LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
January 21/17
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletins17/english.january21.17.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
Then Jesus
summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to
cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10/01-06/:"Then
Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean
spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These
are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and
his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and
Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon
the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who
betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go
nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather
to the lost sheep of the house of
Put things in order, listen to
my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace
will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you
Second Letter to the Corinthians 13/05-13/:"Examine yourselves to see
whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that
Jesus Christ is in you? unless, indeed, you fail to
pass the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed. But we pray to
God that you may not do anything wrong not that we may appear to have passed
the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.
For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the
truth. For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. This is what
we pray for, that you may become perfect. So I write these things while I am
away from you, so that when I come, I may not have to be severe in using the
authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down. Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in
order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God
of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the
saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you."
Titles For Latest
LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on
January 20-21/17
Question: "What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law, but did
not abolish it?"
GotQuestions.org/January 20/17
Zarif: We cooperated with Saudi Arabia in Lebanon/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/January 20/17
Lebanon gets a new government, now it needs a new economy/Reuters/January
20/17/
The Full Transcript of President Trump's Inauguration Speech/January 20/2017
Lessons Trump Can Learn From Obama/Amir Taheri/Asharq
Al Awsat/January 20/17
Do We Have a Place in the Future/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/January
20/17
UAE’s kindness will not be deterred by Kandahar’s
crime/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/January 20/17
Of Opera, taste for music and social hierarchy/Fahad
Suleiman Shoqiranl/Al Arabiya/January
20/17
Trump could smash the old world order — and replace it with what?/David
Ignatius/The Washington Post/January 19/17
First Trump era war?
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News
published on January 20-21/17
Bekaa Roads Blocked over Risha
Kidnap as Aoun Says 'All Security Forces Mobilized'
Arab League Head Holds Talks with Top Lebanese Officials
Cabinet to Tackle Electoral Commission, Interior Ministry Begins Logistic
Preparations
2 Rockets Hit al-Nabi Othman, Army Bombs Militant
Posts
Franjieh Holds Talks with Nasrallah
on Latest Developments
Jumblat Renews Rejection of 'Proportional
Representation under Sectarian System'
Arab Officials to Visit Beirut, Aoun to Receive
Letter from Kuwait's Emir
U.S. Congress delegation visits Patriarch Rahi, says
Mideast policy to change with Trump
Army: Rocket fired by gunmen fell in Nabi Othman
Kataeb chief follows up on Bekaa
citizen abduction
Zarif: We cooperated with Saudi Arabia in Lebanon
Aoun vows to pump new blood into state institutions
Lebanon Launches New Plan to Respond to Refugee Crisis
Lebanon gets a new government, now it needs a new economy
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous
Reports And News published on January 20-21/17
The Full Transcript of President Trump's Inauguration Speech
Donald Trump sworn in as US president
Trump keeps Obama's envoy for countering Islamic State
Islamic State increases oil and gas sales to Assad, officials say
US air strike in Syria kills more than 100 al Qaeda members
Russia sees positive signs in Syria peace process
Russia, Syria sign deal on expanding Tartus naval
base
Over 40 Fateh al-Sham Jihadists Killed in North Syria
Air Strikes
ISIS destroys part of ancient Roman theater in
Palmyra
Khamenei’s uncle asks him to change his policies
before it is too late
ISIS car bomb kills 5 Turkish soldiers near Syria's al-Bab
Rocket fired near Istanbul police headquarters
US air strike in Syria kills more than 100 al Qaeda members
Arab coalition intercepts two ballistic missiles over Marib
Iran summons Danish envoy over embassy attack
Iran Regime's President: JCPOA Is Also Beneficial for America
John Kerry: I Am Very Proud of the Effort We Made to Get MEK out of Camp
Liberty to Places They Are Safe...
Iran: Four Patients Die in Hospital Due to Contaminated Drinking Water
The Message of a Prominent Political Prisoner in Iran
Iran: Rafsanjani and Me
Links From Jihad
Watch Site for on January 20-21/17
Trump
vows to “eradicate completely” “radical Islamic terrorism”
Hamas-linked
CAIR tells mosque leaders to ignore pledge to support safety of ex-Muslims
Migrants
attempted to race through US Southern border before Trump took over
UK
jogger viciously attacked by Muslims escaped by speaking Arabic
Istanbul
nightclub attacker tells how he was directed by the Islamic State
Australia:
Melbourne car attacker identifies himself as Muslim
100
al-Qaeda jihadis killed in U.S. airstrikes in Syria
Why
Barack Obama is the worst President in the history of the United States
Video
of Australia car attacker: People run for their lives as he screams “Allahu akbar”
Australia:
Police ask reporter to take down video of witness saying car attacker was
screaming “Allahu akbar”
Australia:
Muslim screaming “Allahu akbar”
plows car into pedestrians, cops say not
terror-related
Latest Lebanese Related News
published on January 20-21/17
Bekaa Roads Blocked over Risha
Kidnap as Aoun Says 'All Security Forces Mobilized'
Naharnet/January 20/17/Several key roads in central Bekaa were blocked for a second consecutive day on Friday
in protest at the abduction of 74-year-old merchant Saad
Risha. “The Furzol-Zahle
road was blocked with bulldozers near the town's intersection, in the presence
of Furzol municipal chief Melhem
al-Ghaddan, Saad Risha's son Jimmy, the businessman Michel Daher, and residents and dignitaries from the region,”
state-run National News Agency reported. The Riyaq-Terbol
road and the al-Fayda-Zahle road were also blocked by
protesters. Members of Brital's municipality and a
number of dignitaries meanwhile staged a sit-in on their town's public road in
solidarity with the family of the abductee and to
protest the recurrent abductions in the region. The captors have been
identified as five residents of Brital and the army
has been carrying intensive security measures in and around the town in search
for the kidnappers and the elderly abductee. Speaker Nabih Berri has also dispatched
an envoy to the town to help in the case. “The kidnappers only represent
themselves because Brital is the land of martyrs and
will always stand in the face of takfiris,” Brital municipal chief Ahmed Ismail said, demanding the
release of Risha. President Michel Aoun meanwhile reassured a northern Bekaa
delegation that the presidency is following up in the case. “All security
forces have been mobilized to return him safe to his family,” Aoun added. MTV meanwhile reported that rumors
were spreading in Zahle about “counter-abductions
within hours” should Risha remain abducted. Risha was abducted Wednesday in the Bekaa
town of
Arab League Head Holds Talks with Top
Lebanese Officials
Naharnet/January 20/17/Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit held talks Friday with
President Michel Aoun after he arrived in
Cabinet to Tackle Electoral Commission,
Interior Ministry Begins Logistic Preparations
Naharnet/January 20/17/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq has launched
logistic preparations for the organization of the parliamentary elections and
the Cabinet is expected to discuss the issue of forming an electoral
supervisory commission, media reports said on Friday. “Political contacts have
managed to put the issue of forming the electoral supervisory commission on the
agenda of the next Cabinet session,” al-Joumhouria
newspaper reported.
