Earlier this month, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released a <a href="http://www.islamophobia.org/images/IslamophobiaReport2019/CAIR_Islamophobia_Report_2019_Final_Web.pdf">report</a> claiming that “hate groups” have used American charities to propagate a message of anti-Muslim bigotry.
The report, titled: “Hijacked by Hate: American Philanthropy and the Islamophobia Network,” <a href="https://www.cair.com/new_cair_report_to_show_how_anonymous_donors_used_mainstream_philanthropic_groups_to_funnel_millions_to_anti_muslim_hate_groups">highlights</a> how more than 1,000 mainstream foundations donated almost $125 million to 39 so-called “anti-Muslim hate groups.” Nihad Awad, founder and executive director of CAIR, has even gone as far to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational/videos/289014645385849/">praise</a> this document as “the most comprehensive report on the Islamophobia network ever produced.”
In reality, CAIR’s press conference and published report are jam-packed with inconsistencies and baseless claims.
Awad and CAIR blame President Trump for a <a href="https://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/2017/topic-pages/tables/table-4.xls">rise</a> of anti-Muslim hatred in the United States. But there is one big problem. This report, by its own admission, focuses on philanthropic funding donated during the last years of former President Obama’s administration, from 2014-2016.
This is not to mention that, though <a href="https://www.farmvilleherald.com/2017/09/vandalism-targets-mosque/">bigots</a> have undoubtedly perpetuated some <a href="http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2016/august/christian-arab-murdered-in-oklahoma-after-mistaken-as-muslim">horrific</a> and awful <a href="https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Nurse-victim-Islamophobic-stabbing-beaten-Muslim-12812920.php">crimes</a> against Muslims in the United States, the FBI actually reports that the percentage of religiously-motivated hate crimes that target Muslims has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46189391">dropped</a> 6% from 2016. Yet strangely enough, CAIR’s report does not criticize the former American president by name.
While Nihad Awad was quick to condemn New Zealand’s “<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-muslim-advocacy-group-trump-hold-responsible-increase/story?id=61709242">white supremacist terrorism</a>” in March, it seems not all violent hatreds are equal in his eyes. Awad has <a href="https://www.meforum.org/7075/harvard-students-honor-islamist">defended</a> both Islamist terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, referring to them simply as “<a href="http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.aljazeera.net/Channel/archive/archive?ArchiveId=89300&amp;date=2011-02-03">liberation movements</a>.” Similarly, Zainab Arain (research and advocacy manager at CAIR and co-author of the report) has a long <a href="https://www.meforum.org/7479/author-of-muslim-bigotry-report-is-a-noted-bigot">history</a> of praising Islamist movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood and promoting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, such as the modern variation of the long-debunked blood libel that claims Israel kills Palestinians to steal their <a href="https://twitter.com/ZainabA/status/3825515101">organs</a>.
In fact, Arain has even <a href="https://twitter.com/ZainabA/status/14129254078">shared</a> an article from the white nationalist website Information Clearing House, which alleges Israeli control over American leaders. In the spirit of decrying white nationalism, as the report <a href="http://www.islamophobia.org/images/IslamophobiaReport2019/CAIR_Islamophobia_Report_2019_Final_Web.pdf#page=53">purports</a> to do, will Awad criticize Arain for her expressions of anti-Jewish bigotry? Will he renounce his own views?
The report’s other co-author, Abbas Barzegar (research and advocacy director at CAIR), serves as a perfect complement to Arain’s pro-Islamist sentiments, having <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/13/iranian-election">favorably</a> characterized <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/11/world/middleeast/11cnd-iran.html?mtrref=www.google.com&amp;gwh=A9E2A02C2B2191AAAD3D387460D82FDB&amp;gwt=pay">Holocaust-denier</a> Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 2009 re-election as a victory of Iran’s “rural and working classes.” At the same time, Barzegar has used his platform on HuffPost to spread the <a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/112248/beware-of-even-numbers">debunked</a> anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that the Egyptian-born Coptic Christian creator of an anti-Islamic video was <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nothing-farcical-about-an_b_1877007">actually</a> an Israeli citizen.
In that same article, Barzegar calls for curtailing freedom of speech to limit the “abuse” of sacred Islamic symbols. Yet he had previously <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cnns-octavia-nasr-another_b_641380">criticized</a> CNN for firing Octavia Nasr over her eulogizing of a senior cleric of the terror group Hezbollah, describing her as “another victim of America’s thought police.”
Under the guise of fighting anti-Muslim bigotry, CAIR seeks to advance a pro-Islamist agenda that is not representative of the broader American Muslim population.
The fact that this report is <a href="http://www.islamophobia.org/images/IslamophobiaReport2019/CAIR_Islamophobia_Report_2019_Final_Web.pdf#page=6">endorsed</a> by author and academic Khaled Beydoun should worry anyone concerned by the propagation of fake news. After the horrific Christchurch mosque shootings, Beydoun allegedly <a href="https://twitter.com/comingupcharlie/status/1109027052819083264">plagiarized</a> the work of New Zealand <a href="https://imgur.com/tek2H0I">journalists</a> and seemed to <a href="http://archive.is/0UACo">spread false information</a> about the attack. Beydoun has also been roundly <a href="http://archive.is/hgGy7">criticized</a> by Muslims for growing his Instagram account off the shootings by <a href="https://clarionproject.org/backlash-against-muslim-celebrity-trip-to-christchurch-victims/">organizing</a> a promotional free trip to New Zealand.
Is it any wonder that the report itself prioritizes style over substance, with only about 10 full pages of text found in the entire 152-page document?
This so-called “study” only serves to cover up CAIR’s true purpose, which is to demonize individuals and organizations that oppose its pernicious Islamist agenda. The report itself even goes so far as to equate opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood as anti-Muslim bigotry. Specifically, the report takes issue with the Middle East Forum’s <a href="http://www.islamophobia.org/images/IslamophobiaReport2019/CAIR_Islamophobia_Report_2019_Final_Web.pdf#page=41">support</a> for the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act.
Why does CAIR consider legislation aimed at violent Islamist movements to be “Islamophobic?” Even the governments of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26487092?print=true">Saudi Arabia</a>, Egypt, <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/archive/bahrain-fm-reiterates-stance-on-muslim-brotherhood/172889">Bahrain</a>, the United Arab Emirates have designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. Are these prominent Islamic nations “Islamophobic,” too?
With this report, CAIR seeks to bully critics of radical Islamism into submission by conflating anti-Muslim bigotry with any legitimate concerns about Islamist extremism — to the detriment of Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Bradley Martin is a Writer for <a href="https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/">Islamist Watch</a>, a project of the <a href="https://www.meforum.org">Middle East Forum</a>.

