Connect with us

RSS

Israel Estimates Hezbollah Will Strike Before Iran

Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters through a screen during a rally commemorating the annual Hezbollah Martyrs’ Day, in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Photo: Reuters/Aziz Taher

JNS.org — Israel remains on high alert for potential attacks by Iran and its regional terror proxies, with the security establishment assessing that Hezbollah will strike first.

Both the Islamic Republic and its Lebanese terror army have vowed revenge for the targeted killings last week of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and senior Hezbollah official Fuad Shukr in Beirut.

Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Wednesday that Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah could see a window of opportunity to initiate an attack in the coming days. A large-scale intelligence effort is underway to identify the timing and nature of the response, according to the report.

Nasrallah said in a speech on Tuesday that the terror group will retaliate for the Shukr assassination. Several hours before the speech, Al Akhbar, a pro-Hezbollah newspaper in Beirut, published a front-page article suggesting that Hezbollah would likely target Tel Aviv.

The newspaper’s editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amin wrote that Nasrallah believes there is maneuvering room in terms of Israeli civilians because civilians were killed during the Shukr strike in southern Beirut.

“If Hezbollah can choose targets, it is possible that it will target Tel Aviv and civilians might be harmed on the margins. The effective thing will be to hit a significant center of the organization that made the decision about the assassination [of Shukr] and took part in it,” he wrote, as quoted by Axios on Wednesday.

There are several sensitive sites in the Tel Aviv area, including the headquarters of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and the Mossad, as well as several key military bases in the northern part of the city. The bases are all close to or within civilian neighborhoods.

Israel warns of severe consequences

Jerusalem is not interested in an all-out war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, but civilian casualties on the Israeli side would cross a red line, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two Israeli officials.

IDF and Israeli Defense Ministry officials have warned their counterparts at the Pentagon and US Central Command (CENTCOM) that since Hezbollah began its cross-border attacks on Oct. 8, its rocket fire has been inaccurate, according to the report.

This was highlighted by the Hezbollah rocket that hit a soccer pitch in the Golan Druze town of Majdal Shams last month, killing 12 children. Hezbollah’s target had been a military base.

The Israeli officials said that the risk involved with long-range surface-to-surface missiles is greater as they carry much larger warheads, with the potential for many more civilian casualties.

“In the internal discussions with the US, Israel stressed that the cost of another Hezbollah mishap would be heavy and that Hezbollah would pay a disproportionate price if it harmed civilians as part of its retaliation,” a senior Israeli official said.

Iran may be reconsidering its attack plans

Meanwhile, Tehran is reportedly reconsidering its level of response against the backdrop of warnings that Israel will counter-attack strongly, Politico reported on Wednesday. The report also cited US officials as saying that while Washington does expect an Iranian response, it might not happen in the near future.

Intensive American diplomacy and an increased military posture in the Middle East may have also prompted Tehran to reconsider a major retaliatory strike against Israel, according to The Washington Post.

Another factor in Iran’s decision-making may be new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

According to a report in the London-based Iran International, Pezeshkian has pleaded with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to avoid a direct attack on Israel, warning that it could threaten his presidency and lead to devastation of Iran’s infrastructure, energy and economy.

Pezeshkian reportedly told the supreme leader that a harsh Israeli counter-attack could lead to the collapse of the regime.

However, “despite the grave warnings … Khamenei remained noncommittal during the session, neither supporting nor opposing Pezeshkian’s concerns,” according to the report.

Israel continues preparations for attacks

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited IDF Home Front Command on Wednesday to discuss plans for warning citizens of any impending attack and giving emergency instructions to the public.

On Sunday, the Home Front Command unveiled a new technology to warn civilians in the case of a large-scale national emergency, similar to the U.S. Wireless Emergency Alerts system.

The “personal message” alert technology allows the army to notify all cell phones in a specific area without the need for any action on citizens’ part. The warning notification will be immediately displayed on mobile phone screens, accompanied by a loud ringtone.

Home Front Command has also moved search and rescue forces to Tel Aviv and other cities in preparation for potential Iranian and Hezbollah attacks, the IDF said on Tuesday.

The Ram Battalion (668) of the IDF’s Search and Rescue Brigade (60th) has repositioned itself in Tel Aviv, the economic and cultural hub of Israel along the central Mediterranean coastline.

