LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
December 01/16
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.december01.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
Follow me,
and I will make you fish for people
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 04/18-23/:"As he
walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter,
and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake for they were fishermen.
And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately
they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other
brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their
father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left
the boat and their father, and followed him. Jesus went throughout
Let the one who boasts, boast
in the Lord
First Letter to the Corinthians 01/26-31/:"Consider your own call, not
many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were
of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;
God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low
and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things
that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source
of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the
one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’"
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on December 01/16
Hezbollah-allied media attacks new president/ Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/November 30, 2016
Hezbollah warns no govt without Marada/
Hussein Dakroub/The Daily
Star/November 30/16
The Iranian Empire is back/Hussain
Abdul Hussain/Now Lebanon/November 30/16
Egyptian Muslim Radicals Destroy Coptic Christian
Properties/Mark Woods/Christian Today/November 30/2016
Maryam Rajavi: "…
Listen to the cries of Iranian Christians for freedom/NCRI
Islamists Won: Charlie Hebdo
Disappears/Giulio Meotti/Gatestone
Institute/November 30/16
The UN's Palestine Language/A.J. Caschetta/Gatestone Institute/November 30/16
Growing Egypt-Syria Rapprochement Includes Al-Sisi Statement In Support Of Syrian Army, Reports On Egyptian Military Aid To Syria/N. Mozes/MEMRI/November
30/16
Kerry urges Senate Democrats to back off
Human potential is the
Could a submarine deal sink Netanyahu’s premiership/Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/November 30/16
Titles
For Latest Lebanese Related News published on on November
29-30/16
Former Top Israeli Official: Iran in Rush to Arm Terror Proxies Before
Trump Takes Office
Report: Aoun Impatient with Delay in
Cabinet Formation
Bassil Says 'No One
Can Eliminate Anyone in
Report: Cabinet Crisis Goes Beyond Fight over Portfolios
Berri Says Made Enough
Concessions, Blames Others for Cabinet Delay
Was Wahhab Target of Israeli Strike
near
Mashnouq: Ministry
Needs to Prepare for Parliamentary Polls if New Law is Agreed
Storm
Storm
Suspect Supplying Militants with Weapons Arrested in Majdal Anjar
Lebanon president discloses net worth to Constitutional
Council
Hezbollah-allied media attacks new president
Hezbollah warns no govt without Marada
The Iranian Empire is back
Road collapses in Barbour region
Aoun hails Caritas
humanitarian work
Bassil from
Bonne tours Akkar
U.S. Ambassador Elizabeth Richard visits ISF Academy in Aramoun
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on November
29-30/16
Egyptian Muslim Radicals Destroy Coptic Christian Properties
UN: Aleppo risks becoming ‘one giant graveyard’
Assad Media: Israel raided sites in west of Damascus
Israel hits targets outside Damascus: pro-Assad media
Rebel official: Army repelled from south Aleppo
France, Britain Seek U.N. Sanctions over Syria Chemical Arms
50,000 Flee East Aleppo as Army Advances
Russia hopes Aleppo situation can be resolved by year-end
Syria Opposition Says Regime, Allies Have Turned Aleppo into 'a Coffin'
City Leader Urges 'Safe Corridor' for Aleppo Civilians
Syria Regime Shelling Kills 21 Civilians in East Aleppo
Abadi: Mosul battle to end before new year
Coalition: Months until Mosul battles finalized
500,000 Iraqis Face 'Catastrophic' Mosul Water Shortages
Kuwait Emir Renames Premier to Form Cabinet
Israel president decries bill to quieten mosques
Palestinian Jailed 16 Years for Knife Attack
Bahrain Jails Journalist over Tweet
Thousands Squeeze into Church, Stadium to Mourn Tragic Crash
Khamenei’s top advisor: Iran will head global
Islamic state
UN chief: Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects under threat
Against Iranian Regime's Meddling in the Internal Affairs of Islamic Countries
Links From Jihad Watch Site for on December
01/16
Jihad
massacres work: Charlie Hebdo not only surrenders,
but switches sides
NC
Muslim planned jihad massacres for the Islamic State in NC and Virginia
Keith
Ellison met in Saudi Arabia with jihadi cleric and
bank that funds jihad bombings
9/11
mastermind credits George W. Bush with preventing more jihad attacks in US
Toronto:
Islamic book sold that explains wisdom of stoning adulterers to death
German
priest says Christian children “ruthlessly” bullied by Muslim migrants
OSU Diversity
Officer: Jihadi Artan “was
a BUCKEYE…find compassion for his life”
Jimmy
Carter wants UN to impose a Palestinian state by fiat, with US recognition
Morocco:
TV show teaches how women can conceal a beating with makeup
Germany:
“Pickup artist” training Muslim migrants how to win women
Turkey
gathers boats to ship Muslim migrants to Greece in revenge over EU talks freeze
Germany:
Muslim intel officer arrested for jihad plot to bomb
his own agency HQ
White
House warns against blaming Islam for OSU jihad attack
Links From Christian Today Site for on December 01/16
Egyptian
Muslim Radicals Destroy Coptic Christian Properties
Assad
Aims To Take Aleppo Before Trump Takes Office
Will
Protestants Welcome Pope Francis To Northern Ireland?
Two
Thirds Of People Could Not Spot Child Abuse In Faith Setting
Religion
More Important Than Race Or Class In US Election - Analysis
Why
Christians Need To Stop Watching Porn (And It's Not What You Think)
Religious
Freedom Eroded Amid 'Fear And Distrust' Of Faith - Report
Persecuted
Christians Need Your Support, EU Officials Told
Off
With Their Hats: Cardinals Who Queried Pope's Teaching Could Be Demoted
Latest Lebanese Related News
published on December 01/16
Former Top Israeli
Official: Iran in Rush to Arm Terror Proxies Before Trump Takes Office
Ruthie Blum/algemeiner.com/November 30/16
https://www.algemeiner.com/2016/11/30/former-israeli-official-iran-in-rush-to-arm-terror-proxies-before-trump-takes-office/
Iran is stepping up the speed at which it is arming its proxies in the region
due to its fear that after Donald Trump assumes the US presidency in January,
its room to maneuver in Syria will be greatly
hampered, a former director-general of Israel’s Ministry of International
Affairs and Strategy told The Algemeiner on
Wednesday. IDF Brig. Gen. (res.) Yosef Kuperwasser, currently a senior project manager at the
Syrian state media say Israeli jets have fired two missiles from Lebanese
airspace which struck outside
Report: Aoun
Impatient with Delay in Cabinet Formation
Naharnet/November 30/16/President Michel Aoun is not pleased with the stalled efforts to form a new
government one month after his election and is mulling the formation of a
"realistic" cabinet shall the process witness further stalemates,
media reports said Wednesday.. Sources following up
closely on the negotiations to line-up a cabinet, said that Aoun
will not tolerate to wait too long for the formation process to be complete and
refuses “exhausting the momentum that his term had witnessed” after his
election on October 31. They added that the President will not accept the
repetition of bitter experiences that lingered during the previous term of
President Michel Suleiman when the formation process took months to complete.
Therefore forming a "realistic cabinet not a de-facto cabinet" would
be one of the options that Baabda would take into
consideration. Christian medians said that the conflict over portfolios could
be solved by allotting the public works portfolio to the Lebanese Forces, the
health to Speaker Nabih Berri
and the education ministry to Marada Movement leader
Suleiman Franjieh. They described this distribution
as “fair.”Wrangling between political parties over
the distribution of ministerial portfolios have
stalled the efforts of Prime Minister-designate Saad
Hariri to line-up a new cabinet. Last month, the parliament elected Aoun, a former general, as president ending a
two-and-half-year deadlock that left
Bassil Says 'No One Can Eliminate Anyone in Lebanon', Urges
Fair Electoral Law
Naharnet/November 30/16/Free Patriotic Movement chief
and caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil stressed Wednesday that “no one can eliminate anyone
in Lebanon,” as he called for a “fair” law for parliamentary elections. “We
must leave behind the policies of the past and the policies of elimination,”
said Bassil during a visit to the Arab Club in
Report: Cabinet Crisis Goes Beyond Fight
over Portfolios
Naharnet/November 30/16/Lebanese Forces sources
stressed on Wednesday that the obstacles hampering the formation of a new
cabinet stem from intentions of some parties to prevent President Michel Aoun from practicing his role to establish a strong State,
al-Joumhouria daily reported. “The current crisis to
line up a cabinet goes beyond conflicts over ministerial portfolios. It stems
from a strategic nature linked to preventing President Michel Aoun from an attempt to build a State,” LF sources told the
daily. “It is obvious that their specifications of a
President is to be a fighter in
Berri Says Made Enough Concessions,
Blames Others for Cabinet Delay
Naharnet/November 30/16/Speaker Nabih
Berri stressed on Wednesday that he is not to blame
for the obstacles that have so far delayed lining-up a cabinet and assured that
he made enough concessions to facilitate its formation. “I am not responsible
for the obstacles hampering the government formation, I made the necessary
concessions to facilitate its line-up,” said Berri
during his weekly meeting with MPs. “The obstacle is somewhere else,” he went
on to say. Wrangling over the distribution of ministerial portfolios lingers
among political parties. In the same context LBCI quoted AMAL MP Ayyoub Hmayyed who said: “The
Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces are
the core of the problem in the formation process.” He added: “We will mot
accept to lessen (Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman) Franjieh.” The Lebanese Forces want to be given the public
works portfolio which Berri refuses to concede to any
other party. Berri insists that Franjieh
is given a key ministerial portfolios, and says that
he won't partake in a cabinet that does not include the Marada
chief.