MARTIN: CAIR Report Conflates Anti-Muslim Bigotry With Opposition To Radical Islamism

CAIR

Islam

Radical Islam

Radical Islamic Terror

Religion

Last month, the Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (G-ETS) <a href="https://www.garrett.edu/news/taurean-j-webb-named-director-center-church-and-black-experience-and-instructor-religion-and">appointed</a> Taurean J. Webb as its Director of the Center for the Church and the Black Experience. The prominent Methodist seminary also announced that Webb would be joining its faculty as an assistant professor of religion and race upon completion of his dissertation.
&#8220;We are delighted that Mr. Webb has accepted our invitation to join the Garrett-Evangelical faculty,&#8221; <a href="https://www.garrett.edu/news/taurean-j-webb-named-director-center-church-and-black-experience-and-instructor-religion-and">said</a> G-ETS President Lallene J. Rector. &#8220;His work in black theology, commitment to interfaith dialogue and activism, and expertise in critical race theory are gifts that will enhance and strengthen the seminary&#8217;s commitment to preparing spiritual leaders for today&#8217;s church and world.&#8221;
If G-ETS considers what Webb has to offer as &#8220;gifts,&#8221; then hopefully they kept the receipts. Using his <a href="https://offices.depaul.edu/university-registrar/schedule-of-classes/Documents/2018-2019_Spring_UGRD_SNL.pdf">position</a> as Adjunct Professor of Black History at DePaul University, Webb was a featured <a href="https://palestineconvention.org/amp2018/speaker/taurean-j-webb/">speaker</a> at the 2018 convention of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).
While AMP <a href="https://www.ampalestine.org/about-amp/anti-bigotry-statement">claims</a> to stand &#8220;against all forms of bigotry and racism,&#8221; the annual event boasted a star-studded <a href="https://palestineconvention.org/amp2018/speakers/">cast</a> of anti-Jewish bigots and terrorist sympathizers. Sharing the platform with Webb were Imam Omar Suleiman, who has <a href="https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/51455/the-worst-of-omar-suleiman">called</a> homosexuality a &#8220;repugnant shameless sin&#8221; and justified sex slavery, and Nihad Awad, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), who is on record as lending <a href="https://www.meforum.org/7075/harvard-students-honor-islamist">support</a> to genocidal terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
But this is simply the norm for AMP, given that its founder, Hatem Bazian, has a long <a href="https://www.meforum.org/7126/bigoted-bedfellows-us-islamist-groups-amp-cair">history</a> of propagating anti-Semitic tropes such as retweeting images accusing Ashkenazi Jews of rape, murder, and organ trafficking.
Webb should feel right at home among these reprehensible individuals. In 2016, Webb <a href="http://sdpconference.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Journey-Toward-Justice-Curriculum-FACILITATOR-GUIDE-FINAL-w-images-5.pdf">authored</a> his &#8220;Journey Toward Justice&#8221; training program based on the Kairos Palestine Document that has been <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/profiles/friends-of-sabeel-north-america">denounced</a> by both the Anti-Defamation League and the Reform movement&#8217;s Central Conference of American Rabbis as theological anti-Semitism.
Taking a page from the Kairos Palestine Document, Webb&#8217;s training program distorts religious texts to promote hatred of Judaism and the Jewish people. In furtherance of its commitment to provide a legitimate framework for interfaith dialogue and understanding, the curriculum <a href="http://sdpconference.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Journey-Toward-Justice-Curriculum-FACILITATOR-GUIDE-FINAL-w-images-5.pdf">teaches</a> that the effects of the Holocaust are an exaggeration by American Jews as a way to harm African-Americans. Furthermore, it also teaches that American Jews should be punished because they &#8220;whitened&#8221; themselves after the Second World War, and that the creation of the State of Israel was both &#8220;evil&#8221; and a &#8220;structural sin.&#8221;
In a now-removed Facebook post from November 2018, Webb <a href="https://twitter.com/SloanRachmuth/status/1109156915140067330">praised</a> as heroes the Holy Land Foundation, the terror group <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/us/25charity.html">convicted</a> in 2008 on all 108 criminal counts against them &#8212; including its funneling millions of dollars to Hamas. In February of this year, Webb used his position to stage a <a href="https://dailynorthwestern.com/2019/02/10/city/community-members-discuss-racism-at-play-stage-reading/">play</a> called &#8220;The Whipping Man,&#8221; which blames Jews for American slavery.
DePaul University should be ashamed to have such a person on its faculty. But given that anti-Jewish bigotry has <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/columnists/nicholas-g-hahn-iii/2016/08/09/anti-semitic-face-political-correctness/88503830/">pervaded</a> campus life for years, it is unlikely that Webb will ever be subjected to disciplinary action. In 2014, Jewish students at DePaul told the Haym Salomon Center that they no longer <a href="https://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/jewish-depaul-student-i-no-longer-felt-safe-on-this-campus/2014/05/23/">felt safe</a> on campus due to campaigns conducted by the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
There is a direct correlation between anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activity on college campuses. According to a 2018 <a href="https://amchainitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Campus-Antisemitism-2017.pdf">report</a> by the campus watchdog group AMCHA Initiative, &#8220;Israel-related incidents are actually more likely to contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students.&#8221; It is no coincidence that Webb is also on the <a href="https://www.fosna.org/sites/default/files/Final_HighRes_FOSNA Newsletter_Sept 2016.compressed.pdf#page=3">board</a> of Friends of Sabeel North America, the leading BDS group in America.
Webb cannot possibly be considered a genuine spiritual leader, and he is clearly unfit to be a professor. Rather than condemn Webb&#8217;s hate speech, both G-ETS and DePaul are complicit in according his flagrant bigotry a veneer of respectability. If these institutions were truly interested in eradicating bigotry and racism, firing Webb would be a good start.

Bradley Martin is a Senior Fellow with the news and public policy group <a href="https://salomoncenter.org">Haym Salomon Center</a>.

