Turkish Islamist gov under dictator Erdogan has been pouring money into east Jerusalem in an attempt to reclaim Ottoman rule.

Turkish Islamist gov under dictator Erdogan has been pouring money into east Jerusalem in an attempt to gain influence. HT: therussophile.

Four years after the Ottoman Empire faded away and withdrew from the land of Israel, the man who wrote the words to Turkey’s national anthem — Mehmet Akif Ersoy — tried to hoist his country’s flag. He slipped a line into the anthem to which the Turks still cling. Arusi describes the flag “waving like the shining sky” and praises it: “Oh coy crescent do not frown, for I am ready to sacrifice myself for you! … If you frown, our blood shed for you will not be worthy.”

But it’s doubtful whether back in 1921 even Ersoy believed that less than 100 years later, flags bearing Turkey’s moon and star would once again wave over the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount — and under the rule of a Jewish state, no less.

Turkey once again wants to gain a foothold and influence in Jerusalem. It is investing a lot of money to gain its objective. The Turkish national and cultural awakening in the Israeli capital, which is keenly felt by the residents of east Jerusalem, has the backing of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who sees himself as the patron of the Muslim Brotherhood and the man who will reinstate the Ottoman Empire and become the father of the Ottoman caliphate that will one day return — even to Jerusalem.

Turkey is scattering vast sums around east Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount to acquire a foothold and influence here. Erdogan’s loyal partners in this “holy” act are the members of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, led by Sheikh Raed Salah, which rejects the legitimacy of Israel and which has now been outlawed; and Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the former mufti of Jerusalem, one of the most extreme figures in Islam who has decreed suicide bombings legitimate and expressed hope that the U.S. and Britain be destroyed. Sabri is currently the head preacher at Al-Aqsa mosque.

Some of the figures are coming to light now thanks Pinhas Inbari, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, who compiled a comprehensive list of Palestinian organizations currently operating in east Jerusalem for the JCPA.

It turns out that the Turkish money is flowing into Jerusalem via a number of entities, the most important of which is TIKA, an aid organization funded mostly by the Turkish government that sends enormous amounts of money to some 140 countries.

Since 2011, TIKA has been headed by Dr. Serder Cam, who formerly served as chief of Erdogan’s parliamentary staff.

Members of the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center recently discovered that between 2004, when TIKA first established a branch office in Ramallah, and 2014, it invested millions of dollars in no fewer than 63 projects in Jerusalem.

The crescent rises

A quick glance at TIKA’s website, as well as a visit in person, show us that TIKA is investing a great deal of money in rebuilding the Nabi Musa site, which lies between Jerusalem and Jericho and is believed to be the location of Moses’ tomb. Nabi Musa is also where the 1929 riots against the Jewish community in pre-state Israel started.

At the request of the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Youth and Sport, TIKA has also invested in the construction of a sports stadium in the A-Tur neighborhood on the way to the Mount of Olives; in refurbishing the archive of Ottoman and Muslim documents on the Temple Mount; in acquiring a water tank for the benefit of worshippers on the Mount; in rebuilding the Muslim cemetery at the foot of the eastern wall of the Temple Mount, near the Golden Gate; in funding archaeological salvage excavations on the Street of the Chain in the Old City; and plenty of other community and religious projects.

Turkey’s trusted allies in Jerusalem — mainly the Muslim Brotherhood, who maintain ties to the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement — frequently fly Turkish flags on the Temple Mount and along the way to it. TIKA has also printed hundreds of thousands of copies of an informational booklet in three languages (Turkish, Arabic and English) about the 76 Muslim historical sites and buildings in the Al-Aqsa compound. The booklet launch was a festive ceremony attended by members of the Muslim Waqf and representatives of the Turks and the Palestinians.

The crown jewel of Turkey’s activity in Jerusalem was replacing the faded old crescent on top of the Dome of the Rock with a shiny new golden crescent donated by the government of Turkey. It was a Turkish association that provided part of the funding for the buses that in recent years have picked up operatives from the Murabitun and Murabitat fundamentalist groups from Palestinian villages in the Triangle region and shuttled them to the Temple Mount, where they spent years instigating riots and unrest until their organizations were outlawed and banned from the Mount.

The Turkish obsession with Al-Aqsa and the Temple Mount is both consistent and methodical. Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, a researcher on Turkey from the Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University, mentions that for years, the Turks sent regular delegations to inspect events involving the archaeological excavations around Mughrabi Bridge and the Western Wall tunnels.

“Mehmet Gormez, chairman of the Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, is the one who two years ago on Al-Qadr Eve directed the prayer on the Temple Mount, and under Gormez, Jerusalem became a station on the Hajj route [the holy journey to Mecca]. In other words, on the way to Mecca, [Muslims] pray at Al-Aqsa, and only then proceed to Jordan, and from there to Saudi Arabia,” Yanarocak explains.

The researcher also notes that the backdrop of the official TV station of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate now includes an image of Al-Aqsa mosque alongside the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

“Turkish schoolbooks are including Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem more and more, too,” Yanarocak observes.

