JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
2020 AMERICAN ELECTION RESULTS BY STATE TRUMP VS LOSER LIBERAL SLEEPY (SLOPPY JOE) BIDEN.
ON D-74 OF THE TRUMP WIN OF THE PRESIDENCY. THU JAN 14, 21.
Key dates for the Electoral College and what they mean-AEIdeas-DECEMBER 14,20
What are the key dates for the workings of the Electoral College?
November 3 — Election Day
Election Day is November 3. We may or may not know the winner of the presidential contest on election night, but we certainly will not have a final tally and certified results until weeks later. States vary widely in the time they allot for certifying their election results. Some may give a final certification the week after Election Day. Others may take over 30 days. And there is the possibility of recounts and judicial contests of elections which could extend the time to determine an official winner of a state.
Ballots are passed out to 16 Electors on the Michigan Senate floor for them to cast their formal votes for the president and vice president of the United States in Lansing, Michigan, U.S., December 19, 2016. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
December 8 — Safe Harbor
December 14 — The meeting of the Electors
Two key dates loom in December. On December 14, presidential electors must have been selected by the states and will meet as a group in their states to cast electoral votes for president and vice president. But December 8 is also a significant date, the so-called “safe harbor” date. The Electoral Count Act sets this date as an important date for states to make their official selection of electors, as those electoral votes will be given greater protection from challenge when Congress counts the electoral votes in January. The Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore assigned great significance to this date in Bush v. Gore.
January 3 — The convening of the new Congress
January 6 — Congress counts the votes
January 20 — Inauguration Day. The new presidential term begins at noon.
On January 3rd, the new Congress will take office, and on January 6th it will meet to count the electoral votes and declare a president- and vice president-elect. On January 20th at noon, the current presidential term will end and the next one will begin.This is excerpted from the new fourth edition of After the People Vote, edited by John Fortier, senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a member of AEI’s Election Watch team.John C. Fortier-AEI Adjunct Scholar-SENOIRFELLOWKarlyn Bowman-Senior Fellow
THE HITLER MEDIA CNN AND ALL THE DEMOLIBNUTS AND MORE MEDIA ARE HAVING A HAY DAY WITH THIS FAKE TRUMP IMPEACHMENT. NOW THERE SAYING TODAY TRUMP WILL BE GIVING LOTS OF PARDONS OUT TODAY TO DISTRACT FROM THE 2ND FAKE IMPEACHMENT AGAINST TRUMP. ITS 9.09AM-AND THIS RIOT BY A FEW HUNDRED FAKE LEFTWING TRUMP SUPPORTERS. WAS A TOTAL PLANNED SETUP BY THE DNC-DEMOLIBNUTS IN GOVERNMENT-OBAMAS AND CLINTONS I BELIEVE TO DESTROY TRUMP AGAIN. IT WOULD MAKE SENSE THAT AN EX LIB ARMY LADY ASHLI IT SOUNDED LIKE WAS GIVING DETAILS OF WERE TO GO ONCE THE LIB RIOTERS GOT INSIDE THE CAPITAL. SHE WAS GIVING SPECIFIC DETAILS WERE TO GO. SO THIS DEFINATELY WAS A DEMOLIBNUT INSIDE JOB. SHE SAID GO HERE-THEN DOWN THERE ETC. THIS WAS A SETUP BY THE LIBDEMONUTS TO MAKE THE PEACEFUL TRUMP PROTESTERS AND TRUMP LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF DOMESTIC EXTREMIST TERRORISTS. BECAUSE THATS EXACTLY WHATS BEEN GOING ON BY THE HITLER PROPAGANDA DEMOLIBNUTS MEDIA. EVER SINCE LAST WEDNESDAY. NOW THE LEFT NUT JOBS ARE SAYING THE FAKE SO CALLED DOMESTIC EXTREMIST TERRORISTS ARE GOING TO HIT ALL 50 CAPITALS IN AMERICA FROM JAN 16-20, 2021. IF THIS WAS A LEGIT THREAT-THEY WOULD BE ROUNDING UP ALL THE SETUP DEMOLIBNUT RIOTERS THAT ARE PAID RIOTERS BY THE DNC AND JAIL THEM ALL BY THE 16TH IN 2 DAYS. I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW IF ANY WERE KEPT IN JAIL. OR ALL OUT WAITING FOR A COURT DATE. IF THERE ALL OUT. THEY WERE DEFINATELY PAID PROTESTERS SET FREE TO DO SETUPS AT OTHER CAPITALS. LIKE THE FBI AND OTHER SECURITY SERVICES CLAIM. TO GRAB THE FREE SPEECH OF CITIZENS AND TRUMP. AND PROBABLY SO THE DEMOLIBNUTS IN POWER ON THE 20TH CAN CALL FOR AN AMERICA WIDE GUN BAN. AND GIVE TOTAL CONTROL OF AMERICA OVER TO THE NEW WORLD ORDER-ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT CROWD. AND SINCE THE BIBLE SAYS THE EUROPIAN UNION WILL BE IN CONTROL OF THE WORLDS ECONOMIES THREW TRADE BLOCS. YOU CAN LOOK FOR AMERICA AND ALL THE WORLDS STATES TO JOIN THE EU BY JOINING INTO TRADE BLOCS WITH THE EU. PROBABLY 10 MAIN EU COUNTRIES WILL CONTROL THE 7 CONTINENTS THREW THESE ASSOCIATE WORLD TRADE BLOCS. EITHER THERE WILL BE A WORLD STOCK MARKET CRASH AFTER THE EU HAS ASSOCIATE TRADE BLOCKS WITH EVERY COUNTRY ON EARTH. AND THE EU WILL COMMAND ALL IN THE COUNTRYS ON EARTH MUST HAVE A MICROCHIP IMPLANTED UNDER THEIR SKIN. SO THE EU CAN KEEP TRACK OF ALL PEOPLES TRANSACTIONS. AND ALL THEIR TRADE WITH THAT STATE. AND THE EU CAN BE THE LEADER TO DISTRIBUTE CASH TO NATURAL DISASTER AREAS. BY FORCING ALL THER ASSOCIATE MEMBERS ON EARTH THREW SOCIALIST BELIEFS. TAKE FROM COUNTRIES-GIVE TO DISASTERS-COVID-19 VACCINES ETC. AND IF YOU WANNA LEAVE THIS DICTATORIAL SOCIALIST LEADER. YOU WILL BE THREATENED WITH SANCTIONS-NO FOOD ETC. OR THREATS THAT THE EUS ARMY WILL CONTROL THAT STATE BY MARTIAL LAW. SAME WITH IF YOU WOULD NOT ACCEPT THE EUS MICROCHIP IMPLANT IN YOUR RIGHT HAND OR FOREHEAD. YOU AS A SINGLE CITIZEN WOULD BE HUNTED DOWN BY THE EU MUSLIM ARMY AND BEHEADED ON THE SPOT. WHEN FOUND. YOU EITHER GO BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE EU. OR YOUR BEHEADED FOR YOUR CHRISTIAN BELIEFS - OR EXTREMIST BELIEFS AGAINST THE EU DICTATOR OR HIS SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE HITLER PROPAGANDA MEDIA LEAD BY CNN ARE SAYING RIGHT NOW. THEIR SAYING THE PROTESTERS ARE EXTREMISTS WHO SAY THE SAME STUFF DONALD J TRUMP SAYS. WE CAN SEE WE MUST BE CLOSE TO THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD. AND THE EARTH DEBUT OF THE FUTURE EUROPIAN UNION WORLD DICTATOR. WHO COMES IN PEACEFULLY LIKE THE DEMOLIBNUTS CLAIM THEY ARE NOW. SIGNS A 7 YEAR PEACE TREATY WITH ISRAEL-ARABS AND MANY ISRAEL HATERS. THERES PEACE FOR 3 1/2 YRS. THEN HE TURNS ON THE ISRAELS WHO THINK HES THEIR MESSIAH FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YRS. AND HE KILLS MOSES AND ELIJAH WHOS BEEN PREACHING FOR 3 1/2 YRS. THEY COME BACK TO LIFE AFTER 3 1/2 DAYS. AND ARE RAPTURED TO HEAVEN. I BELIEVE A JEWISH TERRORIST WILL THEN MURDER THE EU LEADER FOR MURDERING MOSES AND ELIJAH. AND THE EU LEADER AFTER 3 DAYS-AFTER A FALSE RESURRECTION. WILL COME BACK TO LIFE SATANICALLY INDUCED BY SATAN. THEN THE EU LEADER WILL STOP THE ANIMAL SACRIFICES BEING DONE IN THE REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS. HE WILL SET UP HIS THRONE IN THAT 3RD TEMPLE. AND CLAIM SINCE HE WAS RESURRECTED TO LIFE LIKE JESUS WAS. HE IS A REINCARNATION OF JESUS AND HE IS THE GOD OF THE WHOLE EARTH NOW. THE WHOLE EARTH WILL ACCEPT HIM AS GOD NOW HE SAYS. OR YOU ALSO WILL BE BEHEADED. HE THEN GOES AFTER THE ISRAELIS TO PULL ANOTHER HITLER OUT OF THE HAT. HE TRYS TO DESTROY THE ISRAELIS WITH A TSUNAMI. BUT GOD CAUSES AN EARTHQUAKE TO OCCURR SO THE GROUND BREAKS OPEN AND SWALLOWS UP ALL THE TSUNAMI FLOOD. THEN 1/2 OF THE ISRAELIS IN ISRAEL ARE QUICKLY AIR LIFTED BY ALLIES AND ISRAEL AIR COMPANIES. TO PETRA JORDAN WERE THEY WILL BE PROTECTED BY THE IDF FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD. AND THE LEADER OF THE EU NOW BECOMES THE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT LEADER OF THE WHOLE EARTH. AND FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YRS OF THE 7 YR PERIOD. HE WILL LEAD IN WARS AND NUKE ALL ENEMIES THAT COME AGAINST HIM. AND AT THE END OF THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD. A TOTAL OF 4 BILLION OR HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION - WILL BE KILLED OFF BY NUKE WARS OR GODS 21 JUDGEMENTS THAT HAVE HIT THE WHOLE EARTH. TO TEACH ALL -JESUS IS THE ISRAELIS MESSIAH. AND JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO BE SAVED-NO OTHER. AND EVERY WORD OF THE BIBLE IS TRUE.
Hopes for global vaccine ‘green passport’ said dampened as some EU states object-Germany, Austria, Belgium, others reportedly fear document will create indirect obligation to get inoculated; Israel said set to expand shots to those aged 45+, as cases stay high-By TOI staff-JAN 14,21-Today, 11:54 am
Israeli hopes for an international “green passport” that will enable those vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel the globe without quarantine restrictions have been dampened due to objections voiced by several major countries, according to a report Wednesday.The planned green passports were seen as a mean of granting some benefits to Israelis who have received their second vaccine doses, such as permission to attend cultural and other public events. There have been hopes that a similar strategy would be adopted on a global level, restoring the ability to travel abroad to those who have been inoculated.But according to Channel 12 news, prospects for such an international document are in doubt after several European states voiced fears in talks held by the World Health Organization (WHO) that it would indirectly force people to get vaccinated and overly limit individual rights.The report said the objections were being led by Germany, Austria and Belgium. It cited Health Ministry Deputy Director-General Itamar Grotto as expecting more countries to express doubts in the coming days about the green passport plan.Still, the document is going ahead at least on a national level, with Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen telling the Kan public broadcaster Thursday that it will be rolled out at the end of the month.He added that more than 3 million Israelis would receive both vaccine shots by the end of February and be able to return to something close to normal life.Health Ministry figures published Thursday morning said there were 9,388 cases confirmed Wednesday, similar to recent days, with 7.9 percent of tests coming back positive.The total number of cases since the pandemic began grew to 522,974, including 78,826 active cases — an all-time high. Of them, 1,063 were in serious condition, including 305 in critical condition and 273 on ventilators.The death toll reached 3,826, registering an alarming 56 deaths in 24 hours.According to the data, 1,934,685 Israelis have received their first vaccine shots, including more than 80% of all citizens aged 70 and up. A second dose was administered to 104,346 people.Israel has seen a shortage of vaccines in recent days, but Pfizer has stepped up deliveries once again and is expected to send hundreds of thousands of doses a week. Another half a million doses are expected to arrive in Israel early next week.After all Israelis over the age of 50 became eligible to get inoculated, Army Radio reported Thursday that that could be expanded to anyone aged 45 and up as early as this coming Sunday.Thursday night will mark one week since Israel entered a tightened lockdown that is scheduled to last until January 21, although officials have repeatedly said the rules will likely extend beyond that date.Coronavirus czar Nachman Ash expressed optimism despite the high infection numbers, estimating that the current tightened lockdown could be extended for just a week and be over as early as January 28.Thanks to much of the at-risk population becoming immunized, and if serious cases start going down, measures could be eased even if confirmed cases remain high, Ash told the Ynet news site on Thursday.Health Ministry officials believe virus morbidity in the third wave sweeping the country has peaked and is set to decline, and are weighing loosening the current lockdown restrictions, a separate report said Wednesday.Netanyahu will meet with Health Ministry officials on Thursday to discuss whether to extend the restrictions. Some health officials support loosening the rules if there is a decline in the number of serious cases, Channel 12 News reported.Netanyahu’s discussions on Thursday will also include talks on the green passport plan.Channel 13 News reported on Wednesday Health Ministry guidelines for easing the lockdown: In the first stage, kindergartens and grades 1-4 and 11-12 will partially reopen, as will street-front stores, the report said. In the second stage, grades 5-10 will resume studies and green passport holders will be given certain freedoms, such as permission to attend cultural events. In the third stage, restaurants and cafes will reopen.
Twitter chief backs need for Trump ban, but says it sets ‘dangerous’ precedent-Jack Dorsey says censorship has serious ramifications and blames drastic step on ‘a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation’-By AFP-JAN 14,21-Today, 6:20 am
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter chief Jack Dorsey backed the messaging platform’s ban of US President Donald Trump, but said Wednesday it sets a “dangerous” precedent and represents a failure to promote healthy conversation on the social network.“Having to ban an account has real and significant ramifications,” Dorsey said in a string of tweets inviting feedback from users.“While there are clear and obvious exceptions, I feel a ban is a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation.”Trump’s access to social media platforms he has used as a megaphone during his presidency has been largely cut off since a violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington last week.Operators say the embittered leader could use his accounts to foment more unrest in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.Late last week Twitter shut down Trump’s account, booting him from the global platform he has fervently used throughout his term in office to make proclamations, accusations and spread misinformation.Twitter’s decision to permanently suspend Trump is considered overdue by critics who argue he has gotten away with abuses, but has inflamed members of the far right who say it stifles free speech.Twitter said in a blog post explaining its decision that after close review of the president’s recent tweets it had “permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”Twitter also blocked efforts by Trump to sidestep the ban when he posted tweets from the official presidential account @POTUS and the @TeamTrump campaign account.“We understand the desire to permanently suspend him now,” ACLU senior legislative counsel Kate Ruane said at the time.“But, it should concern everyone when companies like Facebook and Twitter wield the unchecked power to remove people from platforms that have become indispensable for the speech of billions.”Dorsey said Wednesday that while he believes Twitter made the right decision to ban Trump, it “sets a precedent I feel is dangerous: the power an individual or corporation has over a part of the global public conversation.”“Having to take these actions fragment the public conversation,” Dorsey said.“This moment in time might call for this dynamic, but over the long term it will be destructive to the noble purpose and ideals of the open internet.”Twitter is far from the only major platform to oust Trump, with bans also in effect by Facebook plus Snapchat, and YouTube temporarily suspending his channel.Dorsey rejected the notion that social media giants coordinated these efforts, reasoning that it was more likely they each came to the same conclusion about the potential for violence.
Subdued Trump condemns ‘calamity’ Capitol invasion, doesn’t mention impeachment-In first remarks after being impeached a 2nd time, US president calls for unity, says no true supporter of his would ever take part in violence; doesn’t specify Biden won election-By TOI staff and Agencies-JAN 14,21-Today, 3:28 am
Hours after becoming the first US President to be impeached twice, on Wednesday Donald Trump for the first time condemned the “calamity” of the mob invasion of the Capitol and urged his followers to refrain from further violence.Holed up at the White House, watching proceedings on TV, Trump later released a video statement in which he made no mention at all of the impeachment but appealed to his supporters to refrain from any further violence or disruption of US President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.“Like all of you, I was shocked and deeply saddened by the calamity at the Capitol last week,” he said, his first condemnation of the attack. He appealed for unity “to move forward” and said, “Mob violence goes against everything I believe in and everything our movement stands for.”“No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence. No true supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement,” he said.In the videotaped speech, Trump said he was “calling on all Americans to overcome the passions of the moment and join together as one American people. Let us choose to move forward united for the good of our families.”pic.twitter.com/FIJbvCYGJ6— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 13, 2021-Apparently repudiating his supporters who assaulted Congress a week ago, an event that triggered his second impeachment in the House of Representatives, Trump said, “There is never a justification for violence. No excuses, no exceptions: America is a nation of laws.”“Those who engaged in the attacks last week will be brought to justice,” he said, before launching into a condemnation of “censorship” following the decision by tech companies to ban his social media accounts.Trump did not mention the impeachment or specifically acknowledge Biden’s election victory, although he did note the need for a peaceful “transition.”Trump appeared subdued in the video, a marked contrast from his fiery speeches the week before, which saw him accused of inciting an insurrection and the mob that stormed the Capitol.Analysts suggested his remarks were aimed at leading Republican senators such as Mitch McConnell, who has indicated he could support a Senate vote for impeachment.The New York Times reported that Trump had to be pressured to put out the video and was deeply uneasy about it afterward.“Several officials urged him to shoot the video, with Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser, enlisting aides and even Vice President Mike Pence to tell him it was the right thing to do,” the report said. “After it was recorded and posted, Mr. Trump still had to be reassured it was the right thing, according to administration officials.”The speech was largely written by White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, his deputy, Pat Philbin, and Trump’s main speechwriter, Stephen Miller, the Times said.Trump earlier became the first US president in history to be impeached twice when the House of Representatives voted Wednesday to charge him with inciting last week’s mob attack on Congress.“Today, in a bipartisan way, the House demonstrated that no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States,” Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said afterward.The Senate will not hold a trial before January 20, when Biden assumes the presidency, meaning the real estate tycoon will escape the ignominy of being forced to leave early.He is set, however, to face a Senate trial later and if convicted he might then be barred in a follow-up vote from seeking the presidency again in 2024.“Donald Trump has deservedly become the first president in American history to bear the stain of impeachment twice over,” said Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, who in a week’s time will become Senate leader.“The Senate is required to act and will proceed with his trial.”House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., signs the article of impeachment against President Donald Trump in an engrossment ceremony before transmission to the Senate for trial on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)-In the House of Representatives, the only question was how many Republicans would join the lockstep Democratic majority in the 232-197 vote. At final count, 10 Republicans broke ranks, including the party’s number three in the House, Representative Liz Cheney.“I am in total peace today that my vote was the right thing and I actually think history will judge it that way,” said Adam Kinzinger, a vocal Trump critic and one of the Republicans who crossed the aisle.Following the mayhem inflicted by Trump’s followers when they invaded Congress, fears of violence remained high.Armed National Guards deployed across the capital and central streets were blocked to traffic.In the Capitol building itself, guards in full camouflage and carrying assault rifles assembled, some of them grabbing naps early Wednesday under the ornate statues and historical paintings.Speech to mob-Trump survived a first impeachment almost exactly a year ago when the Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him of abusing his office to try and get dirt on Biden’s family before the election.This time, his downfall was triggered by a speech he delivered to a crowd on the National Mall on January 6, telling them that Biden had stolen the presidential election and that they needed to march on Congress and show “strength.”Amped up on weeks of election conspiracy theories pushed by Trump, the mob then stormed into the Capitol, fatally wounded one police officer, wrecked furniture and forced terrified lawmakers to hide, interrupting a ceremony to put the legal stamp on Biden’s victory.One protester was shot dead, and three other people died of “medical emergencies,” bringing the toll to five.Pelosi told the chamber before the impeachment vote that Trump “must go.”“He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love,” she said.Democratic lawmaker Ilhan Omar branded Trump a “tyrant,” saying that “for us to able to survive as a functioning democracy there has to be accountability.”But Nancy Mace, a newly elected Republican congresswoman, said that while lawmakers “need to hold the president accountable,” the speed of the impeachment “poses great questions about the constitutionality.”The top Republican in the House, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, said that while Trump deserves censure, hurriedly impeaching will “further divide this nation.”-McConnell open to voting for conviction-Trump, who has been stripped of his social media megaphones by Twitter and Facebook, and finds himself increasingly ostracized in the business world, is struggling to impose his message — let alone any kind of resistance.His refusal to accept any responsibility for the horrifying scenes on January 6 — including his insistence Tuesday that his speech was “totally appropriate” — has infuriated allies and opponents alike.The main question now is to what extent former Republican allies in the Senate will turn on their party’s figurehead once the Democrats take over control of the chamber.Current Senate leader McConnell says he will not call for an impeachment trial before Trump’s January 20 exit. However, he said he is open to the possibility of voting to convict Trump in a later trial after Biden becomes president.“I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate,” McConnell said.The New York Times reported Tuesday that McConnell is signaling privately that he believes Trump did commit impeachable offenses.This presents a potentially fatal shift in the ground under Trump’s feet, because it could lead other Republican senators to join in convicting Trump with the goal of turning the page in the turbulent relationship between the party and former reality TV host and real estate magnate.