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November
30/16/ The Israeli air force fired two missiles at dawn on Wednesday that hit
near
Was Wahhab Target of Israeli Strike near
Naharnet/November 30/16/After unconfirmed reports
said that the convoy of Arab Tawhid Party chief Wiam Wahhab had “miraculously
escaped” the Israeli airstrike that targeted the al-Sabboura
area near Damascus at dawn Wednesday, Wahhab's office
said it cannot “rule out” the possibility that the ex-minister was the target
of the raid. Wahhab had personally confirmed his
presence in
Mashnouq: Ministry Needs to Prepare for Parliamentary Polls if
New Law is Agreed
Naharnet/November 30/16/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said on
Wednesday that the ministry has the preparations ready to hold the upcoming
parliamentary elections on time shall the 1960 majoritarian
law be adopted. “The Ministry is ready today to hold the parliamentary polls
under the 1960 electoral law, but it needs some time for preparations shall
another law be agreed,” said Mashnouq. The political
parties are bickering over amending the current 1960 election law which divides
seats among the different religious sects. Hizbullah
has repeatedly called for an electoral law based on proportional representation
but other political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal
Movement, have rejected the proposal and argued that the party's controversial
arsenal of arms would prevent serious competition in regions where the
Iran-backed party is influential. Mustaqbal, the
Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party have meanwhile proposed a
hybrid electoral law that mixes the proportional representation and the
winner-takes-all systems. Speaker Nabih Berri has also proposed a hybrid law. The country has not
voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending
its own mandate.
The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and
the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.
Storm
Naharnet/November 30/16/The Arz-Ainata
road was blocked by snow on Wednesday as the northern city of
Suspect Supplying Militants with Weapons
Arrested in Majdal Anjar
Naharnet/November 30/16/ The Army Intelligence
conducted a raid in the Bekaa town of Majdel Anjar and arrested a man
suspected of providing his brother, affiliated to al-Qaida linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades, with weapons, the National News Agency
reported Wednesday. The military arrested Omar H.Kh
on charges of providing his brother, R.Kh., and affiliate of Abdullah Azzam
Brigares with explosives and weapons, NNA said. LBCI
identified the man as Omar Hassan Kharroub, and his
brother as Radwan. Rawdan
is the major suspect in the 2014 bombing attacks that targeted the
The Daily Star/November 30, 2016/
Hezbollah-allied media attacks new
president
Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/November 30,
2016
The vociferous attack targeted the president of the republic even if the
blatantly worded essay, signed by the “Political Editor,” was interpreted as a
direct challenge to Michel Aoun whose post-election
declarations displeased Hezbollah officials.
It reminded Aoun that he was chosen to fill the
post of the presidency by Hezbollah and that the party intended to collect all
of the chips that were sealed in the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding with the
Free Patriotic Movement (FPM). The writer further called on Aoun
to remember that it pushed Bassil to become a
minister in the first Hariri government back in 2009 and repeatedly backed his
son-in-law to run for office as a deputy even if every attempt resulted in
failure.
The choicest criticisms were reserved to the FPM reconciliation with the
Lebanese Forces, whose leader Samir Geagea plotted the current outcome by withdrawing his own
candidacy, reconciling with and backing Aoun, and
forcing Sa‘ad Hariri to abandon the candidacy of the Marada leader, Sulaiman Franjieh, all of which created a fait accompli in front of
Hezbollah to finally end its two-and-a-half-year-long parliamentary boycotts.
Al Safir blamed Bassil
for aligning himself with Geagea in a “Christian
Coalition” at the expense of the party that “stood steadfast with Aoun” that, it say the least, was interpreted as nothing
less than insult added to injury.
Unhappy with Aoun’s commitment to visit
Amid ongoing negotiations over the next government, rumours circulating
that the infamous veto power must be brought back led Hezbollah to warn that
the Marada Movement must be assigned a key
ministerial portfolio before anything else. Aoun,
increasingly a hostage held in a golden cage, is seemingly livid that Hezbollah
would use this tactic — which ended the first Hariri Government in 2011, ironically
when Bassil announced the resignation of FPM and
Hezbollah ministers — against him too.
Hezbollah warns no govt without Marada
Hussein Dakroub/The
Daily Star/November 30/16
“There will be no government unless the Marada
Movement is allocated a weighty ministerial portfolio in the Cabinet lineup. Hezbollah has relayed this position to those
involved in the Cabinet formation process,” a political source told The Daily
Star, in a clear reference to President Michel Aoun and
Hariri.
Hezbollah officials could not be reached to comment on the hurdles
hindering the Cabinet formation. But the difficulties facing the government
formation figured high in a new round of talks between senior officials of
Hezbollah and the Future Movement after which the two sides called for a speedy
formation of a new Cabinet.
“The participants discussed developments of the government formation and
the need to form it as soon as possible in order to benefit from the positive
atmosphere in the country,” said a terse statement issued after the meeting
held at Speaker Nabih Berri’s
Ain al-Tineh residence Tuesday night. “They also
discussed the issue of approving a new law for parliamentary elections and
holding them on time.”
Tuesday’s was the 37th dialogue session between the Future Movement and
Hezbollah aimed at defusing sectarian and political tensions, exacerbated by
the nearly 6-year-old war in Syria.
Berri rejected accusations that he was
obstructing the formation of a new government. He was quoted as saying by
visitors at Ain al-Tineh that he was still waiting
for any new development concerning the Cabinet.
“Contrary to what some are circulating, the [Cabinet formation] ball is
not in my court, but rather in the court of those concerned with the matter.
They know how to find solutions,” Berri said.
He denied that his ties with Aoun were
strained. “My relations with the president are more than good and not marred by
anything. On the contrary, we have met and the atmosphere was excellent and it
is still so,” Berri was quoted as saying.
Hezbollah’s tough position on the Cabinet formation comes as Hariri is
encountering major obstacles in trying to set up national unity government. The
rival parties jockeying for key ministerial portfolios, namely the
Telecommunications, Energy and Public Works, is presenting Hariri with
difficulties that are delaying the formation of a 24-member national accord
Cabinet.
It also comes as the Marada Movement, headed by
MP Sleiman Frangieh who ran
against Aoun in the presidential race, is demanding
one of the three key portfolios – Telecommunications, Energy or Public Works –
as a condition for its participation in the government.The
Lebanese Forces, which is allied with Aoun’s Free
Patriotic Movement and Hariri’s Future Movement, is also demanding the Public
Works Ministry, in addition to other portfolios.
Berri has thrown his weight behind Frangieh, pledging that his Amal
Movement will not join a new government if the Marada
Movement is not represented in it with a key ministerial post.
The Marada Movement has already rejected offers
of the Education or Culture Ministry, insisting on acquiring a public service
portfolio.
The Future Movement’s parliamentary bloc renewed its plea for the swift
formation of a new government, saying that
“The bloc hopes that the ongoing contacts and efforts made by Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri will lead to the
formation of a new government as soon as possible,” the bloc said in a
statement issued after its weekly meeting chaired by former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
“The new government faces major and essential missions, starting with
preparing and approving the draft 2017 state budget and sending it to
Parliament, and also following up the endorsement of a new electoral law in
Parliament,” the statement said.
It added that the new government would also have to work to restore the
Lebanese citizens’ confidence in their state and institutions “in a way that
would boost the role of the just state which is capable of fighting domination
and taking courageous decisions to help meet the peoples’ accumulated needs.”
“The opportunity at hand to achieve a correct start for the new
presidential term must not be weakened or wasted because the Lebanese people
are pinning hopes on making a breakthrough in the profound crisis in this
important and dangerous stage through which Lebanon and the region are
passing,” the statement said.
For his part, LF chief Samir Geagea said that the ongoing dispute over the distribution
of ministerial portfolios reflected “a veiled attempt” to target his party’s
alliance with the FPM.
“The competition over the shares and [ministerial] portfolios is a veiled
attempt to target the alliance between the FPM and the LF,” Geagea
said in an interview with the Central News Agency. “We realized from the very
beginning that the matter goes beyond the distribution of portfolios ... but
the state will only rise according to the Constitution.”