Mashnouq had on Thursday sent a memo to all
governors, asking them to “inspect polling stations and verify their capacity
for the organization of parliamentary elections within a deadline not exceeding
20 days.”The minister has clarified that he is
obliged to finalize electoral rolls 90 days prior to the date of the elections.In order for the elections to be held on May 21,
the minister must call for elections and complete all preparations before
February 21, Mashnouq says.
2 Rockets Hit al-Nabi
Othman, Army Bombs Militant Posts
/Naharnet/January 20/17/Two rockets landed Friday in
the heights of the northern Bekaa town of al-Nabi Othman, causing no casualties, state-run National News
Agency reported. The rockets were fired by militants positioned in the
outskirts of the northern Bekaa border town of
Franjieh Holds Talks with Nasrallah
on Latest Developments
Naharnet/January 20/17/Hizbullah chief
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has
met with Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh, a Hizbullah statement
said on Friday. The meeting was attended by Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos of Marada, Hizbullah
secretary-general's political aide Hussein Khalil and
head of Hizbullah's Liaison and Coordination
Committee Wafiq Safa. The
conferees “evaluated the current political situations in the country and
discussed a lot of current files and challenges, including the electoral law
and the governmental situation,” the Hizbullah
statement said. They also “stressed the firmness of the relation and alliance
between the two parties and agreed to maintain coordination and cooperation in
all fields,” the statement added.
Jumblat Renews Rejection of 'Proportional Representation
under Sectarian System'
Naharnet/January 20/17/Druze leader MP Walid Jumblat on Friday
reiterated his rejection of an electoral law based on proportional
representation. “Proportional representation under a sectarian system will
create imbalanced representation and a state of instability,” Jumblat warned in a tweet. He had on Thursday stressed that
the electoral law “must ensure a delicate balance in political and regional
representation,” calling on President Michel Aoun,
Speaker Nabih Berri,
Premier Saad Hariri and the various political forces
to “understand the demands of the Democratic Gathering that are in line with
the Taef Accord.”Jumblat's
Progressive Socialist Party believes that a law fully based on proportional
representation would marginalize the minority Druze community, whose presence
is concentrated in the Chouf and Aley
districts. The PSP's concerns has pushed the party to
renounce a law that mixes proportional representation with the winner-takes-all
system that it had drafted together with al-Mustaqbal
Movement and the Lebanese Forces.
Arab Officials to Visit Beirut, Aoun to Receive
Letter from
Naharnet/January 20/17/Lebanon will witness visits by
several Arab officials in the coming days which will begin Friday with a visit
by Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit,
a media report said on Friday. Abul Gheit's visit is aimed at “congratulating the president on
his election and discussing the Arab situations and the preparations for the
Arab Summit that will be held in
U.S. Congress delegation visits Patriarch Rahi, says Mideast policy to change with Trump
Fri 20 Jan 2017/NNA - Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar
Beshara Boutros Rahi
welcomed, at Bkerki on Friday, a delegation of U.S.
Congress, with whom he discussed latest developments on the regional and
international scenes. The delegation comprised Democratic Paty
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard,
former U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich, as well as Elie
and Bassam Khawam.
"This is my first visit in Lebanon and the region and it has been a great
experience, because I listened to the viewpoints of the political and spiritual
leaders, among whom Cardinal Rahi, who are still
working on enhancing religious freedom and preserving free and diversed communities, where people can live in peace
regardless of their religious beliefs," Gabbard
told reporters following the meeting. "This is a very important message,
not just for this region, but also for the entire world. This why we must work
together to assume this mission of peace," she said. For his part,
Kucinich indicated that he believed in the "leading role" assumed by
the Maronite Patriarch worldwide. He also highlighted
the necessity that Congressmen visit
He also explained that their mission was to form a clear idea on the situation
in
Army: Rocket fired by gunmen fell in Nabi Othman
Fri 20 Jan 2017 /NNA - A rocket fell in the outskirts of Nabi
Othman town at 6:35 pm today, with gunmen sites in the Anti-Lebanon region as
its source, a communiqué by the Lebanese army indicated on Friday. "Army
units deployed in the area took necessary field measures and targeted the
gunmen with heavy artillery," it added. The army is working on identifying
the rocket type.
Kataeb chief follows up on Bekaa
citizen abduction
Fri 20 Jan 2017/NNA - Kataeb party's chief, MP Sami Gemayel, followed up Friday on the fresh abduction of
citizen Saad Richa in Bekaa, during contacts he held with the concerned authorities.Accordingly, Gemayel
tasked Zahle MP Elie Marouni to intensify contacts with the family of the
kidnapped and the security services.