A reminder: Only a few weeks ago, despite the reconciliation agreement between Israel and Turkey and the supposed end to the Mavi Marmara crisis Erdogan spoke at an international forum of Waqf charities for Al-Quds, the Muslim name for Jerusalem. He called Israeli rule over Jerusalem “an insult” and called on his people and on Muslims worldwide “to protect Jerusalem’s Muslim identity” and ascend the Temple Mount.

Erdogan took that same opportunity to attack Israel’s muezzin bill, which was intended to limit noise from Muslim calls to prayer, and threatened: “We will not allow the muezzin on Al-Aqsa to be silenced. … Any stone that is moved in the city could be significant.”

He also complained that “only” 26,000 Turks visit Jerusalem each year and added that “although that is a larger number than any other Muslim state, it’s much lower than the hundreds of thousands of Americans, Russians and French [who visit].”

Indeed, thanks to Erdogan, Muslim tourism to Jerusalem is changing. Today, it is mainly religious groups who visit Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, then leave.

Yanarocak explains that Erdogan “believes he is the leader of the moderate Sunni world, and he takes every opportunity to stress that he is the descendant of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Jerusalem for hundreds of years, the heir to Salah a-Din and Suleiman the Magnificent. He defines the Turks as the grandchildren of those two and aspires to restore Islamic rule and the [Turkish] empire to Jerusalem.”

Another Turkish body operating in Jerusalem is the Our Heritage Foundation, which has its headquarters in Istanbul. The heads of the association were among those who welcomed Raed Salah when he arrived in Turkey a few years ago. The organization’s goal is to preserve and renew the Ottoman legacy in Al-Quds. Last May, the head of the foundation revealed the extent of its activity in an interview: In 10 years, the group had invested $40 million in refurbishing 46 mosques and 70 apartments, as well as furnishing hundreds more apartments near the Al-Aqsa compound.

Our Heritage Foundation, which enjoys funding from TIKA, also cares for orphans and renovates schools. This Ramadan [which ends today], it committed to distributing 150,000 meals at the Al-Aqsa compound, and plans to put another $10 million into the same project next year.

“Unprecedented admiration”

For now, Israel is ignoring Turkey’s activity in Jerusalem, other than responses to Erdogan’s wild attacks on Israel, and is doing nothing. The Jordanians are biting their lips, too. The peace treaty between Israel and Jordan obligates Israel to recognize Jordanian precedence regarding Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem.

For years, Israel has been upping Jordan’s status on the Temple Mount through gestures and giving up various matters of authority. Israel is also very considerate of the Jordanians’ feelings about the Temple Mount. Historically, Jordan lost two important battles for places holy to Muslims.

The Hashemite dynasty lost its status as guardian of the Islamic holy sites in Mecca and Medina to Saudi Arabia after World War I, and comforted itself with the second-tier guardianship over Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem.

When Israel united east and west Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, Jordan lost those sites, as well. For Jordan, the peace treaty with Israel corrected an error, but now the Turks are threatening to steal their supremacy yet again.

Armenian historian Dr. Georgette Avakian, a resident of the Armenian Quarter of the Old City, is worried about the Turkish activity in the city.

“We see Turkish flags all over the Temple Mount, and on the roads leading there, too. At Damascus Gate, along Hagai Street, there are many shops that fly the Turkish flag. Traditional Turkish foods, Turkish seeds and nuts and Turkish moussaka, have become popular.

“It bothers me sometimes. First, because it’s planned. This isn’t spontaneous, being purchased and is a thought-out move. Turkey is moving into a higher gear in the city. Second, it disturbs me and enrages me as an Armenian, the daughter of a people who were mostly killed in a genocide by the Turks. The Turks are trying to restore something of the prestige and influence they lost here 100 years ago, when their empire collapsed,” Avakian says.

“When I heard a little while ago that the Turks want to put up a monument near the Temple Mount to their soldiers who were killed in World War I, I was angry. I sent a letter to the east Jerusalem newspaper that reported that [story] and asked whether the monument would be to the soldiers who killed my people. They didn’t run my letter,” Avakian continues.

A few weeks ago, Dr. David Koren and Ben Avrahami, advisers to the Jerusalem Municipality on matters of east Jerusalem, published an article in Hashiloah journal covering the changes to east Jerusalem over the years that Israel has governed there. Both Koren and Avrahami discussed the millions of dollars the Turks are sending to associations and establishments in the eastern half of the city to strengthen their own position there at the expense of Israel and Jordan.

The two observed that “the growing involvement of the Erdogan regime, which currently serves as the chief patron of the Muslim Brotherhood movement worldwide, shows that what is happening in Jerusalem is part of a broader gambit of creating regional Turkish hegemony at other players’ expense.”

Koren and Avrahami also wrote that “the biggest loser from Turkey’s growing presence [in Jerusalem] is Jordan, which for years enjoyed the status of guardian of the holy sites as well as the patron of the residents of east Jerusalem.”