MARTIN: DePaul University Adjunct Professor Glorifies Terrorism And Promotes Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism

DePaul University

Israel

Judaism

Democratic presidential candidate and congresswoman from Hawaii Tulsi Gabbard, appearing on MSNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Morning Joe&#8221; last week, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DSv6w46mK6G0&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1549996645678000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFWyyuTLkbL3vgjgGWIxOPss6xfOA" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv6w46mK6G0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">repeatedly</a> defended Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, refusing to denounce him either as an &#8220;enemy&#8221; or even an &#8220;adversary.&#8221;
&#8220;Assad is not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States,&#8221; declared Gabbard, who had previously <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/tulsi-gabbard-says-she-has-no-regrets-about-meeting-with-syrian-president-bashar-al-assad/2019/01/20/4006f920-1ce3-11e9-9145-3f74070bbdb9_story.html?noredirect%3Don%26utm_term%3D.08a64674090c&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1549996645678000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFgpTdozfAIpP2kZbJxAoRZtRMOZw" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/tulsi-gabbard-says-she-has-no-regrets-about-meeting-with-syrian-president-bashar-al-assad/2019/01/20/4006f920-1ce3-11e9-9145-3f74070bbdb9_story.html?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.08a64674090c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">met</a> with Assad. &#8220;We have to look to who poses a threat to the United States.&#8221;
It is, frankly, very disturbing that Gabbard has been taken in by Assad&#8217;s propaganda. The State Department has <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/105904.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1549996645678000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFZ3JFV6jwT-mXqy9--Ml6clncW3Q" href="https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/105904.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">listed</a> Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism for the past several decades. Syria provides support for myriad terrorist groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, all of which openly maintain offices in Damascus.
The Syrian government also provides material support to Hezbollah, the terrorist organization responsible for the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marines barracks in Lebanon that resulted in the deaths of 241 American servicemen.
Yet, Gabbard seems to think that Assad is all that <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1093247102254268418&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1549996645678000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHvvlcCdUDN78aTIIkOa1g7cjvxaQ" href="https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1093247102254268418" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stands</a> in the way of al-Qaeda and ISIS taking over Syria. In fact, the Assad regime has both directly and indirectly been a <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.meforum.org/2406/damascus-supporting-terrorists&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1549996645678000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFQH7-uMve6_BwVoX9tfgErVRWC2g" href="https://www.meforum.org/2406/damascus-supporting-terrorists" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">major supporter</a> of al-Qaeda for years. Syria has harbored al-Qaeda terrorists responsible for the 2003 suicide bombings in Casablanca, as well as the 2004 Madrid train bombings, among others.
Assad and al-Qaeda have historically enjoyed a symbiotic relationship, especially when the Syrian dictator needs them to attack his enemies. In 2002, notorious jihadist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi set up an al-Qaeda cell in Syria to carry out the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/12/14/jordan.killing/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1549996645678000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGfI22wZvUsLf5DUgf1hmSEtUYU2w" href="http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/12/14/jordan.killing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">assassination</a> of U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley outside his home in Amman. Syrian al-Qaeda operatives have also attempted to destabilize and overthrow the governments of Jordan and Lebanon, at times with the direct <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nysun.com/foreign/syrian-intelligence-linked-to-terrorist-group/65202/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1549996645678000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE94HPj1ziLDFFdhSPMX1qQTTG-iQ" href="https://www.nysun.com/foreign/syrian-intelligence-linked-to-terrorist-group/65202/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">support</a> of senior Syrian intelligence officials.
Syria has also provided a critical <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/07/AR2005060702026_pf.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1549996645678000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF5GquNSXUI5vbDX5B0_xLeVudutg" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/07/AR2005060702026_pf.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lifeline</a> to the Iraqi insurgency since 2003, which would eventually morph into ISIS, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Iraqis. In fact, almost all foreign al-Qaeda volunteers in Iraq <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/10DAMASCUS159_a.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1549996645678000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGQfywIG_6iduuJlzobx1msCKxcJQ" href="https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/10DAMASCUS159_a.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">entered</a> via Syria (with the full awareness of Assad and his top aides).
Assad has the blood of thousands on his hands, including that of Tulsi Gabbard&#8217;s fellow American servicemen and women. Gabbard&#8217;s insistence that Assad is not an enemy of the U.S. is astounding.
Assad <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wsj.com/articles/assad-policies-aided-rise-of-islamic-state-militant-group-1408739733&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1549996645678000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFC2F_ZpGTSSh5rV4C2ozRQrKWIjw" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/assad-policies-aided-rise-of-islamic-state-militant-group-1408739733" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">released</a> the majority of the ISIS leadership from his jails in a calculated decision to discredit and radicalize the Syrian opposition at the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Assad avoided fighting ISIS to enable their cannibalization of the more secular, pro-democratic opposition backed by Western powers. Assad continued to support ISIS by <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0299.aspx&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1549996645678000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGYilPjUTYlRgJtJHMA3Xky1VLb5w" href="https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0299.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">purchasing</a> millions of dollars worth of oil from the terror group. At one point, sales to Assad <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.newsweek.com/isis-oil-deals-assad-regime-revealed-us-special-forces-raid-452426&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1549996645678000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG8AM3UV7GwtlXijkgfZa46jTyACA" href="https://www.newsweek.com/isis-oil-deals-assad-regime-revealed-us-special-forces-raid-452426" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">peaked</a> at 72% of ISIS oil revenues.
Gabbard has been taken in by this murderous dictator. The question is whether that is a testament to Assad&#8217;s ability as a master manipulator, or proof positive that Gabbard is unfit to serve in the highest office in the land.
<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe loading="lazy" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sv6w46mK6G0" width="560"></iframe></div>
Bradley Martin is a Senior Fellow with the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center
<div> </div>

MARTIN: Tulsi Gabbard’s Ignorance Regarding Syria Reveals She’s Unfit To Be President