Zarif: We cooperated with
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/January 20/17
“
Their friend Barack Obama is set to exit power and there will be a new
administration that has frankly expressed its intention to confront
Zarif’s proposal about cooperation between
Their friend Barack Obama is set to exit power and there will be a new
administration that has frankly expressed its intention to confront
Election of Michel Aoun
The process of agreeing to elect Michel Aoun as president in
The Lebanese could not even remove trash from their streets. As long as the new
president does not adopt hostile stances against
Does it suit countries in the region, particularly Gulf countries, to cooperate
with
**This article was first published in Asharq Al-Awsat on January 19, 2017.
Aoun vows to pump new blood into state institutions
Joseph Haboush/he Daily Star/January 20/17/BEIRUT:
President Michel Aoun ramped up rhetoric on combatting corruption in
He questioned the credibility of Zarif’s recent
comment, saying there was a lack of signs of foreign involvement before or
during Aoun’s election. “His Excellency, the Iranian
foreign minister is free to take credit for what he wants; however, this does
not mean that it is what happened,” Geagea tweeted
before adding that the sour relations between
Lebanon Launches New Plan to Respond to
Refugee Crisis
Asharq Al-Awsat/January
20/17/Beirut – Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said
that the Syrian refugee influx was one of the “severest crises faced in Lebanon”.The crisis was “complicated and destructive”
Hariri said, “pressure on the Lebanese economy due to the conflict in Syria is
tremendous and unprecedented” he added. Hariri’s remarks came during the
launching of the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan 2017-2020 at the Grand Serail on Thursday, in the presence of U.N. Special Coordinator
for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag and U.N. Resident and
Humanitarian Coordinator Philippe Lazzarini. Hariri
stressed that Lebanon would need between $8 billion and $10 billion over the
next three years to improve infrastructure, invest in new projects and make up
for the financial loss. “In the coming three years,
Reuters/January 20/17/After years of political
deadlock,
"This is the priority now."
Without one, there will be little chance of tackling
CENTRAL BANK ROLE
Following its 1975-90 civil war, much of
In the absence of political leadership, the central bank has quietly steered
policy, using stimulus packages and financial engineering to keep foreign
reserves stable and growth ticking over. It has also guaranteed housing, energy
and business loans, testing the globally accepted principle of central bank
distance from political decisions. "This has kept the economy growing for
the last five to ten years," said Marianne Hoayek,
an executive director at the central bank. "The government sometimes is
not capable of doing what it wants to do."A
central bank directive in 2013 called Circular 331 made $600 million available
for investment in the "knowledge economy" and Lebanon now markets
itself as the Middle East and North Africa's technology and start-up hub, a
title to which the UAE and Jordan also aspire.Hoayek
said around $100 million had been taken up so far.Marwan
Kheireddine, chairman of Mawarid
Bank which invests in tech businesses, said ten years ago entrepreneurs would
have had to leave Lebanon to find funding and other support.
"Today we have all the building blocks required (for) those entrepreneurs
to develop locally," he said.
At least eight new investment funds, four new fund managers and multiple jobs
have been created, those in the sector say. "I wouldn't have come back
without Circular 331," said Sami Abou Saab, who
returned from the
Also In World News
Trump admin targets violent Islamist groups as foreign policy priority
In Trump We Trust: Inauguration prompts celebration in Russia
EXPAT FIREPOWER
An estimated 14-16 million people of Lebanese citizenship or descent live
outside the country, driven out by the sectarian strife that fueled the civil war and still disrupts the peace. Many
send money home, although remittances have been hit by the effect of the low
oil price on Gulf economies. "We can sell, we are creative and we are
engineers," said Nicolas Sehnaoui, chairman of
the UK-Lebanon Tech Hub, which says it created around 240 jobs in its first two
years and aims for 25,000 by 2025. "Instead of shipping our people out we
want to ship our digital products out." But a tech-based economy needs
fast internet and reliable electricity and the stock market needs to be
privatized so smaller companies can go public, a process already two years
behind schedule. Both the World Bank and the Association of Banks in
"The Bank of Lebanon and the country's banks have spent enough time,
sometimes at great cost, preserving monetary stability. It is time to support
this stability with fiscal and economic policies which favor
real growth," ABL's head Joseph Torbey said.
Hanna told Reuters he hopes the new government can itself eventually provide
such stimulus measures. In the meantime, Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil toured
"The solutions are there, today we have a political will," Hanna
said. "Let's hope it materializes into tangible results for the
Lebanese."
(Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Tom Perry and Philippa
Fletcher)
Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 20-21/17
The Full Transcript of
President Trump's Inauguration Speech
January 20/2017
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/20/the-full-transcript-of-president-trumps-inauguration-speech/
Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President
Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans and people of the world, thank you.
We, the citizens of
Together, we will determine the course of
Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and
peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First
Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They
have been magnificent. Thank you.
Today's ceremony, however, has very special meaning because today, we are
not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one
party to another, but we are transferring power from
For too long, a small group in our nation's capital has reaped the
rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.
That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is
your moment, it belongs to you.
It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all
across
What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but
whether our government is controlled by the people.
January 20th, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the
rulers of this nation again.
The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.
Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of millions to
become part of a historic movement, the likes of which the world has never seen
before.
At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction,
that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools
for their children, safe neighborhoods for their
families, and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands
of righteous people and a righteous public. But for too many of our
citizens, a different reality exists: mothers and children trapped in poverty
in our inner cities; rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the
landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves
our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and
the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country
of so much unrealized potential.
This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.
We are one nation and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our
dreams. And their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home,
and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of
allegiance to all Americans.
For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of
American industry; subsidized the armies of other countries, while allowing for
the very sad depletion of our military. We've defended other nations' borders
while refusing to defend our own.
And spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas
while
One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a
thought about the millions and millions of American workers that were left
behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and
then redistributed all across the world.
But that is the past. And now, we are looking only to the future.
We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every
city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day
forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it's going
to be only
Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs
will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect
our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing
our companies and destroying our jobs.
Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for
you with every breath in my body and I will never ever let you down.
We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will
bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.
We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels
and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare
and back to work, rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor.
We will follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American.
We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but
we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put
their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone,
but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow.
We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized
world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face
of the Earth.
At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United
States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover
our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no
room for prejudice.
The bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God's people live
together in unity. We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly,
but always pursue solidarity. When
There should be no fear. We are protected and we will always be
protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and
law enforcement. And most importantly, we will be protected by God.
Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In
The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action.
Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done. No challenge can
match the heart and fight and spirit of
We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries
of space, to free the earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the
energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will
stir ourselves, lift our sights and heal our divisions.
It's time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget,
that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of
patriots.
We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms and we all salute the same great
American flag.
And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of
So to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from
mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, hear these words. You will never be
ignored again.
Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams will define our American destiny.
And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.
Together, we will make
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless
Donald Trump sworn in as US president
Ismaeel Naar/Al
Arabiya English Friday, 20 January 2017
Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th United States President in an event
that drew nearly 900,000 people to
Violent protests
Protests near the Capitol building turned violent on as some members of
the anti-Trump marchers started vandalizing stores in
Trump's Middle East policy
While Trump’s inauguration speech focused most on domestics without
giving specific policies, he did mention the threat of what he called “radical
Islamic terrorism”.“I pledge
to unite world against radical Islam and promise that we will eradicate radical
Islamic terrorism from the face of the earth,” Trump said during his speech.