Geagea said some parties, whom he did not name,
do not want a new presidential era, but an extension of the previous
presidential mandates, particularly those that existed when
Despite obstacles facing Hariri, the LF chief said he did not expect the
Cabinet formation to take long because the president and the premier-designate
are against time wasting.
Noting that the LF has dropped its demand for a “sovereign” ministerial
post as a way of facilitating the task of Aoun and
Hariri, Geagea said his party’s promised share in the
new government is the post of the deputy prime minister,
the Public Works, Information, Social Affairs and Tourism portfolios.
The Iranian Empire is back
Hussain Abdul Hussain/Now
Lebanon/November 30/16
The assimilation of Iranian-backed militias into the armies of Arab states is
official confirmation that Khomenei’s expansionist
Shiite ideology has succeeded
For the first time since 625 CE, Iran has restored its control over a
contiguous territory that extends from the east of Afghanistan to the
Mediterranean coast.
With the complete collapse of the Syrian armed opposition expected before the
end of this year,
The collapse of the Syrian opposition is not the milestone that marks the rise
of the Iranian Empire. It is rather Hezbollah’s military parade in Qusayr, and the Syrian regime’s announcement of the
integration of Hezbollah in the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) elite Fifth Corps.
News of Hezbollah’s integration in the SAA came simultaneously with
In both
The assimilation of militias into state armies in
The model of local kings, historically known as satraps in ancient
The last Iranian Shahnash lost control over the
Mediterranean coast to Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, who ruled between 610 and
641 and launched his war against the
Such collapses came under different circumstances, but the end result has been
the same. Now
What next? Knowing that the Islamic Republic of Iran was built on an
expansionist ideology, which at times took the form of exporting a revolution,
The Iranian nuclear program was a diversion that the world fell for and which
A supporter of
Road
collapses in Barbour region
Wed 30 Nov 2016/NNA - A road has collapsed in Barbour region after a
water tank passed in the same region, NNA field reporter said on Wednesday,
adding that investigations were underway to determine whether the road
collapsed after have been subjected to heavy pressure by the water tank, or the
result of this afternoon's heavy rain.
Aoun hails Caritas humanitarian work
Wed 30 Nov 2016/NNA - President of the
Bassil from Panama: Cabinet formation obligatory path to new
electoral law approval
Wed 30 Nov 2016/NNA - Caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister, Gibran Bassil, said, "True that we elected a new President
who is purely made in Lebanon, yet that isn't enough but should find a complete
term by forming a government which is an obligatory channel to approving a new
electoral law - something that boosts political stability in Lebanon."Minister Bassil's
stance came Wednesday from
Bonne tours Akkar
Wed 30 Nov 2016/NNA - French Ambassador Emanuel Bonne toured the region of Akkar in North Lebanon, accompanied by a delegation of the
Embassy and the French Cultural Center, upon the invitation of former MP Karim El-Rassi. The first stage
of the tour was at Abdallah el-Rasi
high school where a student reception was reserved for visitors, in the
presence of the parents' committee and the teachers. After the Lebanese and
French hymns, visitors toured the different sections of the school. They then
held a meeting with the educational and administrative bodies during which they
examined the educational system as well as the school activities and needs. The
Ambassador then went to Rassi's house, where a
banquet was held in his honor, in the presence of a
crowd of politicians and dignitaries of the region. The French diplomat finally
spoke in Arabic to the participants at the banquet, thanking them for their
hospitality.
U.S. Ambassador Elizabeth Richard visits
Wed 30 Nov 2016/NNA - U.S. Ambassador Elizabeth Richard met with the head of
the
Following is a statement that Ambassador Richard gave at the end of her
visit:
General Hajjar, I'm so delighted to be here
today. Thank you very much for inviting me. I am just very very
happy to see in action the latest piece of training equipment here and capacity
for your training academy. This is the
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on on December 01/16
Egyptian Muslim Radicals Destroy Coptic
Christian Properties
Mark Woods/Christian Today/November 30/2016
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/11/30/egyptian-muslim-radicals-destroy-coptic-christian-properties/
Muslim radicals have attacked properties and homes belonging to Coptic
Christians in Egypt after rumours circulated about a church being constructed.
According to International Christian Concern, the attacks took place in Manshiet El-Naghamish village
located in the Sohag Governorate in
Leaflets called on local Muslims to attack the community were distributed after
the local bishop was asked to preside over a prayer meeting.
Samir Nashed, a Christian
resident of El-Naghamish, told ICC: "On Friday
[at] noon, November 25, following the Muslim prayers, a great deal of fanatic
Muslim young men, some of them were carrying gas canisters and rocks while
others came armed with automatic rifles, clubs, machetes and knives, they
attacked Copts and Coptic-owned houses." Four Copts were injured, a
Christian-owned guest house was destroyed as well as nine Coptic homes, and
four Coptic-owned shops were looted and burnt.
"The attackers cut [off] the road so that the fire trucks could not enter
the village; they also cut off the water and power supply to the village,"
Nashed explained to ICC.
After police gained control of the situation, they arrested 18 Muslims involved
in the attack. The Governor of Sohag and the Chief of
Security of Sohag visited the scene and held a
reconciliation session between the two communities.
William Stark, ICC's Regional Manager, said: "We are shocked at the news
of yet another attack against Christians incited by rumours of church
construction. ICC mourns with the families who have lost their homes and
businesses due to these hate crimes. This is the latest in a long string of
similar attacks and we are impatient to see proper justice served. "The
Egyptian government must do more to secure the lives and properties of all
citizens, including Christians."
UN: Aleppo risks becoming ‘one giant
graveyard’
AFP, United Nations/Beirut Wednesday, 30 November 2016/A top UN
envoy on Wednesday pleaded with the Security Council to help break the siege of
Aleppo, warning that residents of the Syrian city were at risk of
extermination. “For the sake of humanity we call on -- we plead -- with the
parties and those with influence to do everything in their power to protect
civilians and enable access to the besieged part of eastern Aleppo before it
becomes one giant graveyard,” said Stephen O’Brien, the UN
under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs. O’Brien, speaking to a
special Security Council session by video-link from
Residents have been reduced to scavenging for food, hospitals are not
functioning after repeated military strikes and an estimated 25,000 people have
fled eastern
Syrian opposition calls on UN
Meanwhile, a leading Syrian opposition body on Wednesday demanded the United
Nations act immediately to protect residents of
Assad Media: Israel raided sites in
west of Damascus
Staff writer, Alarabiya.net Wednesday, 30 November 2016/Syria’s state
television said on Wednesday that Israeli aircraft mounted attacks from
Lebanese airspace on an area west of the capital Damascus. State television
added that the Israeli jets fired two missiles on an area west of the capital on
Wednesday at dawn, and the missiles fell on the Saboura
area. Media outlets reported earlier, that
Albin Szakola/Now
Lebanon/November 30/16
NOW's English news desk editor Albin
Szakola (@AlbinSzakola)
wrote this report.
Rebel official: Army repelled from
south Aleppo
Agencies Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Rebel groups fully repelled the Syrian army and its allies from the Sheikh Saeed district in southeast Aleppo, a rebel official said
on Wednesday after a Syrian military source said government troops and allied
forces had captured the district. Zakaria Malahifji, head of the political office of the Aleppo-based
Fastaqim rebel group, denied this, saying the
insurgents had control of the area but that there were ongoing clashes. Earlier
in the day, Syrian government artillery fire killed 21 civilians, including two
children, in an eastern district of Aleppo early Wednesday, a monitoring group
said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least eight of those
killed were civilians who had fled from elsewhere in the east as government
forces advanced, and sought refuge in rebel-held Jubb
al-Qubbeh. The Britain-based monitor said dozens more
were wounded in the “fierce” shelling, and many people were stuck under the
rubble of collapsed buildings. Tens of thousands of people have poured out of
the rebel-held northeast in recent days, with some crossing into territory held
by either the government or Kurdish forces, but others moving south into
remaining rebel-held territory. The White Helmets rescue group published photos
of the aftermath of the attacks, showing an apocalyptic scene with bodies and
parts of flesh strewn on a street among the rubble of surrounding buildings. In
one image, a young man appeared to weep next to two bodies, their top halves
obscured by blankets. The feet of one body were clad in pink socks, the other
wore red boots done up with white laces. Suitcases and plastic bags were strewn
among the bodies, which the White Helmet workers carefully transferred into
orange body bags.
50,000 flee
More than 50,000 people have fled rebel-held east Aleppo in the last four days
as government forces advance, the Observatory said Wednesday. The Observatory
said more than 20,000 people had fled to western neighborhoods
of the city held by the government, with another 30,000 moving to areas held by
Kurdish forces. Syrian troops have seized at least a third of eastern
Calls for safe passage
Meanwhile, the president of the
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday that the Syrian
government had detained hundreds of people forced to flee rebel-held areas of
east
France, Britain Seek U.N. Sanctions over
Syria Chemical Arms
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November
30/16/France and Britain said Tuesday they would soon submit to the U.N.