The researchers point out that in recent years, Jordan’s status in the city has been “nibbled away, and has now been whittled down to guardianship over 144 dunams [36 acres] of the Temple Mount, as King Abdullah himself has announced. … And even on the Temple Mount, this status is shrinking, and Turkey is entering the vacuum being created, both in the streets of the city and on the Temple Mount.”

Koren and Avrahami have the impression that “Erdogan’s Turkey currently enjoys unprecedented admiration among the residents of east Jerusalem. Its flags are flown on rooftops and even at the Temple Mount plaza, and Turkish culture is being embraced, as we see in Turkish language classes and the presence of Turkish food and music. Their involvement is made possible thanks to their cooperation with Muslim Brotherhood officials in the city, who often function as their allies and executors.

“According to sources in east Jerusalem with whom we speak frequently, the Turks fund a large part of the Dawa [preaching] in the city: charitable organizations, women’s organizations, cultural and leisure events, youth activities, and more. Sheikh Ekrima, who is the patron of many of these groups, has de facto become the main figure identified with Turkish activity in the city.

“Turkey carries out the wealth of activities and investment in east Jerusalem through … its government aid agency, the Turkish Consulate in the city, and a variety of Turkish organizations that have branches in Israel or in Judea and Samaria,” Koren and Avrahami wrote.

Preventing the ‘Judaization’ of Jerusalem

Indeed, at least some Palestinians in Jerusalem find it difficult to hide their admiration for the Turks and their leader, Erdogan, who frequently attacks Israel, mainly on the issues of the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa. This admiration, coupled with reservations about Jordan, came to a head in two visits by VIPs to the city.

The first was Gormez, head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, who was given a royal welcome and even spoke before a crowd of worshippers. A few days later, head of the Jordanian Qadis, Dr. Ahmed al-Huleil, visited the Mount, and the audience interrupted his speech repeatedly. In the end, he was turned out of the mosque in disgrace.

As mentioned above, Turkey’s most loyal allies in Jerusalem are Salah, who spent last Ramadan at the home of the Turkish ambassador to Israel, and Sabri. Salah has already spent time in prison for incitement and rioting, and his Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement has been outlawed after instigating countless provocations on the Temple Mount.

Sabri, like Salah, rejects the Jews’ historic right to Israel and Jerusalem. They are both former members of a coalition of charities led by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, which transferred money to Hamas. Only a month ago, Erdogan met with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, and according to a report from the Palestinian Maan news agency, called on him to work together to prevent the “Judaization” of Jerusalem. The Minister of Religious Affairs in the Palestinian Authority, Yusuf Idais, was also in that meeting, along with PA Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Adnan al-Husseini.

About a month ago, Erdogan met with Sabri during a conference on holy sites in Jerusalem held in Istanbul and received a medal of honor. Judging by his “achievements” in Jerusalem, he deserves it.

Palestinian Writer Warns: 'There Is An ISIS-Like Culture Among Us That Excludes Christians And Is Intolerant Towards Them'.

Palestinian Writer Warns: 'There Is An ISIS-Like Culture Among Us That Excludes Christians And Is Intolerant Towards Them'. (Memri).

In an article he published April 17, 2017 in the Palestinian paper Al-Hadath, Nihad Abu Ghosh, a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and the director of the PLO's diaspora affairs department, described the dire situation of the Christians living in the Palestinian Authority (PA) territories and the drastic decline in their numbers over the years. 

He wrote that this situation results not only from the occupation but also from an ISIS-like culture that has infiltrated Palestinian society. 

As an example, he noted that preachers at Al-Aqsa call to impose a poll-tax on the Christians and forbid Muslims to greet them on their holidays.

He warned that this treatment of the Christians, which drives them to emigrate, could tarnish the pluralistic image of Palestinian society, and called to place this issue on the public agenda and act to find ways to protect the Christians.

The following are excerpts from his article:[1]

"From time to time we hear warnings about the dangers facing the Christian presence in the [Middle] East region. These warnings are justified, considering what has happened to Christians in Iraq and Syria and the [recent] series of bombings of Egyptian churches.[2] Prior to and during these incidents, there was a discourse of division, of accusing the other of heresy, and of continuing to treat Christians as ahl al-dhimma[3] and as second-rate citizens. 

All the Arab countries, without exception, have failed to establish a civic state with full equality of rights and duties among all citizens regardless of religion, origin, ethnicity or gender.

"It should be noted that in Turkey, our close neighbor, the number of Christians fell from 30% to less than 1% in the second decade of the 20^th century alone. This was due to the massacre of the Armenians, the Syrians and the Assyrians, the ethnic cleansing and population transfer campaigns that also included the Greeks…

"And what of Palestine, the cradle of Jesus? Is a danger hovering over the Christian presence in our country [as well]? In answering this question, there is usually a tendency to fall into the trap of fine and emotional words about national unity, and to mention a few pioneers of the [Palestinian] national movement, [as well as] intellectuals, artists and politicians, who are Christians, or to blame the occupation for the steady decline in the number of Christians among the Palestinians who remain in their homeland. But this is not enough to explain or justify [the fact that] the Christian [population] of Palestine declined from 20% before the nakba to less than 2% in the lands that were conquered in 1967, and their proportion in all the territory conquered since 1948 is [currently] 10% of the Arab Palestinians and about 2% of the entire population of the State of Israel.

