2021.07.10 國際新聞導讀-阿富汗塔利班承諾不傷害外交官與使領館，俄羅斯警告塔利班不要動塔吉克否則俄軍將介入、利伯曼在以色列發動改革宗教社群、巴勒斯坦示威加劇不利阿巴斯

蘇老師講解國際新聞、中東與中亞歷史、中國事務、太空知識的頻道。 Diplomat's daily news review and history research on Middle East and Central Asia, China Affairs and Space Exploration

2021.07.10 國際新聞導讀-阿富汗塔利班承諾不傷害外交官與使領館，俄羅斯警告塔利班不要動塔吉克否則俄軍將介入、利伯曼在以色列發動改革宗教社群、巴勒斯坦示威加劇不利阿巴斯

如果阿富汗邊境局勢惡化，俄羅斯領導的集團將動員軍隊

俄羅斯軍方還誓言，如果塔利班叛亂組織威脅到塔吉克斯坦的邊界，將通過其在該國的軍事基地幫助支持塔吉克斯坦。

通過路透

2021 年 7 月 8 日 18:56

2019 年 5 月 30 日，塔利班首席談判代表毛拉·阿卜杜勒·加尼·巴拉達爾（前）在俄羅斯莫斯科與阿富汗高級政客進行和平談判後離開

（圖片來源：路透社/EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA）

廣告

國際文傳電訊社週四援引該集團一位領導人的話說，如果與阿富汗接壤的局勢惡化，以俄羅斯為首的集體安全條約組織軍事集團將準備調動其全部軍事能力。

俄羅斯軍方還誓言，如果塔利班叛亂組織威脅到塔吉克斯坦的邊界，將通過其在該國的軍事基地幫助支持塔吉克斯坦。

據俄羅斯塔斯社報導，塔利班政治辦公室週四表示，他們不會襲擊阿富汗-塔吉克斯坦邊境，並表示不會允許阿富汗被用來對俄羅斯發動襲擊。

叛亂組織還表示，他們並不尋求通過軍事手段奪取阿富汗的權力。

叛亂組織還發誓他們不會襲擊阿富汗-塔吉克邊境。

由於塔利班取得了進展，而美國在 20 年後撤軍，阿富汗的安全狀況迅速惡化。

Russia-led bloc to mobilize military if Afghan border situation worsens

Russia's military also vowed to help support Tajikistan with its army base in the country should the Taliban insurgency group threaten its borders.

By REUTERS

JULY 8, 2021 18:56

Taliban chief negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (front) leaves after peace talks with Afghan senior politicians in Moscow, Russia May 30, 2019

(photo credit: REUTERS/EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA)

Advertisement

The Russian-led CSTO military bloc would be ready to mobilize its full military capacity if the situation on the border with Afghanistan deteriorates, the Interfax news agency cited one of the bloc's chiefs as saying on Thursday.

Russia's military also vowed to help support Tajikistan with its army base in the country should the Taliban insurgency group threaten its borders.

The Taliban's political office said on Thursday that they would not attack the Afghan-Tajik border, and stated that they would not allow Afghanistan to be used to launch attacks on Russia, