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Day: November 24, 2023
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NPR News: 11-24-2023 5PM EST
Humanitarian agencies preparing to go into Gaza continued to build up stocks of desperately needed aid for the war-torn enclave on Thursday, amid delays in the implementation of a temporary halt in fighting and the release of hostages held by Hamas militants.
According to media reports, ongoing negotiations over the Israel-Hamas agreement on a four-day humanitarian pause and the freeing of hostages held by the Palestinian armed group since its 7 October terror attacks indicated that the deal’s entry into force was believed to be unlikely before Friday.
Amid rising hunger, UN World Food Programme (WFP) chief Cindy McCain said that the agency was “rapidly mobilizing to scale up assistance inside Gaza” once safe access is granted. Her comments followed UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths’ statement on the Organisation’s readiness to increase the volume of aid brought into the enclave and distributed across the Strip.
Ms. McCain said that WFP trucks are “waiting at the Rafah crossing, loaded with food slated for families in shelters and homes across Gaza, and wheat flour for bakeries to resume operations”.
Latest UN humanitarian reports indicated that wheat flour is no longer available in markets in the north of Gaza and that no bakeries are functioning owing to a lack of fuel, water, flour and structural damage.
Since limited aid deliveries through the Rafah crossing with Egypt resumed on 21 October, just over 73 truckloads of WFP food aid have made it into Gaza, falling far short of needs.
Ms. McCain expressed hope that more fuel will be let into the enclave “so that our trucks can carry in much-needed supplies and that once again bread will be available as a lifeline to hundreds of thousands of people every day”.
Some 75,000 litres of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt on Wednesday following an Israeli decision last week to allow the “daily entry of small amounts of fuel for essential humanitarian operations”, according to UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA.
The fuel is being distributed by the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, to support food distribution and the operation of generators at hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, shelters, and other critical services in the south of the Strip, as access to the north has been cut off by Israeli military operations.
OCHA head and UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths said last week that some 200,000 litres of fuel per day were needed.
Hospital evacuation update
A new evacuation of 190 wounded and sick people, their companions and medical workers from Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City was completed on Wednesday.
The development was announced by UN health agency WHO as a joint effort between UN agencies and humanitarian partners led by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
The evacuees were transported in an ambulance convoy to the south.
OCHA quoted PRCS reports stating that the evacuation “lasted for almost 20 hours as the convoy was obstructed and subjected to inspection while passing through the checkpoint that separates northern and southern Gaza” and deploring the fact that the lives of patients had been endangered.
Evacuated dialysis patients were transferred to Abu Youssef An Najjar Hospital in Rafah, Gaza, while other patients were transported to the Strip’s European hospital in Khan Younis. An estimated 250 patients and staff are believed to be at Al-Shifa, which is no longer operational, OCHA said.
Meanwhile, Wednesday saw the lowest number yet of displaced people leaving northern Gaza to cross to the south using the “corridor” opened by the Israeli Defense Forces along the Strip’s main traffic artery, Salah Ad Deen Road.
According to OCHA monitoring only some 250 people moved south. The UN Office said that the decline is “largely attributed to the expectations generated by the humanitarian pause” which is yet to be implemented.
To date, over 1.7 million people in Gaza are internally displaced.
Life inside Gaza
Meanwhile, an UNRWA staff member who fled Gaza this week spoke to UN News about living and working during the conflict.
Maha Hijazi, UNRWA’s Warehousing and Distribution Officer, was responsible for securing food for hundreds of thousands of displaced people (IDPs) now sheltering in its facilities.
“Our plan…was to have 150,000 Palestinians IDPs inside UNRWA shelters which are now reaching about one million,” she said.
The UN and partners continue to appeal for more aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip, which continues to face dire shortages of food, water, fuel, medicines and other desperately needed items.
Full shelters, empty markets
Most UNRWA staff are themselves Palestine refugees and some have also sought refuge in its shelters while continuing their lifesaving work. More than 100 of their colleagues have been killed to date.
Although Ms. Hijazi’s family were not staying in one of the shelters, she said her parents barely found food in the markets.
“We went to the markets, but it’s empty. We found nothing to purchase. We have money, but we have nothing to purchase,” she said.
A mother’s decision
On Monday, Ms. Hijazi and her family fled Gaza for Egypt. She was angry and reluctant to leave her homeland, apartment and job.
“Neither my kids, nor any of our Palestinian kids feel safe, feel secure, and feel protected. The whole night and day they hear bombing everywhere,” she said.
Ms. Hijazi recalled that before going to bed, her children would ask her if they were going to die like their neighbours and relatives.
“I had to hug them and promise them that if we die, we will die altogether, so we won’t feel anything. And if you hear the bombing, then you are safe. The rocket that will kill you, you will not hear its sound,” she said.
Despite the pain of leaving of Gaza for Egypt, Ms. Hijazi felt this was the best decision for her children, who are dual nationals.
“I need to get this chance for them to sleep and to feel that they are similar to other kids,” she said.
“I can tell you that the whole trip I was crying with my kids because we don’t want to leave our land, we don’t want to leave Gaza. But we are forced to do that seeking safety and protection.”
After Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7 this year and after Israel’s fierce counterattack in the Gaza Strip, where the number of dead Palestinians far exceeded the number of dead Jews in the Hamas attack, anti-Semitism throughout the world experienced a drastic rise. The old evil is back at the big door again. Current trends – the flare-up of the war in the Gaza Strip and the mass suffering of Palestinians – are the driving fuel of anti-Semitism, the rise of which favors the deepening or revival of social conflicts in many communities.
United States
The situation in the United States, where the largest Jewish community in the world lives – 7.3 million, is particularly worrying. Many Jewish schools canceled classes. Synagogues are locked. Social networks were filled with hatred for Jews, leaving a vulnerable minority community in the lurch. The growth of hatred is more than palpable. The Jewish non-governmental and lobbying organization Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported at the end of October that anti-Semitic incidents in the US after October 7 increased by about 400% compared to the previous year.
And the data was not good last year either – the FBI registered 1,124 reported hate crimes against the Jewish people or Jewish institutions in the US. This is the highest number of anti-Jewish crimes since 1993. Now the situation has worsened. Americans of Jewish origin studying at the prestigious Cornell University are so afraid for their lives on campus that they are not allowed to eat with other classmates after receiving death threats on the Internet. Pro-Palestinian protests at some universities have crossed the line into anti-Semitism, prompting some Republicans and Democrats to warn that universities are in the hands of left-wing radicals. In essence, radical left and right groups have the upper hand in anti-Semitic outbursts.
In late October, President Biden unveiled new measures to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses, and senior officials emphasized the need to prevent hatred against Jews. US government officials met with American Jewish leaders to discuss steps to combat what a White House official described as an “alarming increase in reported cases of anti-Semitism on college campuses.” There are a handful of incidents. After a man shouted “Free Palestine” and “Kill the Jews” and then tried to break into a Jewish family’s home in Los Angeles on Oct. 25, Mayor Karen Bass said police would continue to increase patrols in neighborhoods across the city. On October 31, the Sholem Aleichem Cultural Center in New York was covered in pro-Palestinian graffiti near the front door. It is about the Yiddish Cultural Center in the Bronx, which also rents space to the Montefiore Medical Center, whose staff discovered the graffiti. In late October, a wall outside a high school in the Jewish neighborhood of Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh was graffitied with the words “Free Palestine from Pittsburgh to Gaza.” The situation does not bode well.
Canada
The growth of anti-Semitism also affects Canada, where 394,000 Jews live. On October 17, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke of a “frightening rise” in anti-Semitism, citing incidents at a Jewish high school in Toronto, as well as an escalation of warmongering online. Anti-Jewish violence has been reported in cities with large Jewish and Muslim populations such as Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. In Toronto, anti-Semitic attacks experienced a 100% increase compared to 2022. Specifically, 15 attacks against Jews were recorded. On the other hand, in five cases the targets were Muslims.