"Undoubtedly, the occupation bears most of the blame for the tragic predicament of all Palestinians, Christians and Muslims alike, [a predicament] that leads entire sectors to consider emigration. It is also possible that cultural and demographic factors make the option of emigrating and integrating in the host societies easier for Christians than for Muslims, as evident from the fact that the Palestinian communities in South America, and particularly in Chile, are overwhelmingly Christian.

"The warnings and dangers, then, are serious and genuine. [But] they are not connected solely to ISIS and its crimes, but to an ISIS-like culture and the existence of an environment that excludes the Palestinian Christians and is unsympathetic towards them. 

To this very day we hear of [a preacher] at Al-Aqsa Mosque who gives lessons and advocates imposing a poll tax (jizya) on Christians, while ignoring the occupiers and the settlers. We also hear of someone issuing a fatwa that bans congratulating Christians on their holidays, or who claims that too many positions are reserved for them in the municipalities and the Legislative Council.

"This bleeding wound [represented by the plight of] the Christians does not only pose a danger to the issue of rights and duties and to the tolerant culture we aspire [to create]; it can also damage the Palestinian national identity. This identity, since its inception, is pluralistic and encompasses all components of Palestinian society, all its hues and all its communities – and is the very opposite of the monolithic exclusionary and racist identity embodied by the Zionist program. Our Palestinian identity resembles the brightly embroidered Palestinian national dress, or our four-colored flag, rather than the ISIS flag or the chador [a black robe that covers a woman's body from head to toe] worn by the Taliban. Read the full story here.

Video - 'Moderate' Egyptian Sheikh of Al-Azhar on Jewish-Muslim Animosity: The Jews Started It.

Video - 'Moderate' Egyptian Sheikh of Al-Azhar on Jewish-Muslim Animosity: The Jews Started It.(MEMRI).

Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb said that it was the Jews who had started the animosity with the Muslims, by rejecting the message of the Prophet Muhammad. 

In a May 5 interview with Egyptian TV's Channel 1, Sheikh Al-Tayyeb said that the Jews “took actual measures to thwart, kill, and bury the Islamic call in its infancy.” 

Even though 1,400 years have passed since the advent of Islam, Sheikh of Al-Azhar said, “we still suffer from Zionist-Jewish interference in the affairs of the Muslims.”

Catholic Pope Francis I repeats refugee ‘concentration camps’ remarks.

Catholic Pope Francis I repeats refugee ‘concentration camps’ remarks. (ToI).

Pope Francis I repeated aboard the Papal plane on Saturday that some migrant holding centers in Europe amount to “concentration camps,” even after Jewish groups urged him to stop using the loaded term.

A German reporter asked Francis if he had made a linguistic slip when he first made the remarks last week, adding that they had been met with shock in Germany.

Speaking en route home from Egypt, Francis appeared to not appreciate the controversy, saying that there are some refugee holding centers where migrants are penned in and prevented from leaving. He said: “There are refugee camps that are true concentration camps.”

The American Jewish Committee sharply criticized the remarks and urged Francis to use a different choice of words.

In a statement last week, AJC said that while the conditions in some migrant centers might be difficult “The Nazis and their allies erected and used concentration camps for slave labor and the extermination of millions of people during World War II. There is no comparison to the magnitude of that tragedy.” Hmmmm.....An old French proverb says 'When two Jesuits meet on the road, the devil appears for a threesome'. 

Russian Foreign ministry: East Jerusalem capitol of Palestine State - West Jerusalem capitol of Israeli State.

Russian Foreign ministry: East Jerusalem capitol of Palestine State - West Jerusalem capitol of Israeli State. (Midru).

Moscow is deeply concerned about the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Palestine and Israel have not held political negotiations for nearly three years, and the situation on the ground has been deteriorating.

The stalling of the Middle East peace process has created conditions for unilateral moves that undermine the potential for an internationally accepted solution to the Palestinian problem, under which two states – Israel and Palestine – could live in peace and security with each other and with their neighbours.

Moscow reaffirms its support for the two-state solution as an optimal option that meets the national interests of the Palestinian and Israeli people, both of whom have friendly relations with Russia, and the interests of all other countries in the region and the international community as a whole.

We reaffirm our commitment to the UN-approved principles for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement, which include the status of East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state. At the same time, we must state that in this context we view West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The concrete parameters of a solution for the entire range of issues regarding the status of Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, should be coordinated at the direct talks between the parties involved. Using its opportunities as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a co-sponsor of the peace process and an active member of the Middle East Quartet of international intermediaries, Russia will continue to provide assistance to the achievement of Israeli-Palestinian agreements. We will focus on ensuring free access to Jerusalem’s holy places for all believers.