Bashar Assad

Syria

Tulsi Gabbard

The Bluegrass State has now become the 26th U.S state to join in the fight against the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Denouncing BDS as anti-Semitic and &#8220;repugnant,&#8221; Kentucky governor Matt Bevin <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue%3D4%26v%3D36bG9W_8ip0&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1542900188170000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHXFAc5r3mMrcOVeI0J3PuAxMcz4A" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&amp;v=36bG9W_8ip0">signed</a> an executive order last week barring state contracts with companies that support a boycott of the State of Israel.
Surrounded by rabbis, Gov. Bevin signed the measure at a ceremony at the state capitol, with Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer and Consul General of Israel to the Southeastern United States Judith Varnai Shorer in attendance.
&#8220;The State of Israel is an important friend and trading partner to the Commonwealth,&#8221; said Bevin. &#8220;We will not allow state resources to benefit entities that intentionally engage in discriminatory practices to harm the sovereignty and economic prosperity of any ally nation. Today&#8217;s executive order makes it clear that Kentucky condemns the BDS movement and that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our friend, Israel.&#8221;
Ambassador Dermer thanked the governor for &#8220;making clear that anti-Semites are not welcome in the Bluegrass State.&#8221; By prohibiting businesses that engage in boycotts against the Jewish state from obtaining state contracts, the measure prohibits Kentucky taxpayers from being complicit in anti-Semitism.
Relations between Kentucky and Israel are robust, with Kentucky <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/kentucky-israel-cooperation&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1542900188170000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEUSrVjSG3ZwCyVNA-uC2ZWfIll3Q" href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/kentucky-israel-cooperation">exporting</a> nearly $85 million worth of goods to Israel last year. Over 100 Kentucky companies have benefited greatly from doing business with the Jewish State, including IBM, Jim Beam, Oshkosh B&#8217;Gosh, and Westinghouse.
Also attending last week&#8217;s ceremony was Kentucky business owner Linda Pirtle Thompson. An ardent supporter of the Jewish state and active member of Christians United for Israel, Thompson told the Haym Salomon Center:
<blockquote>
As Christians, we are told that we should pray for and be a blessing to Israel. As citizens of the U.S., we should all oppose anti-Semitism. The BDS movement is an example of anti-Semitism disguised as political protest. Gov. Bevin&#8217;s executive order rejects the BDS movement as discriminatory and says that Kentucky will not do business with anyone who seeks to harm Israel by economic discrimination. This order is particularly timely as we have seen a rise in attacks on Israel and the Jewish people.
</blockquote>
While BDS activists claim their movement is peaceful and about bettering the lives of Palestinians while pursuing a two-state solution, its founder Omar Barghouti has <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://spectator.org/boycott-israel-founder-confirms-movement-is-about-ending-the-jewish-state/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1542900188170000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEbUscM6Sr-VEvEUuaoxA8mTAuh3A" href="https://spectator.org/boycott-israel-founder-confirms-movement-is-about-ending-the-jewish-state/">made it clear</a> that BDS is about ending Israel&#8217;s very existence. BDS support can be found on numerous college campuses where progressive student groups and faculty have embraced the anti-Israel cause. According to the anti-Semitism watchdog group Amcha Initiative, campuses with a BDS presence have seen a rise in <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://amchainitiative.org/reports&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1542900188170000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF_So5yQeI65TtKPijJClhO_QYPBg" href="https://amchainitiative.org/reports">anti-Semitic activity</a>.
David Brog, executive director of the Maccabee Task Force, an organization that combats anti-Semitism on college campuses, told the Haym Salomon Center:
<blockquote>
Anti-Semitism in America today is increasingly taking the form of efforts to boycott and otherwise delegitimize the Jewish state. It&#8217;s therefore critical that we draw a bright red line separating the legitimate criticism of Israel from these anti-Semitic efforts to demonize her. Governor Bevin&#8217;s actions &#8212; along with those of 25 other states &#8212; mark a significant step forward in drawing this line and fighting this hate. He deserves our deepest appreciation.
</blockquote>
The executive order signed into law states that &#8220;the Commonwealth of Kentucky unequivocally rejects the BDS movement and stands firmly with Israel,&#8221; noting that BDS practices threaten the sovereignty and security of a U.S. ally and friend of the Commonwealth. Prior to this, the Kentucky House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 250, opposing the BDS movement and expressing support for the sovereignty of Israel.
Bradley Martin is a Senior Fellow with the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center.

MARTIN: Kentucky Becomes The Latest State To Pass Anti-BDS Law

Kentucky

Palestinian national icon Ahed Tamimi (nicknamed &#8220;Shirley Temper&#8221;) was freed after serving an eight-month sentence in Israeli prison for recording herself punching, kicking and slapping two Israeli soldiers. The incident was <a href="https://twitter.com/LTCPeterLerner/status/943100852054700033">streamed</a> live by her mother, who was also released by Israeli authorities.
&#8220;It&#8217;s hard to put my experience into words. I can&#8217;t even explain how oppressed I felt while I was there,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1025150500428177408">said</a> Tamimi after being freed. &#8220;I&#8217;m glad I ended up there for my beliefs and I&#8217;m ready to go to prison 100 more times if it serves the good of my country.&#8221;
How on earth did Tamimi survive those long, oppressive months in an Israeli prison? Surely this modern-day Jean Valjean has a harrowing tale of how she displayed unparalleled resilience in the face of adversity.
&#8220;There were many things I did there,&#8221; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StandWithUs/videos/10155858679912689/">said</a> Tamimi. &#8220;I took the law course [offered by the prison], studying for high school. I was reading books. We were singing, we were even making group breakfast, every room brings their own stuff and we have breakfast together outside. Also having lunch together most of the time.&#8221; When Tamimi wasn&#8217;t &#8220;singing and dancing,&#8221; she was having wild parties and watching TV.
The breakfasts and lunches at that Israeli prison must have been delicious, considering how eager Tamimi is to go back. Dr. Edy Cohen, an expert in inter-Arab relations at Bar-Ilan University, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Syrian-activists-Ahed-Tamimi-lucky-not-to-be-imprisoned-by-Assad-regime-563830">writes</a> that Tamimi&#8217;s weight actually increased by 9 kilos (19.8 lbs) during her stay in prison. Images of Tamimi upon her release circulated the Arab Twittersphere, drawing the attention of Syrian human rights activists in particular.
&#8220;Israel released Ahed Tamimi full of health and without a scratch,&#8221; wrote Syrian activist and photographer Yasser Wardh, contrasting Tamimi&#8217;s release with the thousands of Palestinian refugees that are killed under the Assad regime. Imam Kais, who has 100,000 followers on Twitter, also contrasted Tamimi&#8217;s experience with Arab prisons. &#8220;She [Tamimi] says she learned to love life, whereas those imprisoned in our Arab countries can reach a stage where they wish their mother didn&#8217;t give birth to them.&#8221;
Nedal Alamari, a Syrian journalist and critic of Assad&#8217;s human rights abuses, <a href="https://twitter.com/nedalalamari/status/1023558295884374021">tweeted</a> a photo of a murdered Syrian woman and contrasted it with the newly-released Tamimi. Alamari noted the bitter irony of how Tamimi&#8217;s father supports the Assad regime. Many profiles tweeted photos of Tamimi next to a murdered Syrian woman, trying to draw attention to how Israel humanely treats its prisoners.
The fact that Tamimi claims to be oppressed is especially absurd, considering the extraordinary measures taken by Israeli prisons to be as comfortable as possible. Jordanian journalist Yousef Alawnah, who served a 30-month sentence in Israel for smuggling explosives, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtoi5VX4lOY">told</a> Saudi 24 that being jailed in an Israeli prison was like &#8220;an institute of education.&#8221;
&#8220;There are 30,000-40,000 books in the library of an Israeli prison,&#8221; said Alawnah, noting the wide selection of Arabic books. &#8220;They have all the important books, history books, books against Israel and against Zionism. &#8230; Even Hitler&#8217;s Mein Kampf is there. We had an opportunity to acquire culture, to read, and to study many things in prison.&#8221;
Until 2012, <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3756751,00.html">hundreds</a> of Palestinian terrorist prisoners could pursue academic studies in Israeli jails and even complete degrees from an Israeli university. Education for prisoners was provided free of charge. Though the program was halted, 484 Palestinian prisoners <a href="http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&amp;doc_id=20720">earned</a> their BA degrees last year in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Education. One of these terrorists was even involved in the murder of the Israeli minister of tourism.
Tamimi and her family are among the strongest supporters and enablers of terrorism against Israelis. One of the worst is Tamimi&#8217;s aunt, the unrepentant <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH1CS9PGI4Q">mastermind</a> behind the 2001 Sbarro Pizza suicide-bombing in Jerusalem that killed 15 civilians (including eight children and a pregnant woman) and wounding 130 others. Tamimi herself has even <a href="https://youtu.be/7QYIEu7SJVE?t=38s">called</a> on Palestinians to murder Israelis through &#8220;martyrdom-seeking operations&#8221; [i.e. suicide bombings], stabbing attacks and throwing rocks.
Tamimi is not a victim of Israeli oppression, unless she wants to blame Israel for acting like a stereotypical Jewish mother, smothering her with food and facilitating completion of her high school education. Reality check. If this were any other country in the Middle East, neither Tamimi nor her family would survive long enough to even see the inside of a prison.
Bradley Martin is a Senior Fellow with the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center and Deputy Editor for the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research.

MARTIN: Palestinian Icon Ahed Tamimi Had The Time Of Her Life In An Israeli Prison

Palestinians

Ever since the infamous riots in Charlottesville, Virginia, white nationalists and supremacists could be counted on to support Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
James Fields, who mowed down a crowd of anti-fascist protesters with his car, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://twitter.com/yashar/status/896565353224036352&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1523645458416000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEkQs2prmE-lqGEhxKk9VXOoUgdDg" href="https://twitter.com/yashar/status/896565353224036352">posted</a> on his Facebook page a picture of Assad in full military uniform with the word &#8220;undefeated&#8221; inscribed underneath, while three men who participated in the rally <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://twitter.com/Walldo/status/896212779069186049&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1523645458416000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG43x_2xpv2f14CMOv8xzUBW--R0Q" href="https://twitter.com/Walldo/status/896212779069186049">praised</a> Assad&#8217;s use of barrel bombs and chemical weapons against his own people.
&#8220;Israel (with American approval) is, of course, attacking the civilized, European societies&#8211;the people who *should* rule in the region,&#8221; <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://twitter.com/RichardBSpencer/status/983191102000975873&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1523645458416000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEC_NuXD_fQ1mBy4QJj5p6KJ2wGZw" href="https://twitter.com/RichardBSpencer/status/983191102000975873">tweeted</a> white nationalist leader Richard Spencer, praising the Assad family even after Syria again <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43686157&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1523645458416000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH9WISnB0oG-2M8pHfXlG51kcrvSQ" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43686157">used</a> nerve gas against its own citizens, murdering at least 42 adults and children, while injuring hundreds more.
Perversely, it makes sense that white supremacists support Assad because of his hostility toward the Jewish state. But classifying him as a white European? At first glance, it seems strange that white supremacists would view Assad, an Arab Alawite, as one of their own. But it is not unprecedented.
In Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World, history professor Jeffrey Herf <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300168051/nazi-propaganda-arab-world&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1523645458416000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFdTKhjkgT8PRujMVXZSVNhZoPmDg" href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300168051/nazi-propaganda-arab-world">highlights</a> how Nazi officials took great pains to reassure Arab diplomats that Nazi ideology and policy were directed against Jews and not toward non-Jewish Semites. Nazis responded to questions from the Egyptians by saying that the Nuremberg racial laws did not apply to them, while the German Foreign Ministry reassured the Iranian embassy in Berlin of the racial kinship between Germans and Iranians.
&#8220;Nazism viewed Arabs and Muslims as different but, in clear contrast to the racial hierarchy presented in Mein Kampf, not as racially inferior,&#8221; writes Prof. Herf.
Considered by many to be the father of Palestinian nationalism, Haj Amin al-Husseini <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-mufti-and-the-f-uuml-hrer&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1523645458417000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHLApVDLdSnBLHzP_zxCmxVjkkekg" href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-mufti-and-the-f-uuml-hrer">fled</a> to Germany in 1941 in an attempt to persuade Adolf Hitler and his Nazi leadership to extend their anti-Jewish program to the Arab world. Al-Husseini was tasked by Hitler to recruit 20,000 Bosnian Muslim volunteers for the SS, who participated in the killing of Jews in Croatia and Hungary. Hitler <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.apple.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1523645458417000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHnTklXNH_lvn72QUm1bsLoL5vWgw" href="http://www.apple.com/">declared</a> that Al-Husseini &#8212; and Bosnian Muslims, by extension &#8212; were to be considered &#8220;pure Aryans.&#8221;
Obviously, Hitler&#8217;s genocidal hatred for Jews overrode genetics or any sense of intellectual consistency. Which is why white nationalists and white supremacists today have no trouble supporting Assad as a &#8220;civilized leader&#8221; after torturing and murdering his own people.
It also explains how white supremacist and former KKK grand wizard David Duke can <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://twitter.com/DrDavidDuke/status/983192885179965440&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1523645458417000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGVQkMCHUERo1sEG9BoVhkHdIM-7w" href="https://twitter.com/DrDavidDuke/status/983192885179965440">praise</a> Assad for &#8220;protecting&#8221; Syria&#8217;s Christians, when in reality <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/religion/332938-dont-be-fooled-assad-is-no-friend-of-syrias-christian-minorities&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1523645458417000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE___L8glwock0nLWn7XHn1ZZiYAQ" href="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/religion/332938-dont-be-fooled-assad-is-no-friend-of-syrias-christian-minorities">hundreds</a> of innocent Christians have been tortured to death in Assad&#8217;s jails or shot by his thugs. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the Assad regime is <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://sn4hr.org/blog/2015/05/07/6767/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1523645458417000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE0QJZgrMB655RM95Oc69MmHohLow" href="http://sn4hr.org/blog/2015/05/07/6767/">responsible</a> for the destruction of over 60% of all churches destroyed during the Syrian Civil War.
Those &#8220;barrel bombs&#8221; glorified by the Charlottesville protestors are responsible for the deaths of countless Christians in the past six years.
The truth is that white supremacists fervently support Assad because of his hatred for Israel and his determination to annihilate his enemies or anyone he deems inferior by any means necessary. Because of this maniacal hatred that supersedes all logic or reason, white supremacists and nationalists have found in Assad a kindred spirit.
Bradley Martin is a Senior Fellow with the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center and Deputy Editor for the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research.