Trump has said he wants to move the
Trump keeps Obama's envoy for
countering Islamic State
The New Arab & agencies/20 January, 2017/US president Donald Trump
will retain his predecessor's special envoy to the coalition fighting the
Islamic State group, Brett McGurk, his spokesman said
on Thursday. As "Special Presidential Envoy", McGurk
coordinates with around 70 allied states and with regional militia on the
ground in the battle to destroy the extremist group in
Islamic State increases oil and gas
sales to Assad, officials say
Foxnews/January 20/17
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/01/20/islamic-state-increases-oil-and-gas-sales-to-assad-officials-say.html
Islamic State has ramped up sales of oil and gas to the regime of Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad, U.S. and European
officials said, providing vital fuel to the government in return for
desperately needed cash.
The regime’s purchases are helping sustain Islamic State amid unprecedented
military pressure on the militant group in both
Reuters, Washington Friday, 20 January 2017/A US air strike on Thursday
targeting an al Qaeda camp in
Reuters Friday, 20 January 2017/Russia has observed positive signs in the
Reuters,
Over 40 Fateh
al-Sham Jihadists Killed in North Syria Air Strikes
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
20/17/More than 40 fighters of former al-Qaida affiliate Fateh
al-Sham Front were killed in air strikes on their camp in northern Syria late
on Thursday, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
said it could not immediately specify who carried out the strikes in the western
part of
ISIS destroys part of ancient Roman theater in
The Associated Press,
Khamenei’s uncle asks him to change his policies before it is
too late
Ramadan al-Saadi, Al Arabiya
English Friday, 20 January 2017/Hossein Mirdamadi,
the uncle of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
has addressed a warning to Khamenei through a public
letter saying that social and political stability in Iran is at risk unless Khamenei reviews and modifies his current policies and
practices. In the letter that was published on Thursday by “Kalima”
website that is close to
ISIS car bomb kills 5 Turkish soldiers
near
Reuters,
The Turkish army and Syrian rebels launched an operation in August to drive the
extremists away from the border region and have besieged the ISIS-controlled
town of al-Bab for weeks.
Rocket fired near
Reuters,
Reuters, Washington Friday, 20 January 2017/A US air strike on Thursday
targeting an al Qaeda camp in
Arab coalition intercepts two ballistic
missiles over Marib
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 20 January
2017/The air defense system
of the Arab coalition intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi militias around the
Meanwhile, local sources reported that the Popular Resistance made major
advancements against Houthis militias.
By Associated Press January 19/17/
Danish officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Iran Regime's President: JCPOA Is Also
Beneficial for America
Friday, 20 January 2017/NCRI - The conference by Iranian regime’s president,
Hassan Rouhani, on Monday, was overshadowed by the
latest statement of the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump who described the
JCPOA as the most stupid agreement.
Rouhani in a fearful and defensive reply said: The (JCPOA)
agreement is a win-win and also beneficial for the
Another newspaper affiliated to Khamenei’s faction
wrote: “Hassan Rouhani’s response to the «criticism
and protests regarding the economic situation» was «use glasses ».”
John Kerry: I Am Very Proud of the Effort
We Made to Get MEK out of Camp Liberty to Places They Are Safe...
Friday, 20 January 2017
On January 19, 2017 John Kerry secretary of state in his farewell remarks in
the C Street Lobby, regarding the relocation of MEK members mentioned the
following words.
“…And one of the things that I am very proud of is the effort we made – I
remember going to hearing after hearing, and you remember all those folks you’d
see up there in those yellow jackets representing the Mujahedin-e Khalq – MEK as we’ve known them – and we got 3,000 of them
out of Camp Liberty and to places where they are safe and their lives are saved
from being attacked regularly, as they were. I thank Jonathan Winer, our special envoy, and others for that kind of
effort. It’s been enormous.”
It is noteworthy that on September 12, 2016 following the successful relocation
of the last group of MEK members from Iraq, John Kerry in his remarks before
the Daily Press Briefing stated: “Second, let me make a quick comment about
good news, because obviously we know we live in a turbulent era and too often
there are (coughs) one challenge or another about conflict that, unfortunately,
doesn’t bring good news. But I believe it’s important to note a very important
humanitarian accomplishment from late last week. I was going to mention it but
it was so late – or early in the morning in
The following is the text of Secretary Kerry's remarks on the PMOI’s relocation from Iraq to Europe:
Remarks before the Daily Press Briefing
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
September 12, 2016
Second, let me make a quick comment about good news, because obviously we know
we live in a turbulent era and too often there are (coughs) one challenge or
another about conflict that, unfortunately, doesn’t bring good news. But I
believe it’s important to note a very important humanitarian accomplishment
from late last week. I was going to mention it but it was so late – or early in
the morning in
But on Friday of last week, the last 280 members of the exiled Iranian
opposition group, the Mujahedin e-Khalq, or MEK, as
they’re known, were moved out of
Well, the last 10 years have been filled with reminders of this challenge. I
first became involved in this effort when I was in the Senate, and that is why
during my first year as Secretary I appointed Jonathan Winer,
one of my longest-serving and most trusted advisers, as our emissary to find a
way to help the MEK be able to leave
After steady progress over a period of months, I visited Tirana earlier this
year and I discussed with the Albanian Government how to assist in facilitating
the transfer and the resettlement of the last group of MEK members from
Source: http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/09/261776.htm
Friday, 20 January 2017/NCRI - A health official of
The Message of a Prominent Political
Prisoner in Iran
Friday, 20 January 2017/NCRI - Political prisoner Arzhang
Davoudi, incarcerated in Zabol
prison in exile, in a message on the occasion of January 20 and freedom of the
last group of political prisoners from the Shah’s prisons in 1979 in Iran
wrote:
Dear Compatriot,
This week reminds me of three events in the history of our country:
First, the Persian date 26th of Dey 1357 (16 January
1979) is reminder of the day when after the uprising of revolutionary people of
Iran, the tyrant Mohammad Reza Shah fled the country with tears in his eyes.
