Center for Human Rights in Iran

May 27, 2020 — A new report released today by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) documents the extraordinary state violence that was used against protesters in Iran during the unrest that gripped the country in November 2019 and January 2020.

The 66-page report, Gunning Them Down: State Violence against Protesters in Iran, provides dozens of firsthand accounts by eyewitnesses, families of those killed, and lawyers of detainees.

These accounts describe in detail the state’s indiscriminate firing of live ammunition into crowds of civilians, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of individuals, including women, children and bystanders, untold injuries from gunshots, tear gas and beatings, and thousands of arrests in the span of roughly a week.
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While Arab leaders officially oppose Israel’s sovereignty plan, many have backed the plan in closed-door talks with the US.

By David Rosenberg, INN

Netanyahu with Jordan Valley sovereignty map

A number of Arab states allied with the US are quietly backing Israel’s plan to apply sovereignty over nearly a third of Judea and Samaria, despite officially opposing the move, senior Arab officials say.The Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan, first unveiled on January 28th, includes provision for Israel applying sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea area, and all Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who had vowed in September to apply Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, immediately endorsed the Trump plan.

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T. Belman.  I had an extended conversation with their spokesperson yesterday on just this issue. I argued that

• the PA will never come to the table so there is nothing to worry about
• even if negotiations get started, Israel can be as rejectionist, for 4 years, as the PA was, for 25 years following Oslo
• Israel is just being asked to negotiate in good faith.  That’s not synonomous with accepting a Palestinian statelet
• best to pocket the 30% now and then focus on the rest.
• Trump has earned the right to be trusted and we should give Trump some wiggle room as he is trying to keep the Gulf states on board

He argued that

• The two state solution was dead and soon to be buried so why revive it
• This statelet involves our biblical heartland, we shouldn’t be asked to put it on the table
• Pompeo opened the door for us by saying the US thinks that the settlements are not illegal.  That was enough.
• Israel should not be taken for granted. It argues about everything.
• Trump’s base does not support his Plan

Shomron Regional Council embarks on aggressive campaign for Israeli sovereignty, warns against what it calls “half sovereignty.”

By Ben Ariel, INN

The Shomron Regional Council is embarking on an aggressive campaign for Israeli sovereignty this July, warning it of what it calls “half sovereignty.”

The campaign operates using two arms, one of which is in Israel with a clear demand not to accept “poisoned candy” within the sovereignty agreement, meaning a de facto approval in a government decision to establish a Palestinian state, and to leave Jewish communities as enclaves in the territory.

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By Gregory R. Copley, OIL PRICE   – May 25, 2020,

Mid-2020 saw the world at war, actual strategic war as far as the Forbidden Palace in Beijing was concerned. This was almost disbelievingly acknowledged by some in Washington, DC, London, Canberra, Ottawa, New Delhi, and Tokyo. It was a war that was viewed tentatively and with incredulity in much of the West because it was a war of a very new type. And it was a war in which the West — for the first time in a century or more — did not write the rules of engagement.

Indeed, because it had emerged from covert war to overt war, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) leadership was aware, certainly by early May 2020 (and probably even by January of that year), that it had to move quickly to use the cover of the global coronavirus preoccupation and lockdown in order to make and consolidate some key strategic advances while it could do so unopposed. These initial objectives for Beijing included:

• Locking down control of the autonomous Hong Kong region — a significant source of the PRC’s access to foreign exchange generation — once and for all, and hoping to do so with minimal foreign reprisal;
• Rebuilding a PRC position whereby it could resume domination of global supply chain origination manufacturing, something which it had essentially been losing even before the 2020 crisis;
• Consolidate military domination of the South China Sea region;

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David Ben-Gurion adopted the partition map, with all its disadvantages, at a time when the threats to the fledgling state were much greater than what we face now.

By Ariel Kahana, ISRAEL HAYOM 05-26-2020

Now that everything is behind us – the election, the coalition, and even the start of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s trial – a historic moment is here. Israel now has a window of opportunity the like of which it hasn’t seen since the 1967 Six-Day War. Backed by the only superpower in the world, Israel may now take over large parts of Judea and Samaria.

This is a step that only two or three years ago, even under US President Trump, would have been unimaginable. This is a decision that would have led to an international earthquake if it had been made under the Obama administration. And now, an event that approaches a diplomatic miracle is unfolding before our very eyes.

As with every historic watershed moment, the decision to apply sovereignty is not without its dangers. European nations oppose it. Arab states, especially Jordan, are making threats. While we must not dismiss these risks, we have an obligation to lay out the advantages and benefits, which are unmatched.

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One American official tells Israel Hayom: “If the settlers don’t want what the administration currently has to offer, they shouldn’t come to us in the future. The expectation was that they see the bigger picture.”

By Ariel Kahana, ISRAEL HAYOM 05-26-2020

Frustration is mounting among US administration officials over the g over the position expressed by some setter leaders in Israel, who oppose President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century.”