Examples include an attack on a rabbi’s house in British Columbia that was pelted with eggs and vandalized with a Nazi swastika. In Toronto, stars of David are painted on the walls, dripping with red paint. These are hate crimes. According to data released by the Canadian government, the Jewish minority community in Canada is the most exposed to hate attacks in the long run. Reported anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise. In 2019, there were 306 attacks, and in 2020, 331 attacks. The following 2021 saw a big jump to 492 attacks and an additional jump to 502 incidents in 2022.
France
After the USA and Israel, France has the third largest Jewish population in the world – 442 thousand people. Anti-Semitism, which has deep historical roots in French society, has experienced a resurgence in recent years and is embodied in violent acts. Over the past fifteen years, France has experienced at least around 400 anti-Semitic attacks each year, including the brutal murder of French-Moroccan Jew Ilan Halimi by a gang of Muslims called the “Barbarian Gang” in 2006 and the armed massacre at the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school in Toulouse in 2012 by Muslim Mohammed Mer. In 2014, another French Muslim, Mehdi Nemmouche, killed four people in Brussels, Belgium. Anti-Semitic speeches are unfortunately becoming more frequent in public, as the Dieudonné affair revealed.
The comedian of the same name, a friend of the French rightist Jean-Marie Le Pen and the former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been spreading anti-Semitic theses for years, such as portraying Jews as Nazis and making fun of the Holocaust. The anti-Semitic feelings that prevail among some parts of French society and that French Jews feel very much on their own skin only intensified after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. The French interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, recently stated that since October 7, 819 anti-Semitic crimes have occurred. That’s double the figure of 436 for all of 2022. Darmanin said 414 anti-Semites were arrested.
Germany
Anti-Semitism is still alive and well in Germany and it is causing great problems and an existential threat to German Jews. The World Jewish Congress estimates that around 118,000 Jews currently live in the Federal Republic of Germany. Although some statistics show that the number of anti-Semitic incidents has the same intensity over the years, it is clear that the number of riots has recently increased in many cities, especially in the capital Berlin. Research by the civil society observatory, RIAS, showed a 240% increase in anti-Semitic incidents compared to the previous year in the period from October 7 to 15. It goes without saying that not all attacks are reported due to the fear of the victims. Analysts do not want to attribute the growth of anti-Semitism in Germany only to the arrival of immigrants from Africa and the Middle East. Right-wing extremists are responsible for many anti-Semitic attacks, and immigrants from Muslim countries who have arrived in recent years are to blame.
Austria
The situation is similar in Austria, where the growth of anti-Jewish attacks experienced a 300% increase after October 7, even though there are only slightly more than 10,000 Jews. A wall at the Jewish cemetery in Vienna was defaced with a swastika and the word “Hitler”, and someone set fire to the ceremony hall at the cemetery. Firefighters extinguished the flames. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in response to the incident: “Anti-Semitism has no place in our society and we will fight against it with all necessary political and legal means.”
Great Britain
Great Britain is home to 292 thousand Jews. The London police released data that 218 anti-Semitic hate crimes were reported from October 1 to 18, 13 times more than in the same period last year. More than a thousand anti-Jewish attacks were reported across Britain by the beginning of November, including attacks on Jewish schools, universities and the Wiener Holocaust Library in London. “Gaza” graffiti and other pro-Palestinian slogans are written on the facade of the library. The Foundation for Community Safety, which collects reports on anti-Semitism in Britain, said the number of incidents in the three weeks following the Hamas attack was the highest of any three-week period since it began collecting data in 1984. This was a 537% increase on last year. More than 60 incidents affected schools and students.
