On the first night of the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, Israeli President Isaac Herzog lit a menorah at the Tomb of the Jewish Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron. At the ceremony he said “The historic connection of Jews to Hebron, to the tomb of the patriarch, to the heritage of the patriarchs and matriarchs is unquestionable. Recognition of this connection must be beyond all controversy.“
Israeli President Isaac Herzog lights a menorah for the first night of Chanukah at the Tomb of the Jewish Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron on November 28, 2021 (photo: David Avitan)
Herzog took the opportunity to preach for peace and unity with Arabs, who are also descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael, stating “we all have shared roots from this cave. Alongside that, we have to remember that our roots are not the only ones that go back to this cave. Especially today, and especially here, in this holy space dedicated to all sons of Abraham, we have to continue dreaming of peace, between all faiths and creeds in this land, and to condemn any type of hatred or violence.“
The Arabs were not interested in the Israeli president’s talk of peace between brothers.
Just as they had banned Jews from visiting their second holiest location (on par with Medina for Muslims) for hundreds of years until Israel took control of the site in 1967, the Arab Muslims spoke about the candle lighting ceremony with disdain and threats of violence.
The Palestinian political-terrorist group Hamas said that lighting a candle was “a provocation” and “a flagrant violation” of the site’s sanctity, calling on Palestinians to confront Israelis at the scene.
The Arab League said it was angered by Herzog’s “storming” of the site and that it showed “the continuation of their official and organized terrorism against the Palestinian people, their rights, and sanctities, in the same approach they practice in Judaizing Jerusalem, and targeting Al-Aqsa Mosque and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory.” It called upon the international – and the United Nations specifically – to “reject the targeting of Islamic and Christian sanctities, including this intrusion, and to assume responsibilities to take the necessary measures to confront this aggression.“
One expects vile anti-Semitic calls for violence from Hamas. Even though the United Nations won’t say it explicitly, it knows that the highly popular group is against a two-state solution and seeks to destroy Israel.
But the UN warmly embraces the Arab League.
In January 2021, United Nations Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said that cooperation between the UN and the Arab League has been critical in the search for a two-state solution. The head of UNRWA, Phillipe Lazzarini, addressed the Arab League in September 2021 in an appeal for monies.
The UN shamefully considers the Arab League an important partner in the Middle East, even as the group flagrantly ignores Jewish history and rights, and inflames the region with outrageous claims of “terrorism” for lighting a menorah during Chanukah. It is well past time for the UN to finally begin confronting and condemning these enemies of coexistence.
The temporary United Nations agency tasked with caring for refugees from the Arab-Israeli War of Independence has abused language and brutalized the Arabs.
How Long an Immigrant or Refugee
My father’s grandfather came to the U.S. as an adult fleeing pogroms in Russia, while my mother came as a toddler fleeing the Holocaust in Austria. Each arrived as both refugee and immigrant, and ultimately each became a citizen and raised a family in this amazing country.
I never considered myself to be either an immigrant or a refugee, although I descend from them. I imagine most people who consider themselves natives may have immigrant parents or grandparents who may or may not have also been refugees.
An immigrant is defined as “a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country“, and a refugee is defined as “a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.” Both relate to that specific person and not to offspring.
But the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) uses a distinct definition of refugees. By its own account, it has cared for “four generations of Palestine refugees, defined as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.” The descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, are also eligible for registration.“
This transfer of refugee status is just one of UNRWA’s many abuses.
Palestine or Israel? Why Only Arabs?
The timeframe to qualify for UNRWA care was set from “1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948,” – specifically from the day after Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948 to two years prior. The qualifier of the “normal place of residence” in “Palestine” is either the entirety of the Palestine Mandate which included Israel, Gaza and the area commonly called the “West Bank,” or only the area which is now Israel, as one would imagine based on the date range chosen.
If it’s the entirety of the Palestine Mandate, then all Jews who lost their homes when Jordan ethically cleansed the region of Jews should be entitled to receive services from the agency as well. Banning Jews from UNRWA services is blatantly anti-Semitic. Alternatively, if the definition of “Palestine” is not all of historic Palestine but just Israel, than the agency should state that it is handling Israeli Arab refugees, not “Palestine refugees”. It also does not address why the UN did not set up a comparable agency for the Jews who fled eastern Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
This is a mistreatment of Jews and Israel. The abuse of the Palestinian Arabs is far worse.
UNRWA Entrapment
UNRWA does not only provide free education and health services to descendants of refugees and other poor people in its five fields of operations. It promises these wards that if they stay registered with the agency, they will either get to move out of the third world camps to the wealthy country of Israel or receive compensation from the Jewish State.
