing out
that until that happens “Lebanon as a state is required to organize economic
relationship between Lebanon and the displaced.”Lebanon hosts more than 1.5
million Syrian refugees, who amount to more than a quarter of the country's
population not to mention undocumented individuals, many of whom live in
informal tented settlements. The Syria refugee influx into Lebanon has strained
the country's infrastructure, and has also sparked accusations that refugee
camps are harboring militants from the war.
The World Bank says the Syrian crisis has pushed an estimated 200,000 Lebanese
into poverty, adding to the nation's one million poor.
Army Rescues 32 Syrians from Boat Off Anfeh
Naharnet/October 21/17/The Lebanese Army on Friday said it rescued 32 Syrians
who were on a malfunctioning boat off the northern region of Anfeh. “At 3:00 pm,
naval forces at the Wajh al-Hajar post in the Anfeh region detected a boat which
was 23 miles away from the Lebanese territorial waters,” the army said in a
statement. “A patrol from the Naval Forces then intercepted the malfunctioning
boat and rescued 32 Syrian people, including women and children, transferring
them to Lebanese soil for interrogation after preparing all the necessary means
and measures to ensure their safety,” the military added.
Army Arrests IS Fugitive after Luring Him to Leave Ain el-Hilweh
Naharnet/October 21/17/The army on Friday announced the arrest of an Islamic
State group fugitive who was hiding in the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee
camp. “After luring him from the Ain el-Hilweh camp in a security operation, the
Intelligence Directorate arrested Omar Ahmed al-Bustani, a member of the IS
terrorist cell that was led by detained terrorist Jamal Fatima,” the army said
in a statement. It noted that several members of the cell had sought refuge in
the camp. By long-standing convention, the Lebanese Army does not enter
Palestinian refugee camps, where security is managed by joint committees of
Palestinian factions. Ain el-Hilweh is an impoverished, overcrowded camp near
the coastal city of Sidon, and is home to some 61,000 Palestinians, including
6,000 who have fled the war in Syria.
Marouni: Verdict in Bachir's Case to Become Dead Letter if
Assassins Not Apprehended
Kataeb.org/Saturday 21st October 2017Kataeb MP Elie Marouni on Saturday called
on the competent authorities to take a swift action and apprehend the convicted
assassin of President Bachir Gemayel, Habib Chartouni, and bring him to justice.
Marouni pointed out that the Lebanese judiciary has fulfilled its duty in the
martyr president's assassination case, noting, however, that this verdict will
become a dead letter if the death sentence is not actually executed.
Rahi from LA: Lebanon can no longer bear displacement
repercussions
Sat 21 Oct 2017/NNA - Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Boutros Rahi,
Saturday, deemed that Lebanon could no longer bear the consequences of the
Syrian displacement at all levels. "In spite of our complete humanitarian
solidarity with refugees, Lebanon can no longer bear the consequences of the
displaced," Rahi said during a pastoral visit to Los Angeles in the United
States. Rahi stressed the right of all refugees to return to their homeland,
saying, "All refugees, whether Muslims or Christians, have the right to return
to their homeland in order to preserve their culture, civilization and
history."The Prelate explained that there was no problem with the displaced
themselves and with supporting their humanitarian and national case. "We have no
problem with them, we support their humanitarian and national cause; however,
their continued presence in Lebanon is a burden and poses political,
demographic, economic and security risks," Rahi went on. Responding to a
question, he underscored that "if the international community has the intention
to settle refugees in Lebanon, then that is rejected by all the Lebanese people
and by the Lebanese Constitution," adding that "this is a serious danger that
threatens stability in the region."The Patriarch urged the international
community to realize the importance of Lebanon and work on stopping the war,
eradicating terrorism and returning refugees to their homeland and helping them
rebuild their country. Commenting on the Christian presence in the Levant, Rahi
pointed out that the "Christians were at the basis of civilization in the
Levant, and have helped to create an Islamic moderation, strengthening their
role through coexistence.""If Christians lose their influence and role in the
Middle East, Muslims will lose moderation," he stressed.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on
October 21-22/17
Knife-wielding Man Wounds Several People in Munich
Asharq Al-Awsat/October
21/17/A man wounded several people with a knife in the southern German city of
Munich on Saturday, police and the fire department said. A suspect was arrested
a few hours later, and authorities were working to determine whether he was the
assailant. None of the injuries were life-threatening, police said, adding that
the attacker's motive remained unclear. They urged people at the Rosenheimer
Platz area, located close to the German city's downtown, to remain at home as
they had received conflicting information about which way the attacker had gone.
Police described the suspect as a corpulent, unshaven man in his 40s who had
fled the scene on a black bicycle. They said he was wearing gray pants and a
running jacket. He was also carrying a backpack and a camping bed roll.About
three hours after the stabbing, police arrested a man matching that description
who initially tried to evade officers. "We can't yet confirm whether he is the
perpetrator," police spokesman Marcus da Gloria Martins said.
35 Egyptian Police, Troops Die in Clashes with Islamists
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October
21/17/At least 35 Egyptian troops and police officers were killed in clashes
with Islamist fighters in the Bahariya oasis in the country's Western Desert
late on Friday, security and medical sources said. An interior ministry
statement confirmed the incident and said some of the attackers had died,
without giving any figures for casualties or further details. Security forces,
who are hunting down Islamic militants in the region, were ambushed late Friday
on a road to the Bahariya oasis, some 200 kilometers southeast of Cairo,
according to the interior ministry statement. According to a source close to the
security services, the convoy was hit by rocket fire. The attackers also used
explosive devices. There has not yet been a claim of responsibility. A false
claim by the small extremist group Hasm, reported by multiple local media,
spread on social media soon after the attack. But the group's official Twitter
feed, where it routinely shares statements, has been dormant since October 2.
Since the army removed President Mohamed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood,
extremist groups have increased their attacks on the country's military and
police. The Brotherhood, once Egypt's largest opposition movement, has long
denied involvement in violence. Mohamed Morsi was elected as Egypt's first
civilian president in 2012, but the army overthrew him a year later following
mass protests against the divisive Islamist's rule. Since then, an extensive
crackdown on the group has left it in disarray with competing wings that have
disagreed on whether to use violence, after police quashed their protests.
Analysts say a section of the Brotherhood has encouraged armed assaults against
policemen in Egypt. Hasm has claimed multiple attacks since 2016 on police,
officials and judges in Cairo. In their statements, none of the militant groups
claim any affiliation to the Muslim Brotherhood. Authorities have also been
fighting the Egyptian branch of the jihadist group Islamic State, which has
increased its attacks in the north of the Sinai peninsula. Hundreds of soldiers
and police have been killed in the violence. The Islamic State group's deadly
attacks on the military and police include a recent assault on a checkpoint in
Sinai on July 7 that killed at least 21 soldiers. The group has maintained a
steady war of attrition with sniper attacks and roadside bombings. But unlike
their parent organisation in Iraq and Syria, they have been unable to seize
population centres in the peninsula bordering Israel and Gaza. In October 2015,
IS claimed the bombing of a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from the
popular South Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board.
Gunmen Kill 12 Niger Gendarmes Near Mali Border
Gunmen mounted on pick-up trucks and motorcycles killed 12 paramilitary police
and wounded several in an attack on their base in restive southwest Niger, near
the Mali border, on Saturday, two security sources said. The village is a few
dozen kilometers from where militants killed four US soldiers in an ambush on
Oct. 4 that has thrown a spotlight on the US counter-terrorism mission in Niger,
which straddles a large expanse of the Sahara. The gunmen crossed over the
border from Mali and drove up to the village of Ayorou, before launching their
attack, the security sources said. "They were heavily armed. They had rocket
launchers and machine guns. They came in four vehicles each with about seven
fighters," said a security source on the scene. One of the attackers was killed
in an exchange of fire, he added. A spokesman for Niger's military said he could
not confirm any details of the attack. Several militant groups and well-armed
ethnic militia are known to operate in the area near the border with Mali, and
there have been at least 46 attacks recorded there since early least year.