The Ram Battalion would respond to any building collapses or other destruction.

According to the IDF, rapid rescue teams have also been deployed to Haifa, the Haifa bay area and several cities in the south and center of the country.

Some Israeli municipalities are preparing to turn underground parking lots into emergency shelters in the event of a sustained wave of attacks from Iran and its terror proxies.

David Aharoni, director of the security and emergency department at the Tel Aviv Municipality, told Channel 12 that residents are encouraged to first use the private shelters in the buildings, and then if they are outside, public shelters maintained by the municipality or in shelters in schools and community centers.

The post Israel Estimates Hezbollah Will Strike Before Iran first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Post Views: 279
Related Topics:
Continue Reading

RSS

The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life, 2024

In honor of The Algemeiner‘s 11th annual gala, we are pleased to unveil our 10th ‘J100’ list of the top 100 individuals who have positively influenced Jewish life over the past year.

The post The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life, 2024 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Post Views: 4
Continue Reading

RSS

Condemnation from Ottawa led an Islamic group’s conference to be cancelled

A conference supporting a return to “caliphate” rule in the Middle East was cancelled within hours of a scorching condemnation from federal public safety ministers.

The statement was posted Jan. 13 by Rachel Bendayan, the Montreal MP recently named to the associate minister role in the public safety ministry. It was attributed to her and David McGuinty, the public safety minister. The message called the planned Jan. 18 event “deeply concerning.”

Islamist group Hizb ut Tahrir has been banned in the U.K. and Germany, and a previous attempt to host the conference in the Toronto area in January 2024 was cancelled after the U.K. declared the group a terrorist entity, according to reports from the Associated Press.

“Hizb ut-Tahrir has a documented history of glorifying violence and promoting antisemitism and extremist ideology,” read the statement from Bendayan and McGuinty, naming the group’s “celebration of attacks on innocent civilians, including Oct. 7, and its support for banned terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah” and condemning its activities and the conference taking place, calling on organizers to cancel.

“We have been assured that law enforcement agencies, including the RCMP, are monitoring the event closely and that all appropriate Canadian laws, including those pertaining to hate speech, will be enforced. Further, we can confirm that our security and intelligence agencies are currently assessing Hizb ut Tahrir for listing as a terrorist entity under Canadian law,” read the public safety ministers’ joint statement.

“Our government is resolute in its efforts to fight antisemitism and extremism in all its forms. We will continue to work with law enforcement and community partners to ensure the safety and security of all Canadians.”

The Hizb ut Tahrir Canada group had previously issued a rare media statement defending its legitimate political goals and insisting the event was peaceful. However, the cancellation notice, posted “with regret” Jan. 14, said the decision to cancel “was necessitated by circumstances that were beyond our reasonable control.”

Iddo Moed, Israel’s Ambassador to Canada, confirmed in an interview with The CJN Jan. 14 that his office raised concerns about the group, and warned of a need to “keep vigilant” to act against what he called “hateful” and “dangerous” messages spreading in Canada.

“Whatever events are happening, when we think that they are dangerous, they’re inciteful, they are about to spread more hate and intimidation, of course we raise a flag, and we use our channels of communication with the highest levels in the provincial or federal level, to address and to reach out to the leaders and to draw to the attention that this is taking place. We also provide information. It’s extremely important.”

Moed confirmed to The CJN that this was the case with the Hizb ut Tahrir conference.

“We have to respect the fact that others have different opinions. So there is a very thin line that we are actually around. We are around that all the time, that is, between what is acceptable and not acceptable in society, and actually we have to be very vigilant these days, and we have to be very well aware of where we stand and what do we stand for, and what we will not tolerate.”

Moed echoed calls from groups like the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), whose petition to McGuinty to list the group as a terror entity has received 13,000 signatures online.

“Yes, I think that Canada should designate this organization as a terrorist entity under the criminal law, as it has done with Samidoun and many others,” Moed told The CJN. “It is called for other countries. I’ve done that. So this is also a call for Canada to do [the] same, absolutely.”

Moed said federal authorities were “very well aware of” the group, though he says more needs to be done “to prevent such people even to come in and to spread [these kinds] of hateful messages.”