MARTIN: Why Do Neo-Nazis Adore Bashar al-Assad?

Nazis

A British court recently declared a comedian guilty of a hate crime for posting a &#8220;grossly offensive&#8221; video on YouTube. Mark Meechan (a.k.a. &#8220;Count Dankula&#8221;) is currently facing a jail sentence for training his girlfriend&#8217;s dog to raise his paw, mimicking a Nazi salute.
&#8220;My girlfriend is always ranting and raving about how cute and adorable her wee dog is,&#8221; <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DSYslEzHbpus%26bpctr%3D1521851643&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1522246501612000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG7xONXcawokxs1SLKVR6LxxM5VFQ" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYslEzHbpus&amp;bpctr=1521851643">said</a> Meechan in the introduction to his viral video. &#8220;And so I thought I would turn him into the least cute thing I could think of, which is a Nazi.&#8221; Meechan later <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DrsDjY1vsczI&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1522246501612000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFgSjA_IdrVoYVVNIsxzs-wIWcYgw" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsDjY1vsczI">apologized</a> for the video, expressed his hatred of racism &#8220;in any way, shape or form,&#8221; and reiterated that the whole purpose of the original video was to annoy his girlfriend.
Obviously, this is a gross miscarriage of justice. Considering it was the dog that committed the crime, shouldn&#8217;t he be the one sentenced to prison by the kangaroo court? The Walt Disney Company could even make a movie about it.
Regardless of whether one finds the video offensive, it is very hard to argue that this &#8220;Nazi&#8221; pug poses much of a threat to anyone. What should be considered very concerning is the fact that anti-Jewish bigotry currently stands at a record high in the United Kingdom.
According <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Anti-Jewish-sentiment-becoming-more-common-in-Britain-group-says-540382&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1522246501612000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH7GKDjdtw5IKxUwueXDzGsPtNQGQ" href="http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Anti-Jewish-sentiment-becoming-more-common-in-Britain-group-says-540382">to</a> the Community Security Trust (a group that monitors anti-Semitism and provides security to British Jews and institutions), there were 1,346 recorded anti-Semitic incidents in 2017. This stands at a 3% increase from 2016 and a 34% rise in violent assaults against Jewish people. In 2016, the CST recorded 1,309 anti-Semitic incidents nationwide, while the previous record was 1,182 incidents in 2014.
The British Labour party under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn has been instrumental in making the U.K. unsafe for Jews. Prior to being elected Labour leader, Corbyn <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DFQLKpY3NdeA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1522246501612000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHHFrefQaKCnUecH1knv-7G7za0yg" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQLKpY3NdeA">referred</a> to the Islamic terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah as his &#8220;friends.&#8221; It was also <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.timesofisrael.com/before-elected-labour-leader-corbyn-was-part-of-an-anti-semitic-facebook-group/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1522246501612000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGjX_C4wechPXjHkP09ysF6gqdWTQ" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/before-elected-labour-leader-corbyn-was-part-of-an-anti-semitic-facebook-group/">revealed</a> that Corbyn was part of an anti-Jewish Facebook group that contained Holocaust deniers, as well as <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jeremy-corbyn-named-in-second-facebook-hate-group/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1522246501612000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFAG1db4DdFFf8Vgj_Laef89nO5ww" href="http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jeremy-corbyn-named-in-second-facebook-hate-group/">another</a> group that accused Jews of trafficking organs and controlling the media.
Corbyn has allowed anti-Jewish bigotry to grow among the thousands of supporters who joined Labour in support of his policies. Over 80% of British Jews <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-anti-semitism-jeremy-corbyn-inquiry-shami-chakrabarti-yougov-poll-a7902251.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1522246501612000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGnT1qVv_lUdT1IBG0Uq7b61PYLiA" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-anti-semitism-jeremy-corbyn-inquiry-shami-chakrabarti-yougov-poll-a7902251.html">believe</a> that the Labour party is too tolerant of anti-Semitism, while almost a third of British Jews have considered <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Poll-1-in-3-British-Jews-have-considered-emigrating-due-to-antisemitism-502920&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1522246501612000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEiwKHNYZ7jJEc-ABvT3RaToJ06WQ" href="http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Poll-1-in-3-British-Jews-have-considered-emigrating-due-to-antisemitism-502920">leaving</a> the country to escape the rise in hate crime.
Unless that dog is somehow elected the leader of a major British political party, Corbyn is the one who is actually in a governmental position to make life considerably worse for Jews in the U.K.
With the impending downfall of the Islamic State terror group, threats to the safety of British Jews will only worsen. According to The Soufan Center, at least 425 British ISIS members have <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/isis-british-jihadis-return-uk-iraq-syria-report-islamic-state-fighters-europe-threat-debate-terror-a8017811.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1522246501612000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEOPNFjaHzkfjxs8PNlaYwV_QYKOQ" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/isis-british-jihadis-return-uk-iraq-syria-report-islamic-state-fighters-europe-threat-debate-terror-a8017811.html">returned</a> to the U.K. These militants are not alone. According to British intelligence, there are 23,000 identified jihadists <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/huge-scale-of-terror-threat-revealed-uk-home-to-23-000-jihadists-3zvn58mhq&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1522246501612000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFyGVmfHLRf2tp6PI_7ug0Z1ByjZA" href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/huge-scale-of-terror-threat-revealed-uk-home-to-23-000-jihadists-3zvn58mhq">living</a> in the U.K. as potential terrorist attackers. This is not only a dangerous development for British Jews, but every peaceful citizen living in the U.K.
The rise in anti-Jewish bigotry in the U.K. is no laughing matter. However, the fact that Meechan is being convicted and thrown in jail with real criminals is nothing short of a sick joke. To be jailed over what can accurately be described as a video that mocks Nazism and fascism, sets a dangerous precedent for freedom of speech in the U.K. Rather than do something substantive against the rise of anti-Jewish bigotry throughout the country, British authorities instead chose to go after an easy target.
Bradley Martin is a Senior Fellow with the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center and Deputy Editor for the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research.

