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DAILY ALERT

Thursday,
January 5, 2023

In-Depth Issues:

U.S. to Ratchet Up Pressure on Iran - Ariel Kahana (Israel Hayom)
The Biden administration is poised to ratchet up the pressure on Iran under the working assumption that the talks to restore the nuclear deal are no longer viable, following a conversation between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.
Blinken confirmed President Joe Biden's assessment that the 2015 pact with Iran could not be revived.
Blinken added that the administration was likely to seek to have the EU join the effort to up the sanctions on Iran.

UK to Proscribe Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard as Terror Group - Ben Riley-Smith (Telegraph-UK)
Iran's Revolutionary Guard is set to be officially declared a terrorist group after 10 plots to kidnap or murder people in the UK last year. The move is expected to be announced within weeks.
Proscribing the group means it would become a criminal offense to belong to the IRGC, attend its meetings, carry its logo in public or encourage support of its activities, putting the body on a similar legal footing as al-Qaeda. Similar steps have been taken by the U.S. and Canada.
In November, MI5 director general Ken McCallum said: "Iran projects threat to the UK directly, through its aggressive intelligence services. At its sharpest, this includes ambitions to kidnap or even kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime. We have seen at least 10 such potential threats since January alone."

Tortured by Hamas, Palestinian Man Finds Refuge in Israel - Dana Ben-Shimon (Israel Hayom)
E., a resident of Gaza, has been put on Hamas' blacklist after he made several public statements and published posts in which he dared to criticize Hamas' policy.
He attacked the Hamas leadership for violating human rights, criticized the discrimination against women in public areas, and expressed his fury with the way Hamas security institutions handle anti-regime activists.
E. very quickly found himself subject to threats, intimidation, and physical and mental harassment.
"In the initial investigations I was severely beaten, with bruises all over my body," says E.
"They threatened to kill me and told me, 'Tomorrow we will shoot you and throw you to the dogs, and tell everyone that you collaborated with Israel.'"

95 Percent of Cars Stolen in Israel End Up in Palestinian Authority - Roi Weinberger (Globes)
Car thefts have doubled in Israel over the past year, according to data from insurance companies. In December 2022 alone, between 1,200 and 1,300 cars were stolen.
A senior insurance company executive said the increase in thefts originates from the demand for new vehicles or spare parts in the Palestinian Authority.
"This is a kind of economic intifada. 95% reach the Palestinian Authority. It is an organized industry in which everything is ordered in advance."
"The newer vehicles are usually stolen for personal use in the Palestinian Authority areas, while older vehicles are stolen for spare parts that have been ordered in advance."

Washington Post's Anti-Israel Bias in Full Swing - Dr. Michael Berenhaus (JNS)
The Washington Post clearly opposes Israel's new government. Its front-page article on Dec. 30 made sure to quote only its critics.
The Post article repeatedly emphasizes potential anti-LGBT actions by the new government, yet omits the fact that the new government will have, for the first time in Israel's history, a member of the LGBT community as the next Knesset speaker.
Moreover, these charges malign a country that will continue to be the most LGBT-friendly by far in the entire region - a region where LGBT members are routinely murdered for their sexual orientation.

Official PA Daily: Israel Trained Cows to Spy on Palestinians - Itamar Marcus (Palestinian Media Watch)
On Dec. 27, 2022, the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reported a fabricated story that Israeli cows are trained to spy on Palestinians.
"On the neck of each cow they hang a medallion with an eavesdropping and recording device on it, and sometimes cameras, in order to monitor every detail" in Palestinian villages.
It was also reported that Israelis "release herds of wild boars" to destroy Palestinian crops.

Historical Photos: The Great Powers Converged on the Holy Land in the 19th Century - Lenny Ben-David (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
The Jews of Jerusalem flocked to receive the German Emperor in 1898.

Rafael Introduces New Capabilities for SPYDER Air Defense Missile System (Army Technology-UK)
Israel-based Rafael has announced that its surface-to-air Python 5 and Derby (SPYDER) air defense missile system has been upgraded with new tactical capabilities.
The combat-proven system now features a counter-tactical ballistic missile (TBM) capability.
This low-level, quick reaction, autonomous system is deployed to deter airborne attacks from helicopters, uncrewed aerial vehicles, precision-guided munitions, and other aircraft.
SPYDER can detect threats while moving and can conduct a 360-degree launch within seconds.

Israeli Hospital Is World Leader in Procedure Enabling Cancer Patients to Give Birth - Judy Lash Balint (JNS)
Following years of aggressive cancer treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, Ayelet Rosenberg, 35, gave birth to her fourth child after cryopreservation of her eggs.
The Fertility Preservation Center at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan has performed 750 ovarian tissue cryopreservation procedures, more than any other medical center worldwide.
Ovarian function returned in 95% of the patients and 50% of those conceived.