Second, this year 26th of Dey is also the day when
accursed Rafsanjani who was known as the typhus of the 1979 revolution died.
The treacherous behavior of this criminal was
effective more than anyone else in the corrupt regime of the supreme leader in
leading astray the revolution and failure of its noble aspiration.
The Third event, however, is connected to a brave man who stood up to death
against the oppression of the Shah (monarchial
regime) and when as the result of the flood of masses roaring against the
regime, the Shah was forced to, in an unwanted retreat, release political prisoners,
and despite the pressure and begging by the Shah’s intelligence service, SAVAK,
and prison officials, that brave man did not accept to leave the prison and
with a memorable strength and solidity said he will not leave the prison as
long as even one political prisoner remain in the prisons across the country.
And that is how this man, Massoud Rajavi
or as the Mojahedin-e Khalq
(PMOI / MEK) sincerely and heartfelt call him Brother Massoud,
left the prison on the 30 Dey 1357 (20 January 1979)
along with the last group of political prisoners and activists and was warmly
welcomed by the risen people.
Compatriots,
Escape of the cruel Shah and death of the wicked and oppressive Rafsanjani is
painful for me here because each one of them were able to somehow escape public
trial and clear disgrace in public opinion, and as the result, more ambiguity
remains in the history of political struggle and counter-campaigns in Iran.
However, each time when I remember the “Third event,” the pride in my struggle
becomes more prosperous. And even now that I am in Zabol
prison in exile, I am proud of Massoud and all others
who love freedom for
Iran: Rafsanjani and Me
NCRI Iran News/ Friday, 20 January 2017
‘THE DIPLOMAT’ on January 19, 2017, published a real story concerning a victim
of state-sponsored terrorism who has a different take on the death of one of
the Iran regime’s leaders. The following is the full text.
The minute I heard about the death of Ali Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani, the number two man in the theocracy ruling
No, Rafsanjani was not in
I am a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the coalition of
Iranian opposition movements, with the People’s Mojahedin
Organization of Iran, the principal Iranian opposition movement at its core.
It was mid-afternoon and I was sitting next to the driver taking me to the
Seconds later, two strange men, one from the front car and one from the car
behind, jumped out with automatic weapons. As the assailants approached, I had
a few seconds to decide how to avoid becoming sitting ducks. I opened the car
door and rushed at them carrying only a small Samsonite
briefcase. One of the men fired nine bullets; the other man’s gun jammed. I was
shot in the chest and stomach and gravely wounded. The assailants fled. I fell
unconscious, my battle for survival just begun.
Luckily, we were close to
The assailants were acting at the behest of the clerical regime, the main state
sponsor of terrorism. Ironically, as later became evident, the hitmen weren’t after me. The real target was Mohammad Mohaddessin, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of
the NCRI, as Iranian state radio confirmed a few days later.
When the regime found out that they have failed, they tried twice to finish me
off in the hospital. Once, assassins disguised as Turkish police approached the
hospital; by pure coincidence, the Turkish police arrived at the hospital at
the same time and foiled the plot. Another time, two men pretended that they
were my friends and found my room in the hospital. In reality, they were the
mullahs’ men. Once again, I was fortunate; several real friends came to visit
me at the same time, and the would-be murderers fled.
Actually, I am one of very few who has survived the mullahs’ assassination
attempts.
All this took place while Ali Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani was the clerical regime’s president.
It is very relevant and pertinent to know his real legacy. While some in the
West have portrayed him as a “moderate,” “pragmatic”, etc. for the past three
decades, in reality he was cut from the same cloth as the rest of the mullahs.
The assassination of Iranian dissidents abroad and the regime’s terror attacks
skyrocketed during Rafsanjani’s tenure as the
president and as the head of the Supreme National Security Council, a body that
oversees and authorizes the regime’s terrorist operations.
Professor Kazem Rajavi,
Rafsanjani played a key role in the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners,
primarily activists of the MEK, in summer of 1988, an incident that has been
described as one of the worst crimes against humanity since the Second World
War.
Nor was Mr. Rafsanjani’s mischief-making limited to
terrorism and murder at home. The secret drive to acquire nuclear weapons got a
real boost during his tenure, particularly after the first Persian Gulf War in
1991.
Make no mistake, Rafsanjani had no impulse toward
moderation. But his death was a major development insofar as it pertains to the
future of the theocracy ruling
**Hossein Abedini is a
member of the Parliament in exile of the Iranian resistance (NCRI) and belongs
to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 20-21/17
Question: "What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law, but did not
abolish it?"
GotQuestions.org/Answer: In Matthew’s record of what is commonly called the
Sermon on the Mount, these words of Jesus are recorded: “Do not think that I
have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them
but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear,
not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means
disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18).
It is frequently argued that if Jesus did not “abolish” the law, then it must
still be binding. Accordingly, such components as the Sabbath-day requirement
must be operative still, along with perhaps numerous other elements of the
Mosaic Law. This assumption is grounded in a misunderstanding of the words and
intent of this passage. Christ did not suggest here that the binding nature of
the law of Moses would remain forever in effect. Such
a view would contradict everything we learn from the balance of the New
Testament (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15).
Of special significance in this study is the word rendered “abolish.” It
translates the Greek term kataluo, literally meaning
“to loosen down.” The word is found seventeen times in the New Testament. It is
used, for example, of the destruction of the Jewish temple by the Romans
(Matthew 26:61; 27:40; Acts 6:14), and of the dissolving of the human body at
death (2 Corinthians 5:1). The term can carry the extended meaning of “to
overthrow,” i.e., “to render vain, deprive of success.” In classical Greek, it
was used in connection with institutions, laws, etc., to convey the idea of “to
invalidate.”
It is especially important to note how the word is used in Matthew 5:17. In
this context, “abolish” is set in opposition to “fulfill.” Christ came “...not
to abolish, but to fulfill.” Jesus did not come to this earth for the purpose
of acting as an opponent of the law. His goal was not to prevent its
fulfillment. Rather, He revered it, loved it, obeyed it, and brought it to
fruition. He fulfilled the law’s prophetic utterances regarding Himself (Luke
24:44). Christ fulfilled the demands of the Mosaic law,
which called for perfect obedience under threat of a “curse” (see Galatians
3:10, 13). In this sense, the law’s divine design will ever have an abiding
effect. It will always accomplish the purpose for which it was given.