MARTIN: Jailing A Comedian Will Not Make The U.K. Safer For Jews

Great Britain

After their 2009 presidential elections, Iranians throughout the country protested against the electoral fraud that enabled Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to remain in office. All three of the opposition candidates alleged that the election was rigged.
Despite the relatively peaceful nature of the protests, Iranian police and military enforced a violent crackdown against the protesters. Thousands were arrested and tortured in prisons around the country, with inmates <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/24/jailed-iran-opposition-activists-rape">alleging</a> the mass rape of men, women and children by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. An estimated 4,000 protestors were <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130927124453/http:/edition.presstv.ir/detail/103230.html">arrested</a> by the regime, with a death toll in the hundreds.
And where was then-U.S. President Barack Obama? The Nobel Peace Prize <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2009/">laureate</a> was cementing his legacy as the best friend the Islamic Republic ever had in the White House.
&#8220;When protests in Iran erupted in 2009 and millions of Iranians took to the streets, they singularly called Obama by his name and asked if he was with them or not,&#8221; recalled Shabnam Assadollahi, an award-winning human rights advocate of Iranian descent who was imprisoned in Iran&#8217;s notorious Evin prison at the age of 16. Ms. Assadollahi advocates for the emancipation of women and minority religious communities throughout the world.
&#8220;If Obama, as a world leader and distinguished Nobel Prize winner, had shown his support for freedom, democracy and human rights for Iran,&#8221; said Assadollahi, &#8220;that would have helped accelerate the end of Islamic tyranny in Iran.&#8221;
But the rights and safety of minorities in the Middle East were not Obama&#8217;s concern. Under Obama&#8217;s State Department, Iraqi and Syrian Christians were <a href="http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2017/1/27/obamas-legacy-a-more-dangerous-world-for-christians-and-jews#.WIxVA_krLIU=">forced</a> to join the Popular Mobilization Force in order to qualify for American aid. The PMF is an Iranian proxy that is <a href="https://www.memri.org/reports/al-quds-day-basra-iraq-iraqi-policemen-burn-us-flag-chant-death-america">both</a> anti-America and anti-Israel.
In order to survive, Christians needed to join this Obama-approved militia, thereby forcing Middle Eastern Christians to hold positions that are anti-Western, anti-democratic and inimical to their own interests.
The consequences of Obama&#8217;s foreign policy were not limited to the Middle East. According to a recent investigation by Politico, the Obama administration <a href="https://www.politico.com/interactives/2017/obama-hezbollah-drug-trafficking-investigation/">derailed</a> an important DEA campaign against the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, as it was funneling cocaine into the United States. The National Institute on Drug Abuse <a href="https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/what-scope-cocaine-use-in-united-states">estimates</a> that thousands of Americans die from cocaine overdose every year, out of 1.5 million people who consume the drug.
Rather than push for regime change, Obama wanted to consummate his nuclear deal with Iran at all costs. Ironically, this has guaranteed that Iran will become a nuclear threshold state. Even The Washington Post, an icon of left-wing advocacy, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/obamas-iran-deal-falls-well-short-of-his-own-goals/2015/04/02/7974413c-d95c-11e4-b3f2-607bd612aeac_story.html?postshare=4151428013724869&amp;utm_term=.a09fa868f31d">criticized</a> the deal for effectively allowing Iran&#8217;s nuclear infrastructure to remain intact. None of Iran&#8217;s nuclear facilities will be closed and not one of the country&#8217;s 19,000 centrifuges will be dismantled.
Obama&#8217;s nuclear deal also provided Iran with a huge economic boost that will allow it to sponsor its proxy wars throughout the Middle East. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, $100-$150 billion in funds have been <a href="https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/publication/150804_Cordesman_IranNuclearAgreement_Commentary.pdf">released</a> by the U.S. to Iran under the deal.
But none of this money has reached the people of Iran. Iranians will no longer stand for a theocratic dictatorship that funds death and terrorism throughout the world at the expense of its own people&#8217;s welfare.
<a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2017/12/30/Protestors-in-Iranian-Qom-city-shout-death-to-Hezbollah-Shame-on-Khamenei-.html">Chanting</a> &#8220;Death to Hezbollah,&#8221; protestors in the Iranian city of Qom have called for the exile of Ayatollah Khamenei. In Takestan, protesters burned down a <a href="https://twitter.com/ArminNavabi/status/947541890768846848">seminary</a> where Shi&#8217;a Muslim clerics are trained. Crowds in Rasht <a href="https://twitter.com/farnazfassihi/status/947211401138929664">called</a> for the death of the IRGC, while an IRGC-affiliated bank was <a href="https://twitter.com/borzou/status/947204264048365569">destroyed</a>. At Tehran University, students <a href="https://www.facebook.com/memri.org/videos/10156045011574717/">chanted</a>, &#8220;Not Gaza, not Lebanon &#8212; We will give our lives to Iran.&#8221;
The ongoing protests in Iran present pro-Western and pro-democratic forces with a second chance. President Trump must undo his predecessor&#8217;s legacy and follow up his <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/947810806430826496">vocal</a> support for the Iranian people with concrete action. Only then will Iran realize its full potential as a free and prosperous nation. It&#8217;s all in a day&#8217;s work for a president who is determined to make America great again.
Bradley Martin is a Senior Fellow with the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center and Deputy Editor for the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research