Security Council a resolution that slaps sanctions on Syrian authorities responsible
for the use of chemical weapons. A joint investigation by the United Nations
and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) found that
several units of the Syrian army had used toxic weapons against three villages
in northern
50,000 Flee East Aleppo as Army Advances
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November
30/16/More than 50,000 people have fled rebel-held east
The loss of east
Russia hopes Aleppo situation can be
resolved by year-end
Reuters, Moscow Wednesday, 30 November 2016/Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
Mikhail Bogdanov said on Wednesday he hoped that the
situation in Syria’s Aleppo could be sorted out by the end of this year, the
RIA news agency cited him as saying.
“We are hoping for this of course,” Bogdanov was
quoted as saying, when asked if the situation in
Syria Opposition Says Regime, Allies Have
Turned Aleppo into 'a Coffin'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November
30/16/A leading Syrian opposition body on Wednesday demanded the United Nations
act immediately to protect residents of Aleppo, battered by advancing regime
forces. The opposition National Coalition urged the U.N. Security Council in a
letter to "take immediate, definitive steps to protect civilians in
City Leader Urges 'Safe Corridor' for
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November
30/16/The head of a local council in the east of the besieged Syrian city of
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November
30/16/Syrian government shelling killed 21 civilians, including two children,
in an eastern district of Aleppo early Wednesday, a monitoring group said. The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens more were wounded in the
artillery fire on the rebel-held Jubb al-Qubbeh district. Observatory head Rami
Abdel Rahman said the shelling there was
"fierce," and many people were stuck under the rubble of collapsed
buildings. According to the White Helmets, a rescue group in
opposition-controlled Syrian territory, the artillery fire hit a group of
displaced civilians seeking refuge from other eastern districts. Syrian state
news agency
Abadi:
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English
Wednesday, 30 November 2016/Although the international coalition thinks the
Abadi added that
Coalition: Months until
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 30
November 2016/Colonel John Dorian, the spokesperson of the US-led coalition
said they need weeks or months to finalize battles in
500,000 Iraqis Face 'Catastrophic' Mosul
Water Shortages
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November
30/16/Up to 500,000 civilians in Mosul face a "catastrophic" drinking
water shortage as Iraqi forces advance on the Islamic State group in the city,
the United Nations warned on Wednesday. "Nearly half a million civilians,
already struggling to feed themselves day to day, are now without access to
clean drinking water. The impact on children, women and families will be
catastrophic," said Lise Grande, UN humanitarian
coordinator in
Kuwait Emir Renames Premier to Form
Cabinet
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November
30/16/Kuwait's emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-
Israel president decries bill to
quieten mosques
By AFP, Jerusalem Wednesday, 30 November 2016/Israeli President Reuven Rivlin spoke out on
Tuesday against a controversial bill that would prohibit mosques from using
loudspeakers to summon believers to prayers early in the morning. The draft
law, which sparked outrage around the Arab and wider Muslim world, is set to be
submitted for its preliminary reading in parliament on Wednesday. Its original
form was amended last week in order not to affect the sirens that announce the
start of the Jewish day of rest at sundown each Friday. Rivlin
on Tuesday hosted in his
Palestinian Jailed 16 Years for Knife
Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November
30/16/An Israeli court on Wednesday sentenced a Palestinian to 16 years in
prison for a knife attack that wounded an Israeli in
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November
30/16/A Bahraini court has jailed a journalist for three months over a tweet
deemed insulting to religion, Reporters Without
Borders said Wednesday. Faisal Hayyat, a journalist
and a blogger who hosts a satirical channel on YouTube, was convicted Tuesday
of insulting a "religious symbol and group," the watchdog said. He
has been in detention since October 9, the last time he tweeted
saying that he had been summoned by police for investigation. The content of
the tweet that the charges refer to is not clear, but on October 8, Hayyat posted tweets denouncing Muawiyah,
the first caliph of the 7th-century Umayyad Caliphate, who is despised by
Shiite Muslims for a conflict with their revered Imam Ali. The
Thousands Squeeze into Church, Stadium to
Mourn Tragic Crash
Associated Press/Naharnet/November 30/16/Thousands
squeezed into Chapeco's cathedral and even more
packed a stadium to mourn the death of 71 people in a plane crash, 19 of them
members of the Chapecoense club who had been on the
brink of soccer greatness. "To lose (almost) all of them in such a tragic
way, totally destroyed our city and each one of us," Carla Vilembrini said late Tuesday, standing outside Santo
Antonio Cathedral. She was dressed like so many others — in the club's green
and white jerseys.
Chapecoense's fantasy season ended on a muddy
Colombian mountainside late Monday when a chartered aircraft crashed south of
"The city is very quiet," businessman Cecilio
Hans said. "People will only believe once the bodies start to arrive."On social media, haunting last photos showed
the smiling players boarding the flight to
As recently as 2009, the club known as Chape was
playing in Brazil's fourth division, but it won promotion to the top league in
2014 for the first time since the 1970s.
Victories over San Lorenzo and Independente — two of
Few of the players had an international profile, and none had any appearances
with
The only players to survive were goalkeeper Jakson Follmann, defender Helio Zampier, commonly known as Neto,
and defender-midfielder Alan Ruschel.
Coach Caio Junior is credited with Chape's quick rise, joining the club this year after
guiding teams in the
He was among the dead. His son, Matheus Saroli, escaped because he didn't make the flight, saying
in a Facebook post that he couldn't board
"because I forgot my passport."
An Argentine player on the club, Alejandro Martinuccio,
also missed the flight, because of an injury during a game, he told
"I feel deep sadness. The only thing I can ask is prayers for the
companions who were on the flight," he said.
Also among the dead were 20 sports journalists, including Mario Sergio Pontes
de Paiva, a former player who worked as a commentator
for Fox Sports. He played briefly for
Khamenei’s top advisor: Iran will head global Islamic state
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 30
November 2016/The world is heading towards establishing a global Islamic
government headed by Iran Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, Iran’s top military
adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said. Safavi, who served as commander of the Revolutionary Guards
from 1997 to 2007, said the
UN chief: Israeli-Palestinian peace
prospects under threat
By AP, United Nations Wednesday, 30 November 2016/Ban Ki-moon,
whose 10-year tenure as UN secretary-general ends in a month, said Tuesday that
the international community must make clear that it remains committed to peace
negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians because the prospects of an
agreement are “threatening to slip out of reach.”Ban,
bemoaning a lack of progress in peace negotiations during his tenure as the top
UN official, released a statement prior to a meeting of the 193-member UN
General Assembly on the conflict. He said that events in recent years -
including two unsuccessful attempts to negotiate a settlement and armed
conflict - have left Palestinians and Israelis alike frustrated and
disillusioned. “It has strengthened radicals and weakened moderates on both
sides,” he said. “Making matters worse is a dangerous vacuum within the
international community as crises elsewhere claim the attention of world leaders.”The General Assembly meeting came on the UN’s annual “International Day of Solidarity with the
Palestinian People.”
The Palestinians want the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east
In September, the international diplomatic “quartet” of Mideast peacemakers
called for
Against Iranian Regime's Meddling in
the Internal Affairs of Islamic Countries
Wednesday, 30 November 2016/NCRI - Pakistan Scholar Council held a
conference in the city of
In this conference,
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 01/16
Iran: Death Toll of the
IRGC and Its Mercenaries in Syria Is More Than Ten Thousand
NCRI Statements/Wednesday, 30 November 2016
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/11/30/iran-death-toll-of-the-irgc-and-its-mercenaries-in-syria-is-more-than-ten-thousand-maryam-rajavi-aleppo-will-rise-once-again-in-freedom-and-prosperity-despite-what-the-criminals-have-done/
Security and Anti-terrorism Committee
Names of 69 IRGC forces – Brigadier and IRGC forces-Colonels killed in Syria
According to Mullah Seyyed Mohammad Ali Shahidi Mahallati, Khamenei’s representative in “Martyrs and Veterans affairs
foundation” and Rouhani’s deputy, the number of IRGC
forces killed in the Syria war is more than one thousand. In a seminar on the
occasion of “Bassij Week” he stressed: “Number of our
country’s martyrs defending the holy shrine has exceeded one thousand and we owe
all of them. (Tasnim- the terrorist Quds force daily -Nov. 22, 2016)
According to the report by the Iranian Resistance from inside the country, the
number of losses of IRGC forces and its Lebanese, Afghan, Pakistani, Iraqi and
other mercenaries under their command are more than ten thousand. According to
the IRGC’s internal report, in order to prevent the
leaking of the extent of the casaulties and its
social negative impacts, the corpses of most of Afghan, Pakistani and Iraqi
mercenaries of the regime who are killed in
IRGC Brigadiers: Hassan Shateri, Seid
Hamid Tabatabaei Mehr, Haj Esmaeel
Heidari, Mohammad Jamal Pa Ghalehei,
Dadollah Sheibani, Jaber Darisavi, Mohammad Ali Aliabadi, Alireza Tavassoli, Hossein badpa, Hadi Kajbaf,
rousbeh Helisiaei, Haj Abdollah Eskandari,
Mohammad Ali Allahabadi, Ezzatollah
Soleimani, Farshad Hosseini-nejad, Abdolreza Majiri, Hossein Fadaei, SaeedSayyah Taheri, Sattar Orang, Hassan Razzaghi, Hamidreza Ansari, Ahmad Majdi Nasab, Haj
Ali Ghorbani, Reza farzaneh,
Hassan Ali Shamsabadi, Mohsen
Ghajarian, Masha-allah Shamseh, Javad dourbin, Seid Shafi
Shafiei, Jahangir Jafarnia,
Mohammad Hassan Hakimi, Reza Rostami
Moghaddam, Ahmad Gholami, Daryoush Dorosti, Mostafa Rashidpour, Akbar Nazari, Hossein Alikhani, Gholamreza Samaei and Zaker Heidari.
