Today’s Top Stories
1. Fake Russian social media accounts sought to influence US-Israel ties. “The tweets concerning Israel were part of a set of 2,973,371 Twitter posts from fake accounts compiled by the Clemson researchers and uploaded to the internet in concert with the FiveThirtyEight website.”
Researchers from Clemson University found that of nearly three million posts flagged as being from fake accounts out of so-called Russian troll farms, tens of thousands of them had to do with Israel and the broader region.
Sixty percent of the posts on Israel worked to bolster the relationship between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, oftentimes while criticizing former American president Barack Obama, the researchers found . . .
The Russian accounts were not trying to influence the Israeli conversation, but rather the American one, where the Jewish state has become a more polarizing issue, the researchers determined.
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2. The IDF shelled a Hamas position after soldiers on patrol came under fire mid-day. Two Hamas men were killed and six others were injured; no Israeli forces were hurt. The army also released some footage.
According to the reports, the Israeli attack hit a graduation ceremony of al-Qassam fighters at Hamas’ Askelan base. Senior Hamas figures were reportedly in attendance. The Gaza Health Ministry confirmed the two deaths.
As for what this means for ceasefire talks, it’s hard to say. Cabinet ministers quoted by Associated Press and Reuters (before the incident) suggested that A) the ceasefire will be limited to simply restoring calm and not rehabilitate Gaza, and B) Egypt needs to step up its involvement with the Strip.
Raw footage: Hamas terrorists shooting at IDF troops from an outpost in the Gaza Strip pic.twitter.com/3ybzw8w3jW
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 7, 2018
3. Sky News Australia fired talk show host Adam Giles, suspended his show and apologized after a radical racist was invited to discuss his views on immigration and politics.
The skeletons in guest Blair Cottrell’s closet include calling for Hitler’s portrait to be displayed in Australian classrooms, staging a mock beheading to protest the construction of a mosque, plus convictions for arson and stalking. The interview prompted a backlash from advertisers, the resignation of one of the station’s commentators in protest, and plenty of outcry from both the Jewish community and Sky News Australia staffers — most notably reporter Laura Jayes. The fallout also drew attention to Facebook’s decision not to suspend Cottrell’s account over rape comments directed at Jayes.
I’ll give the last word to Craig Emerson, who explained why he quit in protest:
A Sky anchor wishing a neo-Nazi all the best in his endeavours is yet another step in the mainstreaming of racism and bigotry in our country.
Israel and the Mideast
• Israeli media was abuzz after a Mossad official confirmed to the New York Times that Israel was responsible for the assassination of a Syrian chemical weapons and rocket expert on Saturday. Dr. Aziz Asbar was “bent on amassing an arsenal of precision-guided missiles that could be launched with pinpoint accuracy against Israeli cities hundreds of miles away”
The Israelis believed that Mr. Asbar led the secret unit known as Sector 4 at the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center. He was said to have free access to the presidential palace in Damascus and had been collaborating with Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, commander of Iran’s Quds Force, and other Iranians to begin production of precision-guided missiles in Syria by retrofitting heavy Syrian SM600 Tishreen rockets.
• US sanctions against Iran went into effect, restricting Iranian access to US currency and precious metals and hitting financial institutions that trade or hold Iranian currency. A second phase of stronger sanctions is due to go into effect in November targeting Iran’s oil and shipping sectors as well as anyone doing business with the Central Bank of Iran. See Wall St. Journal coverage (click via Twitter).
Israeli officials praised the development.
Israel’s defence minister, in meta-trolling mode, wishes Sacha Baron Cohen would spoof European leaders and “maybe understand the insanity” prompting their opposition to U.S. sanctions on Iran. https://t.co/3zrhlgjtcJ
— Dan Williams (@DanWilliams) August 6, 2018
• Will incendiary kites spread to the West Bank? Probably not.
The wind patterns in Judea and Samaria, as well as the close proximity of Palestinians and Israelis, make such attacks prohibitive, Vaknin said.