If, however, the law of Moses bears the same
relationship to men today, in terms of its binding status, then it was not
fulfilled, and Jesus failed at what He came to do. On the other hand, if the
Lord did accomplish His goal, then the law was fulfilled, and it is not a
binding legal institution today. Further, if the law
of Moses was not fulfilled by Christ—and thus remains as a binding legal system
for today—then it is not just partially binding. Rather, it is a totally
compelling system. Jesus plainly said that not one “jot or tittle”
(representative of the smallest markings of the Hebrew script) would pass away
until all was fulfilled. Consequently, nothing of the law was to fail until it
had completely accomplished its purpose. Jesus fulfilled the law. Jesus
fulfilled all of the law. We cannot say that Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial
system, but did not fulfill the other aspects of the law. Jesus either
fulfilled all of the law, or none of it. What Jesus' death means for the
sacrificial system, it also means for the other aspects of the law.
Lessons Trump Can Learn From Obama
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/January
20/17
As Donald Trump takes over as the 45th president of the
As a student of American politics since the 1960s I don’t recall any
Paradoxically, that could be good news for Trump as it sharply reduces
expectations. Even now, the fact that Trump manages to provide more or less
coherent answers in an interview with the London Times is hailed an achievement
in itself.
Low expectations for a Trump presidency comes after insanely high expectations
inspired by Barack Obama at the start of his first term. During eight years in
the White House, Obama was obliged to constantly lower those expectations, each
time failing to meet the lower targets he set. Having started at the peak of
expectations, symbolized by the Nobel Peace prize offered to him as an appetizer,
Obama had nowhere to go but down until he hit the bottom. Even his most ardent
supporters now agree that, as president, he was a failure, but insist that,
though a bad president, he was a good man just as the Wizard of Oz had been.
In contrast, Trump, starting from the bottom, as far as expectations are
concerned, has nowhere to go but up. Trump’s chief asset, as far as his support
base is concerned, is that he is not Obama.
But is not being Obama enough to secure Trump a successful presidency? I think
the answer is: no, although Trump could learn a great deal from Obama’s
mistakes.
Obama built his presidency on being anti-Bush. His obsessive anti-Bushism, or non-Bushism to put it
mildly, was at the root of his disastrous mistakes in
Though Trump should undo some of Obama’s misdeeds as fast as procedure allows,
he should not fall in the trap of thinking that whatever Obama did must be
undone. If he did that he would emerge as a caricature of the outgoing
president.
Another lesson that Trump could learn from Obama’s failure is to keep his ego
well under control. Obama had an inflated high opinion of himself, symbolized
by the “Yes, We Can” slogan which he had borrowed from his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, another
politician with a giant ego. (Ahmadinejad’s slogan in
his 2005 presidential campaign was “Ma Mitavanim” (We
Can) three years before Obama appeared on the
Another lesson for Trump is not to replicate Obama’s disdain for the rules and
working traditions of the American democratic system. The new president would
be well advised not to marginalize his own Cabinet members, and, above all, not
try and circumvent the Congress. Obama surrounded himself by yes-men, in fact
mostly yes-women, and mediocre apparatchiki such as Joe Biden and John Kerry
who had no experience of life outside
More importantly, perhaps, Trump should learn from Obama’s failure to control
his logorrhoea. As Hillary Clinton once observed, Obama simply couldn’t resist
hearing the sound of his own voice, making a speech reading from a
teleprompter. So far, Trump has shown a similar weakness by failing to moderate
his twittering tendencies.
In politics, however, keeping one’s mouth shut is at times the sanest policy.
Not all problems have readily available solutions and, if they did, not
applying the solution is within the gift of the United Sates in every instance.
Remember Obama saying “Assad must Go!” and that the massacre of Syrians with
chemical weapons was a “red line” even when he knew that he didn’t mean any of
that? And what about all those “options on the table” that Obama made a song
and dance about if Iran were to enrich uranium, while telling the mullahs in
secret talks that they could enrich uranium to their hearts’ content, and that
for non-existent nuclear power stations.
The lesson for Trump is: If you don’t mean it, don’t say it! Yet another lesson
that Trump can learn from Obama is not to mislead the American people, even if
only by omission. Obama spent much time and energy telling Americans that when
facing adversaries and foes the
Obama, as indicated in the two books he published before winning the presidency
saw himself as a man in a hurry if only because he believed that he could “make
history”. Trump should avoid that mistake by steering clear of fast-food
ideological gimmicks and learn to make haste slowly.
Obama had nothing worthwhile to say but said his nothing eloquently. Trump,
already safe from the sin of eloquence, should go for substance rather than
form. Trump has a phrase that I much appreciate: “What is going on?” Yes, on
every issue first let’s see what is going on, and then decide what is best to
do, the opposite of the Obama method.
Do We Have a Place in the Future?
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq
Al Awsat/January 20/17
One of the most exciting activities that took place at
the World Economic Forum that is currently being held in Davos
was the
I read the presentation that Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gergawi
and his team made at the forum and it reflects our desire to establish a place
for us in the new world through working with major scientific and research
institutions in the world. He delivered an optimistic presentation about the
future that various organisations participated in with things that they have
produced or that they are working on producing. Some of these products include
three-dimensional printing, solar aeroplanes and ultrafast Hyperloop
trains have already been tested.
What is going on in the kitchen of today for tomorrow shows the frightening
difference between communities that are planning and working to progress, and
those that are still living in the past and are refusing to open up to the
world which will bury us in its products and with the speed of its changes.
The report was prepared by a prominent group of experts and specialists on the
future of the world which includes the largest group of people generating ideas
and initiatives related to the future in light of the fourth industrial
revolution, Al Gergawi says. 21 specialists from
around the world contributed to this report on strategic sectors such as
energy, health and education. “The report announces 112 predictions that we
will see in the next forty years such as floating farms, body parts that are
printed by 3D printers, the challenges of climate change and classrooms in the
virtual world.”In my view, making progress in
educational technology is most important for us in order to shorten the time
that it will take for us to catch up with the world as we are riding the last
carriage of the progression train. Although the report did not elaborate enough
to understand modern educational techniques, it encourages us to make a new
cognitive transformation. Having virtual schools and classrooms, using virtual
reality in general to teach science and the willingness of the best scientific
universities in the world to make part of their research and curriculum
available to anyone who wants it, providing additional teaching methods and
focussing on the four most important educational areas; science, technology,
engineering and mathematics will help us achieve this. Scientific developments
in education will help us to catch up as the concept of education for adults
and children is changing today. Developments in the sciences are the
achievements of the human mind which differentiates between one nation and
another.