I Criticized Terror group Hamas and My Life in 'Islamist' Turkey Became a Nightmare.

I Criticized Terror group Hamas and My Life in 'Islamist' Turkey Became a Nightmare. (MEForum).by Burak Bekdil

My greatest sin was to argue: "The fact that there are no Israeli casualties does not mean Hamas does not want to kill; it just means Hamas, for the moment, cannot kill."

It was a beautiful, sunny day in December 2006 when I met Shimon Peres at his Tel Aviv office. At one point in our conversation, he began to talk about how things were beginning to go wrong in Turkey. He said: "Do not forget ... when holiness begins, reason ends." I knew he was right.

In 2006, the then Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was widely viewed as a Muslim democrat, a pro-EU reformist, a pro-business liberal; or, at worst, a postmodern Islamist — not just an Islamist.

In reality, I argued in my Hurriyet column, he was just another Islamist zig-zagging between his ideological and pragmatic selves. He was successfully deceiving much of the Western world.

Less than a decade later, having consolidated his power using a blend of nationalist, Sunni-Islamist rhetoric, populist sound bites and nods to Ottoman grandeur, he has been labelled "arguably the most virulent anti-Israel leader in the world." Read my story here.

Video - Jerusalem Dateline: US Mulls Jerusalem Embassy Move, Will it Happen? Rudy Giuliani with CBN News

Video - Fatah Official Sultan Abu Al-Einein: Transfer of U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem Will Lead to Renewed Bloodshed

Egyptian Daily Reveals Minutes Of Secret Palestinian Authority Meeting With John Kerry, Susan Rice; U.S.-Pal Coordination On UNSC 2334.

Egyptian Daily Reveals Minutes Of Secret Palestinian Authority Meeting With John Kerry, Susan Rice; U.S.-Pal Coordination On UNSC 2334. (Memri).

In mid-December 2016, a Palestinian Authority (PA) delegation met in Washington with officials from the outgoing Obama administration for secret talks. On December 27, the Egyptian daily Al-Youm Al-Sabi', which is close to Egyptian intelligence services, published an exposé of the minutes of the secret talks. 

According to the report, by Ahmed Gomaa, the Palestinian delegation included PLO Executive Committee secretary and negotiating team leader Saeb Erekat; Palestinian general intelligence chief Majid Faraj; Husam Zomlot, strategic affairs advisor to Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud 'Abbas; Palestinian Foreign Ministry official Dr. Majed Bamya; Palestinian negotiations department official Azem Bishara; Palestinian intelligence international relations department chief Nasser 'Adwa; and head of the PLO delegation to Washington Ma'an Erekat.

The report gave the details of the Palestinian delegation's schedule during the visit, noting that "the Palestinian side began its meetings on December 12, when Saeb Erekat and Majid Faraj met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The next day, the two met with National Security Advisor Susan Rice. The entire delegation met with an American team that included four representatives of the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, for a six-hour political-strategic meeting. Majid Faraj concluded his visit with a lengthy meeting with the CIA chief."

According to the report, the minutes of the "top secret" meeting of Kerry, Rice, Erekat, and Faraj reveals U.S.-Palestinian coordination leading up to the UN Security Council vote on Resolution 2334 regarding Israel's settlements, which was adopted December 23. It states that the sides "agreed to cooperate in drafting a resolution on the settlements" and that the U.S. representative in the Security Council was "empowered" to coordinate with the Palestinian UN representative on the resolution.

The meeting also, according to the report, was aimed at coordinating Kerry's attendance at the upcoming international Paris Conference set for January 15, 2017, in order to promote a further international move regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Kerry, it said, offered to propose his ideas for a permanent arrangement "provided that they are supported by the Palestinian side."

At the meeting, Rice pointed out the "danger" of the incoming Trump administration's policies, the report stated, adding that both she and Kerry had advised President 'Abbas to make no preliminary moves that might provoke the new administration. Rice even offered to help arrange a meeting between the Palestinian delegation and a representative from the Trump team, by enlisting the help of World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder.

Also at the meeting, Erekat warned that if the U.S. Embassy was moved to Jerusalem, the Palestinians would call to expel U.S. Embassies from Arab and Muslim capitals, the report said.
The report added that Kerry and Rice had fulsomely praised 'Abbas's policies and how he handled matters, and harshly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that he "aims to destroy the two-state solution."

It should be mentioned that both Kerry and Erekat have denied that there was any U.S.-Palestinian coordination in drafting the Security Council resolution.[1]


Following are excerpts from the Al-Youm Al-Sabi' report:

Coordinating Kerry's Attendance At International Conference In France

The delegation also attempted to coordinate Kerry's attendance at the Paris Conference, which will take place January 15, 2017, to promote a further international move for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to the report. "As for the French initiative, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that he could not attend [the conference if it were to be held] December 21-22, but stressed that he could [attend it if it were to be held] after January 9. The Palestinian delegation stressed that 'Abbas had contacted the French side, and that it had expressed its willingness to postpone the international conference [in Paris] so that the American secretary of state could attend."