While there are 5.7 million people registered as Palestinian refugees with UNRWA as of December 2020, there are roughly the same number of Arabs who lost their homes in Palestine but went on to start new lives in Canada, Chile and other countries around the world. Those five million Arabs who moved around the world have the same definition of “refugee” as everyone else (like the story above) and do not pass on the inherited status that UNRWA uniquely affords.
That is insane.
For those people who point to UN Resolution 194 which stated that “the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible,” it is obvious that those “refugees” should not be bound to be registered with UNRWA. If an Arab American now living in Michigan lost the family home in Jaffa in 1948, she should be entitled to the same compensation as a man now living in Gaza who lost the home next door in 1948.
Permanent sign at the United Nations devoted to a non-member state
UNRWA Wards Trapped in the Fiction
The tension between the various Palestinian refugees – those registered with UNRWA and those that are not – is significant. Billions of dollars are at stake.
Consider the situation where a family is due $1 million for a home lost in Jaffa in 1948. If there are 20 surviving family members registered with UNRWA, each person would get $50,000. However, if 20 other family members not registered with UNRWA also become entitled to compensation, each person would only get $25,000. Effectively, monies would be “transferred” from UNRWA refugees to non-UNRWA refugees. That dynamic makes UNRWA refugees determined to keep those not officially registered with UNRWA out of the “refugee” definition and simultaneously keeps all registered people locked into the ridiculous system, lest they lose the windfall. All this keeps the temporary agency afloat well past its expiry date, as the UN maintains the fiction that it is helping these stateless people.
While the UN established UNRWA in 1949 to temporarily house and care for actual refugees, the agency morphed over the decades into Palestine-in-Waiting, which must be sustained at all costs. In doing so, UNRWA has imprisoned the stateless Arabs of Palestine in a permanent bribe to keep it wedded to the agency, artificially extending its mandate and the misery of Arabs in a gross choreography of munchausen syndrome.
The spokesperson for the global United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, Shabia Mantoo made an appeal to wealthy nations to take in more refugees on September 21, 2021. She said that “90 per cent of the world’s refugees [are] hosted in some of the poorest countries in the world,” directly suggesting that wealthy countries needed to do more in regards to resettlement.
Worldometers listed 57 countries that had a Gross Domestic Capital per Capita (GDPC) of over $25,000 in 2017. Sixteen of those had populations under 2.5 million, suggesting that they are not well equipped to take in a large number of refugees. Two countries – Singapore and Hong Kong – are extremely dense leaving little room for further absorption. That meant that there are 39 countries which are theoretically well-situated to take in refugees.
Country
GDP per Capita (2017)
Population demsity (pop / Sq.km.)
immigration percentage
Qatar
$128,647
253
75.5%
Ireland
$76,745
71
15.9%
UAE
$74,035
120
88.4%
Kuwait
$72,096
243
73.6%
Switzerland
$66,307
211
29.4%
Norway
$62,183
17
14.2%
USA
$59,928
36
14.5%
Netherlands
$54,422
410
11.7%
Denmark
$54,356
135
10.1%
Saudi Arabia
$53,893
16
32.3%
Austria
$53,879
108
17.5%
Germany
$52,556
235
14.9%
Sweden
$51,405
23
16.8%
Australia
$49,378
3
28.2%
Belgium
$49,367
381
12.3%
Canada
$46,510
4
21.8%
Finland
$46,344
16
5.7%
United Kingdom
$44,920
281
13.2%
France
$44,033
119
12.1%
Japan
$42,067
334
1.6%
Oman
$41,331
17
41.1%
Italy
$40,924
200
9.7%
New Zealand
$40,748
18
23.0%
Spain
$39,037
92
12.7%
Israel
$38,868
423
24.9%
South Korea
$38,824
512
2.6%
Czech Republic
$38,020
136
3.8%
Lithuania
$33,253
41
4.7%
Portugal
$32,554
110
8.1%
Slovakia
$32,371
111
3.3%
Poland
$29,924
121
1.6%
Malaysia
$29,511
99
8.3%
Hungary
$28,799
104
4.6%
Greece
$28,582
79
11.3%
Turkey
$28,002
109
3.8%
Romania
$26,660
80
1.2%
Kazakhstan
$26,491
7
20.1%
Croatia
$26,296
72
13.6%
Russia
$25,763
9
8.1%
Countries with highest GDP per capita with populations over 2.5 million, showing population density from the World Bank
Reviewing the table above shows that there are four wealthy countries which are sparsely populated which have the ability to easily absorb large numbers of refugees: Australia; Canada; Kazakhstan and Russia. There are eight other countries which also have lots of room: Norway; USA; Saudi Arabia; Sweden; Finland; Oman; New Zealand and Lithuania. Six additional wealthy countries with ample room include: Ireland; Spain; Malaysia; Greece; Romania and Croatia.