However, security officials suspect a relatively new militant group called ISIS
in the Greater Sahara to have been behind many of them, including the ambush on
the joint US-Niger patrol. Meanwhile, members of Congress are demanding answers
to the killing of the four US soldiers. Among the unresolved inquiries: Why were
the Americans apparently caught by surprise? Why did it take two additional days
to recover one of the four bodies after the shooting stopped? Was ISIS
responsible? The confusion over what happened in a remote corner of Niger, where
few Americans travel, has increasingly dogged President Donald Trump, who was
silent about the deaths for more than a week.
Israel Hit Syrian Artillery after Golan Fire, Army Says
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 21/17/The Israeli army attacked Syrian
government artillery on Saturday after fire across the armistice line hit the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and warned it would step up such retaliation in
the future.
The Syrian government controls only party of the territory on the other side of
the line, with the rest in the hands of rebel groups, one of them affiliated to
the Islamic State group. But the Israeli army said it would retaliate against
the Syrian army, regardless of who was responsible for any fire and of whether
it was intentional or not. The Syrian defence ministry said that rebels had
deliberately fired the rounds into Israeli-held territory to provoke the
response against its forces. The Israeli army said it identified four hits from
five rounds launched at the northern Golan. It reported no casualties or damage.
"In response to the projectiles that hit Israel, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)
targeted three artillery cannons of the Syrian regime in the Syrian Golan
Heights," it said. "Any future occurrences will force the IDF to intensify its
response," the army said, adding that it held "the Syrian regime accountable for
any aggression from within its territory." The Syrian defence ministry said the
Israeli riposte had targeted one of its positions near the armistice line in
Quneitra province, causing "material damage". It reported no casualties. "The
terrorists, acting at the behest of Israel, shelled empty ground to provide a
pretext for this aggression," the ministry added. Israel has sought to avoid
becoming directly involved in the six-year civil war in Syria, although it has
systematically responded to fire across the armistice line on the Golan.
It also acknowledges carrying out dozens of air strikes against Hezbollah forces
in Syria to stop what it calls advanced arms deliveries to the Lebanese Shiite
militant group, which is a key ally of the Damascus government. Israel fought a
devastating 2006 war with Hezbollah and has voiced concern that the group's
involvement in Syria risks opening up a new front. Israel seized 1,200 square
kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War
of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international
community. The two countries remain technically at war, although before the
eruption of the conflict inside Syria in 2011 the armistice line remained
largely quiet.
Israel Hits Syrian Artillery, Warns to Intensify
Response
Asharq Al-Awsat/October 21/17/The Israeli army attacked Syrian regime artillery
on Saturday after fire across the armistice line hit the Israeli-occupied Golan
Heights and warned it would step up its response to stray fire from the
country’s civil war. The Bashar Assad regime controls only part of the territory
on the other side of the line, with the rest in the hands of rebel groups. But
the Israeli army said it would retaliate against the Syrian forces, regardless
of who was responsible for any fire and of whether it was deliberate or
unintentional. Israeli forces identified four hits from five rounds launched at
the northern Golan from Syria, the army said. No damage or injuries were
reported in Israel. "In response to the projectiles that hit Israel, the Israeli
army targeted three artillery cannons of the Syrian regime in the Syrian Golan
Heights," the statement said. It warned that whether errant fire or not, any
future occurrences will force the Israeli military “to intensify its response."
It held "the Syrian regime accountable for any aggression from within its
territory." In their own statement, the Syrian regime forces warned against
"such aggressive acts" and held Israel "fully responsible for the consequent
results.”
German Intelligence Warns from New Generation of
ISIS Recruits
Asharq Al-Awsat/October 21/17/Children returning from war zones controlled by
ISIS in Syria and Iraq could grow up to be a new generation of terrorists, the
chief of German Intelligence has warned.
More than 950 people from Germany went to join ISIS in Syria and Iraq, some 20
percent of them women and 5 percent minors, according to the Office for the
Protection of the Constitution (BfV) said. With ISIS losing territory in Syria
and Iraq, many of the women are expected to return with their children. Germany
needs to prepare for the risk of the children being radicalized, BfV Chief
Hans-Georg Maassen said. “We see the danger of children who socialized with and
were indoctrinated by extremists returning to Germany from the war zones,” said
Maassen. “This could allow a new generation of extremists to be raised
here.”Last year, a 12-year-old German-Iraqi boy failed in an attempt to detonate
two explosive devices in the western town of Ludwigshafen. A spokeswoman for the
Immigration and Refugee Department in Nuremberg reported that the Family
Guidance Center against Extremism received in 2016 about 1,000 calls from Muslim
families asking for advice, fearing their minor children might become
extremists. German lawmakers said that the country planned to spend more on
security, intelligence gathering and foreign aid in 2017, as part of their
efforts to counter growing security threats. A package of measures passed by
Parliament's budgetary committee will also see an additional 3,250 federal
police hired in the coming years. The lawmakers said that staffing plans for a
new agency designed to break encrypted communication have been doubled to 120.
Spending on programs for civil protection and migrants will also be increased,
pending parliamentary approval. Separately, German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung
reported that the country's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) spy agency is to
receive its own dedicated satellite. Until now, the agency has relied on
satellite imagery taken by the German army or allied intelligence agencies. On
the level of terrorism, prosecutors in Dortmund demanded a three-year prison
term for a militant, who is classified as "dangerous" and accused of preparing
for a terrorist bombing. The 21-year-old man, named only as Ivan K under German
privacy laws, was already under police surveillance as an associate of Islamic
preachers close to Anis Amri, the Berlin Christmas market attacker. A police
search of his apartment found propaganda and terror manuals from ISIS as well as
evidence he had been preparing to make explosives. The incident has raised
concerns that extremists may turn to crossbows as a potential terror weapon.
Police acted after a surveillance team witnessed Ivan K buying a powerful
high-performance crossbow in the west German town of Lippstadt, far from his
home. When he emerged from his hotel the next day in Feb 11, 2017, carrying the
crossbow in a sports bag, he was detained.
US to Americans: Terrorist Groups in Sudan
Intend to Harm Westerners
Asharq Al-Awsat/October
21/17/Sudan has expressed regret that the US State Department warned Americans
about traveling to Sudan and visiting conflict areas due to alleged risks of
terrorism, days after Washington lifted a trade embargo imposed on Khartoum as a
result of increased cooperation with US intelligence agencies in combating
terrorism. “The warning is contradictory to all the appreciation offered by
senior US officials for Sudan's efforts in combating terrorism," Sudan’s foreign
ministry said Friday. The State Department has said that US citizens should
avoid all travel to the five Darfur states, and to the states of Blue Nile and
South Kordofan. It said Americans should also "consider carefully before
planning travel to other areas of Sudan due to the risks of terrorism, armed
conflict and violent crime". "Terrorist groups are present in Sudan and have
stated their intent to harm Westerners and Western interests through suicide
operations, bombings, shootings and kidnappings," the advisory said. "Violent
crimes targeting Westerners, including kidnappings, armed robberies, home
invasions, and carjacking can occur anywhere in Sudan,” it added.Earlier this
month, Washington lifted its 20-year-old trade embargo imposed on Khartoum,
citing Sudan's increased cooperation with US intelligence agencies in combating
terror.