The deal stipulated that Washington will endorse an Israeli decision to apply sovereignty to large parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, a move Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans to pursue as early as July 1, in accordance with the Trump administration’s vision for peace.

Israel’s plan, as well as the White House’s support for it, has been lambasted by the Palestinian Authority, which ordered its security forces to suspend security coordination with Israel, as well as by the EU and UN, with both warning annexation could be the final nail in the coffin of the regional peace proceeds, moribund since 2014.
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THIS IS BRILLIANT.

By Paul Miller and Abraham H. Miller, AMERICAN THINKER

The price of liberty is eternal vigilance, but not everyone shares in the cost.

Even fewer comprehend that the threat to our democracy is more likely to come from the internal erosion of our civic institutions than from external forces.

The most corrupting influence on our democracy is rooted in political correctness in our education system. Whereas there once was an emphasis on civic education as a means to imbue the citizenry with the values of the Constitution, that emphasis has long been diminished.

From elementary school through college, basic requirements in American history and civics have been replaced by political trendiness.
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Former Health Ministry Director blasts coronavirus lockdown and ‘hysterical’ reaction to pandemic. ‘In some ways, the flu is even worse.’

The former director of Israel’s Health Ministry, Dr. Yoram Lass, lamented what he argues was the exaggerated reaction to the coronavirus pandemic, including the nationwide lockdowns imposed by the government.

Speaking with Radio 103FM Tuesday morning, Dr. Lass said that for the vast majority of the population, the coronavirus is no more deadly than the seasonal flu – and in some cases, is even less dangerous.

“The public wants an answer to one question: ‘Am I more likely to be killed by the coronavirus than by the flu’. And the answer is: No.”

“The coronavirus and the flu are roughly in the same level in terms of risk factor, and in some ways the flu is more dangerous, since it also threatens young people and can kill children, too, while the coronavirus affects a smaller number of people, all of them around the age of 80 or 90, and so in that sense it is better than the flu.”
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By William DiPuccio, AMERICAN THINKER

Is it possible for Islam to undermine and replace the core values of Western civilization? By core values, I’m referring to deeply held principles such as inalienable rights, religious and personal freedom, equality of the sexes, free speech, and the separation of religion and state.

According to some, even posing this question places you in the company of conspiracy theorists and “Islamophobes.” Perhaps that accusation would be true if we assumed that all Muslims are engaged in an effort to bring North America and Europe under Muslim rule. But, Islam is not a monolithic faith and many Muslims who live in the West have internalized Western values. Some have even championed the cause of human rights within Islam.

There is, however, a substantial minority of Muslims in our midst who adhere closely to the teachings of traditional Islam (albeit with some modern adaptations) and believe that every nation must submit to Allah’s rule. They seek to do this by gradually implementing some form of sharia in society, one precept at a time, blurring the line between mosque and state. In their view, the only legitimate form of government is an Islamic theocracy ruled by a caliph- -that is, a successor to Muhammad. These Muslims are often referred to as “Islamists.” Based on an analysis of surveys conducted by Pew Research, globally, over two-thirds of Muslims are Islamists.
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By Victor Rosenthal

[…]

Yoram Hazony’s The Virtue of Nationalism (2018).

Hazony explains that the most basic form of political organization, which he calls the order of tribes and clans, consists of individuals giving their loyalty to their families and to their extended families, their clans. Without further political organization, violence is always close by, as clans struggle with their neighbors. There can be cooperation, especially when a group of clans that share a language, religion, or ancestry are threatened by outsiders, but because of the small size of the groups, they have little military strength and are easily overrun.

Most clan members know one another, and the share feelings of mutual loyalty, from which cohesion develops. A stronger society can be created when the clans, on the basis of their shared culture and need for protection, join together into a larger units, tribes which control large areas. The individual clan leaders must give up some of their authority, but the shared culture makes this palatable. Individuals are loyal to their tribes as an extension of their loyalty to their clans and their trust in their clan leaders.

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When knowledge, wisdom, independent thought, even basic competence were no longer requisites for success, then the media naturally slid into mediocrity, and mastered networking and obsequiousness instead of valuing independence.

By Victor Davis Hanson, AMERICAN GREATNESS
May 24, 2020

As a general rule, when the New York Times, the Washington Post, National Public Radio, Public Broadcasting Service, NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, and CNN begin to parrot a narrative, the truth often is found in simply believing just the opposite.

Put another way, the media’s “truth” is a good guide to what is abjectly false. Perhaps we can call the lesson of this valuable service, the media’s inadvertent ability to convey truth by disguising it with transparent bias and falsehood, the “Doctrine of Media Untruth.”

Take the strange case of the respective records of liberal New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Florida counterpart Ron DeSantis. Both states have roughly equal populations, with Florida slightly larger by about 2 million. Both have populations that travel daily back and forth between their respective major cities. Both are major international tourist and travel hubs. Both have widely diverse populations.