Based on the combined factors of wealth and space to settle refugees, the ten bolded countries should assume the lead in absorbing refugees.
A deeper analysis of the wealthiest countries shows an interesting trend regarding welcoming immigrants to their countries. The European countries tend to have a modest level of immigrants, between 10 and 17%, while the oil rich Arab states have extremely high level of immigrant workers, ranging from 40 to 75% of the total population. The wealthy countries with the highest population densities clustered in three groups: Europeans; southeast Asians which have virtually no immigrants, and Israel.
Country
GDP per capita
Population Density (pop per sq. km.)
Immigration Percentage
Belgium
$49,367
381
12.3%
Japan
$42,067
334
1.6%
Israel
$38,868
423
24.9%
South Korea
$38,824
512
2.6%
Israel uniquely has a high immigration rate for dense wealthy countries, according to data from the World Bank
As the world looks to wealthy countries to absorb more refugees and immigrants, it can look at the success of Israel in welcoming newcomers, as it turns to sparsely populated countries like Australia and Canada, homogeneous countries like Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Finland, and Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia and Oman to do their fair share.
The eye-spy game began from the moment the taxi pulled up to the international terminal at the airport. Who else is going to Israel?
The car doors popped open quickly as the airport police pushed people to unload quickly. Eyes scanned the crowd. Who will see someone they know first? The four family members entered the terminal in a tie; zeros all around.
I sensed disappointment from my daughter. It’s Thanksgiving and Chanukah all in one. Where were her peeps?
Arriving the recommended three hours before scheduled departure has both advantages and disadvantages. On the positive side, there’s no time panic in going through the long security process but unfortunately, people-watching was light.
We were directed by airport personnel to join a line quite a distance from the counter. Within five minutes the first familiar faces appeared – a couple we knew from high school going to visit their son studying in Israel for the second year. It became the familiar line of questions among the many people we saw at the gate: Who are you visiting? Where are they studying? Were you able to get in at any time before this during the pandemic?
While Israel led the world in vaccinations, it also cycled through various lockdowns. Some people with immediate family members living in Israel (not just studying in school) were able to come during COVID but others had to wait until now.
It was interesting how many people were coming just to visit family members and how many were combining it with business. Over the past decades, the country emerged as a leading technology powerhouse. It did not suffer the financial meltdown of 2008-9 that caught most of the world, and today its currency stands out as one of the strongest.
We landed at Ben Gurion Airport and met more people we knew as we waited at passport control. The exchanges continued: Mivaseret second year. Netiv Aryeh first year. Harova first year. The line seemed to go quickly.
After picking up luggage we went through a very efficient COVID-19 testing area which was set up to process all inbound visitors and then exited the building to the taxi stand. Visitors congregated outside to welcome guests, including those surprising their parents who came in to visit.
Lines of people going through COVID testing at Ben Gurion Airport, Israel
We headed to Jerusalem to be reunited with our son. It was wonderful having all of the kids together again.
The kids slept while we grabbed morning coffee at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Arab and Jewish hotel workers were busy arranging for the morning tourists as we had the place for ourselves. We then went to morning prayers around the corner and got to hear the priestly blessings, a tradition that happens every day, only in the holy land.
Breakfast at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem
Israel is fortunate to be a thriving multi-ethnic democracy with remarkable economy amid a region in freefall. Jews are fortunate to be able to live, learn, visit and pray in the holy land even in the backdrop of a crazy world.
The media’s anti-Israel propaganda machine – led by Al Jazeera and The Guardian – continues to tell millions of readers that Israel is at war with entire Middle East.
The United Nations has many special agencies and offices devoted uniquely for the Stateless Arabs from Palestine (SAPs), a non-member entity. The most infamous is UNRWA, an agency which gives aid to the descendants of Palestinian refugees and other people who live in the area, which is distinct from the UNHCR which handles every actual refugee fleeing wars around the world. The global body also has an office devoted to Palestinians which is marketed as “Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO).”
At the UN, the “Middle East Peace Process” has nothing to do with giving Israel an iota of security, aid, defense or support. It is solely about giving SAPs money, programming, infrastructure and a new country.
Money, Money, Money
A wonderful example can be seen in the November 17, 2021 UNSCO report. The 15 page report reviewed the financial crisis of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and suggested remedies. Israel was mentioned in the report a few times, mostly in regards to either positive or negative actions it took in relation to the PA economy.
At paragraphs eight and nine, the tension between between Israel and the PA – including fighting in May 2021 and steps taken to reduce tensions – was broached. It was a delayed but welcome sign that the office tasked with “Middle East Peace” would actually discuss the topic and make constructive suggestions. Alas, by paragraph ten – and for the remainder of the document – UNSCO could only describe the financial situation of the PA.