Erekat: If U.S. Embassy Is Moved To Jerusalem, We Will Call To Expel U.S. Embassies From Arab And Muslim Countries

"When Susan Rice asked what the Palestinian response would be if the U.S. Embassy was moved to Jerusalem, or if a new settlement bloc was annexed, Erekat responded: 

'We will directly and immediately join 16 international organizations, withdraw the PLO's recognition of Israel, and cut back our security, political, and economic ties with the Israeli occupation regime, and we will hold it fully responsible for the PA's collapse. Furthermore, we will [call] on the Arab and Islamic peoples to expel U.S. Embassies from their capitals.' 

Rice answered Erekat by saying: 'It seems that future matters could be very complicated, and we are all apprehensive about sitting down with Erekat because of his absolute knowledge of these matters, and because of his memory and his sincerity.' She expressed the American side's respect and friendship for Erekat, and apologized for yelling at him in March 2014."

"John Kerry And Susan Rice Asked That The Meetings Be Classified 'Top Secret'"

Finally, the report stated: "John Kerry and Susan Rice asked that the meetings be classified 'Top Secret' and that what went on in them not be leaked, in light of the sensitivity of the transition between the two U.S. administrations."

"The Palestinian delegation," it said, "asked Kerry and Rice to reexamine the financial aid to the PA and not to reduce it, as they did when they cut it from $150 million in 2011 to $100 million in 2012, with the current aid proposal being only $39 million. 

According to the meeting's minutes, the Palestinian side revealed that [U.S.]  financial aid to the PA was $400-$500 million between 2008 and 2013, and was cut to $370 million in 2014 and 2015, and then cut again to $290 million in 2016.[6]

"The Palestinian side praised the American administration's aid to UNRWA, which averaged $277 million per year between 2009 and 2016, and asked for it to be increased in order to cover UNRWA's $101 million deficit in 2016." Read the full story here.

Video - A day in the life of a Palestinian boy named Ali, narrated by Israeli PM Netanyahu.

Video - Secrets of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron

To combat the recent United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) resolution declaring Judaism has no connection to the holy sites in Israel and educate the growing wave of Bible deniers, the Jews of Hebron have made a simple video with a powerful message: the story of Abraham’s purchase and his covenant with God stand as solid as the stones surrounding the cave.

Hebron is the city of the patriarchs as written in the Bible. This claim should be obvious, but a global trend is developing in which history is being rewritten, and basic tenets of the Bible are erased. Yishai Fleisher, the international spokesman for the Hebron Jewish community, explained how this happened.

“100 years ago, everyone knew the stories of the Bible,” Fleisher told Breaking Israel News. “There was no way anyone could say these lies back then. Because the Bible has lost its media presence, it is now possible to pull the wool over people’s eyes about these basic truths.”

For those who accept the Bible, the Jewish claim to Hebron is self-evident. For those who reject it, this basic truth is not so clear.

“Outside of the Bible, there is very little clear information about the holy places,” noted Fleisher, “Which allows organizations like UNESCO to create a false narrative. UNESCO is a legitimate arm of the jihad.”

Read the full story here.

Pres Hussein Obama Signs Waiver Ordering US Embassy Not to Be Moved to Jerusalem.

Pres Hussein Obama Signs Waiver Ordering US Embassy Not to Be Moved to Jerusalem. (Matzav).

As he has every six months of his administration, President Barack Obama signed a waiver on Thursday ordering the U.S. Embassy in Israel to remain in Tel Aviv – and not be moved to Yerushalayim as Congress has requested and the Israelis would like.

Every president since the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 was passed by Congress has signed the waiver every six months, determining the delay is necessary “to protect the national security interests of the United States.”

But during his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump vowed to move the seaside embassy – and pronto.

With his election, many Israelis – including Yerushalayim Mayor Nir Barkat – said they hope Trump will honor his promise. “This will symbolize the close relationship and courageous friendship between the two nations,” said Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked.

Israelis are excited by the prospect, but not holding their breaths. About half of Israelis polled said they didn’t think Trump would really relocate the embassy, according to a November survey for the Jerusalem Post.

In an address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in March, Trump promised to “move the American embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem.”


Trump said the relocation would happen “fairly quickly.”

Previous candidates, including Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, promised the same thing in their courtship of pro-Israel voters, then reversed themselves.

The United States, like other countries, maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv, and says any change must await the final resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

But if Trump were to want to move the U.S. embassy up the hill 40 miles from Tel Aviv to Yerushalayim, diplomats say it would require … virtually nothing.


President Trump could simply not sign the next waiver and then planning and construction could proceed.

The decision will soon be Trump’s.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post · William Booth 

Vatican and Israel criticize UNESCO: no one can deny biblical history.

Vatican and Israel criticize UNESCO: no one can deny biblical history. (AN).

The Vatican has joined the critics of the UNESCO decision to use only the name Arabic name of holy places in East Jerusalem, leaving out their Hebrew version.