Madrid to Suspend Catalonia's Government, Call
Regional Elections
Asharq Al-Awsat/October
21/17/Spain's government said Saturday that it will move to suspend Catalonia's
separatist government and call fresh elections within six months in a bid to
stop its leaders to break away from Spain. Speaking after an emergency cabinet
meeting, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, said his government had no choice after
Catalonia's separatist government acted in a way that was "unilateral, contrary
to the law and seeking confrontation" in holding a banned independence
referendum. He said his government had taken this unprecedented decision to
restore the law, make sure regional institutions were neutral, and to guarantee
public services and economic activity as well as preserve the civil rights of
all citizens. The measures must now be approved by Spain's upper house, the
Senate, where a vote is scheduled for Oct. 27. Rajoy's government is activating
a previously untapped constitutional article to take control of Catalonia. The
move is aimed at blocking the independence movement that has gained pace since
the disputed Oct. 1 referendum on separating Catalonia from Spain. Meanwhile, a
spokeswoman for Spain's Constitutional Court said the court's website has been
affected by a cyberattack of unknown origin. The attack on Saturday came as
social media accounts linked to the Anonymous hacktivist group had launched a
campaign to "free Catalonia." The spokeswoman said it only affected the court's
website and no internal information was compromised. She requested anonymity in
line with internal rules.
Pakistan carries on with petty politics, while mothers give
birth on roads
Mansoor Jafar Special
to Al Arabiya English/October 21/2017/Three incidents of childbirths on roads
outside two public hospitals where the mothers were denied admission in a span
of four days in the capital of Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, and its
central district Faisalabad, have been reported.
This has given a rude shock to the already unstable government of ousted prime
minister Nawaz Sharif who was disqualified from being member of parliament by
the country’s apex court three months back. The shameful childbirth incidents
have also exposed the country’s poor healthcare system, not much different from
the majority of Third World countries. Meanwhile, the fragile PML-N government
has been struggling hard to survive against the opposition’s demand to step down
from power and call for early elections. The Supreme Court dismissed Nawaz
Sharif on charges of concealing off shore assets belonging to his family and
lying before the parliament about them when the Panama Papers leak broke in the
press. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, a long-time loyalist to Nawaz Sharif in parliament
was sworn in as Prime Minister for the remaining term of 10 months before the
next elections due in the mid of 2018.
“The government is under fire from all sides on the social media as all fingers
are pointing towards Sharifs’ inefficiency and failure to provide even the basic
healthcare services to people despite being in power for the last three
decades,” said a political leader opposed to Sharifs.
A leader loyal to ruling PML-N party admitted these incidents “served as cannon
fodder against the beleaguered PML-N government in the hands of the opposition
parties and its critics in media.”The first incident of denial to prenatal
medical care to a full-term pregnant woman occurred on October 16 at Raiwind
hospital just a few kilometers away from the palatial farm house estate of the
Sharif family, where the peasant woman had to deliver the baby on the road
outside the hospital since no doctor was on duty. The second incident was on
October 20 at Sir Ganga Ram hospital situated only a few hundred meters away
from Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif’s secretariat. The third event took
place at the sub-division hospital in Tandlianwala on the outskirts of
Faisalabad when an expectant mother was turned away from the medical facility
citing shortage of facilities and blood. Later, she gave birth inside an
ambulance outside the hospital.
Opposition anger
Health department authorities responded to the incidents by suspending the
doctors in-charge at the two hospitals and ordering inquiry to take formal
disciplinary action, but it was not enough to calm down the ire of opposition
parties and government critics. “These incidents were accidental, and government
is taking necessary steps to prevent them in future,” said Punjab health
minister Khwaja Imran Nazir, and criticized the opposition and political
opponents on social media for cashing in on the situation to score points
against the government.
“Poor people in Pakistan especially in rural areas take their health care needs
for granted and report to hospitals very late. Often, medical cases from rural
areas become overdue and complicated after they were referred to bigger
hospitals in cities for want of required services. Apart from that, the country
has a long history of unfortunate childbirths and deaths on roads and outside
hospitals for a number of reasons, including hours of traffic logjam due to
closure of roads to allow the passage of protocol motorcade of the rulers and
lack of beds and medical care services in the government hospitals.
The death of a teenage girl inside an ambulance on a street in Karachi, stuck in
traffic blockade because of retired General Musharraf’s motorcade hit the
headlines 10 years back and created quite a stir in the media.
A baby boy born in the rickshaw on a street of Quetta some years back when his
mother could not reach hospital as the roads were closed to facilitate the
protocol convoy of president Asif Zardari hit the headlines and went viral on
social media for long time. Ironically, the parents named the boy Asif Zardari.
Spain to Grab Catalonia Powers as Crisis
Intensifies
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 21/17/Spain will on Saturday take
unprecedented steps to seize powers from Catalonia's separatist government after
Madrid won powerful backing from the king and the EU in its battle to keep the
country together. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will meet with his cabinet at
10.00 am (0800 GMT) to set out specific powers it plans to take away from the
wealthy northeast region, which currently enjoys wide autonomy including control
over its own policing, education and healthcare. The measures -- which take the
country into uncharted legal waters -- come after Spain's King Felipe VI on
Friday blasted what he said was an "unacceptable secession attempt" and said the
crisis sparked by the region's banned October 1 independence referendum must be
resolved "through legitimate democratic institutions". "We do not want to give
up that which we have built together," he pleaded.
Madrid enjoys constitutional powers to wrest back control of rebellious regions
in one of the Western world's most decentralised nations, but it has never used
them.
Autonomy is a hugely sensitive issue in semi-autonomous Catalonia, which saw its
powers taken away under Spain's military dictatorship. Home to 7.5 million
people, the region fiercely defends its own language and culture. - 'Critical
point' -There are fears of unrest if Madrid seeks to impose direct rule of any
kind, and Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has said such a move could push
regional lawmakers to declare unilateral independence. But Rajoy said Friday
that Spain had reached a "critical point" after weeks of political limbo and
that his government had to act to stop the rule of law being "liquidated". Rajoy
is likely to announce plans to take control of Catalonia's 16,000-strong police
force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, whose leader Josep Lluis Trapero could face up to
15 years in jail on sedition charges for failing to contain separatist protests
ahead of the referendum.
Madrid could also seek to force new elections -- its preferred solution to
Spain's most protracted political crisis since it returned to democracy in 1977
-- as early as January. Rajoy is due to hold a press conference early Saturday
afternoon to announce his plans, which must pass through the Senate where his
conservative Popular Party holds a majority -- a process that would take about a
week.
Speaking on Friday night at the Princess of Asturias Awards -- Spain's answer to
the Nobels -- King Felipe described Catalonia as "an essential part of 21st
century Spain".
'Hellish mess'- EU leaders, who were at the ceremony to collect a prize for
encouraging harmony in Europe, used their acceptance speeches to demand respect
for the law in words that offered implicit backing to Madrid. "Some are sowing
discord by deliberately ignoring law," Tajani said at the awards night in the
northern city of Oviedo. He added pointedly: "All too often in the past the
prospect of redrawing borders has been presented as a heavenly panacea that has
resulted in a hellish mess."As tensions continue to run high, independence
supporters are set to rally in Barcelona Saturday evening calling for the
release of Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, the leaders of two powerful
grassroots separatist groups who have been in jail since Monday pending
investigation into sedition charges. Puigdemont says he has a mandate to declare
independence after the referendum, which his administration says resulted in a
90 percent Yes vote. But turnout was given as only 43 percent as many Catalans
who back unity stayed away from the banned vote.
Accounting for about a fifth of Spain's economic output, Catalonia is evenly
split over whether to break away from Spain, according to polls. Supporters say
the wealthy region does too much to prop up the rest of the national economy and
would thrive if it went its own way, but opponents say Catalonia is stronger as
part of Spain and that a split would spell economic and political disaster.
Nearly 1,200 companies that have shifted their registered domiciles to other
parts of Spain since the referendum, hoping to minimise instability. Madrid this
week cut its national growth forecast for next year from 2.6 percent to 2.3
percent, saying the standoff was creating uncertainty.