Netherlands
Although there are no official figures, Eddo Verdoner, the national coordinator for the fight against anti-Semitism, said that a sharp increase in anti-Semitism has been observed and that there is great concern in the Jewish community. He said parents had reported their children being bullied at school, with vile comments such as “Hamas was right” and “they should have done it earlier”. Hans Wallage, an anti-Semitism researcher and policy adviser at CIDI (Center for Documentation and Information on Israel), said in an interview that he “calls the municipalities several times a week” to remove the swastikas from the windows. A Dutch Jew anonymously told reporters that he and his community experience a “constant feeling of insecurity.” He experienced anti-Semitism before the war, hiding his yarmulke under his cap when he went out or hearing insults when he spoke to his father in Hebrew. But he never felt insecure until the war started. Now he worries about going to the synagogue because something could happen. “Through the attacks, Hamas not only wanted to set fire to things there (in the Holy Land) but also to increase contradictions in Western Europe,” Verdoner said of the war that began on October 7. “The effects in society are direct and great.”
Anti-Semitism remains entrenched in Europe
Undoubtedly, anti-Semitism remains firmly rooted on the Old Continent. Experts estimate that the Jewish population within the European Union is 781,200, although many more people have Jewish ancestry – at least one parent who identifies as Jewish. The number of Jews immediately after the Second World War and the Holocaust was about 3.8 million, and it decreased over time. In some countries, including Great Britain and Austria, Jewish minority communities are growing, albeit gradually as immigration offsets mortality that is high due to a predominantly elderly population. In countries like Germany, Jewish populations are stable. According to ADL research, in Western Europe, Spain is the country with the highest percentage of anti-Semitic attitudes – as many as 26% of respondents hold anti-Semitic beliefs. It is followed by Belgium (24%), France (17%), Germany (12%), Great Britain (10%) and the Netherlands (6%).
On the other hand, in Eastern Europe, anti-Semitic attitudes are even stronger, although they are weakening over time. A high percentage of anti-Semitic beliefs is found in Hungary (37%) and Poland (35%). About one in four people in the EU hold anti-Semitic beliefs based on erroneous stereotypical beliefs about Jews and money and Jews controlling foreign governments. This is precisely why an increasing number of Jews are thinking about leaving Europe because of prejudice and discrimination. However, research by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) has shown that most emigration of European Jews is motivated by factors that encourage the movement of other communities: the search for stability, security and prosperity.
Latin America
In Argentina, the situation for the Jewish minority is not great, even though 173 thousand Jews live there. During the 1990s, there were two attacks on the Israeli embassy and a Jewish center in which over 100 people were killed in total. Argentine Jewish leaders are advising members of their community to be more vigilant. A prominent Jewish school in Buenos Aires asked students not to wear their usual uniforms, while some sports teams pulled out of a table tennis competition held at a Jewish club for fear they could be targeted by terrorists. Local media reported that an Argentine was arrested after he called for attacks on Jewish children in schools on the social media platform 4chan. In Brazil (91,000 members of the Jewish community), Jewish representatives have noted an increase in anti-Semitic discourse on the Internet and incidents such as graffiti defacing a synagogue in Rio de Janeiro, as well as anti-Semitic leaflets posted in Praça Nossa Senhora da Paz in the Rio district of Ipanemi. No cases of physical attacks were recorded. “We are very worried. We have increased the security of our institutions,” said Ricardo Berkiensztat, executive president of the Jewish Federation of the State of Sao Paulo. He said he had seen comments on the Internet like “Hitler wasn’t done, he should have finished killing the Jews.”
South Africa
In South Africa, which is home to 51,000 Jews, according to David Saks, assistant director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the number of anti-Semitic incidents in October was nine times higher than the average for the past decade. In one incident, a woman who shared a link to a protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza suffered online abuse, including a post that read “we will come for her children next”.
The African National Congress (ANC) government has de facto institutionalized anti-Semitism because the ANC openly collaborates with Hamas. South Africa’s foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, has been criticized for having a telephone conversation with the leader of Hamas just 10 days after the Palestinian militant group launched an attack on Israel. While the South African government has long expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people, a South African Jewish organization says the phone call shows the minister supports Hamas.