Amid impeachment, Pompeo says Trump should win Nobel for Israel-Gulf peace-US secretary of state tweets photo from signing of Abraham Accords between Israel and UAE and Bahrain and tags prize committee-By TOI staff-JAN 14,21-Today, 4:16 am
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested Wednesday that President Donald Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting Arab-Israeli ties.Pompeo’s suggestion, made on his official Twitter account, came as the House was voting on impeaching Trump, accusing him of rallying a violent mob of supporters to attack the US Capitol last week.Trump and many of his allies have made no secret of their desire to see him honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, which is one of the world’s most distinguished awards.Their campaign on his behalf has raised eyebrows because self-promotion for the prize is considered unseemly.Pompeo tweeted a photo of Trump waving from a White House balcony with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior officials from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and tagged the Nobel Committee.cc: @NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/XtjW6ehEMt — Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 13, 2021The photo was taken in September last year when Israel normalized relations with the UAE and Bahrain under the so-called Abraham Accords, which were negotiated by Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. Since then Morocco and Sudan have also agreed to normalize ties with Israel.Following the signing, a Norwegian lawmaker said he had nominated the US president for the award.“For his merit, I think he has done more trying to create peace between nations than most other Peace Prize nominees,” Christian Tybring-Gjedde, who heads Norway’s delegation to NATO, told Fox News.Tybring-Gjedde wrote in his nomination letter to the Nobel Committee that “as it is expected other Middle Eastern countries will follow in the footsteps of the UAE, this agreement could be a game changer that will turn the Middle East into a region of cooperation and prosperity,” the report said.Trump himself retweeted dozens of news stories announcing his nomination, replying “thank you” to one of them.Kushner later said that Trump was “very, very honored” to be nominated for the prize 'President Trump was very, very honored to be nominated this morning for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in bringing the Middle East closer together and the peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates,” Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, told reporters.US President Donald Trump, center, with, from left, Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, during the Abraham Accords signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, September 15, 2020, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)-Tybring-Gjedde already nominated Trump for the same prize in 2018 after the US president held a summit with North Korean dictator Kin Jong Un.The lawmaker, who belongs to a conservative-leaning populist party, denied trying to curry favor with Trump through the nomination.Since then, several other people have nominated Trump for the prize, often together with Netanyahu, along with the leaders of Arab nations who have signed up for the accords.Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama got the prize in 2009 in a controversial decision, for what the Nobel Committee described as his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland presents Then-US president Barack Obama with the Nobel Prize medal and diploma during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Raadhuset Main Hall at Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway, December 10, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)-The winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize — selected by a five-member committee appointed by the Norwegian parliament — will not be announced until October.Nominations can be made by a select group of people and organizations, including national lawmakers, heads of state and certain international institutions. In 2020, the committee received 318 nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, of which 211 are individuals and 107 are organizations.In 2019, Trump predicted he would win the Nobel Prize “for a lot of things if they gave it out fairly, which they don’t.”The Norwegian Nobel Committee doesn’t publicly comment on nominees. Under its rules, the information is required to be kept secret for 50 years.The process of considering candidates and awarding the Nobel Peace Prize is done in Norway, in contrast to the other Nobel Prizes, which are awarded in neighboring Sweden.
FBI said to warn of attacks on state capitols, lawmakers’ homes during inaugural-Over 70 arrests made of rioters who participated in assault on Capitol, as Washington DC shuts down to combat threat posed by extremist Trump backers a week before Biden sworn in-By TOI staff and Agencies-jan 14,21-Today, 3:28 pm
The FBI has warned police forces across the United States to be on high alert and share intelligence on threats ahead of next week’s presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, a report said Wednesday.FBI Director Christopher Wray warned of “potential attacks on state capitols, federal buildings, the homes of congressional members and businesses,” the New York Times reported, citing one of the police chiefs on the call.“They don’t want to be dismissive of anything,” the report cited Chief Jorge Colina of the Miami Police Department. “So even if it sounds aspirational, even if it’s just like, ‘Yeah, it’d be great if the whole place is burned down,’ they don’t want us to think, ‘Ah, that’s just some knucklehead, pinhead,’ and be dismissive.”A separate bulletin published Wednesday by the National Counterterrorism Center and the Justice and Homeland Security Departments warned that extremists could view the death of protester and QAnon supporter Ashli Babbit during the Capitol riots as an “act of martyrdom,” according to the NYT.The officials warned that “the shared false narrative of a ‘stolen’ election’ may lead some individuals to adopt the belief that there is no political solution to address their grievances and violent action is necessary.”The FBI has previously warned that armed protests by violent supporters of outgoing US President Donald Trump were being planned in all 50 state capitals as well as in Washington for the days leading up to the inauguration of Biden.According to NYT, more than 70 people have been arrested over participation in the breach of the Capitol, including at least three police officers who were off-duty — two from Rocky Mount Police Department in Virginia who face charges of disorderly conduct and entering a restricted space, and one from Houston police who hasn’t yet been charged.Apart from an Olympic gold medalist, a rioter who wore a shirt saying “Camp Auschwitz” and a son of a Jewish judge who breached the Capitol in fur pelt, those arrested also include a firefighter from Sanford, near Orlando, who is charged with unlawful entry and disorderly conduct, the report said.Meanwhile, CNN reported that evidence points to the raid of the Capitol being planned ahead of time rather than a spontaneous decision or a rally that spiraled out of control.Authorities suspect that some participants left the rally early and went to get weapons and other items used in the Capitol assault, the report said.Downtown Washington was fenced off and boarded up Wednesday, with concrete barriers blocking avenues, police at street corners, and armed National Guard soldiers patrolling Capitol Hill.The city at the heart of US democracy has been a shadow of itself during pandemic shutdowns, but now it is also under heavy guard after the January 6 deadly attack by Trump supporters on the Congress building.National Guard soldiers in body armor and camouflage spent the night inside the Capitol, their black rifles leaning against the polished stone walls of the building’s halls.“Clearly we are in uncharted waters,” said Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser.Last week’s “violent insurrection” at the Capitol by supporters of Trump has “impacted the way we are approaching working with our federal partners in planning for the 59th inauguration,” Bowser said Wednesday.Between the pandemic and the security threat, Bowser is flat-out asking people not to come to the District of Columbia for the inauguration. And at Bowser’s request, a National Special Security Event declaration was moved up to January 13, a distinction which she said “puts in place an entirely different command and control structure” for security.The NSSE status is normal for a presidential inauguration and other major events like an international summit or the Super Bowl. But it’s rare to start the lockdown so far in advance of the event.Police vehicles sealed off a huge swath of downtown DC Wednesday, causing immediate traffic snarls. Starting Wednesday, Bowser said, anyone inside the inauguration perimeter might be stopped and questioned. Starting Friday, all parking garages in the downtown restricted zone will be sealed through the inauguration.Bowser is also being pushed to deny lodging options to potentially violent protesters. The local Black Lives Matter affiliate and Shutdown DC issued a joint statement Wednesday urging all downtown hotels to voluntarily close and pay their staffs. In addition to the threat of violence, the activist groups say Trump supporters are a threat to the health of hotel staff for their general refusal to wear facemasks amid the pandemic. Several downtown hotels, including one which had become a favorite hangout of the militant Proud Boy faction, chose to avoid trouble by closing last week.“Closing hotels completely for these six nights is the only way to guarantee the safety of hotel workers, neighbors, vulnerable and unhoused residents, incoming administration officials, members of Congress, and our democracy,” the statement said. “If hotels do not willingly close, we ask Mayor Bowser to extend today’s emergency order and close all hotels in the city.”On Wednesday, Airbnb announced it was canceling all reservations in the Washington metro area. Bowser said she had been in regular contact with Airbnb officials since last week, but did not specifically request this step.“We are aware of reports emerging yesterday afternoon regarding armed militias and known hate groups that are attempting to travel and disrupt the Inauguration,” a company statement said. “We are continuing our work to ensure hate group members are not part of the Airbnb community.”On the ground, much of the most visible security will come in the form of more than 15,000 National Guardsmen from multiple states, some of them armed.According to officials, the number of Guardsmen who will actually be carrying guns will be limited. Some Guard members nearer the Capitol will have long guns, and others will have their sidearms.It is likely that those closer to the crowds or on fence lines won’t be armed, but those up closer to the building may be. National Guard members operate under strict rules of engagement on the use of force. But generally speaking, troops can use lethal force to protect the lives of others and themselves.Officials also said that while 15,000 Guard members have been activated, more may be called. DC Police Chief Robert Contee estimated Wednesday that more than 20,000 National Guardsmen would be active in the District of Columbia on Inauguration Day.Officials are continuing to review requests from law enforcement, and some believe several thousand more could be brought in. Defense and military officials have been calling governors and adjutants general to ask if they might have people they could send, if requested.So far, officials said state leaders have said that protecting their own capitols will be their top priority, but they still have some Guard members they will be able to send, if needed.