The report laid out its grand view of the core problem (presumably to peace) and then an action plan to address those issues:
“Nevertheless, a piecemeal approach to addressing these challenges, along with a lack of progress on the broader political issues, risks perpetuating a continuous cycle of crisis management. Rather, to stabilize the economic and security situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in and around Gaza, and to strengthen the fiscal situation of the PA and its institutions, a broader framework of engagement—including parallel steps by all parties—needs to be re-established between the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the international community. This will allow for moving beyond the current impasse and refocusing on building an independent, democratic, contiguous, viable, and sovereign Palestinian State living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security. The present report to the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee charts out a framework for stabilizing the economic and security situation, undertaking reforms, and promoting development. We propose a three-track approach focusing on initiatives to 1) address the immediate economic and fiscal situation facing the PA and strengthen PA institutions and basic service delivery, 2) solidify the cessation of hostilities and support economic development in Gaza, and 3) generate longer-term economic growth and sustainable livelihoods across the OPT. Some of these initiatives are already underway, but other initiatives need urgent donor support or policy changes from the parties.”
The goal of the report, as highlighted above, is to build a Palestinian State. The three courses of action to achieve such mission are all about supporting the financial condition of 1) the PA, 2) Gaza and 3) the West Bank. The rest of the report provided recommendations for building the PA economy and then appealed for money for Palestinians.
Genocidal Jihadists
With such an approach – throwing additional billions of dollars at Palestinian Arabs – without addressing core issues blocking peace such as systemic antisemitism, denial of Jewish history and rights, incitement to violence and refusal to coexist with Jews, the report from the UN office tasked with Middle East Peace read like a donor appeal pamphlet rather than a roadmap for coexistence.
In regards to pursuing “peace” the report offered the following as hurdles:
“Meaningful progress, however, will be impossible without resolving the broader context: a grim reality of military occupation, violence, internal Palestinian divisions, illegal settlement expansion, demolitions, displacement, settler-related violence, and the ever-present threat of escalation, including rocket attacks by armed groups, in the Gaza Strip. The continued deterioration on the ground threatens not only Palestinian development and the enjoyment of human rights, but also makes building a Palestinian state and achieving a lasting peace more difficult.“
According to the UN office devoted to peace, the obstacles to peace are solely Israeli actions and the division between Fatah and Hamas/ the West Bank and Gaza. The “threat of escalation” towards violence is from unnamed “armed groups in the Gaza Strip.” This is outrageous on multiple levels and speaks to the heart of the failure of the UN to advance peace in the region.
The UN willfully ignores this reality and advocates for throwing money at the anti-Semitic jihadists in the belief that it will make them change their minds and pursue peaceful coexistence.
It’s worse than willful ignorance. It’s a coverup, a sanitization of the core problems.
The report called for aid to Gaza in regards to materials and money in a manner that will avoid “diversions.” The casual phrase the report used twice obfuscates the nefarious actions of Hamas which uses the materials and money to kill Jews.
So it’s actually worse than a coverup. The UN seeks to empower these genocidal jihadists, if not openly and directly, then at least indirectly.
That’s why the report did not name the political-terrorist group Hamas and just generic “armed groups” from Gaza. That’s why it bemoaned the “internal Palestinian divisions.”
It’s a disgrace that in a three step plan for promoting peace, UNSCO did not demand the end of Hamas and the handing over of all its weapons to the PA. Those should be priority items one and two.
Ignoring Israelis, Even Those Murdered by Terrorists
A document and office about peace should have a basic understanding that there are two parties to consider. When writing about children’s trauma from the cycles of violence, the report only discusses the kids in Gaza. What about the kids in Israel who live under the rain of missiles and arson kites overhead and terrorist tunnels underground? Is their safety and trauma not important?
Nothing encapsulates the complete disregard for Israeli lives as much as the discussion in the report around so called “prisoner payments.” These are funds that the PA pays to the families of Arab terrorists who attack Israelis, essentially paying for terror. The US, European Union and other countries have lambasted the PA for this activity which incentivizes violence.
Rather than explicitly call out the noxious incitement, the report notes that Israel’s deduction of tax receipts in the same amount of the terror payments hurts the Palestinian economy!
“From January through June 2021, based on 2018 legislation, Israel was deducting and holding NIS50 million per month from the transfer of clearance revenues delivered to the Palestinian Authority in response to the “prisoners payments.” Starting in July, the monthly deductions were increased to NIS100 million. These monthly deductions represent a significant strain on the Palestinian fiscal situation. The payments made to Palestinian prisoners, their families, or the families of those killed or injured in the context of attacks also greatly complicate Palestinian relations with Israel and key donors. International technical assistance could help the Palestinian Authority instead strengthen its existing cash transfer program that targets the most vulnerable Palestinian households.“
That this report can be published under the title of “peace” by the United Nations is an outrage. It effectively summarized all one needs to know about how the UN views Israeli lives and security. The maimed Israeli civilians are insignificant and not even an worthy of mention. Dead Jewish children are not even an afterthought in the quest to fund Palestinians. The UN is worried about the Arab terrorists “killed or injured in the context of attacks” on Jews, and the financial impact to their families, inverting the perpetrator to a victim, and the Jewish souls to the dustbin.