UAE’s
kindness will not be deterred by Kandahar’s crime
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/January 20/17
What the United Arab Emirates is doing in the world to strengthen stability,
spread peace and support the needs of human beings is unique. The UAE does this
based on human values and political traditions that have been solid throughout
the years. The UAE has preciously contributed to the Arab coalition to restore
legitimacy in
A country in need
The UAE cares about Afghanistan because it’s a country in need and its society
shares identity and mutual religious characteristics with the Emirati society.
This is the reason behind the UAE’s exceptional and
generous support. However, evil elements did not want this support. Extremists,
through their cells in
Peace and reconciliation
The UAE has also participated in
**This article was first published in al-Bayan on Jan
17, 2017.
Of Opera, taste for music and social
hierarchy
Fahad Suleiman Shoqiranl/Al
Arabiya/January 20/17
Christmas and end of the year celebrations typically spark contentious debates
between various groups in the Gulf countries. The controversy took a new turn
late last year after calls for ban on the Opera houses in the region from
hosting celebratory events and musical concerts, as one Kuwaiti demanded. The
debate became more heated following the events in
This incessant anger and anxiety caused by music is bewildering even though it
is relevant to a society
Religion and cultural enrichment
In his book, Nye analyzes the association between
religion and cultural enrichment of societies. He argues that “the essence and
appreciation of music varies greatly from one individual to another based on
their cultural sophistication and evolution”. For example, he cites Mozart’s
music as an embodiment of the prevailing European culture during the 18th
century in
Trump could smash the old world order —
and replace it with what?
David Ignatius/The Washington Post/January 19/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/19/david-ignatiusthe-washington-post-trump-could-smash-the-old-world-order-and-replace-it-with-what/
Donald Trump’s inauguration marks a global inflection point: He takes office at
a moment when many analysts see a transition to a new economic and political
order — one where the risks for the United States and its allies are likely to
increase.
Trump’s promise to “make
Financial markets have so far been surprisingly steady, given the rising
uncertainty and risk levels. But outgoing Treasury Secretary Jack Lew cautioned
in a recent interview: “In an economy where confidence is one of the factors
that leads to investment, and uncertainty and political instability undermine confidence, there is a real risk that the cumulative amount
of political instability in the world slows down investment.”
Trump has embraced the breakup of the old order. He has criticized NATO as
“obsolete” and predicted the European Union’s demise — challenging two crucial
allies in
“Wait and see” is always a good rule on Inauguration Day, but we’ve never had a
president quite like Trump, with so many disruptive ideas and so little
experience. Change is his political brand. If he carries through on what he has
talked and tweeted about, he will reshape the framework of global economic and
security relationships — for the worse, I fear.
Trump was elected with a minority of the popular vote, and his behavior since Election Day has lowered his popularity. But
with Republican control of the House and Senate, he’ll probably be able to
enact major changes quickly. He has proposed big infrastructure spending but
also large tax cuts. The result could produce a sharp increase in the deficit
similar to what happened during the early Ronald Reagan years.
Lew cautions about the financial consequences of such populist economics: “We
know from history that decisions that are made to pursue a less disciplined
path can sometimes take place very quickly, but they tend to have very long
tails.” Restoring discipline requires a bipartisan cooperation in Congress that
was present during Reagan’s tenure but has now disappeared.
Trump’s vision that the old order is cracking is shared by many leading foreign
policy analysts. But they’re less sanguine about its consequences. The revolt
against economic globalization has boosted right-wing nationalist politicians
in the
This theme of risky transition was explored in “Global Trends,” a report
published this month by the National Intelligence Council. “The next five years
will see rising tensions within and between countries. . . . An era
of American dominance following the Cold War [is ending]. So, too, perhaps, is
the rules-based international order that emerged after World War II. It will be
much harder to cooperate internationally and govern in ways publics expect.”
A similar grim assessment was offered this month by the Rand Corp. In a study
titled “Strategic Choices for a Turbulent World,”
A “
Trump has a big vision of deals with
Trump now owns responsibility for shaping a world in turmoil. And the
First Trump era war?
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 20, 2017
Just six days before Donald Trump’s inauguration as US
President, a Serbian train took up position on the Kosovo border. It was
painted ostentatiously with the slogan “Kosovo is Serbian” in several languages
along with national Serbian and Orthodox Christian emblems.
The train has been stationary since Friday, Jan. 14. Kosovan
security authorities are blocking its advance along the new 213km long rail
link from
This is more than a symbolic reminder of the brutal Balkan wars of the 1990s.
Two armies are already poised for battle: 60,000 Serbian troops, including armored, artillery and air force units, are on war
preparedness, facing a much smaller Kosovo security force which, after calling
up reserves, numbers around 6,000 combatants.
Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic
beat a war drum this week when he declared: “If Serbians are killed, we’ll send
our army to Kosovo.”
It was 19 years ago that
The Kosovo war was the sequel to the 1992-1995 conflict between Christian
Serbia and
In sum, the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s saw many horrors, but also ended in
American support for the establishment of independent Muslim enclaves in
southern
This policy was pursued systematically for 15 years by Presidents Clinton and
Obama with the support of Chancellor Angela Merkel. It is widely seen today as
the key which in recent years unlocked continental Europe to the influx of
millions of Muslim migrants and refugees from the Middle East and
Four south European nations,
The Serbian train parked on the Kosovo border marked the end of the Obama era
and underlined
Indeed, a statue of Bill Clinton stands at the center of Pristina’s
main square, in appreciation of his gift of Muslim independence and liberation
from Serbian rule.
When it starts moving, the Serbian train will pose the new
He will find on his desk an urgent note to the
This is not just about the presidential transition in
Europe's Jihad against Israel
Salim Mansur/Gatestone
Institute/January 20/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9799/europe-jihad-israel
Resolution 2334 was as sickening a surrender to the Arab-Muslim jihad in the
name of "peace," as was the surrender of UK Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain to Adolf Hitler at Munich in September 1938.