‘It pierces the heart’: Jewish leaders alarmed over anti-Semitism in Capitol mob-US community heads say riot was not so much a ‘tipping point’ for Jew hatred, but rather ‘the latest explicit example of how it animates the narratives of extremists’ By ELANA SCHOR-jan 14,21-Today, 8:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — As a mob of supporters of US President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol last week clamoring to overturn the result of November’s presidential election, photographs captured a man in the crowd wearing a shirt emblazoned with “Camp Auschwitz,” a reference to the Nazi concentration camp.Two white nationalists known for racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric livestreamed to their online followers after breaking into the Capitol during the deadly insurrection. And video circulated on social media showed a man harassing an Israeli journalist who was trying to do a live report outside the building.The presence of anti-Semitic symbols and sentiment at the Capitol riot raised alarms among Jewish Americans and experts who track discrimination and see it as part of an ongoing, disturbing trend. As the threat of further chaos lingers over Washington and state capitals ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, they called for more forceful rejection of the conspiracy- and falsehood-driven worldviews on display among the mob.The insurrection was “not so much a tipping point” for anti-Semitism but rather “the latest explicit example of how (it) is part of what animates the narratives of extremists in this country,” said Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism.“People are going to have to ask themselves, were they clear enough in condemning the hatreds that coalesced on Jan. 6?” he added.On Tuesday, the Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and the Network Contagion Research Institute released a report that identified at least half a dozen neo-Nazi or white supremacist groups involved in the insurrection.Anti-Semitic incidents in the US hit a four-decade high in 2019, according to the ADL’s internal tracking.Although some high-profile recent anti-Semitic attacks were not linked to far-right groups — such as the 2019 assault on a New York rabbi’s Hanukkah party — several others were, most prominently the deadly 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Three-quarters of extremist-related murders in the U.S. over the past 10 years were committed by right-wing extremists, Segal said, citing ADL data.Eric Ward, executive director of the progressive anti-discrimination group Western States Center, linked the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon, adherents of which were at the forefront of the insurrection, to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the infamous 20th-century screed that falsely claimed Jews were colluding to take over the world.QAnon’s unfounded assertion of a shadowy cabal “mirrors exactly the anti-Semitic track, the false narrative, of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” Ward said. “That is the real danger of the anti-Semitism in this moment.” QAnon believers also allege a false conspiracy to harm children, paralleling another anti-Semitic trope, he noted.“It is no stretch to say there were visible signs of anti-Semitism in the makeup” of the riot, Ward said, “but the real power of anti-Semitism in the events on Wednesday is actually buried within the narrative.”The man photographed wearing the Auschwitz shirt was arrested in Virginia Wednesday. Robert Keith Packer, 56, was arrested in Newport News, charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority.Despite anti-Semitic elements, at least one Jewish participant was drawn to take part in the assault on the Capitol: Federal agents on Tuesday arrested Aaron Mostofsky, the son of a New York judge, who was part of the crowd that broke in. Mostofsky, who was seen sitting in the building clad in furs and a police vest, told the New York Post he believed the baseless claim that the election was stolen from Trump.Ward called Mostofsky’s involvement a sign of the patchwork nature of the far-right coalition and noted broadly that “authoritarianism and anti-democratic tendencies are not merely the terrain of white people.”David Harris, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, said not everyone who came to the Trump-promoted rally that preceded the assault on Congress was “stoked” by extremist and hate-fueled ideologies.But he urged those people to ask themselves, “‘Who am I enabling, however unintentionally, and how do I channel my own protest without being co-opted by the lunatic fringe?'”During the rise of Nazism, Harris added, “it was the soft-core group, not the hard-core group, that allowed itself to be co-opted.”Segal of ADL agreed: “One of the dangers of anti-Semitism and extremism is it wraps people up,” he said, “and takes them into situations that now have serious consequences.”Many Jewish Americans were dismayed by what they saw broadcast from the Capitol halls, such as one rioter strolling through its halls carrying a Confederate flag.Rabbi Jay Kornsgold of Beth El Synagogue in New Jersey, who serves as treasurer for the Rabbinical Assembly, said his Holocaust-survivor parents taught their children they should do everything possible to make sure discrimination against Jews doesn’t return to the fore.“When you see it in the nation’s capital, right in front of your face, it pierces the heart,” Kornsgold said.In the wake of the insurrection, which left five people dead including a Capitol Police officer, two online stores that had permitted the creation and sale of “Camp Auschwitz” shirts removed them from their sites.Looking ahead, Harris of AJC urged Jewish leaders to do their part in combating the rise of QAnon.“It seems to me even as a matter of education, Jewish organizations and Jewish clergy have a responsibility to alert members of the Jewish community to the menace of QAnon and its ilk,” he said.
Takes the cake-Democrat Nadler noshes on babka at Trump impeachment hearing-Jewish lawmaker seen in House chamber with bag from famed New York Upper West Side grocery Zabar’s-By Gabe Friedman-JAN 14,21-Today, 5:27 pm
JTA — As chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler has been busy this week creating impeachment history. But he hasn’t gone hungry, apparently.C-SPAN caught Nadler carrying a bag from Zabar’s, the famed New York grocery and appetizing store located in his Upper West Side congressional district, as he took his seat on Wednesday. The bold orange logo would be unmistakable to anyone familiar with the store.Multiple news organizations — including New York Magazine and West Side Rag, a hyperlocal blog — reached out to Nadler’s office to find out what was inside the bag.The response, from Nadler’s deputy press secretary Julian Gerson: “A babka and the constitution, what else?”Nadler is one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s nine chosen managers for the impeachment process, along with fellow Jewish representatives David Cicilline, Jamie Raskin and Adam Schiff.Jerry Nadler brought Zabar’s to the impeachment. pic.twitter.com/2Xf0GpMmr0 — Alex Richanbach (@AlexRichanbach) January 13, 2021
Analysis-Iran trying to deepen roots in Syria despite signs it may no longer be welcome-An article from an Assad ally suggests that Damascus may be looking to shift away from the Shiite axis even as Tehran tries to build up local support with Lebanon-style project-By Avi Issacharoff-jan 14,21-Today, 4:59 pm
Last month, Hasan Ismaik, a Jordanian billionaire with close ties to the Syrian government, published an opinion piece arguing that Iranian entrenchment in Syria was keeping it from being able to end nearly a decade of strife.“Today, Syria is experiencing a serious impasse, where the country is living in a state of ‘no war, no peace,'” he wrote. “There are no clear battles on the ground, nor is there the peace which would allow the reconstruction process to begin. Every insight into the situation in Syria and each path in the maze to finding a solution lead to the same complex problem and a huge obstacle: Iran and its influence in Syria.”It’s far from certain that Ismaik’s words reflect the official opinion in Damascus and it’s impossible to know if they were written with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s knowledge or consent. But given Ismaik’s intimacy with the Syrian government, his words may be a sign that Assad is trying to signal to the West that Iran is a problem not only for the region’s moderate Sunni Muslim states, but for his country as well.The ‘Syrian-Iranian alliance’ [is] a burden on Damascus, which is aware of the risks and dangers of its relationship with Iran at political, military and cultural levels,” he wrote. “This makes reaching a deal [with the West] possible, and even something to be expected.”The recent reconciliation between the Gulf Sunni states and Qatar, after years of open enmity and severed relations, may be inspiring thoughts of a similar rapprochement with Damascus. One wonders if a collaborative Sunni effort to help rebuild Syria would convince Damascus to reconsider its stance toward Iran and the carte blanche it has given to Tehran to operate within its borders.For years, Iran and its regional proxies have been hard at work establishing a foothold in Syria, a project supported by the Syrian regime and tolerated by its main benefactor Russia, despite a years-long campaign by Israel, backed by the US, to stymie the effort.The Israeli campaign has stepped up considerably in recent weeks and on Wednesday a reported Israeli sortie struck at least 15 targets in eastern Syria, hitting arms depots said to belong to Iran and Iran-backed forces. Dozens of pro-Iran fighters were reported killed in the strikes, one of the largest-yet bombing runs in over five years of attacks aimed at pushing Iran out of Syria and thwarting weapons transfers.In southern Syria, one of the main places Iran has attempted to dig in, the initiative has persisted despite increasing signs that local militias and others are no longer willing to put up with the presence of the Iranians and their allies.At the same time, there are indications that Iran is shifting its strategy to one of soft power, pushing social initiatives and building a proxy network made up of locals rather than foreign fighters — a hybrid approach that recalls the creation of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.The group, Hezbollah Syria, is the latest franchise in Tehran’s terror network, which also includes the aforementioned Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah.As it did in southern Lebanon, Iran is attempting to build a support base in southern Syria near the border with Israel. This mainly revolves around the triangle between Sweida, Daraa and Quneitra in the Syrian Golan.The effort has involved investments in youth programs, religious activities and welfare initiatives, filling a vacuum left by the government and meeting needs created by the region’s collapsing economy and harsh poverty.Militarily, the Iranians are active near the border, integrating into the Syrian army’s 1st Division, alongside Hezbollah fighters (in Syrian army uniforms), while continuously establishing more and more Shiite mosques and study halls.The area is one that has seen fighting persist, despite the virtual end of the civil war elsewhere. Battles between armed militias in the area result in some 40 to 60 casualties a week, according to estimates by Israeli sources.But many of the main actors have shown signs of growing impatience with Iran’s campaign.Among those are the Russians, who have tried, mostly without success, to mediate between the warring militias. In Daraa and al-Suwayda, this has included so-called reconciliation centers, staffed by Arabic-speaking officers who warn or reprimand whichever faction has stepped out of line.Syrian government supporters wave Syrian, Iranian and Russian flags as they chant slogans against US President Trump during demonstrations following a wave of US, British and French military strikes to punish President Bashar Assad for suspected chemical attack against civilians, in Damascus, Syria, April 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)-The Russians are also interested in keeping Iran in check and keep a close eye on developments near the frontier with Israel.Among the Druze, who are mostly concentrated near Suwayda, one can observe on social media a major split fomenting regarding the future of their ties with the regime.The community backed Assad throughout the war, but is now unhappy that the result has been Iran and Hezbollah getting more than a foothold in its region. The financial situation is quickly deteriorating, and there are reports of drug use and prostitution.Among those now opposing Damascus is the Ghazal el-Carmel (Men of the Carmel) militia, which fought alongside the regime during the civil war.Some local groups of fighters have also turned against the regime and Iran.The largest and most surprising of these is a militia headed by Ahmad Odeh, a former rebel commander who agreed two years ago to join the Syrian army, together with his10,000-strong Shabab al-Sunna paramilitary brigade.These troops now make up the 8th brigade of the 5th corps, but their salaries are not paid by Damascus. Rather, they are bankrolled by the Russians, under whose command they operate. For $200 a month per troop, the Russians have bought themselves a brigade of the Syrian army.Odeh is no fan of Iranian or Hezbollah involvement in the area, and is known as something of a renegade. He’s confronted ostensibly allied forces, and even exchanged gunfire with them, though these were mostly shows of force to make sure everyone knows who’s running the show in the region. At the graduation ceremony of his brigade’s officers – an official ceremony of the Syrian army – songs were sung denouncing the Syrian regime and praising the locals.But at the same time, there are armed groups that do still back the Iranians.The army’s 4th Division, which is commanded by Assad’s brother Maher and essentially acts independently of the Syrian military and in collaboration with Hezbollah and the Iranians, is one such group. A recent investigation found that the group was allegedly involved with Hezbollah in a massive operation to make and sell counterfeit Captagon, the amphetamine that helped fuel Islamic State’s reign of terror. Over $1 billion worth of the drug was recently seized in Italy and traced back to the group and the Syrian regime.The Syrian Army’s 1st Division is deeply entangled with Hezbollah, which is in effect the tail that wags the dog. Those in charge of training the soldiers of the 1st Corps of the Syrian army are the men of Hezbollah’s Southern Command, under the command of Hajj Hashem.In 2017, the Israeli military released video footage claiming to show the head of the 1st Division helping Hezbollah set up a base in the region, and warned the Syrian regime that it would be held responsible “for all enemy activities emanating from its territory.”In his piece, Ismaik highlighted the wealth of differences between Syria and Iran, from their approaches to secularism to the Shiite-Sunni split. He claimed that many Syrians are unhappy with statements by high-ranking Iranians making Iran out to be Syria’s savior or insinuating that Damascus is a vassal of Tehran.But with Iran ingratiating itself deeper and deeper within Syria, the question should not be whether Assad wants to remove Iran, but whether it is even possible anymore to disentangle Syria from the Shiite axis and bring it back into the fold.