Innovation Helps Israel Reduce Wildfires - Elana Shap (Israel21c)
According to Rami Zaritsky, KKL-JNF's head of forest fire safety, "In 2020 there were 1,020 wildfires [in Israel] stretching over 60,000 dunams [150,000 acres]. This dropped to 814 in 2021 and this year [2022] it was 448 fires over 18,900 dunams [46,000 acres]."
Gilad Ostrovsky, director of the KKL-JNF's Forestry Department, believes the drop in wildfires can be largely attributed to an emphasis on early detection and fast response time, as well as the innovative technology of the Tinshemet-Toren thermal imaging system, which has been in operation for the last three years.
The system can detect any irregular heat or movement and pinpoint its exact location within a 100-km. radius.

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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:

Israel: "Claims of a Change in the Status Quo on the Temple Mount Are Groundless" - Dan Williams
Israel's new national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir briefly visited the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem on Tuesday - the 10th of Tevet in the Hebrew calendar, a Jewish fast day mourning the events that led to the destruction of the First Temple. "The Temple Mount is open to all," Ben-Gvir said on Twitter. Video footage showed him strolling at the periphery of the compound, surrounded by a heavy security detail, as the visit passed without incident.
An official in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the premier was fully committed to the site's decades-old status quo allowing only Muslim worship there. An Israeli official said the 15-minute visit complied with an arrangement that allows non-Muslims to visit but not pray, and that ministers had visited the compound in the past in keeping with the status quo. An official at Netanyahu's office said "claims of a change in the status quo are groundless." (Reuters-U.S. News)
See also below Commentary: The Temple Mount in Jerusalem and Observations: Discrimination Against Jews at Our Holiest Site Never Made Sense to Me - Jason Greenblatt
UN to Hold Emergency Meeting on Israeli Visit to Temple Mount - Edith M. Lederer
The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Thursday at the request of the Palestinians and other Islamic and non-Islamic nations to protest the visit of an Israeli Cabinet minister to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The site is the holiest site in Judaism, home to the ancient biblical temples. (AP)
See also Israel: UN Security Council Debate on Temple Mount Visit "Ridiculous and Unnecessary" - Tova Lazaroff
Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan on Wednesday denounced the Security Council debate on an Israeli visit to the Temple Mount as "ridiculous and unnecessary," explaining that it was scheduled "only because the UN is a distorted and biased body in which Israel is discriminated against." Erdan recalled that he himself had "visited the Temple Mount as internal security minister, and I will make it clear again tomorrow, in the debate, that Jewish visits to the Temple Mount are not a violation of the status quo. Anyone who says otherwise is misleading [the public] and causes security and stability to be undermined."
A Foreign Ministry official said Israel took the UNSC meeting very seriously since it dealt with the sovereignty of the Jewish state over its capital, Jerusalem. Israel views the UNSC meeting as part of its battle for recognition of the Jewish state's historical and current ties to its holiest site. (Jerusalem Post)

News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:

Defense Minister to U.S.: Israel Will Do "Whatever It Takes" to Stop Iran Nukes
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Wednesday that Israel was committed to do whatever it takes to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons that threaten the State of Israel and the entire world and emphasized the need for the international community to cooperate on the issue. (Jerusalem Post)
Israeli Foreign Minister: Palestinians Should Be on Trial, Not Israel
Israel's new foreign minister, Eli Cohen, said Monday: "Palestinian hypocrisy was...manifested during the vote at the UN" on Friday regarding the intervention of the International Court of Justice in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "In the last 75 years, the Palestinians have...never given up an opportunity for war. The Palestinian attempts to harm Israel in the international arena will exact a price from them and push the resolution of the conflict further away."
"It is the Palestinian leadership that should be standing trial, the only place in the world that rewards murderers of Jews solely because they are Jews. The international community must send a clear message to the Palestinian leadership - obliging them to cease incitement in their educational institutions and the funding of murderers of Jews." (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem

The Discriminatory "Status Quo" on Jerusalem's Temple Mount: An International Law Viewpoint - Amb. Alan Baker
Upholding an antiquated, biased, second-class status for Jews on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, a remnant of the 18th-century Ottoman Empire, violates all accepted international human rights and nondiscrimination norms and should logically no longer be relevant or sustained in modern international society.
A new, remodeled status quo would need to guarantee reciprocal recognition of religious rights and observance of the components of a "culture of peace." A vital prerequisite for any definitive resolution of the dispute between Arabs and Jews is a logical and respectful remodeling of the antiquated status quo to be based on present-day international values and standards of fairness, equity, equality, and mutual respect, while protecting basic religious sensitivities and procedures.
The writer is former legal counsel to Israel's Foreign Ministry and participated in the negotiation and drafting of the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians. This article originally appeared on August 10, 2022. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
Ben-Gvir's Temple Mount Jaunt - Herb Keinon
Reasonable people can debate whether National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir should have gone to the Temple Mount on Tuesday. But even his detractors must admit that the way he did it - in the early morning, without fanfare, after sending signals that he actually would not go through with the visit - was smart. It shows that he is aware of the signals such a visit sends and the dangers it could create.
Once threats and warnings were issued from Hamas and Islamic Jihad that such a visit would open the gates of hell and lead to a violent Mideast explosion, it became clear that neither Ben-Gvir nor the government could back down. To prohibit Ben-Gvir, a senior cabinet minister, from going to the site - a site he has visited on numerous occasions in the past - because of Hamas threats would send precisely the wrong message: that the new government could be intimidated.
Ben-Gvir briefly toured the Temple Mount, walked around for 13 minutes, and left before anybody took notice. He made his point. He asserted Jewish rights to the Temple Mount and demonstrated Israeli sovereignty there. But he did so in a way that was uncharacteristically low-key. (Jerusalem Post)
Jews Should Be Allowed to Visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem - Yaakov Katz
Before Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount on Tuesday, Hamas threatened Israel and some condemned the move as a provocation. If the Temple Mount is under Israeli sovereignty, then there should be no issue with any Israeli, especially an elected official, visiting the site. On the other hand, there is a true fear of Arab violence, which Israel always wants to avoid.
If anyone thinks that violence will erupt because Ben-Gvir visits the Temple Mount, then it is important to keep in mind that the Palestinian terrorist groups do not need an excuse to launch attacks against Israel. They can use the Ben-Gvir visit this week, and next week, they will find another reason. The bottom line is that these are just excuses.
The questions we should be asking are different: Why is Israel under threat from a terrorist group for allowing Jews to pray at Judaism's holiest site? Why is it okay for everyone else to pray there and not for Jews? And why do these Palestinian groups get away with making such threats?
The writer is editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post. (Jerusalem Post)
Telegraph Report on Minister's Temple Mount Visit Riddled with Distortions - Adam Levick
The headline of a Telegraph article on Tuesday referred to an Israeli "minister's mosque visit." Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir did not visit the mosque, but only the greater al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, known to Jews (and most visitors) as the Temple Mount.
The article includes the following: "When Ariel Sharon paid a controversial visit to the revered site as opposition leader in 2000, it led to outbreaks of violence and protests which then spiraled into the Second Intifada, a mass Palestinian uprising against Israel." Yet Palestinian leaders have since admitted that Sharon's visit was only a pretext for preplanned violence.
Blaming Sharon's brief visit to the Mount for thousands of subsequent Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians, over the span of five years, is a colossal analytical error. It erases Palestinian agency from the equation: implying that terrorists, and the PA leaders who facilitated their attacks, had no choice but to respond violently to Sharon's visit.
The article quoted "the Kingdom of Jordan which said it 'condemns in the severest of terms the storming of the Aqsa mosque and violating its sanctity.'" The "Jews storming the mosque" lie is frequently peddled in the Arab world to describe any peaceful visit of Jews to the Temple Mount - a narrative which is often designed to incite Palestinian violence. (CAMERA-UK)
Potential Benefits from Ben-Gvir's Temple Mount Visit - Jonathan S. Tobin
The question of protecting the mosques on the Temple Mount from a mythical Jewish threat is a very sensitive topic in the Arab and Muslim world. However, the problem with tiptoeing around Muslim sensibilities about the Temple Mount is that though it makes sense to avoid unnecessary trouble, keeping Jews out and refusing them equal rights to prayer there reinforces the Palestinian narrative denying the validity of Jewish history and Jewish rights to any part of Jerusalem and the country as a whole.
Ben-Gvir isn't wrong to want to send a message to the Palestinians that their denial of Jewish history won't be tolerated. In the long run, establishing that no one can invalidate Jewish rights on the Temple Mount sends the message to the Arab and Islamic world that Israel is here to stay and that Palestinian fantasies of its destruction must be rejected.
The writer is editor-in-chief of Jewish News Syndicate. (JNS)
Why Are the PA and Jordan So Worried about What Happens on the Temple Mount? - Khaled Abu Toameh
The Palestinian Authority and Jordan were quick to condemn National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's 15-minute visit to the Temple Mount on Tuesday. Both seek to be "defenders" of the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, as do Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Although the PA has no official status at the site, it has been acting behind the scenes over the past few years to establish a foothold there, in the aftermath of recurring attempts by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to present themselves as the main "defenders" of Aqsa Mosque.
The most important thing for Jordan is to ensure that the Hashemite custodianship over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem not be undermined. This custodianship is crucial for the Jordanian monarch and the royal family because, they believe, it bolsters their political and religious standing among Arabs and Muslims. (Jerusalem Post)