IRGC Colonels: Amir Reza Alizadeh, Heshmatollah Sohrabi, Abbas Abdullahi, Ghasem Gharib, Karim Qavabesh, Moslem Khizab, Mostafa Sadrzadeh, Esmaeel Khanzadeh, Mohammadreza Ali-Khani, Abdulreza Roshvand, Mohammad Tahan, Sattar Mahmoudi, Ghasem teimouri, morteza Torabi Kamel, Asghar Falahat
Pisheh, Hamzeh Kazemi, Abdulhossein Saadatkhah, Ahmad Goodarzi, Mohsen Mandani, Ali Taheri Tarshizi, Saeed Shamloo, Mohammad Balbasi, Rahim Kaboli, Ali Mansouri, Ghodratollah Abdian, Morteza Ataee, Adel Saad and Mohammadreza Zare Alvani, and also two colonel
of the army under command of Khamenei called Morteza Zarhoon and Mojtaba Zolfaghar Nasab.
High casualties in
Mullahs' inattention to the families of the killed, especially the Afghans, has
imposed additional suffering on their families. They even delay treatment of
injured and disabled Afghans who have returned from war.
Escalation of public's disgust has even resulted in protests by some of the
regime's factions against the war in
Mehdi Khazali said on September
11, "Wasn't the eight-year war (with Iraq) enough, now we have been
fighting in Syria for five years; it was a mistake and shouldn't happen, and I
have said this many times before…In fact the war has occurred and we are
engaged in this quagmire, and we are engaged with the issue of ISIS which was
created due to mismanagement of Haj Ghasem Soleimani. Hadn't he done
this, there wouldn't have been
Security and Anti-terrorism Commission of the National Council of Resistance of
November 29, 2016
Maryam Rajavi: "…
NCRI/November 30/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/11/30/iran-death-toll-of-the-irgc-and-its-mercenaries-in-syria-is-more-than-ten-thousand-maryam-rajavi-aleppo-will-rise-once-again-in-freedom-and-prosperity-despite-what-the-criminals-have-done/
A conference was held on Saturday, November 26, in Paris, in the presence of Maryam Rajavi. Following is a part
of this speech about
Dear friends,
Today, Khamenei has increasingly and deeply tied the
fate of his corrupt regime to the carnage haunting the people of
The war in
You heard chants of thousands of Iranians in their demonstrations commemorating
Cyrus the Great in
Dear friends,
As for the present crisis in the region, any solution seeking to end war and
instability and to address the problem of Daesh
(ISIS/ISIL) in particular must factor in the need for ending the regime's
meddling in the region and especially in
The day of freedom for the people of
Hail to the Iranian people;
Hail to the martyrs;
Hail to freedom.
Listen to the cries of Iranian
Christians for freedom
NCRI Iran News/ Wednesday, 30 November 2016
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/11/30/ncri-iran-news-listen-to-the-cries-of-iranian-christians-for-freedom/
After the mullahs' regime took over in
"The Obama administration did all it could to sell the nuclear deal as a
victory, at best it has deferred the ultimate questions about how to deal with
the regime in Iran, and at worst it has emboldened their belligerence in the
region. A successful policy vis-a-vis the regime in
"In all fairness, it is time to try something new, for our own sake and
for the sake of Iranians.""A common
denominator underlying the rise of ISIS, and the
spread of instability and fundamentalism is none other than the regime in
"The regime has been reluctant to make good on promises of change, and
thus far has continued its brutal repression of dissidents while maintaining an
aggressive policy in the region. The question of how to guarantee a long term
shift in the behavior of the Iranian regime remains
unanswered. The only long term policy that can guarantee a fundamental change
of behavior in Iran and that sets an example for hope
and change abroad is one which recognizes the legitimate rights of the Iranian
people to bring about democratic change and topple the theocratic fascist state
in Iran.""It is time that the
"Today the MEK is the most integral part of the National Council of
Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a coalition of Iranian opposition organizations that
support a secular future for
"Mrs. Rajavi advocates for a new future for
The new administration, the article pointed out, has a historical opportunity
for a historical change in one of the hotspots in the world. The new approach
is both moral and politically savvy.
Islamists Won: Charlie Hebdo
Disappears
Giulio Meotti/Gatestone
Institute/November 30/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9425/charlie-hebdo-disappears
"The newspaper is no longer the same, Charlie is
now under artistic and editorial suffocation." — Zineb
el Rhazoui, French-Tunisian intellectual and
journalist, author of Destroying Islamic Fascism.
"We must continue to portray Muhammad and Charlie; not to do that means
there is no more Charlie." — Patrick Pelloux,
another cartoonist who left the magazine.
"If our colleagues in the public debate do not share part of the risk,
then the barbarians have won." — Elisabeth Badinter,
philosopher, who testified in court for the cartoonists in the documentary,
"Je suis Charlie."
After the Kouachi brothers slaughtered Charlie Hebdo's journalists, they ran out into the street and
cried: "We have avenged Muhammad. We killed Charlie Hebdo."
Two years later, it appears that they won. They succeeded in silencing the last
European magazine still ready to defend freedom of expression from Islamism.
Over twenty years, fear has already devoured important pieces of Western
culture and journalism. They all disappeared in a ghastly act of
self-censorship: the cartoons of a Danish newspaper, a "South Park"
episode, paintings in London's Tate Gallery, a book published by the Yale
University Press; Mozart's Idomeneo, the Dutch film
"Submission", the name and face of the US cartoonist Molly Norris, a
book cover by Art Spiegelman and Sherry Jones's
novel, "Jewel of Medina", to name just a few. Most of them have
become ghosts living in hiding, hidden in some country house, or retired to
private life, victims of an understandable but tragic self-censorship.
Only the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was
missing from this sad, long list. Until now.
The disappointment with what Charlie Hebdo has become
is reflected in the words of the French journalist, Marika
Bret: "From
Take Charlie's recent covers. Against terrorists? No.
Against those who called them "racists"? No. It was against Éric Zemmour, the brave French journalist
at Le Figaro who has led a public debate about French identity. "Islam is
incompatible with secularism, incompatible with democracy, and incompatible
with republican government," Zemmour wrote.
Laurent Sourisseau, aka "Riss,"
now the publishing director and majority owner of Charlie, was shot during the
2015 attack on the magazine, and lives under police protection. He depicted Zemmour on the cover with an explosive vest, effectively
comparing him to a terrorist.
Charlie Hebdo also recently satirized Nadine Morano, a critic of Islam, depicting her as a baby with
Down Syndrome.
Riss also recently published a comic book attacking
another easy target of submissive conformists, entitled "The Dark Side of
Marine Le Pen." Le Pen leads
For the first anniversary of the massacre at Charlie Hebdo's
office, Riss released a cover not with Mohammed, but
depicting a murderous Judeo-Christian God, as if Riss's
colleagues had not been butchered by Islamists but by Catholics. Riss had, in fact, announced earlier that the magazine
would "no longer draw Mohammed".
The first person at Charlie to capitulate was "Luz", a well-known
cartoonist. He surrendered, saying: "I will no longer draw Muhammad".
Charlie Hebdo, after Islamist terrorists murdered
much of its staff in 2015, announced it would "no longer draw
Mohammed." Instead, the magazine now focuses on attacking critics of
Islamism, and mocking the Judeo-Christian God.
"The transplant that works worst," said Jeannette Bougrab,
the companion of Charlie's late editor Stéphane Charbonnier, "is the transplant of balls." Bougrab charged the attack's survivors with bowing to
terrorism and threats by betraying the legacy of free speech for which these
truthful men were murdered.