Monitoring group: UNRWA textbooks glorify terror, deny Israel’s existence-Watchdog says educational materials distributed for distance learning during pandemic are ‘rife with hate’; UNWRA chief says content was distributed in error-By TOI staff-JAN 14,Today, 3:47 pm
An Israeli watchdog found that a new series of educational textbooks produced by a United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees contains incitement to violence and hatred, and glorifies terrorism.The new textbooks were produced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a branch of the international body that runs schools, health clinics and other social services for millions of Palestinian refugees around the Middle East.The books were part of a new curriculum issued by the agency during the coronavirus pandemic to facilitate distance learning.The review conducted by The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), an Israeli watchdog that analyzes Palestinian textbooks, found UNRWA-produced material “to be rife with problematic content that contradicts stated UN values.”Palestinian students affiliated with the United Nations “UNRWA” wear face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic, in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, on November 25, 2020. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90-According to IMPACT-se’s report, the materials included incitement to violence. The watchdog found that children were asked to do mathematics problems using martyrs from the First Intifada to calculate equations, told students to “defend the motherland with blood,” and pushed the claim that Israel deliberately dumps radioactive and toxic waste in the West Bank.“UNRWA is complicit in radicalizing schoolchildren through the glorification of terrorists, encouragement to violence and teaching of blood libels to Palestinian schoolchildren,” said IMPACT-se director Marcus Sheff.Palestinian Authority textbooks have come under fire in the past for what critics have deemed to be hateful, anti-Semitic content. However, IMPACT-se said that the “UNRWA-created material is, in places, more extremist than PA material it complements.IMPACT-se also said that Israel is omitted from maps in the UNRWA-produced materials, with the entire territory being labeled as a modern-day Palestine with no demarcation lines. When it is mentioned, Israel is referred to mostly as “The Enemy” or the “Zionist Occupation.”The organization’s findings also showed that the materials characterized Dalal Mughrabi, who took part in the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre, as a role model, contrary to the UN’s position that she was a terrorist. Mughrabi and several other Fatah terrorists hijacked a bus and killed 38 civilians, 13 of them children, and wounded over 70.The European Parliament passed a resolution last year condemning the Palestinian Authority for continuing to include hate speech and violent material in school materials, stating it “is concerned that problematic material” in Palestinian school textbooks had not been removed.“UNRWA has for years refused point-blank to make public its ‘Curriculum Framework’ that it claims combats incitement in the Palestinian textbooks. Now we know why: some of its own content is even worse than that of the Palestinian Authority,” said IMPACT-se’s Sheff.In a statement released following the publication of the report, UNWRA vowed again to crack down on incitement.“UNRWA has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and for incitement to hatred and violence in its schools and in all of its operations. Any breach reported is dealt with firmly. The Agency adheres, in its education program, to the highest standards of neutrality, humanity and tolerance,” the UN body said in a statement.Responding to the criticisms, UNWRA chief Phillipe Lazzarini said in a tweet that “there was no place [for] incitement to hatred/violence in UNWRA schools.” He asserted that the inciteful material had been published by accident.“Local reference to inappropriate pages from textbooks that were mistakenly distributed during #COVID19 lockdown were quickly replaced with content that adheres to UN values,” Lazzarini said on Thursday.Israel has long pushed for UNRWA’s closure, arguing it helps perpetuate the conflict with the Palestinians, since it confers refugee status upon descendants of those originally displaced around the time of Israel’s War of Independence.US President Donald Trump’s administration supported Israel’s stance by cutting aid in 2018. Washington had been providing UNRWA $300 million a year, roughly a third of its core annual budget.
Explosives-carrying drones apparently could reach IsraeL-Iranian kamikaze drones said spotted in the possession of Yemen’s Houthis-Tehran fires cruise missiles during naval exercise in apparent show of force; Newsweek publishes satellite images purporting to show advanced UAVs-By Judah Ari Gross-JAN 14,21-Today, 2:37 pm
The American magazine Newsweek published satellite images purporting to show advanced kamikaze drones in Yemen that the outlet said Iran could use to attack countries in the region, including Israel.These unmanned aerial vehicles, identified as Shahed-136 loitering munitions, were more advanced than the models of suicide drones already known to be in the Houthis’ possession, with an operational radius of approximately 2,000 to 2,200 kilometers (1,240 to 1,370 miles), meaning Israel is within their range.An unnamed expert who provided the satellite images to Newsweek said the purpose of these drones was to give Iran the ability to conduct strikes on a variety of targets in the Middle East without them being clearly traced back to Tehran.“What they’re trying to achieve is plausible deniability,” the expert told the outlet, “as in being able to strike either a US, Saudi, Gulf, or Israeli target and then having the strike traced back to Yemen, and hoping for deniability against any kind of retribution.”The Houthi rebel group in Yemen has possessed suicide drones — UAVs packed with explosives that are designed to be flown directly at targets — for several years, but the variety seen in the Newsweek report Thursday were more powerful.Also on Thursday, the Iranian military fired several cruise missiles as part of a naval drill in the Gulf of Oman, state media reported, in an apparent show of force amid heightened tensions with Israel and the United States.Various kinds of surface-to-surface cruise missiles successfully hit their targets in the gulf and northern part of the Indian Ocean, the report said.“Enemies should know that any violation and invasion of Iranian marine borders will be targeted by the cruise missiles from both coast and sea,” said Adm. Hamzeh Ali Kaviani, spokesman for the exercise.The two-day drill began Wednesday when the country’s navy inaugurated its largest military vessel. The exercise took place as Tehran squared off against the United States in an escalating tit-for-tat over its nuclear program and amid a long-simmering conflict with Jerusalem, which bubbled to the surface this week as the Israeli military reportedly conducted a massive series of airstrikes on Iran-linked targets in eastern Syria in the predawn hours of Wednesday morning.These reports came as advanced air defense batteries were seen deployed around the southern Israeli city of Eilat, amid concerns of an attack from Yemen by the Iran-backed Houthis.Iron Dome and Patriot missile defense batteries were first spotted earlier this month. The Iron Dome is generally used against rockets and mortar shells, but can also intercept small drones and cruise missiles. The Patriot system is used primarily to defend against ballistic missiles and larger aircraft like fighter jets and unmanned aerial vehicles, including the types of suicide drones mentioned in the Newsweek report.In recent weeks, the Israeli military has also reportedly sailed a submarine through the area, sending the vessel through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea. Due to the shallow depth of the canal, submarines can only pass through it above the water, where they can easily be spotted. As such, the move was generally seen as a show of force directed toward Iran.In an interview last month, IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman said Israel was tracking Iranian movements around the region, and that Israeli submarines were quietly “sailing everywhere.”