US Treasury Secretary to visit Saudi Arabia, UAE,
Qatar
Sat 21 Oct 2017/NNA - US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin will travel to the
Middle East next week, accompanied by Under Secretary for Terrorism and
Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker, to discuss the Terrorist Financing
Targeting Center (TFTC) partnership "and other important national security
initiatives to combat terrorism and illicit finance,".In a statement announcing
the trip, Mnuchin indicated that the trip from October 25-30 will include Saudi
Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Israel and will include official meetings and events
"to strengthen our shared resolve to counter the financing of terrorism." He
added "we will engage partners in the Middle East on the Trump administration's
new strategy toward countering the destabilizing influence of Iran in the
region." "Our Middle East trip will focus on combatting terrorist financing and
illicit activities, while building on the important national security and
anti-terrorism initiatives that developed from the President's successful visit
to the region in May," he affirmed. He added that the trio also includes
meetings with Gulf partners "essential to the development of the Terrorist
Financing Targeting Center, and will expand the dialogue on efforts to combat
terrorism in new and impactful ways." While in Saudi Arabia, Mnuchin will
commemorate the opening of the TFTC and deliver the keynote address to the
Future Investment Initiative summit, according to the Treasury. --- KUNA
Air Force could recall as many as 1,000 retired
pilots to address serious shortage
Sat 21 Oct 2017/NNA - President Trump signed an executive order Friday allowing
the Air Force to recall as many as 1,000 retired pilots to active duty to
address a shortage in combat fliers, the White House and Pentagon announced. By
law, only 25 retired officers can be brought back to serve in any one branch.
Trump's order removes those caps by expanding a state of national emergency
declared by President George W. Bush after 9/11, signaling what could be a
significant escalation in the 16-year-old global war on terror. "We anticipate
that the Secretary of Defense will delegate the authority to the Secretary of
the Air Force to recall up to 1,000 retired pilots for up to three years," Navy
Cdr. Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement. But the executive
order itself is not specific to the Air Force, and could conceivably be used in
the future to call up more officers and in other branches.
More: Army is accepting more low-quality recruits, giving waivers for marijuana
to hit targets The Air Force needs about 1,500 pilots more than it has. Bonus
programs and other incentives have not made up the shortfall. The Air Force has
been at the forefront of the Pentagon's battle against the Islamic State, flying
most of the combat sorties in Iraq and Syria since 2014. In June, Sen. John
McCain, R-Ariz., labeled the pilot shortage a crisis that would prevent the Air
Force from fulfilling its mission. “This is a full-blown crisis, and if left
unresolved, it will call into question the Air Force’s ability to accomplish its
mission,” said McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee.Richard
Aboulafia, an aviation analyst and vice president of the Teal Group, said the
shortage stemmed from a number of issues. "One is competition from commercial
airlines," Aboulafia said. "Another is delays and funding shortfalls in
training. And, due to military operations, utilization of the aircraft and crew
has been higher than expected."On Capitol Hill, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and
a member of Armed Services Committee, said that the fight against Islamic State
and al-Qaeda linked terrorists will be expanding. He spoke to reporters while
speaking about the four U.S. soldiers killed Oct. 4 in Niger. Counter-terrorism
rules under President Obama had been too restrictive and ineffective, Graham
said. “The war is morphing," Graham said. "You’re going to see more actions in
Africa, not less. You’re going to see more aggression by the United States
toward our enemies, not less. You’re going to have decisions made not in the
White House but out in the field. And I support that entire construct.”Last
month, President Trump became the third president to renew the post-9/11 state
of national emergency, which allows the president to call up the national guard,
hire and fire officers and delay retirements. Those extraordinary powers were
supposed to be temporary. But even after 16 years, there's been no congressional
oversight of the emergency. ---USA Today
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on October
21-22/17
Between Opposing Kurdish Separation and Sidelining Kurds
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/October
21/17
Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani had to test the Iraqi Kurds' chance in fulfilling
their historic dream of separating and establishing an independent state.
Although failure was most likely, why did Barzani do it?
Perhaps if he didn’t, he would have been accused of failing his people. This is
delicate because Barzani was in charge of the military and political joint
effort with Baghdad’s government over the past few years and he cooperated with
the international community to fight terrorist organizations – Kurdish blood was
shed for the sake of this mission. However, it was wrong that he conducted a
referendum, whose outcome is previously known since Kurds wish to accomplish
their historic dream of establishing an independent state – wrong because there
is no single regional state willing to support Barzani, given that the
separation represents a threat to everyone.This applies to Southern Yemen as
well and other plans of separation in the region. To reach that, it is not
enough to have the majority of that region vote in favor of separation but what
is more important is an international recognition of the referendum’s outcome.
For this, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran crossed paths regarding this matter
despite the different policies of these regional states – they opposed
Kurdistan’s separation; or in political terms, the countries announced that they
stand with a unified Iraq. World powers also supported them but quietly.
At the same time, there is an essential message behind failing Iraqi Kurdistan
Region’s separation: local or regional powers will not be allowed to change
internally, not only Kurds but also groups affiliated with Iran in the region
whether in southern and central Iraq or elsewhere. The message is also directed
to countries in the region that are exploiting the current chaos to impose their
small republics, already scattered from wars.
The growing Saudi-Iraqi relations have contributed in correcting the foreign
policy towards these areas that need to be approached rather than disregarded.
Although we are against Iraq’s division in favor of any party, this doesn’t mean
to stand still towards the attempts to weaken the Iraqi-Kurdish component – a
significant one in Iraq and the region. We’re not supposed to accept undermining
the authority of Barzani, a key leader in Iraq and the region as a whole.
There are Kurdish forces that seek to exploit the current crisis against Masoud
and his authority. Turkey, Iran and Baghdad’s government continue their pursuits
to weaken him via adopting sanctions on the territory and its powers – in
addition to threatening it militarily.
True, Kurds mistook in conducting the referendum and assuming that its outcome
would be a green-light to establish an independent state. This step was faced
with an Iraqi and regional veto. Consequently, the separation project was
aborted. Later on, the Kurdish crisis should be resolved not through
confrontation and escalation but reconciliation instead between Erbil and
Baghdad; the project has already been aborted and came to an end.
The attempts of some Iraqi forces to hold accountable Iraqi-Kurdish leaders
serve neither Baghdad nor Haider al-Abadi’s government’s interest – they
actually widen the gap. Let’s remember that the Kurdish supportive stance in
Baghdad contributed in terminating Nouri al-Maliki term when he refused to step
down and wanted to continue as a prime minister with absolute powers for a
lifetime. Kurds are essential to the balance of power in the Iraqi political
system, constructed during the US occupation.
Exploiting the crisis to weaken Kurds and their government is an Iranian project
and it suits armed militias such as the Popular Mobilization Forces even if they
raise the Iraqi flag and present themselves as legit. They remain a militia that
challenges the Iraqi army, the country’s legit forces and threatens Iraq’s
unity.
Until the conflicts on the separation and the threats to marginalize the
capital’s powers come to a close, the solution remains to be the implementation
of promises and commitments that formed the modern state and its constitution.
The Iraqi state is for all Iraqis and not for the majority, the most armed,
religious references, armed tribes, and militias or foreign forces.
Germany: Full Censorship Now Official Courts
Rewrite History
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/October 21/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11205/germany-official-censorship
Germany has made no secret of its desire to see its new law copied by the rest
of the EU.
When employees of social media companies are appointed as the state's private
thought police and given the power to shape the form of current political and
cultural discourse by deciding who shall be allowed to speak and what to say,
and who shall be shut down, free speech becomes nothing more than a fairy tale.
Or is that perhaps the point?
Perhaps fighting "Islamophobia" is now a higher priority than fighting
terrorism?
