TheFridayReport: The War Against the Jews is a Failure!
'As an economic, military, scientific and cultural powerhouse, Israel is vastly outpacing its detractors through action. The days of armchair warriors who sip wine and hail from a position of privilege and self righteousness are rapidly disappearing'
Shabbat Shalom: Candle Lighting 6:02 pm
Israeli fighter jets accompany US B52 bombers heading toward Persian Gulf
03/12/21 - It's been another incredible week in the world, as we reach the milestone one-year anniversary of living with Covid-19. The world around us has changed significantly. Still, as spring is once again on the horizon, and as more people are being vaccinated, optimism is upon us.
That optimism is stimulated by the United Arab Emirates as it announced today the creation of a $10 billion fund for investments in Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit this week to the UAE was postponed, but needless to say, the upside of the Abraham Accords is in full momentum as both countries are working collaboratively to advance peace and diplomacy through business collaboration.
Positive energy breeds more positive energy and preceding the UAE announcement this week, a delegation of diplomats and business leaders landed in Egypt to explore and expand business interests. Peace with Egypt has been cold -- far below the freezing point in fact. But the Middle East is opening up to trade and relationship-building.
Blossoming trade and an economic boom in Israel is putting a dent in the anti-Israel campaign. As I wrote in today's National Post (see link to the article below), calling Israel "an apartheid state" and pushing for boycott against the state is sooo passe! Roger Waters went on a Twitter rant against the Jewish state once again -- but let's be honest, the war against the Jews is a failure!
The world is no longer willing to put the Palestinians ahead of peace. Middle East states such as the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Sudan and even Saudi Arabia have recognized that the way toward peace is to accept Israel as a reality. While the Palestinians continue to refuse this reality while paying over $150 million a year to retired terrorists (pay for slay program) and launching rockets at Israel from Gaza, this is becoming intolerable.
Other than the self-righteous radical leftists sipping wine in their ivory towers, no one in their right mind is buying the Palestinian narrative. Even Arab journalists are saying they highly doubt the Palestinian elections will happen, as the Palestinian Authority claims.
Israel is thriving. Over 85% of its population over the age of 50 has been vaccinated with claims of approximately 97% efficacy rate. Its population continues to grow as this week, the country welcomed nearly 300 new Ethiopian Jewish immigrants who made Aliya and were reunited with their families.
While the world is on lockdown mentality -- nearly completely engaged and consumed with responding to Covid-19 -- Israel sent an IDF medical delegation to Equatorial Guinea to assist with rescue and relief. An explosion at a military camp killed 105 people in that country, which has declared it will be moving its embassy to Jerusalem.
The war against the Jews is a failure because more and more countries are either moving, or on the cusp of moving, their embassies to Jerusalem. This week, the Czech Republic opened its embassy and diplomatic office in Jerusalem in a touching ceremony hosted by FM Gabi Ashkenazi.
Indeed, Israel's diplomacy is exploding. Yesterday, Prime Minister Netanyahu hosted a trilateral summit meeting with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Jerusalem to discuss cooperation in the research, development and production of vaccines. Last week, Netanyahu also hosted the leaders of Austria and Denmark to discuss production of future generation coronavirus vaccines. Israel has cultivated these relationships for many years.
Nevertheless, in order for freedom to survive, our guard should never come down. The threat of Antisemitism and violence is very much real. In Singapore (of all places) a 20-year-old man connected to that country's military was arrested after he was discovered to be planning a knife attack on Jews. He was planning to wait for Jews to come out of prayer after Shabbat and stab them.
Antisemitism is the downfall of any society. In The Hague -- the city which usually casts itself as the city of peace and justice because it houses the International Criminal Court and many other international organizations -- it was discovered that antisemitism rates are sky-high. Jewish community leaders have taken the city's council to task claiming that there was an increase of 35% in antisemitic incidents in the last year.
That is shameful considering that the ICC will be pursuing Israel over war crime allegations - a despicable political and some say antisemitic ploy intended to marginalize and isolate Israel. An act of desperation initiated by the Palestinians, rather than coming to the table to negotiate a peaceful solution.
Yes, there are still myriad issues we must fight each and every day. It will never end completely: It came as little surprise as the FBI reported this week that white supremacists are seeking affiliation with law enforcement. We know from our experience in Canada and the US that they have also infiltrated the military to gain training and weapons experience.
And sadly, the NBA was rocked this week when a player with the Miami Heat was put on leave by his team after using an antisemitic slur on a gaming platform.
We must never let our guard down, especially as this week the Iranian Defense Minister issued a stern threat saying that "Iran will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground if Israel makes a mistake". But in response as a show of unity and force, America flew two B52 fortress bombers toward the Persian Gulf, sending Iran a message.
Israel's detractors are being marginalized. They have little wiggle room left. The BDS campaigns are effectively discredited now that the UAE pledged a $10 Billion investment. The US seems to be treading carefully when it comes to Iran - although concern remains. And the radical left -- while they will be with us for some time -- are mostly functioning in an echo chamber.
Maybe I am too optimistic because the sun is shining today. But a Tufts University dental student's recently published letter of apology in the Jewish News Syndicate for antisemitism when he was younger gives me hope.
- Shabbat Shalom - Avi
ABOUT: Avi Abraham Benlolo has been described as the nation's most prominent and noted expert in Holocaust studies, in countering Antisemitism and promoting human rights. His academic research, graduate degree and nearly three decades of professional work has focused on these arenas in addition to peace and security in the Middle East. In recognition of his national and international leadership in this area, he has received numerous awards including an honorary doctorate from a prestigious Israeli university; an Order of Vaughan for his distinguished contribution to equity and diversity; the Queens Diamond Jubilee Award for his contributions to Canada and a race relations award for best practice, based on distinguished service in promoting human rights.
National Post Article: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/avi-benlolo-hey-roger-waters-2018-called-it-wants-it-threadbare-anti-israel-rhetoric-back
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