1) UN Watch has published a report exposing UNRWA teachers’ incitement to antisemitism and terrorism.
“…UN Watch has found that UNRWA has a very high tolerance for antisemitism. As summarized in the list of perpetrators published as Annex A of this report, UN Watch has exposed more than 100 UNRWA staff and school Facebook pages containing incitement to antisemitism and terrorism. These were revealed in six separate reports published between September 2015 and September 2019. Although UNRWA received our reports and is well aware of the problem, the agency continues to systematically employ schoolteachers, principals and other staffers who openly support terrorism and antisemitism.”
2) The CST presents its report on antisemitic incidents in the UK during the first half of 2021.
“The record total of 1,308 antisemitic incidents in the first six months of 2021 is due to the spike in anti-Jewish hate reported during and following the escalation in violence in Israel and Gaza. In May 2021, the month when the conflict in the Middle East intensified, CST recorded a monthly record of 639 antisemitic incidents. This accounts for 49% the 1,308 antisemitic incidents recorded in the first half of 2021, and would, on its own, constitute a record half-year tally in every year prior to 2017. It exceeds the second and third highest monthly totals combined, which were reported in July and August 2014 during the previous comparable escalation in Israel-related hostilities, when there were 317 and 229 incidents respectively.”
3) At WINEP Hanin Ghaddar explains why Lebanon’s new prime minister is unlikely to bring positive change to the country.
“…Mikati has already served as prime minister twice: in 2005 and again in 2011-2013. In both cases, Hezbollah essentially imposed him on the country to serve its own interests. In January 2011, for example, he was chosen to paper over the militia’s Beirut coup—an infamous incident in which Hariri was purposefully humiliated by learning of his government’s collapse while he was in a meeting with President Obama. When Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and other factions sought to reinstate Hariri, Hezbollah dispatched additional armed members throughout the capital and outlying Druze communities. The literal and potential threat conveyed by these “Black Shirts” was clear, and Mikati was unanimously nominated soon thereafter.”
4) Also at WINEP, Dany Tirza looks at developments in a story that has been the focus of much BBC reporting in the past.
“A few days later, reports came of a compromise proposal agreed by the Bedouin families, according to which the Bedouin would be relocate to the Arad Valley within Israeli territory and near other members of the Jahalin tribe in the area. Those who had been relocated would receive residential land, financial compensation and Permanent Resident status in Israel. […]
There is no doubt that the proposed agreement will benefit the Bedouin families. Now, the question is whether the Palestinian Authority and the European Union will allow the Bedouins to implement the agreement and improve their living conditions, or whether Khan al-Ahmar will once again become hostages to a political struggle.”
5) At the Long War Journal, Joe Truzman analyses the recent Iranian attack on an Israeli-operated oil vessel.
“The killing of the crew members represents a departure in Iranian strategy and creates a challenge for Israel on how to respond without triggering a broader conflict in the region. Additionally, the involvement of the United States, United Kingdom and Romania, may complicate this effort as the countries will have to agree on an appropriate response. […]
Despite the challenges, it is important that Israel succeeds in sending a message that will create a deterrent effect in Tehran. A limited response will be viewed as weakness and will further embolden Iran to continue these types of attacks in the future.”