Analysis-With Iran held in check by Biden hopes, Israel grabs chance to hit hard in Syria-With US in transition, the IDF sees Tehran as less likely to retaliate, and is making hay by expanding and intensifying its air campaign against Iranian forces across the border-By Judah Ari Gross-JAN 14,21-Today, 1:23 pm
Over the past two and a half weeks, Israel has reportedly conducted at least four rounds of airstrikes on Iran-linked sites in Syria, including a major bombardment in the predawn hours of Wednesday morning according to media outlets there, in a major step up from the normal scope and frequency of attacks.Wednesday’s attack was a major operation against Iran’s efforts to establish a permanent military presence in the country, one of the largest reported Israeli airstrikes in years, with over 15 sites bombed in eastern Syria some 500 kilometers (300 miles) from Israel, according to Syrian reports.The bombing was both more intense than normal — in comparison, the Israel Defense Forces said it struck some 50 targets in Syria in all of 2020 — and took place much farther from Israel than most attacks attributed to the Jewish state. The three other rounds of airstrikes in last few weeks took place in areas closer to Damascus and the Syrian Golan.The IDF had no comment on the late-night strikes, in accordance with its policy to neither confirm nor deny its operations in Syria save for those in retaliation to an attack on Israel from the country.The significant increase in the frequency and scope of the attacks stems from an assessment by the Israel Defense Forces, shared with The Times of Israel, that Iran is unlikely to retaliate in a major way to these strikes in the short term.In general over the past year, Iran has not responded to Israeli airstrikes — either not finding a way to do so or being stopped by Israel from doing so — and currently Tehran appears to be preparing to enter into negotiations with US President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration, which would be more difficult were it to be actively engaged in fighting with Washington’s key ally in the region. While Iran takes a wait-and-see approach, Israel is taking advantage.Even if the frequency of IDF strikes decreases in the coming weeks, it would more likely be due to operational restrictions than the incoming Biden administration trying to curb Israel. The same window of opportunity is expected to remain as long as Tehran holds out hopes of talks with the new president, allowing Israel to continue its efforts in Syria, which are intended to keep Iran from entrenching itself militarily in the country and using it to move weapons that would threaten the Jewish state.“The Biden administration won’t stop Israel from striking [in Syria],” Amos Yadlin, a former Military Intelligence chief, told the Times of Israel.According to Israeli officials, the campaign against Iran in Syria has been on the whole successful, stymieing Tehran’s plans for the country and largely keeping the bulk of its forces further from Israel’s borders.“They wanted to shape [Syria] in the model of Hezbollah, to have masses of soldiers there, with missiles, with the ability to strike Israel, to exhaust Israel,” Minister Tzachi Hanegbi told the Kan broadcaster Wednesday.“In the past four years… they failed to turn Syria into something like the second Hezbollah. They tried to build there a military force and Israel — time after time — destroyed those attempts and that infrastructure. They haven’t given up, they haven’t quit, but they have failed,” he said.Last month, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi made a similar claim, telling reporters in a year-end briefing that the IDF has noted a marked drop over the previous two years in the number of Iran-backed fighters in Syria, an increase in the number of Iranian military bases being closed in the country, and a significant decrease in the amount of weaponry being transported into and through Syria.“Iranian entrenchment in Syria is in a clear trend of slowing down as a direct result of IDF activities, though we still have a way to go to reach our goals on this front,” Kohavi said.Yet the Islamic Republic has not thrown in the towel and still maintains a significant military presence in the country, even if it is smaller than it desires.According to Syrian media reports, the targets of the Wednesday strike were primarily weapons warehouses around the Deir Ezzor and Boukamal regions, areas known to contain significant numbers of Iran-backed militias, which are more difficult for Israel to strike due to their greater distance from the border.E. #Syria: more evidence showing aftermath of #Israel|i airstrikes today in #DeirEzzor province:– ammo warehouse W. of DeZ-city (1)– informal border crossing with #Iraq, near #AbuKemal (2-3)-Death toll of 50+ (SOHR) is however fabricated. pic.twitter.com/UzAcnFNRta— QalaatM (@QalaatM) January 13, 2021-Israeli and Western intelligence officials, as well as Syrian opposition media, have said that these areas are used by Tehran as part of a so-called land corridor to transport weapons from Iran through Iraq into Syria and, in some cases, on to Lebanon, where its most significant proxy, Hezbollah, is based.Boukamal was also targeted multiple times in 2018 and 2019 in a failed bid to block the construction of the infrastructure likely used to transport missiles into Syria in recent weeks.“The other side, as I understand, is not prepared to surrender because they invested a huge fortune and massive resources in the success of Assad and they want to collect their fee from Assad, which is their ability to operate freely from within Syria, which they saved from falling into the hands of the rebels,” Hanegbi said.According to Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist who runs DeirEzzor24, a pro-opposition media collective with researchers on the ground in eastern Syria, these warehouses contained a particularly large shipment of missiles that had been brought into the area by the Iran-backed Fatimiyeon militia in recent weeks.In a highly irregular move, a senior US intelligence official confirmed to the Associated Press that Israel was behind the Wednesday strikes. The official said the intelligence behind the attack was provided by the US. It’s unlikely, though, that Israel would launch such a significant raid based solely on American intelligence, based on its standard operating procedure.More curiously, the official also claimed the warehouses that were targeted were used to transport components that support Iran’s nuclear program — though not that these materials were themselves targeted in the strikes. This is an eyebrow-raising proposition, given the fact that Deir Ezzor was the site of Syria’s own nuclear reactor before it was destroyed by the Israeli Air Force in 2007.Institute for National Security Studies Chairman Amos Yadlin attends the Annual International Conference of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv January 23, 2017. (Tomer Neuberg/FLASH90)-Yadlin, the current head of the influential Institute for National Security Studies, dismissed this claim as “fake news” and said that these were simply not the supply lines used by Iran for its nuclear program.Asked if the attribution to a senior US intelligence official didn’t lend some credence to the claim, Yadlin told The Times of Israel: “A former senior Israeli intelligence official is saying this report has no logical [basis].”-Nuclear brinksmanship-Recent months have seen rising tensions between Iran and the US and Israel, amid speculation that outgoing US President Donald Trump would use his final week in office to launch a military strike against Tehran.The US has deployed B-52 heavy bombers to the Middle East, sent an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf and sought to diplomatically challenge Iran by releasing intelligence tying the Islamic Republic to the Al-Qaeda terror group earlier this week. The US has also stepped up its sanctions on Iranian entities.The head of Iran’s military nuclear program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was also killed in November in an attack that was widely attributed to Israel.This combination of photos shows US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Mossad chief Yossi Cohen. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP and Miriam Alster/Flash90)-In a somewhat subtler move, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen traveled to Washington, DC, this week, meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a public space, prompting widespread speculation on what the two discussed.Iran, in turn, has taken a number of provocative steps on the nuclear front, announcing that it was beginning to enrich uranium to 20 percent, a major breach of the 2015 nuclear deal, which it has been steadily violating since Trump abandoned the agreement in 2018. On Wednesday, Tehran announced it was also advancing research into uranium metal, a key component of nuclear weapons, with limited civilian uses.In addition, the Iranian military has staged two large exercises, one focusing on drones and the other on the navy.Iran also seized a South Korean oil tanker that had been sailing through the Persian Gulf, an apparent act of revenge for some $7 billion in Iranian assets that were frozen by Seoul.Likud’s Tzachi Hanegbi attends an event at Kedem in the West Bank on September 5, 2019. (Hillel Maeir/Flash90)-Despite these growing signs of tensions, Hanegbi said Israel did not anticipate some kind of attack in the coming week.“The [Israeli] assessment is that nothing dramatic will happen during this week,” he said. “This is the calm before the storm.”The minister, who is considered a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, explained that the “storm” would be what comes as the United States negotiates a new nuclear deal with Tehran, saying that if Israel did not feel such an agreement ensured its security, it would attack Iran’s nuclear program.Biden has publicly stated his intention to rejoin the accord — known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — provided Iran also returns to the terms of the deal and use that agreement as a jumping off point for further negotiations.Those opposed to the JCPOA, as well as some proponents of it, argue that a simple return to the deal would give up the considerable leverage that Trump’s sanctions regime has achieved. Instead, those people argue, Biden should attempt to negotiate a far stronger deal, one that does not have the expiration dates of the JCPOA, with greater access for international inspectors, and also addressing Iran’s ballistic missile program and malign influence in the region. Supporters of Biden’s plan maintain that a significantly more robust deal is not feasible now, but could be negotiated going forward.This is the calm before the storm-“If the United States government rejoins the nuclear deal — and that seems to be the stated policy as of now — the practical result will be that Israel will again be alone against Iran, which by the end of the deal will have received a green light from the world, including the United States, to continue with its nuclear weapons program,” Hanegbi said.“This of course we will not allow. We’ve already twice done what needed to be done, in 1981 against the Iraqi nuclear program and in 2007 against the Syrian nuclear program,” he said, referring to airstrikes on those two countries’ nuclear reactors.