If the UN wants to promote two states living side-by-side in peace, it should lambast the “prisoner payments,” and pay to fix and strengthen the security fence between Israel and Gaza, as well as the bomb shelters in schools and playgrounds in Israel. It should fund counseling for Israeli children suffering from trauma due to the genocidal jihadists living next door, rather than continue to support those terrorists, thereby adding to the kids’ distress.
Tor Wennesland of UNSCO meeting with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh. The UNSCO Twitter feed is solely devoted to Palestinians without any meetings or concerns for Israelis.
The Appeal
The report concludes as one would expect – an appeal for money for Palestinians:
“As always, we stand ready to assist the PA with its own ambitious reform and development agenda, as articulated at successive donor meetings and in the renewed National Development Plan. In support of these efforts, the UN will continue consulting with our international partners and with the Palestinian Authority to implement an integrated response strategy to the ongoing crises, such as the framework proposed above.“
UNSCO lost all semblance of being an office to promote peace between two parties and noted that it stands ready to assist only one party – the Palestinian Authority – raise money. That’s what the United Nations has essentially become – a redistribution arm which seeks to boycott Israel and transfer the monies to Palestinians. Is it a surprise that the report lifted from the American Democratic agenda a line “building back better” in its report?
The UN Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace should properly rebrand itself as the UN Coordinator for Palestinian Appeals. It may be more successful at raising more money from countries which have become more open about their own antisemitism and anti-Israel bias, and long ago stopped trying to get Palestinian Arabs to abandon their localized jihadist aspirations.
Turkey has been descending into one of the most intolerant and dangerous promoters of terrorism under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan for several years, but the United Nations seems intent on blessing this particular brand of anti-Semitism and barbarism.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia September 29, 2021. (photo: Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Pool via REUTERS)
Consider the country’s treatment of journalists. Turkey has jailed 312 journalists since 2016, the most in the world, 38% more than second worst, China.
Erdogan promotes blood libels against Jews. In May 2021, he said that the “Jewish Prime Minister” in Israel’s “greatest pleasure” was killing Palestinians because it “is part of their nature” as “they are only satisfied by sucking blood.” The United States senate quickly issued a bill condemning “Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s invocation of the blood libel myth, which has historically been used to justify violence against Jews.”
The anti-Semitic slurs are consistent with Erdogan’s desire to kill Jews. The country was granting citizenship to members of the political-terrorist group HAMAS which the European parliament noted would allow them to set up a base in Turkey and freely travel, affording them “greater freedom in planning attacks on Israeli citizens around the world.“
Turkey’s crimes are not confined to only being against Jews. Turkey’s military invaded Syria in 2018 and continues to control Afrin, home to thousands of Kurds. The Kurds used to account for 96 percent of Afrin’s population and has now been driven down to 25 percent as Turkey has turned the area into a haven for Syria’s Islamic population fleeing the war zones. Turkey treats the minority group as pariahs inside Turkey as well, and has extended its oppressive reach against them and Yazidis until today. A number of senators have urged U.S. President Biden to “forcefully condemn President Erdogan’s escalating efforts to disband the country’s largest pro-Kurdish political party,” as Erdogan continues to purge non-Islamists from the region.
Remarkably, none of this seems to irk the leader of the United Nations.
On September 20, 2021, UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres issued a proclamation praising Turkey as the UN General Assembly gathered to meet. Guterres said:
“Turkey is engaged across the spectrum of our work, as we deal with challenges from the climate crisis to long‑standing threats to peace and security. I am personally familiar with enormous generosity of Turkey and Turkish host communities towards refugees. I offer my sincere appreciation for your support to people in need of protection.
“The number of people fleeing wars, violence, persecution and human rights violations is at record levels. I count on Turkey to continue doing its utmost, with the support of the international community. This is an act of solidarity that concerns us all.
“Peacemaking is another critical dimension of our work. I welcome Turkey’s consistent support to our mediation efforts, including by co-chairing the Group of Friends of Mediation — one of our most important tools to reduce, manage and end conflict.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight the leadership of His Excellency, Volkan Bozkir, as President of the of the seventy-fifth session of General Assembly. We have been fortunate to rely on him through a difficult year.