Russia
After an angry mob stormed the airport in Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan, looking for Jews to attack after the plane arrived from Tel Aviv, the president of the Russian Federation of Jewish Communities called on Russian authorities to severely punish the attackers. Rabbi Alexander Boroda said the riot at the airport “undermined the basic foundations of our multicultural and multinational state.” Ovadia Isakov, a prominent Jewish rabbi from Dagestan and spokesman for the Dagestan Jewish community, told the Russian news site Podyom that 700 to 800 families of the last Dagestan mountain Jewish community, which traces its origins back to the 7th century, may have to go to other parts of Russia.
China
There are no official data on anti-Semitic incidents in China. However, on October 13, a staff member of the Israeli embassy in Beijing was attacked, and the suspect was arrested. Chinese social media has been flooded with anti-Semitic content, including posts suggesting the Nazi Holocaust was justified and comparing Jews to parasites, vampires or snakes. A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said the law prohibits the use of the Internet to spread hate speech, but there have been no concrete efforts by the authorities to crack down on anti-Semitic activity online.
Conclusion
Prejudices against entire nations exist deep into the 21st century, despite enormous human progress. Unfortunately, in 2023, anti-Semitism is still alive. It is illogical that someone can hate all members of a nation, but it is a reality. Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are very similar phenomena. Many experts interpret hate attacks against Jews and their property as deep-rooted negative stereotypes that, although always present, come to the surface in moments of social circumstances such as the current war in the Holy Land. From all this, it can be concluded that anti-Semitism never disappeared or was eradicated in many parts of the world. Anti-Semitism has been silenced and hidden over the years, but it has not evaporated. It is obvious that as time passes, the memories of the Holocaust fade, especially among the young generations who do not care about history, while prejudice and hatred persist.
“This is the time for peace and brotherhood, a time to move together. This is a time for growth and well-being of all. We have to overcome the global trust crisis and move forward with human-centric thinking. We have to look at the world in the spirit of One Earth, One Family, One Future.” — Prime Minister Modi
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the last G20 Virtual Summit meeting of the year-long rotating Indian presidency, joining leaders across the globe in a virtual conference. India will be handing over the presidency to Brazil on December 1st. Among the major leaders, US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not participate. However, President Putin, took part in the virtual conference.
Prime Minister Modi said that there was a seven-point “convergence” among G-20 leaders about the Hamas-Israel war, including the need for a two-state solution, even as he hoped that the ongoing conflict will not escalate into a regional conflagration. The issue of Ukraine was also discussed, with Russian President Vladimir Putin urging measures to halt the “Tragedy” the Ukraine war.
In his opening remarks Modi said; “The situation of insecurity and instability in the West Asia region is a matter of concern for all of us. Our coming together today symbolizes that we are sensitive to all issues and stand together to resolve them. We believe that terrorism is unacceptable to all of us. The death of civilians, wherever they happen, is condemnable.”
The Israeli government and Hamas announced on November 22, that they have reached a deal for the release of 50 hostages for 150 Palestinian prisoners, along with a humanitarian ‘Pause’ for at least four days. Welcoming the news about the hostage deal, Modi said that he hoped that all hostages were released and that there was “timely and continuous delivery of humanitarian aid”. At the conclusion of the virtual summit, Modi said that there was “Convergence” on many issues related to the conflict in West Asia and “The G20 is ready to provide all support in this.”
Can India through UN, G20 and others Broker Peace
“It is pertinent to note that India has been constantly calling on both Russia and Ukraine to end the war and choose dialogue and diplomacy”. Many peace lovers are wondering can India the land of Buddha and Gandhi broker peace between the conflicting sides Russia-Ukraine and now Israel and Hamas. These conflicts have unsettled the entire world economy and disturbed the global geopolitics.
Ukrainian Ambassador Igor Polikha had earlier urged the Indian Prime Minister Modi to intervene to de-escalate the Ukrainian crisis by pursuing diplomacy with President Putin and help Ukraine as India is an influential global player. Prime Minister Modi is one of the most influential leaders of the world and has a special partnership with Russia, Ukraine, Israel and as well as Palestine (India was the first to recognize Palestine). Indian Prime Minister Modi continues to speak to the Russian President to initiate diplomatic peace talks with Ukraine and end the war. Modi told Putin that “It is not an era of war.”