A new German law introducing state censorship on social media platforms came
into effect on October 1, 2017. The new law requires social media platforms,
such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, to censor their users on behalf of the
German state. Social media companies are obliged to delete or block any online
"criminal offenses" such as libel, slander, defamation or incitement, within 24
hours of receipt of a user complaint -- regardless of whether or the content is
accurate or not. Social media companies receive seven days for more complicated
cases. If they fail to do so, the German government can fine them up to 50
million euros for failing to comply with the law.
This state censorship makes free speech subject to the arbitrary decisions of
corporate entities that are likely to censor more than absolutely necessary,
rather than risk a crushing fine. When employees of social media companies are
appointed as the state's private thought police and given the power to shape the
form of current political and cultural discourse by deciding who shall be
allowed to speak and what to say, and who shall be shut down, free speech
becomes nothing more than a fairy tale. Or is that perhaps the point?
Meanwhile, the district court in Munich recently sentenced a German journalist,
Michael Stürzenberger, to six months in jail for posting on his Facebook page a
historical photo of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, shaking
the hand of a senior Nazi official in Berlin in 1941. The prosecution accused
Stürzenberger of "inciting hatred towards Islam" and "denigrating Islam" by
publishing the photograph. The court found Stürzenberger guilty of
"disseminating the propaganda of anti-constitutional organizations". While the
mutual admiration that once existed between al-Husseini and German Nazis is an
undisputed historical fact, now evidently history is being rewritten by German
courts. Stürzenberger has appealed the verdict.
A German court recently sentenced journalist Michael Stürzenberger (pictured) to
six months in jail for posting on his Facebook page a historical photo of the
Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, shaking the hand of a Nazi
official in Berlin, in 1941. The prosecution accused Stürzenberger of "inciting
hatred towards Islam" and "denigrating Islam" by publishing the photograph.
(Image Source: PI News video screenshot)
Germany has made no secret of its desire to see its new law copied by the rest
of the EU, which already has a similar code of conduct for social media giants.
The EU Justice Commissioner, Vera Jourova, recently said she might be willing to
legislate in the future if the voluntary code of conduct does not produce the
desired results. She said, however, that the voluntary code was working
"relatively" well, with Facebook removing 66.5% of the material they had been
notified was "hateful" between December and May this year. Twitter removed
37.4%, and YouTube took action on 66% of the notifications from users.
While purportedly concerned about online "hate speech," one EU organization, the
EU Parliament, had no qualms about letting its premises be used to host a
convicted Arab terrorist, Leila Khaled, from the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) at a conference about "The Role of Women in the
Palestinian Popular Struggle" in September. (The EU, the US, Canada, and
Australia, have all designated the PFLP a terrorist organization). The
conference was organized by, among others, the Spanish delegation of Izquierda
Unida (United Left) as part of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left bloc
in the European Parliament.
In the UK, Prime Minister Theresa May also said that she will tell internet
firms to tackle extremist content:
"Industry needs to go further and faster in automating the detection and removal
of terrorist content online... ultimately it is not just the terrorists
themselves who we need to defeat. It is the extremist ideologies that fuel them.
It is the ideologies that preach hatred, sow division and undermine our common
humanity. We must be far more robust in identifying these ideologies and
defeating them -- across all parts of our societies."
Prime Minister May keeps insisting that "these ideologies" are spread "across
all parts of our societies" when in reality, virtually all terrorism is Islamic.
Meanwhile, her own Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, has refused to ban the political
wing of Hezbollah. Hezbollah's hate speech, apparently, is perfectly acceptable
to the British authorities. So is that of South African Muslim cleric and hate
preacher Ebrahim Bham, who was once an interpreter to the Taliban's head legal
advisor. He was allowed to enter the UK to speak in the Queen Elizabeth II
Centre, a government building, at the "Palestine Expo" a large Jew-hate event in
London in July. Bham is known for quoting Nazi Propaganda Minister Goebbels and
saying that all Jews and Christians are "agents of Satan". Meanwhile, a scholar
such as Robert Spencer is banned from entering the UK, supposedly on the grounds
that what he reports -- accurately -- is "Islamophobic".
The British Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) also recently stated that online
"hate crimes" will be prosecuted "with the same robust and proactive approach
used with offline offending". The decision to treat online offenses in the same
way as offline offenses is expected to increase hate crime prosecutions, already
at the highest recorded level ever. Prosecutors completed 15,442 hate crime
cases in 2015-16.
Jews in Britain, who have experienced a dramatic increase in anti-Semitism over
the past three years, are frequently on the receiving end of hate crimes.
Nevertheless, their cases constitute less than a fraction of the statistics. In
2016/17, the CPS prosecuted 14,480 hate crimes. According to the Campaign
Against Antisemitism:
"we have yet to see a single year in which more than a couple of dozen
anti-Semitic hate crimes were prosecuted. So far in 2017, we are aware of... 21
prosecutions, in 2016 there were 20, and in 2015 there were just 12. So serious
are the failures by the CPS to take action that we have had to privately
prosecute alleged anti-Semites ourselves and challenge the CPS through judicial
review, the first of which we won in March. Last year only 1.9% of hate crime
against Jews was prosecuted, signaling to police forces that their effort in
investigating hate crimes against Jews might be wasted, and sending the strong
message to anti-Semites that they need not fear the law... Each year since 2014
has been a record-breaking year for anti-Semitic crime: between 2014 and 2016,
anti-Semitic crime surged by 45%".
Almost one in three British Jews have apparently considered leaving Britain due
to anti-Semitism in the past two years.
British authorities seem far more concerned with "Islamophobia" than with the
increase in hate crimes against Jews. In fact, the police has teamed up with
Transport for London authorities to encourage people to report hate crimes
during "National Hate Crime Awareness Week", which runs from October 14-21.
Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police will hold more than 200
community events to "reassure communities that London's public transport system
is safe for everyone". The events are specifically targeted at Muslims; officers
have visited the East London Mosque to encourage reporting hate crimes.
Last year, London mayor Sadiq Khan's Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac)
announced it was spending £1,730,726 of taxpayer money policing speech online
after applying for a grant from the Home Office. Meanwhile, Khan said that he
does not have the funds to monitor the 200 jihadists estimated to be in London,
out of the 400 jihadists who have so far returned to the capital from Syria and
Iraq. (He also implicitly admitted that he does not know the whereabouts of the
jihadists who have returned). When asked by the journalist Piers Morgan why the
mayor could not have them monitored, Khan answered:
"Because the Met Police budget, roughly speaking, 15 percent, 20 percent is
funded by me, the mayor. The rest comes from central government. If the Met
Police is being shrunk and reduced, they've got to prioritize and use their
resources in a sensible, savvy way."
When Morgan asked what could possibly be a bigger priority than, "people coming
back from a Syrian battlefield with intent to harm British citizens", Khan did
not answer. Perhaps because it is hard to admit in public that fighting "Islamophobia"
is now a higher priority than fighting terrorism?
**Judith Bergman is a columnist, lawyer and political analyst.
© 2017 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.
Iranian Aggression Intensifies/UN ambassador Nikki Haley takes
the "outlaw" regime to task.
Joseph Klein/Front
Page/October 21/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=59662
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/268174/iranian-aggression-intensifies-%C2%A0-joseph-klein
Last July, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)
military commander and chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, warned that
"putting the Revolutionary Guard in the terrorist lists with terrorist groups
can be very costly to the United States and its military bases and forces in the
region." IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari said on October 8th that "if the
news is correct about the stupidity of the American government in considering
the Revolutionary Guards a terrorist group, then the Revolutionary Guards will
consider the American army to be like Islamic State all around the world." The
next day the Iranian regime warned of a "crushing" response if the United States
were to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. President Trump has
called the Iranian regime's bluff with his announcement last week that he would
do just that.
Designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization and imposing new sanctions for
its aggressive actions in the region is not a restoration of the sanctions
lifted by the Obama administration as part of its disastrous nuclear deal with
Iran. If Iran insists it can do what it wants militarily in terms of missile
launches, support of terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and arms
transfers without violating the nuclear deal, then the United States can
certainly act to curb such activities through financial pressure. The U.S. can
impose sanctions against the Iranian regime's principal instrument for
projecting aggressive, destabilizing force outside of its borders without
violating the nuclear deal. The Iranian regime does not see it that way,
however.
With the lifting of the nuclear-related sanctions making available billions of
dollars to Iran's leaders to further finance the IRGC's exploits in Iraq, Syria,
Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere, the regime is furious that the Trump
administration is tightening the financial screws again, even if for reasons not
directly related to Iran's compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal. Thus,
it is threatening U.S. forces and bases in the region. A couple of seemingly
unrelated events this past week point to Iran's positioning itself for more
aggressive military actions that could place U.S. forces in harm's way.
On Tuesday, Major General Bagheri landed in Damascus for talks with Syrian
President Bashar Assad and senior Syrian officials, including the defense
minister and the chief of staff of the Syrian armed forces. Bagheri is quoted as
saying that his visit's purpose was to "put a joint strategy on continuing
co-ordination and co-operation at the military level." Some experts on Iran
believe that Bagheri's visit to Damascus at this time is intended to reinforce a
message that Iran will continue to supply weaponry to Syria and to reinforce the
presence of its terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Syria. This will not only serve to
bolster the Assad regime, but it also will strengthen Iran's ability to follow
through on its threats to the U.S. and its allies, principally Israel.
Meanwhile, following the departure of the Kurds from Kirkuk, Iraq earlier this
week, the IRGC's operational Al Qods arm reportedly established a command center
and five bases there. According to Debkafile, this constitutes "the first
military facility Iran has ever established openly in Iraq." The Kirkuk region
holds 45 percent of Iraqi's oil. The Iraqi branch of Iran's terrorist proxy
Hezbollah has vowed that once ISIS is defeated it will start killing Americans,
as it has done before.
It is against this backdrop that U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki
Haley used her entire speech to the UN Security Council on Wednesday to denounce
the Iranian regime on multiple grounds. The session was supposed to be devoted
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but Ambassador Haley departed from the
monthly ritual during which Israel is normally singled out for criticism by
other Council members. She went after Iran instead. She explained why the Trump
administration decided to take "a comprehensive approach to confronting the
Iranian regime," which does not give the regime a get out of jail free card even
if it is in technical compliance with the loophole-ridden nuclear deal agreed to
by the Obama administration.
"We can't talk about stability in the Middle East without talking about Iran,"
Ambassador Haley said. "That's because nearly every threat to peace and security
in the Middle East is connected to Iran's outlaw behavior. The United States has
now embarked on a course that attempts to address all aspects of Iran's
destructive conduct, not just one aspect. It's critical that the international
community do the same. Judging Iran by the narrow confines of the nuclear deal
misses the true nature of the threat. Iran must be judged in totality of its
aggressive, destabilizing, and unlawful behavior. To do otherwise would be
foolish."
Ambassador Haley accused the Iranian regime of continuing to "play" the Security
Council. "Iran hides behind its assertion of technical compliance with the
nuclear deal while it brazenly violates the other limits on its behavior. And we
have allowed them to get away with it. This must stop."
Ambassador Haley proceeded to list various violations by the Iranian regime of
Security Council resolutions pertaining to the transfer of conventional weapons
from Iran and the arming of terrorist groups, including the Houthi rebels in
Yemen and Hezbollah. She also pointed to what she called the Iranian regime's
"most threatening act" – its launch of ballistic missiles capable of carrying
nuclear weapons. "When a rogue regime starts down the path of ballistic
missiles, it tells us that we will soon have another North Korea on our hands,"
Ambassador Haley said. "If it is wrong for North Korea to do this, why doesn't
that same mentality apply to Iran? "
As for the Iran's supposed technical compliance with its commitments under the
nuclear deal itself, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),
the UN's international inspectors are not able to visit Iran's military sites.
Past work on nuclear explosive trigger devices appears to have taken place at
one or more such sites in the past. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Director General Yukiya Amano admitted last month that when it comes to the
IAEA's capacity to check whether Iran was conducting work on a nuclear explosive
device, his agency's "tools are limited." The Iranian regime has also attempted
to skirt the restrictions in the JCPOA on its procurement of materials,
equipment, goods and technology related to Iran's nuclear activities. The
Heritage Foundation noted in its recent report on the JCPOA, for example, that
Iran was "caught red-handed trying to purchase nuclear technology and restricted
ballistic missile technology from German companies."
U.S. intelligence had discovered North Korea's transfer of missile parts to Iran
at the very same time that Iran was negotiating the nuclear deal, in clear
violation of UN Security Council resolutions then in effect. The Obama
administration chose to look the other way. Does anybody with a modicum of sense
really believe that such collaboration between the two rogue nations is not
going on today? Iran is flush with cash, thanks to the JCPOA. It wants to build
out its missile and nuclear enrichment capabilities. In addition to covert
transfers of materials and technology to Iran in violation of the nuclear deal,
the JCPOA may provide a loophole for Iran to exploit in outsourcing some of the
development work to North Korea for hard currency, which North Korea desperately
needs. They are a perfect match for each other.
Proponents of the JCPOA argue that exiting the nuclear deal unless it is changed
to the Trump administration's satisfaction would undermine U.S. credibility with
North Korea and thereby kill any chance of negotiations to resolve the crisis
caused by North Korea's continued testing of sophisticated nuclear arms and
ballistic missiles. "If we want to talk to North Korea now, the possible end for
the nuclear deal with Iran would jeopardize the credibility of such treaties,"
Reuters quoted German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel as saying. Germany is one
of the parties to the JCPOA. Other European allies have voiced similar concerns.
So have Obama's former Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry.
This argument is absurd on its face. The whole point is to prevent Iran from
becoming the next North Korea, not to kick the can down the road as usual. North
Korea's aggressive pursuit of nuclear weapons and of intercontinental ballistic
missiles equipped with nuclear warheads proves that weak agreements full of
front-loaded goodies rewarding rogue regimes for elusive promises are worthless.
How Israel misread Lebanon, failed Ron
Arad and helped Hezbollah rise to power
Haaretz/By Clinton Bailey |
Nov. 28, 2016
Lebanese Shi'ites welcomed Israel's invasion with flowers. But we dismissed any
possible alliance with them, a mistake of critical proportions.
On Tuesday, the Israel Democracy Institute will hold a symposium called
“Commemorating 30 years since the capture of Ron Arad,” which will deal with the
problem of freeing captured Israeli soldiers. Naturally, the discussion will
focus on the tactical aspects, as did Amos Harel’s article “The Ron Arad file:
Israel’s three major missed opportunities to recover MIA aviator.”The article,
dealing with the fate of the Israel Air Force navigator captured by Shi’ite
militiamen when his plane crashed in southern Lebanon 30 years ago, tries to
explain why Israel was unable to find out where Arad was being held, get him
back and even find out whether he was dead or alive. Harel dealt with these
three failures on the tactical level, pointing to immediate events that
supposedly thwarted Israeli efforts: Arad’s falling into the hands of Mustafa
Dirani, who belonged to an extreme wing of the Shi’ite Amal movement, demands
made by Amal for his release and our unwillingness to declare Arad dead until
2005, despite evidence to the contrary from the late 1980s. However, Arad’s
disappearance and death in captivity did not result from tactical mishaps, but
from a broader failure on the strategic level. The strategic failure was in our
flawed understanding of the politics of southern
Lebanon; specifically, our underestimating the importance of the Shi’ites of the
south and their main movement, Amal. This failure did not occur after Arad’s
plane crashed, but during the three years between our invasion of Lebanon in
1982 and our withdrawal, in 1985, to the pre-war security zone
that ran along Israel’s northern border. This failure left us with no
significant contacts outside the security zone who might have been able to aid
in Arad's return in the critical first few weeks of his captivity. When planning
the first Lebanon war, Israel's Military Intelligence and the Mossad focused
solely on our Christian allies in Lebanon, overlooking the content.code.value
21/10/2017 Haaretz.Com
Shi’ites, who constituted 80 percent of the population between our border and
Sidon, and Amal, which had been fighting the PLO in southern Lebanon on its own.