After the massacre of January 7, 2015, the cartoonist "Luz" cried in
front of the cameras after presenting a cover depicting the survivors, in which
Muhammad was portrayed as saying, "All is forgiven". Luz then
appeared in Le Grand Journal along with Madonna, and in a gesture of sad
voyeurism, displayed his genitals, covered by the logo "Je suis Charlie".
Charlie's "normalization" was also reflected in the recent dramatic
decision to terminate the magazine's relationship with another survivor, the
French-Tunisian intellectual and journalist Zineb el Rhazoui, who also now has to live under police protection
for her criticism of Islamic extremists.
"The newspaper is no longer the same, Charlie is now under artistic and
editorial suffocation," she told Le Monde. Rhazoui is the author of a new book, "Détruire le Fascisme Islamique" ("Destroying Islamic Fascism").
"We must continue to portray Muhammad and Charlie; not to do that means
there is no more Charlie", said Patrick Pelloux,
another cartoonist who left the magazine.
There were seven cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo. Five
were killed on January 7, 2015: Charb, Cabu, Honoré, Tignous
and Wolinski. The other two, Luz and Pelloux, resigned after the massacre. The headline of the
monthly Causeur captured the atmosphere:
"Charlie Hebdo Commits Hara-Kiri,"
playing with the Japanese form suicide and the previous name of Charlie (which
was "Hara-Kiri"). Between murders,
desertions and self-censorship, Charlie's story is almost over.
What is happening? Sadly, the Islamists' threats and attacks are working. A
similar crisis affected the Jyllands-Posten, the
Danish newspaper that first published the 12 cartoons of Muhammad, which
Charlie Hebdo immediately, to show solidarity,
reproduced. "The honor of
"The truth is that for us it would be totally irresponsible to publish the
cartoons today," the director of Jyllands-Posten,
Jorn Mikkelsen says to
justify his self-censorship. "Jyllands-Posten
has a responsibility to itself and its employees." Such as Kurt Westergaard, author of the caricature of Mohammed with a
bomb in his turban, who now lives in a house-fortress, with cameras and
security windows and machine-gun toting guards outside.
An ideological clash inside Charlie Hebdo developed
well before the terror attack. Zineb el Rhazoui arrived at the weekly magazine through editor Stéphane Charbonnier, "Charb",
the brave journalist who lead the battle against Islamist intimidation in
Charbonnier belonged to the generation of Philippe
Val and Caroline Fourest, the libertarian journalists
determined to criticize Islam, who, from 1992 to 2009, shaped the weekly
magazine.
"Charb? Where is Charb?", shouted
the terrorists in Charlie Hebdo's office, to make
sure they found the journalist they considered responsible for the Mohammed
cartoons controversy.
Philippe Val, who as a former Charlie Hebdo editor,
was put on trial in Paris for printing those cartoons, published a book
"Malaise dans l'inculture"
("Sickness in the Lack of Culture"), which attacks "the
ideological Berlin Wall" that has been raised by the Left.
In 2011, after a firebombing that destroyed Charlie's offices, an appeal by
frightened, intimidated journalists announced their refusal to support the
magazine's stance on Islam. Two years later, one of the signatories, Olivier Cyran, a former editor of Charlie Hebdo,
charged the magazine with being "obsessive about the Muslims." So did
a former Charlie journalist, Philippe Corcuff, who
accused his colleagues at the magazine of fomenting "a clash of
civilizations."
The attacks continued with another former cartoonist at Charlie Hebdo, Delfeil de Ton, who, in Le
Nouvel Observateur, after
the 2015 massacre, shamefully accused Charb of
"dragging" the staff into the slaughter by continuing to satirize
Mohammed.
After the Kouachi brothers slaughtered Charlie Hebdo's staff, they ran out into the street and cried:
"We have avenged Mohammed. We killed Charlie Hebdo."
Two years later, it appears that they won. They succeeded in silencing the last
European magazine still ready to defend freedom of expression from Islamism.
And they sent a special warning to all the others. Because after Charlie Hebdo, writing articles critical of Islam, or penning a
cartoon, make them a target for assassination attempts and intimidation
campaigns.
The feminist and philosopher Elisabeth Badinter, who
testified in court for the French cartoonists in the documentary, "Je suis Charlie," said: "If
our colleagues in the public debate do not share part of the risk, then the
barbarians have won."
The magazine Paris Match asked Philippe Val if he could imagine the
disappearance of Charlie Hebdo. Val replied:
"This would be the end of a world and the beginning of Michel Houellebecq's 'Submission'". After attacks comes
self-censorship: submission. If Charlie Hebdo
is tired and fleeing from responsibilities, who can blame it? But the others, the rest?
*Giulio Meotti, Cultural
Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and
author.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The
articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of
Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced,
copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
Institute.
The UN's Palestine Language
A.J. Caschetta/Gatestone Institute/November 30/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9432/un-palestine
For decades, UN agencies have slandered the Jewish state, most recently with
the April 2016 accusation that it has been "planting Jewish fake
graves" in Palestinian territory, and with UNESCO declaring last year that
the ancient Jewish Biblical sites Rachel's Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs
are actually Muslim holy sites, and last month that the Temple Mount, where the
Jewish Temples were destroyed in 587 BCE and 70 CE, is an Islamic site with no
connection to Judaism.
West Bank: This territory was for millennia called Judea and
Occupation: When it comes to
Settlement: The UN uses the term to insinuate Israeli theft of "
US President-elect Donald Trump won the White House promising to reform our
dysfunctional government. But will he also stand up to the even more
dysfunctional United Nations?
As the Trump campaign emphasized in a position paper released November 2, the
UN has long displayed "enormous anti-Israel bias." For decades, UN
agencies have slandered the Jewish state, most recently with the April 2016
accusation that it has been "planting Jewish fake graves" in
Palestinian territory, and with UNESCO declaring last year that the ancient
Jewish Biblical sites Rachel's Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs are actually
Muslim holy sites, and last month that the Temple Mount, where the First and
Second Jewish Temples were destroyed in 587 BCE and 70 CE, is an Islamic site
with no connection to Judaism. On the day
UNESCO last year declared ancient Jewish Biblical sites to actually be Muslim
holy sites: the Tomb of the Patriarchs in
The UN's greatest achievements against the Jewish
state have been rhetorical. By controlling the language of the
Palestinian-Israel conflict, the UN has skewed the narrative falsely against
UN documents regularly use the term "occupied
West Bank: The term "
Occupation: When it comes to
Most Palestinians in Judea and
Settlement: The term "settlement" evokes imagery of white European
settlers encroaching on the ancestral territories of red, brown and black
peoples, connoting the moral baggage of colonialism. The UN uses the term to
insinuate Israeli theft of "
The Obama administration eagerly embraced this terminology. On July 27, Obama
State Department spokesman John Kirby issued a statement that reads as though
it were written at the UN. The document, entitled "Recent Israeli
Settlement Announcements," suggests that Obama's State Department has come
around to the UN's way of thinking, especially in
"strongly condemning"
Now that
*A.J. Caschetta is a Shillman-Ginsburg
fellow at the Middle East Forum and a senior lecturer at the Rochester
Institute of Technology.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The
articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of
Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced,
copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
Institute.