“I look forward to our continuing close cooperation with the Government and people of Turkey, and wish you many years of productive work in the new Turkish House. Thank you.“
Gutteres had no similar comments for any other countries’ efforts on behalf of refugees.
The head of the United Nations singled out for praise an anti-Semitic, authoritarian regime which crushes free speech and minority rights during the latest gathering of world leaders. It is a clear indication that the extremist Islamist factions have assumed control of the global body.
Israel sent 25 athletes to the 2020 Paralympics held in Tokyo from August 24 to September 5, 2021. Some of the athletes were accompanied by their guide dogs.
Israeli athletes enter the Tokyo paralympics with seeing guide dogs during the parade of nations.
One of the athletes is Roni Ohayon, who is competing in a sport that is unique to the Paralympics called Goalball. It is similar to soccer, specifically designed for players with visual blindness by playing with a ball with bells inside. All players wear blindfolds as part of the game.
Israeli athletes competing in goalball. Roni Ohayon with her guide dog, Rudy.
Team Israel won the silver medal in goalball at the European Championship held in Germany in 2019. The schedule for the team in Tokyo can be found here.
Roni’s dog Rudy was trained at the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind. It is the only accredited guide dog center in the entire Middle East. Each year, the center provides roughly 35 Guide dogs for the visually-impaired and 35 Companion dogs for Israelis suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD.
Many of the athletes trained for competition at the Israel Sports Center for the Disabled. Founded in 1960, the ISCD is a home away from home to around 2,500 Israelis of all ages, where the unique merits of sports are utilized to strengthen body, spirit and mind.
Paralympian Nadav Levi, born with cerebral palsy competing in boccia. Caroline Tabib, playing wheelchair table tennis at the Olympics for the second time, training with Baruch Hagai, the head coach of the ISCD.
The Paralympics were founded by Dr. Ludwig Guttmann (1899-1980), a Jewish doctor who escaped Nazi Germany to England. He revolutionized the research and treatment of spinal cord injuries including rehabilitation. “It occurred to me that it would have been a serious omission not to include sport in the rehabilitation of handicapped people,” he said, as his efforts began small alongside the Olympics that were held in London in 1948. In 1960, the games went international, and since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and 1992 Winter games in France, the Paralympics have been held in the same city as the Olympics.
The 2020/1 Tokyo Olympics gathered the worst television ratings ever but hopefully people around the world will tune in to watch the incredible athletes (and dogs) of the Paralympics.
There have been a slew of cases of sexual harassment in the news. The latest culprit is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who joins a list from the entertainment and business worlds. The various incidents ranged from inappropriate behavior to outright crimes.
And all of the perpetrators were men.
While everyone was appalled at the most egregious behavior of these famous men, left-wing feminists took to vilifying all males with a bevy of hashtags including #BelieveWomen and #MeToo. Somehow, even though almost all men do not harass women, because almost all of the perpetrators were men, the essence of manliness was seemingly to blame.
It was sharp departure from the alt-left’s defense of terrorists, where the vast majority of terrorists are Muslim, even though those terrorists make up a small percentage of the global Muslim population. In those cases, liberals defend Islam as a religion of peace, but decry the abuse of the religion by some extremists.
Liberals adopted the opposite approach regarding men. They have vilified all men, and question how they can talk to their daughters about being friends with boys when they are inherently perverts. They do not attribute the bad behavior to outliers.
Consider how some liberal forums suggest that the pathway to raising a new generation of men to be more respectful of women, a basic idea, with foolish suggestions. They suggest encouraging boys to wear pink, do dress-up and play with dollhouses. I kid you not.
Newspapers published guides for how to raise boys to be feminists with ideas ranging for promoting non-stereotypical boy toys, and discouraging those traditionally associated with boys (no more trucks or erector sets). Here’s a selection from The New York Times:
“Even as adult gender roles have merged, children’s products have become more divided by gender than they were 50 years ago, research has found: pink princesses and blue trucks, not just in the toy aisle but on cups and toothbrushes. It’s no wonder that children’s interests end up aligning that way.”
“Offer open-ended activities, like playing with blocks or clay, and encourage boys to try activities likedress-up or art class, even if they don’t seek them out, social scientists say. Call out stereotypes. (“It’s too bad that toy box shows all girls because I know boys also like to play with dollhouses.”) It could also improve the status of women. Researchers say the reason parents encourage daughters to play soccer or become doctors, but not sons to take ballet or become nurses, is that “feminine” equals lower status.”
““Teach our sons to cook, clean and look after themselves — to be equally competent in the home as we would expect our daughters to be in the office,” said Anne-Marie Slaughter, chief executive of New America, a think tank.”