The Joint Commission of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel's Delegation for Relations with the Catholic Church and the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews issued a joint statement noting that the UNESCO decision’s denies on political and polemical grounds the relationship between Jews and Temple Mount and the biblical story.

The communique states that it is necessary now more than ever to promote peace at a time when violence is perpetrated in the name of religion. In view of today’s challenges and human tragedies, it goes on to emphasize the importance of religious leaders setting an example for tolerance and respect.

The parties also promised that they would try to persuade more effectively their respective authorities to act in the most tolerant and humane ways towards “others” and the weak.

Pope Francis’s recent remarks to representatives of various religions are particularly appropriate. "May we reject the aimless paths of disagreement and closed-mindedness. May it never happen again that the religions, because of the conduct of some of their followers, convey a distorted message, out of tune with that of mercy. Sadly, not a day passes that we do not hear of acts of violence, conflict, kidnapping, terrorist attacks, killings and destruction. It is horrible that at times, to justify such barbarism, the name of a religion or the name of God himself is invoked.

May there be clear condemnation of these iniquitous attitudes that profane the name of God and sully the religious quest of mankind. May there instead be fostered everywhere the peaceful encounter of believers and genuine religious freedom." (Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to representatives of different religions, Vatican, 3 November 2016).

After more than half a century of Jewish-Catholic reconciliation and fruitful dialogue, Christians and Jews are called to work together to help create peace for the whole human family, fulfilling the words of the psalmist: "Love and truth will meet; justice and peace will kiss” (Psalm 85:11).

The parties also stressed the importance of educating the new generations to promote peace and mutual respect.

Obama 'Admin' Refusing to Cooperate With Investigation Into $1.7 Billion in Cash Payments to Iran.

Obama 'Admin' Refusing to Cooperate With Investigation Into $1.7 Billion in Cash Payments to Iran. (WFB).

Attorney General Loretta Lynch is declining to comply with an investigation by leading members of Congress about the Obama administration’s secret efforts to send Iran $1.7 billion in cash earlier this year, prompting accusations that Lynch has “pleaded the Fifth” Amendment to avoid incriminating herself over these payments, according to lawmakers and communications exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

In an Oct. 24 response, Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik responded on Lynch’s behalf, refusing to answer the questions and informing the lawmakers that they are barred from publicly disclosing any details about the cash payment, which was bound up in a ransom deal aimed at freeing several American hostages from Iran.

The response from the attorney general’s office is “unacceptable” and provides evidence that Lynch has chosen to “essentially plead the fifth and refuse to respond to inquiries regarding [her] role in providing cash to the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism,” Rubio and Pompeo wrote on Friday in a follow-up letter to Lynch, according to a copy obtained by the Free Beacon. Hmmm.....As i said many times before: "high crimes and misdemeanors". Read the full story here.

'Antisemitic' House of Lords event condemned after audience 'blames Jews for Holocaust'.

'Antisemitic' House of Lords event condemned after audience 'blames Jews for Holocaust'. (JCA).

The Israel Embassy in London has condemned an event at the House of Lords at which audience members compared Israel to Daesh terrorists and suggested Jews were to blame for the Holocaust.

One man said Zionism was a “perversion of Judaism”, and then implied an American rabbi had provoked Hitler into murdering six million Jews in the Shoah, using quotes reportedly taken from a neo-Nazi website.

"If anybody is antisemitic, it's the Israelis themselves"; panel applauds; hard to believe, but this happened this week at House of Lords pic.twitter.com/L8v4cARnK8

— Yiftah Curiel (@yiftahc) October 26, 2016

Another speaker is shown announcing, to applause: "If anybody is antisemitic, it's the Israelis themselves."

The session was run by the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) and hosted by Baroness Tonge, the Liberal Democrat member and former MP who now sits as an independent peer.

It launched what the organisation calls the Balfour Apology Campaign, ahead of the centenary of the Balfour Declaration next year.

Video footage of the event shows Baroness Tonge listening to the audience member’s comments about Rabbi Stephen Wise, a leading figure in the United States in the 1930s.

The man – reportedly a member of the anti-Zionist strictly Orthodox Neturei Karta sect – claims Hitler was “pushed over the edge” by the rabbi’s comments, and goes on to talk about boycotts.

Baroness Tonge responds: “Thank you very much. I think it’s very important that the word boycott has come up. The BDS, the campaign to boycott Israeli goods and services, and divestment from Israel, most of us think is very, very important indeed.”

David Collier, a blogger who attended the session, said he was later physically sick.

He wrote: "I witnessed a Jew-hating festival at the heart of the British estate." Read the full story here.

UK baroness quits party that suspended her over anti-Israel rhetoric https://t.co/j15aP6bkVZ via @timesofisrael

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) October 28, 2016

Video - The Bible according to UNESCO - The Movie

The #Bible according to #UNESCO - The Movie pic.twitter.com/JAXLZUXTtR

— Israel Foreign Min. (@IsraelMFA) October 14, 2016

UNESCO to vote on text describing Jewish Temple Mt, Western Wall as Muslim holy sites.