Growing Egypt-Syria Rapprochement Includes Al-Sisi
Statement In Support Of Syrian Army, Reports On Egyptian Military Aid To Syria
By: N. Mozes/MEMRI/November 30/16
Introduction
This past week, Egypt-Syria relations warmed further, as evidenced by Egyptian
President 'Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi's
public statements in support of the Syrian army's war against the
"terrorists," and by several articles in the Egyptian government
daily Al-Ahram expressing approval of closer
relations in light of the changes in the region, including because of the
election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, and the shared challenges they are
facing. Additional signs of rapprochement include an official visit to
Al-Sisi's statement in support of the Syrian army
also sparked criticism in
The rapprochement between Egypt and Syria comes at a time of mounting
Egyptian-Saudi tension due to sharp disagreement on the Syria crisis;[1]
according to the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, efforts to mediate between the two countries by Arab
League secretary-general Muhammad Abu Al-Gheit and by
the UAE have failed.[2]
The following are excerpts from Al-Sisi's statement
and from the articles in the Egyptian press:
Al-Sisi: We Support The Syrian Army
According to reports in the Arab press, in a November 22 Portuguese television
interview, Al-Sisi publicly expressed, for the first
time, his support for the Syrian army, while at the same time rejecting the
possibility of Egyptian troops operating in Syria as part of U.N. forces. He
said: "It is better for a country's [own] national military forces to
protect its security and stability, so that sensitivities will not arise
because of the presence of other forces. The most appropriate thing [for other
countries] to do [in such cases] is to support a country's national army, for
example in Libya, so that [the Libyan army] will be able to control Libyan
territory, deal with the extremist elements [there], and bring about the
necessary stability. The same applies to
Al-Sisi made these statements some two days after
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Mu'allem
had noted that "the Egyptian discourse has improved" but added that
this improvement "does not yet match our expectations. The reason [for our
expectations] is simple: When
In
Reports Of Egyptian Military Aid To
According to reports, these statements by Al-Sisi and
Mu'allem are backed up by practical measures by the
two countries. During his October 17, 2016 visit to Cairo, Syrian National Security
Bureau head 'Ali Mamlouk met, according to DP News
reports, with Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate head Khaled Fawzy, and the two agreed
that their countries would "coordinate their political positions and
increase military coordination in combatting the
terrorism that both are dealing with."[8] According to the Saudi Al-Hayat, Mamlouk and Egyptian
officials discussed dispatching Egyptian officers to the battlefronts in Syria,
increasing security cooperation, and including Egypt in efforts of humanitarian
aid to Aleppo.[9]
Two weeks later, on November 3, the Iranian Tasnim
news agency reported that the Egyptian government was "determined to
extend military aid to Syria and send troops there to participate in the war
against the terrorists... The two governments will soon officially announce
[their] coordination in the war on terror."[10]
On November 24, two days after Al-Sisi's statements,
Muhammad Ballout, a reporter for the Lebanese Al-Safir daily, which is close to the Syrian regime, wrote:
"The Egyptians have stopped idly observing what is happening in Syria and
have decided... to intervene there gradually." According to the report,
secret Syria-Egypt military contacts have been underway for over a year, and
these have intensified in recent weeks. Two very senior Egyptian army officers
are currently in
On November 28, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry again rejected the Al-Safir report, noting: "These reports exist solely in
the imagination of those who disseminate them, and their purpose is clear to
all." A ministry spokesman added that before
Another sign of Syria-Egypt rapprochement is that
Al-Ahram Articles Expressing Approval Of Improved
Egypt-Syria Relations
Egypt And Syria Have A Golden Opportunity To Redraw The Middle East
Egypt's desire for rapprochement with
In one article, Egyptian journalist Ilhami Al-Maligi[16]
called on both countries to take advantage of the historic opportunity
presented to them by Donald Trump's election victory in order to join forces
and work to shape the
"The disconnect between the countries was never serious, perhaps because
everyone knows that even if relations have deteriorated, the blood ties between
them are too strong to be undermined by political alienation. Moreover, the
greater the disputes between the countries, the stronger their relations became
[after each crisis]. This was clear after the schism in late 1961.[17] Everyone predicted that the collapse of the
"Despite this entire shared historical relationship, and the popular
cohesion that is impossible to undo, the overall description of the official
relations between the countries was always that they were not as good as they
could be, [but] also not so bad that they were totally cut off. This is like a
voluntary rift in a family, in which two brothers continue living their lives
on the same path, but each does so separately from the other. After all, what
first comes to mind when you think of
"[
"In my opinion, there will be no better chance in history for the two
countries to once again take [a joint step] like in
October 1973 – a chance for the countries to lift the fog... and reorganize the
region.
"Trump's election to the U.S. presidency, and [the U.S.'s] inward focus
for at least the foreseeable future, present a golden opportunity for all
residents of the region, and especially for the two poles of the Arabs'
[power], to get rid of the new Middle East that is planned [for them] and
instead to plan the Middle East that they want. Today, not a single obstacle is
preventing the two countries from remembering their shared national
anthem..."[18]
Raise Egypt's Diplomatic Representation In Syria And Iran
Al-Ahram columnist Dr. Gamal
Zahran assessed that the Trump presidency will lead
to a substantial change in the region, and called it Egypt's great chance to
regain its role as a leader of the Arab world, including by reviving its
relations with Syria. He wrote: "The clear engine of initiative in
"It is also time to end our woefully inadequate [diplomatic]
representation in
"[There is a need for] a great Egyptian effort that reformulates Egypt's
regional role in light of new regional and international developments, and in
light of the election of a new U.S. president with views similar to ours, and
in light of a Russian president, Putin, who is a true supporter of the Arabs'
problems, and of Egypt in particular. This effort is not just necessary, but
certain [to come about]..."[20]
Egypt And Syria Need To Collaborate, Because Of The Shared Challenges They Face
Al-Ahram columnist Dr. Riad
Sanih called on Egyptians to learn from Syria how to
prevail in the face of scheming and pressure, arguing that the two countries
should collaborate in light of the shared challenges that they face:
"Egypt-Syria [relations] are not like those between other countries. The
characteristics of daily life and the enemies that they share make them
similar. Therefore, it is important to study well this case [of the
"Terrorism in
"
"Together,
Criticism Of Al-Sisi's Expression Of Support For
Syrian Army
Al-Watan Columnist: Egypt Must Not Intervene In Syria
Al-Sisi's statements in support of the Syrian army
triggered shock and criticism from several journalists, including some who are
considered his supporters. Thus, Dr. Mahmoud Khalil, a columnist for the independent Al-Watan daily, called on Egypt to refrain from any
intervention in Syria, in favor of any side, and to
be politically prudent so as to avoid creating crises vis-à-vis other
countries. He wrote: "The decision maker did well to keep
"The Egyptian decision-maker took a political stance on the events in
Al-Watan columnist 'Imad
Al-Din Adib wrote: "When President Al-Sis says
that his country supports every official army of every regime, including
Syria's, does he mean that he supports the Bashar
Al-Assad regime? It is not our [role] to interpret the president's remarks;
only he can provide the full, clear, and ultimate context of his remarks,
whether it is today, tomorrow, or the next day." Adib
added that Al-Sisi's support of the national army is
understandable, since he himself belongs to one, but asked: "Should we
consider Bashar Al-Assad's army as a national army,
or as the army of a tyrannical regime?!..."[23]
Al-Wafd Columnist: The President Must Clarify
Alaa' 'Oraibi, a columnist
for the Al-Wafd party newspaper, wrote: "It
appears that the Egyptian position regarding the
Al-Misriyyoun Editor: The President's Decision To
Support The Syrian Army Is Unconstitutional
Mahmoud Sultan, an editor at the Islamic daily Al-Misriyyoun, which is considered an opponent of Al-Sisi, expressed harsher criticism of Al-Sisi's
support for the Syrian army, directing it at the president himself, on the
grounds that this support was a political decision of the president's, not a
decision by the military establishment, and therefore Al-Sisi
is exclusively responsible for it and for the consequences. He wrote:
"The president's remarks regarding his support for the army of Bashar Al-Assad is the first official Egyptian statement on
Egypt's participation in the Syrian crisis, and clearly indicates that there is
[Egyptian] support [for Assad]. When we speak of the Syrian army, we speak of
militarily supporting it... but we do not yet know the type, scope, and mode of
this support: Does it mean arming [the Syrians] or that Egyptian forces are
participating?... Whether such support actually exists... or whether it is
still in the preparatory stages, we must conduct a legal and constitutional
debate on this matter. Can the president officially declare his military
support for Bashar's army without asking the National
Defense Council for its position on this, and without
the approval of two thirds of parliament?
"Some may ask: What parliament do you mean? After all, parliament is kind
of rubber stamp for presidential [decisions], and if he presents it with a
decision to fight in
"This decision by Al-Sisi to support Bashar's army in this way is unconstitutional. We expect
the president to be more sensitive to the sanctity of Egyptian and Syrian
blood. May the criminal Bashar, the murderer of his
people and the destroyer of his country, go to hell."[25]
*
[1] See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 1274, "The Egypt-Saudi Dispute
Over A Resolution To The
[2] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (
[3] Al-Yawm Al-Sabi' (
[4]
[5] Al-Watan (
[6] Al-Ba'th (
[7] Dp-news.com, November 23, 2016.
[8] Dp-news.com, November 23, 2016.
[9] Al-Hayat (
[10] Tasnimnews.com, November 3, 2016.
[11] Al-Safir (
[12] Al-Jarida (
[13] Al-Safir (
[14] Al-Ahram (
[15] Al-Watan (
[16] Al-Maligi was previously accused of supporting
the Assad regime, and one Syrian oppositionist website even called him
"one of the godfathers of the Assad gang in
[17] Referring to
[18] Al-Ahram (
[19]
[20] Al-Ahram (
[21] Al-Ahram (
[22] Al-Watan (
[23] Al-Watan (
[24] Al-Wafd (
[25] Al-Misriyyoun (
https://outlook.live.com/owa/?id=64855&path=/mail/inbox/rp
Kerry urges Senate Democrats to back off
Julian Pecquet/Al Monitor/November 30/16/
Secretary of State John Kerry visited Capitol Hill ًTuesday evening to
caution Senate Democrats against renewing
The
The low-key meeting comes ahead of a Senate vote later this week to renew for
another 10 years sanctions on
Durbin and others said the main thrust of Kerry's visit was to give lawmakers
the lay of the land around the world ahead of the Donald Trump administration.