This is ridiculous. The pathway to combatting sexual harassment according to these feminists, is to attack the entire notion of “manliness.” If they could get boys to take estrogen, I am sure that they would promote it. Would this cohort ever attack core Islamic teachings as an underlying reason why so many terrorists are Muslims? Never. They would focus on the nature of the violence, and the terrible break in otherwise normal behavior. The Koran inspires many Muslims to be kind and peaceful just as playing with blocks and trucks guides men to become productive members of society.
The problem of sexual harassment isn’t about men; it’s about violence. The solution is not neutering and de-programming boys. It is about teaching boundaries.
Here are two appropriate examples for society that could help curb the incidents of harassments:
Know and respect boundaries. Almost every incident of sexual harassment would have been okay if the actions were consensual. It was the nature of men not knowing appropriate boundaries and taking advantage of their situation that made the incidents wrong.
When kids are young, let them break up their toys into two groups: those that are personal – that they needn’t share with anyone if they do not want – and those that are public and available for general use. When they engage with siblings or friends, they must offer up the public toys, but have complete discretion on sharing those that they decided to keep private. They will learn the power of “no” – by saying it and hearing it.
Stop making women passive. Why do men ask women out on dates? Why do they pay for the activities? Society has put men in the position of taking the assertive role and women as stationary. As described in “The Misogyny of Treating Women like Victims,“ we are not helping women by treating them as passive. Protecting them at all times ultimately undermines and hurts them.
Sexual harassment is a subset of violence, not sex. Sex is a good thing if fully consensual and “manliness” is not a disease. Stop the attacks on testosterone as billions of men manage it without ever abusing women.
Men can be gun-totting, football watching, sarcastic CEOs, and never harass a woman. If Andrew Cuomo had worn pink he would still have taken advantage of women. If Matt Lauer had played with more dollhouses, he would still have sexually assaulted people. How stupid are these feminist writers, and how stupid do they think their readership is?
I am confident that if liberal rags wrote articles about verses in the Koran that encourage violence, there would be an uproar. If they would suggest that more Muslim boys should take ballet, there would be a lawsuit and people would be fired.
But for the feminist extremists, the “patriarchy” is the rightful target, and sexual harassment is just a tool to redistribute wealth and power.
The mainstream narrative organizations (formerly known as “news outlets”) refuse to label Palestinian terrorist groups as such, preferring softer marketing terms like “extremist” and “militant.” To be clear, the United States and many governments specifically and officially designate foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) to “play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business.“
Here is a list of the Palestinian terrorist groups.
HAMAS. This terrorist group is responsible for hundreds of attacks and murder of civilians. It’s foundational charter reeks of anti-Semitism and calls for the destruction of the Jewish State of Israel. It is highly popular among Palestinians, winning 58% of parliament in 2006 and its leader is projected to win the presidency according to recent Palestinian polls (should elections ever take place), amounting to millions of supporters. The political-terrorist group runs Gaza, and has launched repeated wars and skirmishes against Israel.
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF). Broke away from the PFLP-GC in mid-1970s. Later split again into pro-PLO, pro-Syrian, and pro-Libyan factions. Several terrorist attacks including the hijacking of the Achille Lauro and an attack near a beach in Tel Aviv.
Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Originated among militant Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the 1970s as a series of loosely affiliated factions rather than a cohesive group. Committed to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel through holy war. Conducted suicide bombings against Israeli targets in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Israel. Has threatened to attack US interests in Jordan. Receives financial assistance from Iran and limited assistance from Syria.
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Marxist-Leninist group founded in 1967 by George Habash as a member of the PLO. Joined the Alliance of Palestinian Forces (APF) to oppose the Declaration of Principles signed in 1993 and has suspended participation in the PLO. Broke away from the APF, along with the DFLP, in 1996 over ideological differences. Has made limited moves toward merging with the DFLP since the mid-1990s. Committed numerous international terrorist attacks during the 1970s and against Israelis after the signing of the Oslo II Accords. Receives most of its financial and military assistance from Syria and Libya.
PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC). Split from the PFLP in 1968, claiming it wanted to focus more on fighting and less on politics. Led by Ahmad Jabril, a former captain in the Syrian Army, who just died. Headquartered in Damascus with bases in Lebanon and cells in Europe, it receives logistic and military support from Syria and financial support from Iran.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AAMB). Group aims to drive the Israeli military and Jewish residents from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem and to establish a Palestinian state via terrorism, including shootings and suicide operations. At least five Americans were killed by the group. The group is more secular than HAMAS which is Islamist.
Army of Islam (AOI). Based in Gaza, it is viewed as even more extreme than HAMAS. It has conducted a number of kidnapping raids into Israel, including that of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit.