Iran

Iran's Ruling Elite Do Not Resemble Average Iranians - Amir Taheri
Iran has undergone dramatic changes since the Khomeinist sect seized power 43 years ago. In 1977, on the eve of the revolution, there were 35,000 Iranians living abroad. That number today is around 8 million. In the decade that preceded the revolution, Iran experienced an annual economic growth rate averaging 7%. In the past decade, the rate has been almost zero.
With over 150,000 highly-educated Iranians choosing exile each year, Iran is number one in the brain drain league, according to the International Monetary Fund. It is also number one, relative to population, in the number of executions each year. Iran also claims top spots in the number of political prisoners, prisoners of conscience and foreign hostages.
The ruling elite consist largely of a network of 200 families with clerical, military-security and bazaar backgrounds. The ruling elite is less educated than the average urban Iranian. A study by a Tehran University professor claims that the average IQ of the ruling elite is lower than that of average Iranians. Iranians are keenly aware of the fact that their ruling elite do not resemble them.
The writer was the executive editor-in-chief of the daily Kayhan in Iran from 1972 to 1979. (Asharq Al-Awsat-UK)

Palestinians

Palestinian Terror Groups Challenge PA Forces - Yoni Ben Menachem
The current wave of Palestinian terrorism is led by armed terrorist groups supported by Islamic Jihad and Hamas, as well as by Iran. Some have begun to operate in the field independently.
During 2022, the PA lost its security control over the Nablus and Jenin areas in the northern West Bank. The PA seeks to avoid a frontal military confrontation with the armed groups as long as they do not pose a direct threat to the PA leadership in Ramallah. Israeli security officials say the PA has enough military power to dismantle the terrorist groups, but presents itself as "weak" in order to avoid a direct confrontation with them.
Israel must clarify to the PA that it is obligated, according to the Oslo agreements, to dismantle the terrorist groups in the northern West Bank by all means, including the use of force. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
Bursting the Bubble of Another PA Conspiracy Lie - Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch
An integral part of the Palestinian Authority's "narrative" is its claim that the creation of Israel was nothing more than an act of Western colonization. PA leaders often claim there was a secret plan formulated by British Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman to plant "a foreign body in the middle of the people of the Arab nation in order to fragment its solidarity, steal its resources, and prevent its revival." According to the PA, this is the sole reason for the establishment of Israel.
Yet, similar to many other parts of the PA narrative, the claim regarding the Campbell-Bannerman conspiracy is a complete lie lacking any factual or evidentiary basis. In fact, honest Muslim-Arab scholars admit that no such document exists. Prof. Dr. Mohsen Mohammad Saleh, who heads the Al-Zaytouna Center for Studies and Consultations in Lebanon, sought to determine the origins of the "Campbell-Bannerman document" but reported in 2017 that he "found no trace or source of it!"
Salah exposes how Dr. Anis Sayegh, "one of the leading researchers in modern Palestinian history, and head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Research Center between 1966 and 1976," spent a whole month in the British National Archives, the British Museum library, and Cambridge University where Campbell-Bannerman had studied and deposited his entire private documents collection, as well as The Times newspaper archives, but found nothing about the document.
The writer is the Head of Legal Strategies for Palestinian Media Watch. (Palestinian Media Watch)

Other Issues

Stop Bemoaning the "Death of Israeli Democracy" - Daniel Gordis
Daniel Gordis, an American rabbi who left his pulpit to live in Israel as an author, teacher, and university administrator, has little sympathy with the seemingly incessant torrent of woe-is-us columns penned by American communal leaders declaring Israel-as-they-knew-it is dead and bemoaning the fact that they can no longer support the Jewish state.
What does it say about your worldview when the country that you did decide to wash your hands of is the only country on the planet whose express purpose is saving the Jewish people? An election goes a way you don't like and you announce that you're done? (Mosaic)
See also Podcast: Israel from the Inside - Daniel Gordis (Substack)
The Prospects of Normalization between Sudan and Israel - Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah
While Sudan has joined the Abraham Accords, normalization between Khartoum and Jerusalem is frozen and awaits a final push from both sides.
The toppling of the regime of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (who was overthrown in 2019 by the army), along with Sudan's striving towards a vibrant democracy, has contributed in mitigating hostile Iranian influence. With the transformation of the Sudanese regime, the Red Sea, with the exception of the Yemeni shores, has become more secure, and has augmented Israel's capacity to monitor malevolent activities from Iran and Iranian proxies in the region.
Normalization with Sudan will encourage the rest of the Arab world and some adjacent countries - specifically, Djibouti, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia - to formalize their relations with Israel, thus creating a formidable shield against Iranian penetration of this part of the globe.
The writer is former Deputy Head for Assessment of Israeli Military Intelligence. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