CIJA said in a statement from Michelle Stock, Ontario vice-president in response to the announcement that the conference was cancelled, that “our community and allies have made our voices heard—and we’ve made an impact.

“This is important progress in keeping Canadians safe. We are relieved that this conference isn’t happening, but we also know that the fight against extremism cannot stop. We will continue to urge the Government of Canada to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir as an illegal terrorist organization, as is the case in the UK and Germany.”

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) and B’nai Brith Canada, along with CIJA, had pushed for federal authorities to add the group to the list of recognized terror entities under the Criminal Code, for antisemitic, extremist, “anti-Western ideology,” and glorification of terrorism.

FSWC called the cancellation “an important victory in the fight against extremism and hate in Canada,” shutting down the “controversial conference planned by an Islamist group notorious for antisemitic, extremist rhetoric.”

But the president and CEO of FSWC, wrote in a statement that “it’s not enough.”

“The Canadian government must take the necessary measures to list this organization as a terror group under Canadian law, ensuring that it will never again have the opportunity to propagate its vile, extremist ideology in our country,” wrote Michael Levitt.

“Hizb ut Tahrir Canada, the Canadian branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir—an organization that advocates for the re-establishment of an Islamic caliphate governed by Sharia law… is banned in the UK, Germany and several other countries.”

The conference location was reported by some news outlets as being in Hamilton, Ont., having being moved from Mississauga, Ont., just west of Toronto.

Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish had posted online Jan. 5, calling Hizb ut Tahrir a “very extreme group,” later saying Mississauga residents were glad it wouldn’t be held there anymore after the reports it might be moved to Hamilton.

The conference website had previously said it was to take place in Mississauga, and would include lunch and childcare on Jan. 18. The notice was changed and the location was not provided to registrants. Eventbrite, an online ticketing platform, had dropped the event from its website.

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said the city would “unequivocally refuse access to any group that engages in or promotes hatred or any form of divisive behaviour.”

In an interview with The CJN on Jan. 13, before the cancellation announcement, Howard Fremeth, CIJA’s vice-president of communications, said that the event was concerning whether it was to take place in Mississauga, Hamilton, or elsewhere in Ontario or Canada.

“This week it might be Mississauga or Hamilton, but in two weeks it might be in Edmonton or it might be in Halifax or it might be in my hometown of Ottawa. I think that means that we as a Jewish community, first off, we need to rally together nationally behind this, and we also have to work with our friends and allies across Canada.”

Muslim community members publicly denounced the conference including a statement from the Global Imams Council (GIC), whose Western headquarters are in Toronto. The group called the conference a “blatant attempt to spread extremism under the guise of free speech” in a letter to McGuinty urging federal intervention and to prevent the event from taking place.

“Allowing such an event to proceed in Canada risks undermining years of effort by Muslims who seek to build bridges of mutual respect and understanding,” read the statement issued on Jan. 10.

“Hizb ut-Tahrir is known globally for its radical ideology, rejection of democratic principles, and open advocacy for a global Islamist caliphate, a stance that directly contradicts Canadian values of democracy, peace, and coexistence.

“This event, if allowed to proceed, poses a significant threat to social cohesion. The very notion of a conference promoting the establishment of a caliphate within Canada is deeply alarming and offensive, not only to the broader Canadian public but also to the overwhelming majority of Muslims in the country who uphold democratic values and actively contribute to Canada’s multicultural society.”

The letter warned that Hizb ut-Tahrir’s stated agenda and “extremist rhetoric” divide and “isolate Muslims from the rest of society. Muslim youth have proven to be particularly vulnerable to their ideology and tactics. It is for these reasons that over 17 countries, including Germany, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, have taken decisive legal action against the group.

“Allowing such an event to proceed in Canada risks undermining years of effort by Muslims who seek to build bridges of mutual respect and understanding,” the GIC letter read. It also requested a federal review leading to a possible formal ban of the organization in Canada.

“As an organization with a well-documented history of spreading divisive and extremist rhetoric, Hizb ut-Tahrir has been banned in over 17 countries worldwide. Its ideology not only threatens national unity but also isolates Muslim communities and endangers vulnerable youth,” read the letter from GIC to McGuinty.