Even after the Shi’ites welcomed our invasion with flowers (in the hope that we
would remove the PLO from the south) and Amal helped in
locating the whereabouts of PLO leaders and weapons caches, and kept the peace
with the IDF for two entire years, Israel dismissed the possibility of an
alliance with them, however informal, continuing to consider only the
Christians. In keeping with this approach, the IDF was given very few directives
on how
to strengthen our contacts with the Shi’ites and Amal, leading to a neglect of
their sensibilities, needs and interests. Our actions (for instance, Israeli
military vehicles interrupting the sacred Shi'ite Ashura procession in Nabatiyeh)
signaled to the Shi'ites they weren't high on our agenda. Thus, by the time we
withdrew to the security zone in 1985, Israel’s contacts were completely gone.
On the day following the withdrawal, the senior Shin Bet security service
representative in southern Lebanon called to alert me (even though I was no
longer serving) of a possible phone call I might receive from Amal. He related
that on the previous day he had parted from the leaders of Amal in Tyre and
raised the possibility of future contact, offering them various numbers to call.
They declined to record them, saying, “If we need anything, we’ll call Dr.
Bailey.” The call never came. Thus, when Arad fell captive 16 months later,
there was no one to contact. This was particularly regrettable, as when his
plane crashed he was held for two weeks by a regional Amal leader closely
related to a main Israeli contact, the Amal commander of southern Lebanon,
Mohammed Ghaddar. The friendly relations with Ghaddar had ended only in
1984, after an overly high profile visit by then Defense Minister Moshe
Arens which attracted the attention and reprobation of Amal leader Nabih Berri.
Our strategic underestimation of Amal’s role in the south led not only to the
specific tragedy of Ron Arad, but also to the rise of Hezbollah and the hundreds
of lives Israel lost fighting it in Lebanon. Our policy didn’t change even when
Amal fought a bitter war with Hezbollah in 1987 and 1988 for predominance among
the Shi’ites, and Israel refused to furnish it with supplies. The result was
Hezbollah’s emergence as the leading faction in Lebanese politics and a lasting
threat to Israel.
21/10/2017 Haaretz.Com/ https://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page/.premium-1.755621?trailingPath=2.169%2C2.216%2C2.218%2C
3/3
**-Dr. Clinton Bailey served as a liaison to the Amal movement and Advisor on
Shi'ite Affairs in Israel's Ministry of Defense.
Exposing mainstream media: America’s Iraq antics in North Korea
Ramzy Baroud/Al Arabiya/October
21/17
Propaganda is afoot. The US mainstream media is back to its old familiar self,
pursuing the same pattern of war propaganda it used against Washington's enemies
in the past. Its attitude towards the conflict with North Korea over its nuclear
weapons program mirrors its behavior during the US-manufactured crisis that led
to the Iraq war in 2003.
War propaganda replayed
Manufacturing consent among US citizens, most of whom are unable to understand
the complexity of the situation, or even locate North Korea on a world map, has
become something of a fixed science. Edward Barneys, who injected the art of
propaganda through the veins of US political and media establishment in the
early and mid-20th century, would have been proud of the perfect harmony between
journalists, government officials and military men in drumming up a case for
war.
Menacing headlines, the likes of, "Congress warned North Korean EMP attack would
kill '90% of all Americans'," are the recycling of old headlines of Iraqi
threats during previous wars, including such false reports as Iraqi soldiers
tearing babies from hospital incubators and killing them during the first Iraqi
war in 1990-91.
'Expert' witnesses are being flaunted and rushed before TV cameras, Congress
committees and townhall meetings, all parroting sinister warnings of a world
that is about to collapse if President Donald Trump does nothing to remedy the
terrifying situation.
Despite the use of complex language that ordinary US citizens cannot fully
fathom, they can feel the dread in its palpable meaning written on the front
pages of newspapers and magazine across the country:
"The Trump administration has no plan for dealing with a North Korean
electromagnetic pulse weapons attack," decried Foreign Policy.
North Korea is not Iraq - the media tricks of the past will not work anymore
North Korean defectors gained celebrity status, although temporarily, each
dishing out the horror of living in that supposedly unlivable place where
oppressed people are praying for US liberators.
"'The lifestyle is brutal': North Korean defectors take risky journeys out and
fear for their family left behind," bemoaned a CBS headline.
The assumption is that these defectors are now, of course, safe - that they have
reached the land of democracy and a perfect human rights record. The fact that
Black people are shot by police, often at will, that Muslims are targeted and
often turned back at border crossings, that the US human rights records in every
war it has started is horrifying at best, are all seemingly frivolous facts.
Iraqi defectors too were used and later discarded when their usefulness ran out.
These were the 'native informants' as late Edward Said pithily dubbed them.
In the case of the Iraq war in 2003, they were Ahmad Chalabis and Fouad Ajamis
among scores of others. The latter was often hailed by George W. Bush and his
Vice President Dick Cheney as an uncontested academic and moral authority.
When Iraq was destroyed, they hovered around its corpse seeking position,
contracts and prestige. Likewise, the North Korean experience is also attracting
its own salesmen, peddlers, and native informants.
When Trump, using the world's highest legal platform, the United Nations,
threatened to “totally destroy North Korea”, his ghastly statement registered
among US leading media outlets as mere words of caution. His was a
matter-of-fact-statement, but still not deserving of complete and unconditional
disavowal.
Few are pointing to the blatant contradictions in the US discourse.
Recently in Seoul, US Deputy Secretary of State, John Sullivan, said that
"Washington continues to view diplomacy as the primary means for solving the
crisis," but added that the “allies” must be prepared for “any eventuality.”
Sullivan’s statement is oblivious to the fact that Trump himself had tweeted,
not long ago, that his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson “is wasting his time,”
trying to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
But what kind of diplomacy is Tillerson actually pursuing? The country’s top
diplomat told CNN on October 18 that, "diplomatic efforts will continue until
the first bomb drops."
But if a Trump war in North Korea takes place, what would it look like?
US Newsweek magazine took on this very disturbing question, only to provide
equally worrying answers.
"If combat broke out between the two countries, American commanders in the
Pacific would very quickly exhaust their stockpiles of smart bombs and missiles,
possibly within a week," military sources revealed.
It will take a year for the US military to replenish their stockpile, thus
leaving them with the option of "dropping crude gravity bombs on their targets,
guaranteeing a longer and bloodier conflict for both sides."
One million people are likely to die if a conventional war breaks out.
Hypocrisy
Yet, the same Newsweek edition continued to build a case for war.
“NORTH KOREA'S KIM JONG UN IS OFFICIALLY OBSESSED WITH MISSILES,” announced one
of its headlines - the same obsessions, perhaps that had reportedly consumed
Saddam Hussein and his ‘weapons of mass destruction’. Except, of course, the
Iraqi leader had no such weapons in the first place. Over a million Iraqis were
killed because of lies and war propaganda that lasted for years prior to the
invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Watching the Iraqi leader dangling from a rope and the Libya leader, Muammar
Qaddafi, molested and murdered, Kim Jong-Un’s ‘obsession’ with missiles may in
that context sound rational.