MARTIN: Empowering Iran: Undoing Obama’s Dangerous Agenda

Barack Obama

Iran

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The Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest public school system in California and the second largest school district in the United States, approved a <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/10/20/report-los-angeles-school-district-approved-workshop-with-readings-accusing-israel-of-genocidal-policies/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520231000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGOgOgq09wxYTl7CUsOVrwaeg07hw" href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/10/20/report-los-angeles-school-district-approved-workshop-with-readings-accusing-israel-of-genocidal-policies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">workshop</a> for K-12 teachers that is unequivocally anti-Israel. The program is produced by an anti-Israel organization called Fellowship of Reconciliation, which supports boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
The L.A.-based non-profit advocacy organization StandWithUs <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.standwithus.com/news/article.asp?id%3D5483&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520231000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGcdChhCVvy4i1uIldNLOi9VPNKiQ" href="http://www.standwithus.com/news/article.asp?id=5483" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reports</a> that these workshops have also been co-sponsored by the Orange County Department of Education and the Orange County Human Relations Council.
The workshops are based around a completely one-sided primer, &#8220;Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict,&#8221; written by two anti-Israel academic activists and filled with factual errors and omissions. Despite <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Disproving-Temple-Mount-denial-one-bucket-at-a-time-506539&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520232000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGB2i4v6NxA-KmcoigE_4UdDzWihQ" href="http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Disproving-Temple-Mount-denial-one-bucket-at-a-time-506539" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">numerous</a> archaeological discoveries attesting to the existence of King Solomon&#8217;s Temple in Jerusalem and Israel&#8217;s historic ties to the Temple Mount, the document claims that no such evidence has been <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.merip.org/primer-palestine-israel-arab-israeli-conflict-new%23The%2520British%2520Mandate%2520in%2520Palestine&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520232000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGp0PW16aiNGQqHUHm02KQKL1b_rA" href="http://www.merip.org/primer-palestine-israel-arab-israeli-conflict-new#The%20British%20Mandate%20in%20Palestine" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">found</a>. Denying that Jews have a historical connection to modern day Israel is a common theme of the text.
The document also downplays and rationalizes Palestinian terrorism and ignores the dispossession of nearly one million Jews from Arab countries. Considering that <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-the-middle-east&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520232000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFAT_zxPZgB8DNkWGTDKYbRimGtIQ" href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-the-middle-east" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">over</a> half of Israel&#8217;s Jewish population originates from the Middle East and Africa, the document&#8217;s constant designation of Israeli Jews as &#8220;European settlers&#8221; is baffling.
This geographically-challenged handout also <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/10/20/report-los-angeles-school-district-approved-workshop-with-readings-accusing-israel-of-genocidal-policies/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520232000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEePhI-YhRaq_FCoFMdirnIMeIRxA" href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/10/20/report-los-angeles-school-district-approved-workshop-with-readings-accusing-israel-of-genocidal-policies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">claims</a> that Israel is a &#8220;supremacist ethnic state&#8221; and that Palestinians are &#8220;at the mercy of the Israeli war machine.&#8221; It also states that non-Jews in Israel &#8220;do not possess equal rights with their fellow Jewish citizens,&#8221; while accusing Israel of committing genocide against Arabs.
The truth is that while Israel is a Jewish state, it is the only country in the Middle East that offers equal rights to all of its citizens. Israel&#8217;s Declaration of Independence <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.knesset.gov.il/docs/eng/megilat_eng.htm&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520232000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGHDX_czOxtBbmC3sbhUDKzsC1UWQ" href="https://www.knesset.gov.il/docs/eng/megilat_eng.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ensures</a> complete social and political rights &#8220;to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex.&#8221; LGBT rights in Israel are the most advanced in the region, where <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3211772.stm&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520232000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE0dQrE8bOLYXX4U00BOSz__KOExQ" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3211772.stm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hundreds</a> of gay Palestinians fleeing to Israel are granted asylum and permanent residency.
Not by any stretch of the imagination is Israel committing genocide against the Palestinian population. According to the CIA World Factbook, the population of Gaza <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/mf2017.pdf%23page%3D191&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520232000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFcKfycELCqp0n1JqbKar_2WlQ_VA" href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/mf2017.pdf#page=191" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increased</a> from around 730,000 in 1995, to approximately two million by July 2015. Similarly, the Palestinian population in the so-called West Bank has nearly doubled since 1994. According <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.danielpipes.org/4990/arab-israeli-fatalities-rank-49th&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520232000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFhZ3v6rzVF7gm1PaV98JfB_3LLLA" href="https://www.danielpipes.org/4990/arab-israeli-fatalities-rank-49th" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to</a> the Middle East Forum, out of an estimated 11 million Muslims who have been killed in Middle East wars since 1948, only 0.3% died from conflicts involving Israel.
If Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians, it&#8217;s doing an incredibly poor job. Especially considering that Israel has one of the most <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.apple.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520232000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGPqd_He3cVAc_d3DZL7Nv5--tGkw" href="http://www.apple.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">powerful</a> militaries in the world. In fact, compared to anywhere else in the Middle East, Israel is the best place to be an Arab. The Jewish State has <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Issues/Pages/Facts-and-Figures-Islam-in-Israel.aspx&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520232000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH_6d1LH4Zr84IyCppuoeiobYfRRw" href="http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Issues/Pages/Facts-and-Figures-Islam-in-Israel.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">over</a> 400 mosques, a fivefold increase since 1988. Approximately 300 imams and muezzins receive their salaries from the Israeli government, which also funds Islamic schools and colleges.
Israeli Arabs occupy prominent positions throughout Israeli politics and society. Among them is Salim Joubran, former vice president of Israel&#8217;s Supreme Court. During Israel&#8217;s 2015 elections, Joubran <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Israeli-Arab-Supreme-Court-Judge-to-oversee-Israeli-elections-384078&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520232000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG0_JRRZDYNL81y-fsf9BfUegNubA" href="https://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Israeli-Arab-Supreme-Court-Judge-to-oversee-Israeli-elections-384078" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">served</a> as chairman of the Central Election Committee and was in charge of registering lists of those running for Israel&#8217;s parliament and dealing with challenges to the results. Though Joubran retired earlier this year, another Israeli Arab (George Karra) <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.804976&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1509556520232000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHi6XiiWXI7d5ejKDpTIDaEW6RyhQ" href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.804976" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">remains</a> on Israel&#8217;s Supreme Court.
Someone must have forgotten to tell these judges that Israel is committing genocide against them.
But it would make sense that this document is rife with factual and historical errors, since it doesn&#8217;t bother to offer citations or even a bibliography. If it fails the most basic academic standards, why is it being used as a teaching tool? Hate mongering has absolutely no place in the classroom, and this propaganda clearly is meant only to delegitimize the State of Israel. California must stop this academic travesty and anti-Israel incitement being propagated in its schools.

Bradley Martin is a Senior Fellow with the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center and Deputy Editor for the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research
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Bradley Martin