Weekend Features

For Some Wounded Ukrainian Soldiers, the Road to Recovery Runs through Israel - Hillel Kuttler
Aleksander, 38, and Piotr, 53, roommates in the rehabilitation wing of Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, are Ukrainian soldiers recuperating from catastrophic battle injuries sustained in Russian attacks. The war in Ukraine reduced Aleksander and Piotr to one leg between them. In late January they will have completed physical therapy, been fitted for prosthetics, and will head home wearing the devices.
Israel - having, by unfortunate necessity, acquired expertise in treating thousands of its own soldiers and civilians maimed by wars and terrorism - is getting Ukraine's warriors quite literally back on their feet with cutting-edge prosthetics, physical therapy, and rehabilitation. Aleksander and Piotr are among the 20 Ukrainian soldiers, all recent amputees, whom Israel's Ministry of Health is committed to assisting. (Tablet)
Trailblazing Female Muslim Arab Is IDF Major - Etgar Lefkovits
Ella Waweya, 33, the first Muslim Arab woman to become a major in the IDF, is its deputy spokesperson for the Arabic media. She is from the Israeli Arab city of Qalansawe and, from a young age, felt that she wanted to be part of Israeli society. She enrolled in an Israeli college to study communications and volunteered to perform a year of national service, concomitant to her studies, in the emergency room of an Israeli hospital at night. A hospital security guard from the Bedouin minority, who had been in the army, led her to realize that IDF service was a possibility.
At a media conference in Eilat, she spoke with then-IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai and the late veteran military correspondent Roni Daniel, who heard her say she wished she could join the IDF. Two days later, Waweya was summoned for an interview at the IDF Spokesperson's office in Tel Aviv and was accepted to work in the military's press office at age 24.
A year and a half later, she enrolled in officer's training and was selected as an outstanding soldier who would be honored by the president. Several dozen people from her city were inspired to either enlist or perform national service. Nearly 400 Muslim Arabs including Bedouin enlisted in the IDF last year. (JNS)
Women in the Israel Air Force - Anna Ahronheim
Women in the Israel Air Force (IAF) are busy protecting the country. Lt.-Col. M, who is married and has three children, has been protecting the skies of Israel for 22 years. She is responsible for the aerial picture of Israel's skies.
Captain A is the head of advanced flight training at the IAF drone school. According to A, drone operators have one of the most interesting positions in the military. While they may be located far from the enemy, "you do feel as if you are on the frontlines. You see everything." Over the past decade, the operational use of drones by air forces around the world, including the IAF, has increased dramatically. Though the majority of operations are reconnaissance and surveillance of targets, Israeli drone operators are involved in carrying out deadly strikes against terrorists and destroying enemy targets that pose an imminent threat.
1st Lt. R serves as a weapons system operator on an F-16. She is on the frontlines, flying some of the most complex operations side by side with her male colleagues, deep behind enemy lines. (Jerusalem Post)

Observations:

Discrimination Against Jews at Our Holiest Site Never Made Sense to Me - Jason Greenblatt (Twitter)

Like so many things about this conflict, people say different things - "status quo," "historical status quo," "legal status quo" - and people define these differently. The demands to maintain the so-called status is completely unhelpful and deepens the problem.
And if we want to use "historical status quo," let's understand actual "history" and remember that Jews (of which I am a very proud one) had two Temples on the site and worshiped on this holy site for a very significant period of time, over the span of two Temple periods.
In a world where people of good faith are attempting to fight against all sorts of discrimination, why is the discrimination against Jews and Jewish prayer at the holiest site for Jews still demanded? It never made sense to me that this wasn't part of the "status quo."
That's why in the peace plan we released it called for all religions to be allowed to pray at this site, which is holy to countless people around the world, and to end the discrimination against Jews at this site.
To demand otherwise is completely dishonest. Let's end the discrimination, once and for all.

The writer is a former White House Mideast envoy (2017-2019).

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