But if one is truly to examine the evidence of who is truly obsessed with lethal
weapons, one should take a trip to Washington State.
Not too far away from Seattle, Washington, there are eight ballistic-missile
submarines carrying the world’s largest shipments of nuclear weapons.
The 560-foot-long black submarines are docked at the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor,
hauling what is described by Rick Anderson in a recent Los Angeles Times article
as, "the largest concentration of deployed nuclear weapons in the US".
“If it were a sovereign nation,” Anderson wrote, quoting government estimates,
“Washington State would be the third-largest nuclear-weapons power in the
world”.
Many are haunted by this reality, especially whenever a nuclear crisis between
the US and North Korea flares up, such as the one which started late July. At
the time, Trump threatened Pyongyang with "fire and fury like the world has
never seen before".
Visiting Kitsap-Bangor in early August, US Defense Secretary, James N. Mattis,
toured the USS Kentucky and declared that the submarine is ready for action, if
needed.
The nuclear load that the USS Kentucky alone carries equals 1,400 bombs, the
size of which the US dropped on and which subsequently destroyed Hiroshima,
Japan, in 1945.
North Korea's saber-rattling in recent months - which are a repeat of previous
episodes such as in April of this year and twice last year - should be cause for
alarm. But far scarier is the fact that North Korea's entire nuclear stockpiles
consist of up to 60 nuclear weapons, compared to 6,970 owned by the US, out of
which 1,750 are operational.
To place these numbers in a global perspective, there are an estimated 15,000
nuclear weapons, worldwide.
While the North Koreans require a sixth successful test to put a nuclear warhead
on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), the US had conducted 1,030 such
nuclear tests, starting in July 1945.
Context, please
US media conveniently overlook history as it is rarely in the interests of
Washington. They often refer to North Korea as a 'highly secretive nation'. Such
references give pundits and politicians an uncontested platform to make whatever
assumptions suit them.
But the legacy of the Korean War (1950-53), which divided Korea and its peoples
is hardly a secret. An estimated 4 million people were killed in that most
savage war, including 2 million Korean civilians.
The US and its allies fought that war under the flag of the nascent United
Nations. It is not very difficult to imagine why North Koreans detest the US,
distrust US allies and loathe the UN and its repeated sanctions, especially as
the country often suffers from food insecurity - among other problems.
However, as long as mainstream media continue to willingly follow the script as
demonstrated in their shameful depiction of the Iraq war – which has
destabilized the Middle East to this day – nothing good will come of their
coverage.
They also need to understand that times have changed, that the US
single-handedly starting and ending wars will no longer be possible, neither in
the Middle East nor the Pacific.
If a war takes place, the US will not have the kind of strong economy that will
sustain their war efforts; China will not remain silent for long, and the US
risks losing whatever little political capital they still possess in a region
that they once fully controlled, but which is now drifting into the Chinese
domain of influence.
North Korea is not Iraq - the media tricks of the past will not work anymore and
Trump’s angry diplomacy will not change the situation in US favor, no matter how
frequently he tweets.
Is Egypt’s religious tourism industry ready for
Christian pilgrimages?
Sonia Farid Special to Al Arabiya/October 21/2017
Tourism in Egypt has been hit by successive blows that have driven several
countries to warn their citizens of traveling there and have even led some,
including Russia, to take strict measures towards the implementation of such
warnings.
Pope Francis’s visit to Cairo in April, which went without incident, unlike many
anticipated, inspired a new way out of the impasse.
Aside from beaches and historic landmarks, religious tourism would attract a
different crowd and that was how the revival plan started to take shape.
The most significant step taken towards making this plan materialize was the
flying of the Egyptian minister of tourism to Rome where he got the pope’s
official blessing for the Holy Family’s trip to Egypt, thus putting the 25 sites
by the which the family—Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, and Joseph—passed on the
global Christian pilgrimage map.
While this development seems to herald a new era in Egyptian tourism, it still
brings back the same old concerns about general safety together with new ones
about receiving large numbers of Christians in a country that is not exactly
devoid of sectarian tension.
Ishak Ibrahim, head of the Religious Freedom Unit at the Egyptian Initiative for
Personal Rights, argued that it is not possible to promote Christian pilgrimage
in a country where Christians are marginalized. “We can’t be that detached from
reality and that is why promoting Christian pilgrimage has to be accompanied by
serious steps towards acknowledging Christian presence,” he said.
Ibrahim cited the example of text books that do not focus at all on Coptic
history or the role of Copts in Egyptian civilization which, in turn, does not
promote cultural diversity. “Pilgrims are not going to visit sites in a country
whose citizens have no respect for their religion,” he added. Former deacon at
the Coptic Orthodox Church Beshoy Sami agreed with Ibrahim and said that dealing
with sectarian sentiments among Egyptians is the only ways Christian pilgrimage
can succeed in Egypt. “The state has to stop solving Muslim-Christian clashes
customary reconciliation sessions rather than the law and the people need to
stop viewing Christians as inferior,” he said. “Some countries are not even
aware that there are Christians in Egypt.”
Priest murder
Melbourne-based Coptic journalist Ashraf Helmi expected the recent murder in
Cairo of Egyptian priest Samaan Shehata to have a negative impact on Christian
pilgrimage trips, especially that the state did not handle the situation in the
right way and only referred to the murderer as mentally ill. “Added to this is
the number of religious edicts from extremist preachers who incite people
against Christians and teach them intolerance,” he said in a statement. Helmi
warned that Shehata’s murder might, in fact, lead many European countries to ask
their citizens not to go to Egypt in general and for religious trips in
particular.
In fact, journalist Mayada Seif sees the attack on Shehata as a reaction to
announcement of starting Christian pilgrimage to Egypt. “It is like a message to
the world that Christians who come to Egypt will be killed because Egypt is only
for Muslims,” she wrote.
Journalist Osama Salama notes that the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism expects to
receive two to three million Christian pilgrims annually and wonders how
prepared the state is for such numbers. “The minister of tourism said a film
will be made about the holy sites in Egypt to be marketed across the world and
pamphlets in many languages are to be printed about those sites. But then what?
Is this enough?” he wrote. Salama listed a number of problems that might make
pilgrimage trips a failure. “Most of the sites in the journey of the Holy Family
are in a deplorable state and need a lot of maintenance.
Time for change
The tree in whose shadow Virgin Mary sat in Cairo, for example, is totally
neglected and the area surrounding it is filthy.” Salama cited other issues such
as lack of good accommodation in most of the governorates where the sites are
located as well the unpaved roads leading to them, which leads to a lot of
accidents. “As for trains going to these areas, they are notorious for never
leaving or arriving on time in addition to occasional breakdowns and accidents.”
For Salama, it is also not wise to start receiving pilgrims without training a
team of tour guides that can accompany them and who should be knowledgeable
about this historical era. “Most guides we have are trained in ancient Egyptian
history and those won’t be fit for such a job.”
Economic expert Medhat Nafea is more optimistic for he does not believe that
lack of hotels is an obstacle since it is a different type of tourism. “The
spiritual nature of pilgrimages allows for a simple and rather primitive
atmosphere where luxury accommodation is not needed,” he wrote.
While admitting that turmoil in North Sinai can be a problem, Nafea argues that
this is bound to change soon. “With the Palestinian reconciliation and the
rapprochement with Hamas, normalcy is expected to be gradually restored to
Sinai, which makes it safe for pilgrims to visit sits of the Holy Family journey
there.”Nafea noted that Egypt does get tourists who visit holy sites, but they
are few and are not part of a full pilgrimage program. “Most of them come from
Jerusalem while many are already in Sinai for recreational purposes and that is
why it is hard to know their exact number. They do not exceed a few hundreds in
all cases.”