Russia has always been ready to Negotiate! However, the US-NATO have not been very keen for an early dialogue with President Putin. A dialogue is the only solution to a sustainable peace for the world peace.
Indian Assets to be a Peace Initiator:
- “One Earth-One Family-One Future,” The theme of India’s G20 meaning “The World is One Family”. Essentially, the theme affirms the value of all life and their interconnectedness to the planet Earth. The logo and the theme together convey a powerful message of India’s G20 Presidency, which is of striving for just and equitable growth for all in the world.
- ‘Unity in Diversity’ is one of the most powerful thoughts India has given to the world. India is a country that perfectly demonstrates Unity in Diversity and this thought need to be followed by the world for the Global peace.
Chance for Initiating Global Peace
Indian Prime Minister Modi who has talked of “The Era of No War” has good relations with the Warring nations- Russia, Ukraine, Israel and as well as Palestine. Russia-Ukraine War and Israel – Hamas war has to end at some point of time. I have a strong intuition that the combined efforts of India along with the UN, G20 and the Arab world can initiate the efforts for global peace and bring an early end to both the conflicts which have brought misery to the world and partitioned the world into groups. India can lead the way forward towards initiating considered negotiated solutions to the ongoing problems at large. In the interest of world peace, all the stakeholders and the UN should take the initiative encourage India to try and make an effort to initiate dialogues between the conflicting sides with the positive support of the UN. At the moment Modi may be the only leader acceptable to all stake holders.
(RFE/RL) — Armenia is not considering quitting the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a senior official in Yerevan said on November 23, despite Yerevan’s decision not to attend a CSTO summit in Minsk on November 23.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safarian also told reporters that Armenia also had no intention of raising the issue of the withdrawal of Russia’s military base in the northwestern Armenian town of Gyumri, where several thousand Russian troops are stationed.
“At the moment, there are no such topics on our agenda,” Safarian said.
Armenia drew criticism from Russia earlier this month after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said he would not attend the CSTO summit. Other Armenian officials have also declined to participate in events held by the CSTO, which also includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Armenia has previously opted out of CSTO maneuvers in Kyrgyzstan and ignored ministerial meetings of the CSTO, and its absence at the summit, which Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending, highlights a growing rift between Yerevan and Moscow.
Armenian authorities have also accused Russian peacekeepers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 of failing to stop Azerbaijan’s lightning offensive in September that ended three decades of rule by ethnic Armenians in the breakaway Azerbaijani region.
Moscow has rejected the accusations, arguing that its troops didn’t have a mandate to intervene and charging that Pashinian had effectively paved the way for the collapse of separatist rule in the region by previously acknowledging Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over it.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on November 23 that Yerevan’s decision not to attend the CSTO summit was not in the “long-term interests of the Armenian people” and chided Armenia for what she described as veiled efforts by Yerevan to change its foreign policy in favor of the West.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also lamented Armenia’s decision not to attend the summit but said that the Kremlin expected that Armenia “will continue its work within the framework of this organization.”
Summit host Alyaksandr Lukashenka was more outspoken, saying, “Some of our partners took steps and made statements that were provocative.”
The Belarusian strongman said complaints should be voiced “in an eye-to-eye conversation instead of dumping stuff into the media.” He added that it was “irresponsible and short-sighted” to create a “conflict situation” in the group to the benefit of the West.
Pashinian told the Armenian parliament earlier this month that the fundamental problem with the CSTO was that it had failed to legally fixate what its area of responsibility would be in case Armenian territory and its borders needed protection.
He and other Armenian officials have said that the CSTO’s failure to respond to the security challenges facing Armenia meant that “it is the CSTO that is quitting Armenia and not Armenia that is quitting the CSTO.”
Speaking in parliament on November 15, however, Pashinian refused to be drawn into the discussion of whether Armenia planned to formally quit the CSTO or speak about any security alternatives.
“We are not planning to announce a change in our policy in strategic terms as long as we haven’t made a decision to quit the CSTO,” Pashinian said.