The following Palestinian terrorist groups were removed from official designation:
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. A member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), it has a more moderate stance than many fellow organizations. For example, it was opposed to attacks against Jews and Israelis outside of Israel and it is not Islamist. While it committed several terrorist attacks in the 1970’s, the deep-Islamist turn of Palestinian society with the rise of HAMAS marginalized the group. It was the group primarily credited for advancing the notion of a “two-state solution” inside of the PLO which made the US drop the FTO designation in 1999.
Abu Nidal Organization (ANO). Group carried out terrorist attacks in 20 countries, killing or injuring almost 900 persons. Targets included the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, moderate Palestinians, the PLO, and various Arab countries. Major attacks included the Rome and Vienna airports in December 1985, the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul and the Pan Am Flight 73 hijacking in Karachi in September 1986, and the City of Poros day-excursion ship attack in July 1988 in Greece. Suspected of assassinating PLO deputy chief Abu Iyad and PLO security chief Abu Hul in Tunis in January 1991. The group went inactive with the death of Abu Nidal in 2002, and the US removed it as an FTO in 2017 when President Trump tried to prod Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to stop payments to terrorists (it didn’t work).
A day in Gaza City (Photo: AP/Khalil Hamra)
Palestinians have a remarkable number of terrorist groups dedicated to killing Jews and moderate Palestinians. It is equally remarkable that the press refuses to call them out.
The United Nations began its week-long program of combatting terrorism on June 16, 2021, in Qatar, one of the leading sponsors of the terrorist group, Hamas. Even worse, the UN didn’t simply convene a counter-terrorism conference in Qatar, it actually opened an office dedicated to that cause in the country.
The program’s opening remarks discussed the UN’s opening of the counter-terrorism office in Doha, Qatar “in recognition of the United Nations and the international community of Qatar’s outstanding role in the fight against terrorism, under the leadership and guidance of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar, “May Allah protect him” and for his well-established policy in the fight against terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, whatever its source and in the elimination of its causes.“
The UN “recognition” seemingly comes in the face of one its own priorities of stopping the funding of terrorism, an important element of defeating the global scourge, in which the UN “Security Council expressed concern at the flow of funds to terrorists and the need to suppress all forms of terrorist financing.” One must therefore conclude that the UN cannot recognize Qatar’s funding of Hamas and/or that Hamas is a terrorist group.
Qatar Funds Hamas’ Terrorism
The United States has long noted Qatar’s funding of the terrorist group Hamas. After the 2014 War from Gaza, the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote about “Hamas’ Benefactors: A Network of Terror.” The report noted that “Qatar funds Hamas’ strikes in Gaza, as well as its project, building terror tunnels from which to attack Israel,” and that the US “cannot continue to allow Qatari funds to go to terrorist groups, Hamas or any other, unabated and unaddressed.”
Despite the dirty open secret, just last week, the UN’s Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace, Tor Wennesland, met with the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar. Sinwar was looking for the UN to press Israel allow the flow of $30 million from Qatar, as the first part of a $500 million transfer directly to Hamas “to solve the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.” Israel had supposedly said it would work with the UN to allow such money transfers, making Sinwar excited about the meeting.
Sinwar was disappointed.
Wennesland passed along a message from the new Israeli government that the Jewish State had no intention of allowing the funding of terror. Naftali Bennett, the new Israeli Prime Minister, is likely looking to obtain the release of the bodies of Israeli soldiers held by Hamas for the past seven years in exchange for a Qatari-led funding program which would be fully managed by the United Nations instead of Hamas.
UN Special Coordinator of the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland of Norway
The UN Won’t Comment on Hamas’ Terrorism
Meanwhile in New York, the UN Secretary General’s spokesperson answered a few questions about the nature of the meeting between Wennesland and Sinwar.
When asked about Hamas’s military summer camp which has a promotional video with children as young as 9 years old being trained to infiltrate Israel with guns, the UN spokesperson meekly offered “I have not seen that particular video.” That summer camp is called “Talayiea Al Tahrir” or “Vanguards of Liberation,” with a stated program goal to “ignite the flame of jihad in the generation of liberation, sow Islamic values and prepare the expected victory army for the liberation of Palestine, Allah willing.“
The UN has more personnel on its payroll devoted to Palestinians than any other group in the world but they just couldn’t find or know about military camps for kids which have been going on for years. And years. And years. And years. And years.
Turning a blind eye to the terrorism of Hamas is an integral part of the UN strategy.
In May, UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres thanked Qatar for its role in helping broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and added that “no effort should be spared to bring about real national reconciliation that ends the division,” between Hamas and Fatah. Gutteres consequently cannot simultaneously call Hamas a terrorist group and endorse its integration into the Palestinian Authority. So the UN grants Hamas a free pass on terrorism.
While the United Nations meets to stop terrorism, it turns a blind eye to Hamas and its sponsors as it reveals its steel heart to the only Jewish State.