Source.

UNESCO to vote on text describing Jewish Temple Mt, Western Wall as Muslim holy sites. (ToI).

A group of 39 US lawmakers called on UNESCO to oppose a resolution that would challenge Jewish and Christian historical ties to the Old City of Jerusalem.

In a letter initiated by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida) to the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the lawmakers from both houses of Congress slammed what they called the UN’s “obsessive hostility towards Israel.”

That hostility, they wrote, “will be on display yet again this week as UNESCO considers another blatantly biased resolution that unjustly singles out our close ally Israel with false accusations and criticism, and attempts to erase the specific deep-rooted, historical connection of Jews and Christians to Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital.”

According to the lawmakers, “the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, along with the Western Wall, where Jews from all over the world have come to pray, are described exclusively as Muslim holy sites and referred to only by their Muslim names. When the Western Wall is referenced, it is only with quotation marks, implying that the title is unofficial and not based on historic fact.”

That hostility, they wrote, “will be on display yet again this week as UNESCO considers another blatantly biased resolution that unjustly singles out our close ally Israel with false accusations and criticism, and attempts to erase the specific deep-rooted, historical connection of Jews and Christians to Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital.”

Ros-Lehtinen slammed the resolution’s “ill intent.”

Its purpose, she said, was “to deny the historical record of the Jewish peoples’ connections to their holiest city and to imply that Jerusalem is inconsequential to Jews and Christians, with the intent of laying the groundwork for additional UN efforts to delegitimize Israel and undermine its status as the capital of the Jewish State,” she wrote. Read the full story here.

Video - Top international law expert Amb.Alan Baker takes down "Occupied Palestinian Territories" meme.

Amb.Alan Baker, who participated in negotiations on the Oslo Accords and today is Director of the Institute for Contemporary Affairs at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs explains how the OPT concept has no basis in international law.

German refugee shelters facing Sexual Assault and hate crime problem.

'I Can Hardly Breathe Here': German Refugee Shelters Face Sexual Assault Problem. (Spiegel).

Cases of sexual assault in German refugee shelters are on the rise, with women and children facing the greatest danger. Despite pleas for help from the government, Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition has done little to offer additional protections.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition is failing to provide protection to exactly those people who need it most: women, children and minorities who have fled their homes.

The government's commissioner responsible for the issue of sexual violence against children, Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig, is currently dealing with 40 cases of sexual assault on children inside refugee hostels in recent months, including cases of rape and even genital mutilation performed on a small girl.

The number of unreported cases, Rörig fears, is likely much higher: He says that many refugees are afraid of approaching the authorities due to worries that doing so may adversely affect their asylum applications. "How many cases are still needed before something changes?" he asks. "Fifty? One hundred? A thousand?"

Back in 2013, the EU issued a directive to member states requiring them to "take into consideration gender and age-specific concerns and the situation of vulnerable persons in relation to applicants within the premises and accommodation centers." The directive also specifically mentioned "appropriate measures to prevent assault and gender-based violence" in addition to access to "psychological treatment or care." Thus far, however, the German government has been ignoring the directive.

It's not entirely for lack of trying. Last fall, the Family Ministry in Berlin proposed the inclusion of protections for women, children and minorities in a draft law addressing refugees and asylum-seekers in Germany. But the Interior Ministry, under the leadership of Thomas de Maizière, a member of Merkel's Christian Democrats, removed the passage prior to the law's approval early this year.

The passage was allegedly struck so as to save German states from extra work. But Interior Ministry sources say the real reason was to discourage further refugees from coming by way of more restrictive asylum policies.

In addition to women, minorities are also the victims of attacks. Boris Fadeyev relates how several men stormed into his room in a Berlin refugee hostel three months ago. One of them yelled: "Do you smell that? It stinks like shit here, you fag!" Read the full story here.

Video - Florida - FBI foils terror attack by alleged Islamic convert at Aventura synagogue.

Florida - FBI foils terror attack by 'Islamic convert' at Aventura synagogue. (wsvn).

According to law enforcement sources, the FBI set up a sting to thwart what they described as a terror attack at the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center, Friday evening. Sources said agents posing as terrorists were able to stop the suspect, who, they said, may have converted to Islam.

Sources told 7News they are concerned about this case because the suspect wanted to take some type of explosive device and chuck it over the wall. Friday was the next-to-last day of Passover, and the center was crowded with people observing the holiday.

Concerned residents said they were disturbed by the arrest. "I think about, before we had a baby, that we used to go there for services, and God forbid, it could have been us," said Stephanie Levine. "Thank God they stopped him, but had they not, it would have been such a horrible thing to happen to this neighborhood."

Sources said the center was never in danger because the suspect was taken into custody before any harm was done.

"Of course it surprised me," said area resident Richard Levinson. "Everybody says, 'I live in a small town. It doesn't happen here,' but the sad part is, it happens everywhere." FBI officials declined to comment on the investigation, but 7News has learned the suspect will appear in federal court early this week. More here.