The UN before 1967 did not refer to the West Bank and
From the time of the Balfour Declaration and the League's Mandate for
From the Arab perspective of religion and politics there never was a
"Palestinian" people, or nation, distinct and separate from Arabs as
a people or nation. The jihad called by the Mufti Haj
Amin el-Husseini against
Jews in
For the past nine decades and more, however, Arabs and Muslims, with 56 Muslim
states in the OIC, have been waging jihad to destroy the one and only state of
the Jews. And Christendom, as if oblivious of its own shameful past history of
anti-Semitism, has even more shamefully supported the falsification of history.
Now, with Security Council Resolution 2334, the UN, with the enthusiastic the
backing of Europeans and the prodding of U.S. President Barack Obama, is complicit in this jihad against
UN Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted as a result of the
The collusion of the Western powers and the Islamic countries against Jews and
The gathering in
The timing of the Paris gathering – five days short of the 75th anniversary of
the notorious Wannsee Conference of 20 January 1942,
held in the suburbs of Berlin, in which top-ranking Nazi officials finalized
the preparation for the "Final solution to the Jewish problem" in
Europe – could not have been more overtly insulting to Israel. Members of the
European Union plotted shafting the Jewish state in accordance with the wishes
of their Arab and Muslim friends of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
(OIC) – 56 Muslim states, plus "
"Fake news" and writing "fake" history have long been the
modus operandi of tyrants; nothing new. The "big lie," repeatedly
broadcast so that people might succumb to believing it, was an art that Joseph
Goebbels, Hitler's minister for propaganda, practiced to devastating results.
The most notorious Arab ally of Hitler, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Mohammed Amin al-Husseini, as an admiring student of Goebbels, passed on the
art of "fake" history and "big lie" to his allies.
It is grotesque and criminal that the EU and the UN, together in "ganging
up," insist that
It was not an oversight in the Security Council Resolution 242 of November 22,
1967 that there was no mention of "Palestinian" people, or
"Palestinian Arabs," or "Palestinians."
In the decades after the passage of Res. 242, there was a systematic push by
the OIC states in the UN, supported by the EU and its predecessor, the European
Community (EC), to refer to disputed territories taken by
The UN, before 1967, did not refer to the West Bank and
The entire jihad of Mufti Haj Amin
el-Husseini, and since, is based on the argument that
Jews have no historic rights.
From the Arab perspective of religion and politics, there never was a "Palestinian" people, or nation, distinct
and separate from Arabs as a people or nation. The jihad called by Husseini against Jews in
Hence, that there ever had been a "Palestinian people" was a
"big lie," pushed by Arab states after 1967, and that the Western
nations unquestioningly swallowed.
"Palaestina" – in a still earlier effort to
strip the area of its Jewish roots, this time by the ancient Romans – was the
name the Emperor Hadrian gave to territory on both sides of the River Jordan –
Judea and
In the seventh century CE, Arabs seized "
The Crusaders conquered
The defeat of the Ottoman Empire left its former Arab territories between
At the San Remo Conference of April 1920, the Allied Powers agreed that
The Balfour Declaration was incorporated into the Palestine Mandate; the
twenty-eight articles of the Mandate stipulated how Palestine would be governed
until, as everyone understood, the Jews were capable of "reconstituting
their [Jewish] national home" – meaning the establishment of a Jewish
state in Palestine. There was no mention of a "Palestinian" people in
the Balfour Declaration or in the Palestine Mandate, since speaking about
From the time of the Balfour Declaration and the League's Mandate for
The subversion began with Sir Herbert Samuel, an English Jew, appointed the
High Commissioner for
The British historian of the Middle East, Elie Kedourie, born in
Husseini, despite the notoriety surrounding him, was
the preferred candidate of Samuel for the position. The Grand Mufti, when World
War II began, enthusiastically embraced the Third Reich, Hitler and his
"Final Solution" for the Jews, and found his way to Nazi Berlin.
The poisonousness of Samuel's choice of Amin al-Husseini as the Grand
Mufti of Jerusalem, however, was exceeded by his role in creating the Emirate
of Transjordan (present-day
In 1922, the chunk of
After the 1922 partition of
Consequently, the policy of allowing Jewish immigration, according to the
formula of "absorptive capacity" adopted during Samuel's tenure in
The sordid legacy of
Finally, a meeting of the Western nations to consider the Jewish plight was
called at the initiative of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. Thirty-eight
countries attended this meeting in July 1938, known as the Evian Conference,
held in
The Evian Conference was doomed even before it convened. Among the countries
attending, not one – not even
The Evian Conference was the last gasp of Western powers to lend assistance to
a people threatened with extinction by their enemies. The spectacle of the
Evian Conference as a charade, according to the historian Robert Wistrich, could only have firmed the resolve of Hitler to
proceed with his plans for the "Final Solution." In his book, Hitler
and the Holocaust, Wistrich wrote:
"If Nazi Germany could no longer expect to export, sell, or expel its Jews
to an indifferent world that plainly did not want them, then perhaps they would
have to do something even more drastic."
After the defeat of the Nazis, and after their crimes
against Jews were no longer disputed or hidden, the Western powers, through the
UN, could have established
But the subsequent history of
The Arab states, in failing to achieve their objective of defeating Israel
during the 1948-67 period, adopted the unconventional means of jihadi terrorism backed by the repeated broadcast of the
"big lie" that the Western nations, or Christendom, willfully accepted. The "big lie" is that the
"Palestinians," as a people under a supposed "occupation"
by Israel – to which the Arabs had agreed in the Oslo II Accord (section: Land)
– deserve a state of their own.
The state for the "Palestinian" people (Muslims and Christians) in
two-thirds of
For the past nine decades and more, however, Arabs and Muslims, with 56 Muslim
states in the OIC, have been waging jihad to destroy the one and only state of
the Jews. And Christendom, as if oblivious of its own shameful past history of
anti-Semitism, has even more shamefully supported the falsification of history.
The first time it was done by UNESCO, in calling ancient Biblical sites
(including
Now, with UN Security Council Resolution 2334, the UN, with the enthusiastic
manipulations of U.S. President Barack Obama and the backing of most European
leaders, is complicit in this jihad against
**Salim Mansur is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at
the Gatestone Institute. He teaches in the department
of political science at
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