The wind is just as likely to blow the incendiary objects into Palestinian areas as it is to push them into Israeli ones, he said. In contrast, the wind in Gaza almost always blows eastward from the Mediterranean Sea toward Israel, he added.
• One consequence of the US embassy move to Jerusalem: Dozens of Palestinian security guards who work unarmed at the consulates in Jerusalem face possible layoffs. Haaretz reports that security demands for the new embassy require more armed security, but Israel will not grant weapons permits to the Palestinian guards. Haaretz adds that the guards may be shifted to other work.
• Martin Kramer debunks a David Ben-Gurion fable that was published in the New York Times, and the paper stands by its error.
• Mahmoud Abbas has raised eyebrows with PA personnel moves over the last several days. The Media Line takes a closer look at what’s happening in Ramallah.
• An unprecedented archaeological survey of the Western Wall is certainly warranted after a stone slab recently fell out, landing dangerously close to a worshiper. What isn’t warranted is this click-bait Times of London headline that is not born out by the report. (Here’s Why Headlines Matter.)
The [Israel Antiquities Authority] is planning to survey the wall using lasers, ultrasound and underground sonar detectors to try to work out whether there are structural weaknesses and how they can be treated. In the past such work has been resisted out of concern that it may fuel religious tensions.
Around the World
• Britain’s Green Party said it “reached out” to the Campaign Against Antisemitism to learn lessons and “respond accordingly” after a video surfaced on Left Foot Forward. In the video Shahrar Ali, one of three candidates now vying for leadership of the Green Party, is seen addressing a 2009 demonstration against Operation Cast Lead, comparing IDF activities to the Holocaust. As for Ali, he doubled down in a statement to the Evening Standard:
Shahrar Ali told us in a statement this morning: “The targetting of Green spokespersons with false accusations of anti-Semitism is designed to stifle legitimate criticism of the Israeli government. This form of deceit is especially dangerous as it sets back the cause of tackling all forms of racism and xenophobia, which are regrettably on the rise. It is imperative that the Green Party continue to speak out on behalf of all the oppressed and to challenge the perpetrators.”
• The UK Labour party dropped disciplinary action against MP Dame Margaret Hodge. She confronted party leader Jeremy Corbyn, calling him an antisemite and racist to his face. A second Labour MP who has also been critical of the party’s antisemitism, Ian Austin, however, still remains under investigation. The Jewish Chronicle updates that.
• The Campaign Against Antisemitism notes that soon after posting an article promising to “root antisemites out of Labour, Jeremy Corbyn’s Facebook page is awash with antisemitic comments, which are not being rooted out.
• Danish imam defends himself against hate speech charges by calling for jihad against Israel(!?)
• Guatemala dedicates weekly lottery prize to bilateral ties with Israel.
• Florida prosecutors add hate crime charges against a Miami man accused of trying to burn down a condominium building and “kill all the Jews” who lived there. Local reports say police also found “Nazi-themed materials” in the home of the defendant.
Commentary
• Two recent incidents shed light on how BDS activists are trying to drive a wedge between American Jews and Israel by stoking internal divisions. Alexander Joffe explains how.
• Yemeni-Egyptian writer Dr. Elham Manea went to Israel and she doesn’t regret it.
• For domestic commentary, Mohammed Darawshe, Amos Yadlin and Gideon Allon weigh in on the nation state law.
• Here’s what else I’m reading today:
– David Makovsky, Ghaith al-Omari: Arab leaders need to step up to avert war in Gaza (click via Twitter)
– Alex Fishman: Gaza ceasefire plan: Much ado about nothing
– Dr. Edy Cohen: When Palestinian blood isn’t equal
– Col. (res.) Dr. Eran Lerman: Diplomacy backed by military force
– Ron Kampeas: Trump and his foreign policy team are on separate pages. What does it mean for Israel and Iran?
Featured image: CC BY Mo Riza;; troll CC BY-NC-ND Babbletrish;
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