In a media statement released Jan. 6, Hizb ut Tahrir Canada wrote that it “categorically rejects the use of violence,” and said “the accusations linking the party to terrorism, extremism and violent activities are fabrications aimed at tarnishing its reputation and distracting from its call to establish Islam as a comprehensive system of governance and mercy for humanity.”

The group called itself “an ideological and political party that works exclusively through intellectual and political struggle” and said its “sole objective is the resumption of the Islamic way of life through the re-establishment of the Khilafah (Caliphate) in the Muslim world on the method of the Prophethood, as obligated by the Quran and Sunnah.”

The statement said “baseless allegations” against the group were “part of a wider effort to distort” Hizb ut Tahrir’s image and “suppress its legitimate political call.”

With files from Ellin Bessner.

The post Condemnation from Ottawa led an Islamic group’s conference to be cancelled appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.

Post Views: 21
Continue Reading

RSS

Nearly Half of World’s Adults Hold Antisemitic Views, ADL Survey Finds

A pro-Hamas march in London, United Kingdom, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo: Chrissa Giannakoudi via Reuters Connect

Nearly half of the world’s adults hold antisemitic beliefs, according to a new “Global 100 Index” survey conducted by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Some 58,000 people from over 100 countries participated in the survey, the ADL said, and their responses underscored the extent to which antisemitic conspiracies and tropes are enjoying a revival in the digital age, having received new means of exportation across the world.

A striking 46 percent of the world’s adult population — an estimated 2.2 billion people — harbor “deeply entrenched antisemitic attitudes,” the survey found, the highest level on record since the ADL began tracking such trends globally.

Meanwhile, 56 percent of respondents reported to believe that “Jews loyalty is only to Israel,” and 46 percent said “Jews have too much control over global affairs.” Young adults are by far more likely than their older peers to have formed negative perceptions of Jews, believing, for example, that they “have a lot of irritating faults” and “don’t care what happens to anyone” who isn’t Jewish, the ADL results showed.

“Antisemitism is nothing short of a global emergency, especially in a post-Oct. 7 world. We are seeing these trends play out from the Middle East to Asia, from Europe to North and South America,” ADL chief executive officer Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement regarding the survey’s findings. “Negative attitudes towards Jews are an important pillar that ADL uses to asses overall levels of antisemitism within a country, and our findings are deeply alarming. It’s clear that we need new government interventions, more education, additional safeguards on social media, and new security protocols to prevent antisemitic hate crimes. This fight requires. a whole-of-society-approach including government, civil society, and individuals and now is the time to act.”

An Algemeiner review of the study shows that antisemitic attitudes are heavily concentrated in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where inhabitants are more likely to support boycotting Israel to the point that even diplomatic relations are nonexistent. For example, 97 percent of respondents in Gaza and the West Bank subscribe to antisemitic tropes. More broadly, 76 percent of MENA respondents accept as true 11 antisemitic stereotypes and tropes presented by the survey questionnaire, compared to 51 percent of Asian respondents and 49 percent of Eastern Europeans. The Americas, Western Europe, and Oceania measured considerably lower in this regard, but still averaged approximately one in five adults who believe in antisemitic stereotypes.

Other statistics reveal the poor state of Holocaust education, as a striking 20 percent of respondents worldwide said they have not heard of the Nazi genocide perpetrated against European Jewry during Word War II. Less than half (48 percent) recognize the Holocaust’s “historical accuracy.” Among young adults ages 18-34, that figure falls to 39 percent.

In addition to Holocaust skepticism, some 40 percent of adults under 35 blame Jews for starting “most of the world’s wars,” while only 29 percent of adults over 50 share that belief.

“Antisemitic tropes and beliefs are becoming alarmingly normalized across societies worldwide. This dangerous trend is not just a threat to Jewish communities — it’s a warning to us all. Even in countries with the lowest levels of antisemitic attitudes globally, we’ve sen many antisemitic incidents perpetrated by an emboldened, small vocal, and violent minority. This is a wake-up call for collective action, and we are committed to continuing our work with out partners around the world and mitigate this deeply ingrained antisemitism,” said Marina Rosenberg, ADL senior vice president for international affairs.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Nearly Half of World’s Adults Hold Antisemitic Views, ADL Survey Finds first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Post Views: 24
Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News