Lawmakers were reluctant to divulge specifics from the classified meeting, but
made it clear that Kerry argued that President Barack Obama had launched
foreign policy initiatives worth preserving during his eight years in office.
“He made a very strong case for continuing to work hard on maintaining the
structure of the Iranian nuclear deal, climate change goals which we have set
for ourselves and for the world and many other issues,” said Sen. Ed Markey,
D-Mass., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Earlier in the day, Kerry made a similar appeal during a speech before a
women’s foreign policy forum. In those public remarks, he urged the incoming
administration to stay the course on everything, from the Iran deal to
overtures to Cuba and international trade deals, including the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, which Trump has vowed to pull out of.
“Now, I know that some people have said that Iran is such a huge threat we
shouldn’t even have attempted to do that — that we should have passed up the
best chance we had for the international community to come together and block
each and every one of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon,” Kerry said at the
forum, according to The Washington Post. “To me, that argument just doesn’t
compute.”
More broadly, Kerry said at the forum, “Success doesn’t require a change in
direction, but instead bigger strides down the road that we’re already on.”
While that message may resonate with many Senate Democrats, it likely will not
be enough to prevent passage of the Iran Sanctions Act. Last month, seven
Democrats who voted for the deal last year wrote to Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to urge him to schedule a
vote on the bill, arguing that it strengthens the deal by giving the White
House an “unambiguous ability to immediately snap back sanctions in the coming
years.”
Senate Republicans have vowed to move ahead with the vote this week, and
senators and staff leaving the meeting with Kerry said the deal was likely
doomed anyway if it can't withstand a largely symbolic extension of sanctions
authorities.
“Preserving these sanctions is critical given
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/kerry-tells-senate-democrats-dont-renew-iran-sanctions.html?bt_ee=ayT8PEjqnpIxreDaCsJReCT03Jsj8wBY79gFm4/S5ejKu0V/e8mvH37vc1W3fjRF&bt_ts=1480527831380
Human potential is the Middle East’s
greatest resource
Madeleine Albright/Al Arabiya/November 30/16
There is something exciting happening in the
Over the past eighteen months we have been engaged in a bipartisan initiative
seeking to identify a new and better approach toward peace and prosperity in
the
At the heart of the Arab uprisings in 2011 was the idea that people in the
region wanted the chance to define and pursue their own vision for the future.
Where governments sought to suppress these aspirations, war and instability
broke out, destabilizing not just the region but also setting off massive
refugee flows and terrorist movements that have upended Western politics.
Yet in other parts of the region, governments took the uprisings as a signal
that they needed to provide more opportunity for their people. In some cases,
like
Harnessing the power of youth and technology
We heard about young people eager to build their own
businesses rather than relying on government to provide employment. We learned
that 36 percent of Arab youth aspire to start their own companies, and are
using the power of new technology to do so. We also found that one third of
these Middle East start-up founders are women—more than ten times the rate of
female founders in
This is a population that is full of ingenuity, using their resourcefulness to
solve problems where their governments have failed them. Syrian refugees in
There is a pathway out of the current regional crises. But our efforts of the
past year and a half have taught us that a new strategic approach is required.
The Middle East must bet on its people and on a new partnership among the
international community, the states of the region, and their people
We believe that this vast human potential is the
The single biggest barrier standing between the Middle East and a prosperous
future is the continuing instability generated by the civil wars in
‘Outsiders will not make the efforts’
But we should make no mistake here. The
days when outside powers could dictate events in the region are over—if they
ever existed in the first place. The days of massive troop deployments
or military occupations by any outside power are past. Instead, outside help
and support must be focused on empowering and enabling the people of the region
and their leaders to chart and achieve their own vision for the future. The
region needs more local initiatives that gain regional and global support.
Outsiders will not make these efforts, however, if the people and governments
of the region are not taking the kinds of actions that will lead to sustainable
peace, prosperity, and stability. For without such action by the region,
outside efforts will be losing investments. What we learned from the region is
that its governments need to make real progress toward transparent,
accountable, effective, and fair governance free of corruption. They need to
deliver for their people—for all of their people—regardless of gender, sect,
tribe, religion, or family connections. And they need to create opportunities
for their people not only through better education but also through regulatory
reforms that can encourage and enable entrepreneurship and innovation.
If these changes take place, they can become a New Compact for the region—one
which improves not only relations between regional states and outside powers,
but also redefines how the states of the Middle East interact with each other
and, most importantly, with their people.
There is a pathway out of the current regional crises. But our efforts of the
past year and a half have taught us that a new strategic approach is required.
The
____________________________________________
Madeleine K. Albright was the 64th
Could a submarine deal sink Netanyahu’s
premiership?
Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/November 30/16
Throughout his time in office, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has been engulfed in allegations of apparent acts of corruption and
impropriety. His wife Sara’s erratic behaviour toward her staff working in the
prime ministerial residence gained notoriety in the press and has already ended
in employment tribunals, which she lost. This week, a new scandal hit the
country as the attorney general ordered the opening of a preliminary
investigation into the involvement of David Shimron -
one of Netanyahu’s closest confidants, his private lawyer, and a relative - in
a controversial deal to buy submarines and missile boats from the German
company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. ThyssenKrupp was represented by Shimron’s client. These revelations are perturbing, even if
there was no legal breech committed. The fact that a multi-million dollar arms
deal, which the prime minister may have had an influence on, and which might
potentially benefit someone in his very close circle makes one wary. Pocketing
a commission on vessels that cost more than $300 million each is obviously very
attractive, and the alleged involvement of one of the closest people to the
prime minister is bad governance.
Maybe it is out of naiveté that by now anyone would be at all surprised by the
Netanyahu’s’ behavior. For years the Netanyahu couple
have treated the country as if they own it, and as if its people should accept
any caprice they throw at them. Whether this specific investigation finds
evidence of illegality or not, there is still the disturbing,
well documented, close and unhealthy relations between the corridors of
political power and the business world in
After 10 years in power, seven of them consecutive since 2009, the government
of Netanyahu is like a ship, or a submarine, without a captain
One can only explain the behaviour of the Netanyahus as an extreme sense of entitlement that leads to
an abuse of power. Mrs. Netanyahu has already been found culpable of “abusive”
and “humiliating” treatment of a maintenance worker in their residence and was
ordered to pay substantial damages. This was not an isolated case, and in a
previous one the courts awarded another caretaker at their official home
compensation for mistreatment, including verbal and emotional abuse at the
hands of Mrs. Netanyahu. It was also reported that the police recommended that
the Prime Minister’s wife stand trial for allegations of a misuse of public
funds, receiving goods under false pretenses,
falsifying documents and breach of trust.
Out of his depth
While the legal issues must be dealt with by law
enforcement authorities, the wider issue is one of a prime minister who has
been in power for way too long and is out of his depth in dealing with a single
one of the acute challenges his country is facing. In his hunger to stay
indefinitely in power, he leads a government that sees the law as no more than
a mere suggestion, not an imperative that they must abide by. A telling example
of this is the recent decision to legalise the outposts in the occupied
However, it is troubling that the justice minister was the one to advance a
retroactive bill which endorses thuggish and illegal behavior,
among it the confiscation of land from Palestinians. The prime minister’s
protestation against the bill was less than convincing. His fainthearted
objection may derive from weakness in face of the ultra-right Habyit Hayeudi party, which is
part of his coalition government. Alternatively it may be due to a lack of
sincerity in the first place, feigning sincerity in the face of the
international community, while winking at the ultra-nationalists.
After 10 years in power, seven of them consecutive since 2009, the government
of Netanyahu is like a ship, or a submarine, without a captain. No one exploits
fragmented Israeli politics to stay in power better than Netanyahu, but even
this master manipulator of a fragile political system is starting to show his
vulnerabilities and errors in judgement. Parties within his own coalition lost
respect for him, and are aware of his earlier attempts to change the
configuration of the coalition at their expense. Consequently, their constant
squabbling within the government may potentially lead to its collapse and new
elections.
Netanyahu, even at his best, was never a man of great or creative ideas or
possessing a long term vision and strategy. Yet, his ability to understand the
domestic political terrain and take advantage of it has been second to none.
Nobody has employed the politics of fear more cynically, yet effectively, than
him to gain and sustain political power. Nevertheless, this
opportunistic-populism combined with constant allegations of corruption, and
the lack of direction on the issues at the heart of Israeli society, started to
take their toll on him. When he finds himself criticized by the media he
embarks on unrestrained and personal attacks on journalists, ignoring the
substance of their allegations. He may stick around for sometime, but the signs
of a prime minister in the twilight of his power are written on the wall for
him. It presents an opportunity for those who opposed him to get their act
together in preparation for the post-Netanyahu era.