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At weekly faction meeting, prime minister says he has a date in mind and won’t change it; also cautions a second, deadlier coronavirus wave could be on the way

TOI STAFF Today, 6:11 pm

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, arrives for a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset, May 25, 2020. (Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he has set a July date for when Israel will extend its sovereignty to areas of the West Bank, and informed his Likud lawmakers he has no intention of changing it, Hebrew media reported.

At the opening of his Likud faction’s weekly meeting at the Knesset, Netanyahu said there has never been a better time in the country’s history to apply sovereignty, which is tantamount to annexation, to these areas.

“We have an opportunity that hasn’t existed since 1948 to apply sovereignty in a wise way and as a diplomatic step in Judea and Samaria, and we will not let this opportunity pass,” Netanyahu said, referring to the year the State of Israel was established and using the biblical names for the West Bank territory.

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Just as David Ben-Gurion established the State of Israel despite the exceedingly unfavorable UN partition plan, it is now incumbent upon us to seize the moment and apply sovereignty wherever we can in Judea and Samaria.

By Ariel Kahana, ISRAEL HAYOM

Mere weeks before a historic window of opportunity opens up, concerns are growing within the Israeli right-wing camp. “We can’t accept the Trump plan as is. I don’t accept a Palestinian state or the handing over of territory, I don’t accept isolated communities in the heart of [Judea and Samaria] or the fact that most of Judea and Samaria will be in Palestinian hands,” said Likud MK Gideon Sa’ar. “When a plan ends with the creation of a Palestinian state, I think this is a misleading component that doesn’t comply with the reality,” said MK Zvika Hauser (Derech Eretz). “If the plan’s outcome is a terror state in Judea and Samaria, and will encompass isolated communities and include a construction freeze, then we are prepared to forego sovereignty,” said Yesha Council Chairman David Elhayani.
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A decision on applying sovereignty in Judea and Samaria should be taken now, lest we squander another dozens of years debating this issue.

By Ofir Dayan, ISRAEL HAYOM

“If you have to shoot, shoot, don’t talk,” goes the famous quote.

Israel has usually been good at following this mantra: Over the years it has made sure to carry out special operations and meet the military objectives to ensure the safety of its citizens even while others wanted it to wait and even if this elicited criticism.

Sometimes it has done so quietly. According to foreign sources, that is how Israel developed its supposed nuclear program, and that is how it has carried out mysterious clandestine attacks to prevent radical elements from gaining strength and threatening it or Jews around the world.

By keeping this low profile, it has managed to avoid direct criticism while maintaining deterrence. In other words, Israel has been getting a salary but has not paid taxes.
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Anyone who describes the Israeli government in apocalyptic terms in the US media, and demands that US Jewry help save the state from the Netanyahu government will do everything to make sure that the legal system brings the prime minister down.

By Amnon Lord, ISRAEL HAYOM

The trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which begins today, can be seen from various angles. Many will see it as an attempt to cancel the results of the election, an attempt by historic political powers with connections to the most important bureaucratic institutions in the country to secure through an ouster what they were denied through democratic means.

But the correct viewpoint of the Netanyahu trial is as part of a series of projects that are attempting to commit national suicide. Benjamin Netanyahu has proved that he has doubled Israel’s power. Aharon Barak and Ehud Barak were both part of the mission to bring him down and frame him.
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by Bassam Tawil, GATESTONE INSTITUTE4  •  May 25, 2020

Since 2014, Hamas has invested about $120 million per year in building terror tunnels. Quality concrete goes into the construction of these tunnels, instead of residential buildings. In addition, electricity is redirected to build and light up the tunnels 24 hours a day, while hospitals and the homes of civilians suffer constant power outages. Pictured: Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in a tunnel in the south of the Gaza Strip on March 3, 2015. (Photo by Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images)

• While doctors, nurses and many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are complaining about a shortage of medical supplies, the Palestinian armed groups, including PIJ and Hamas, do not appear to be facing the same problem.
• The masked men [in the video] are not covering their faces or wearing gloves because they are worried about the virus. Instead, they are wearing gloves and using hand sanitizers as they prepare to descend into a tunnel built to enable Palestinians to infiltrate from the Gaza Strip into Israel [to kill or kidnap Israelis]. Once they are inside the tunnel, the militiamen are seen carrying out construction and drilling work.

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By William L. Gensert, AMERICAN THINKER

The Dems will not allow any semblance of normalcy to return until Trump and recalcitrant Republicans in the Senate agree to bail out Democrat-run states facing fiscal insolvency.  Democrat socialist policies have left states like California and Illinois with unsustainable pension obligations and exponentially growing deficits too dear for a shrinking tax base to sustain.

Buying votes ain’t cheap.

Yet why would citizens, prudently residing in red states, acquiesce to paying for votes Democrats have bought in the past and wish to purchase in the future?

They would not unless forced to.
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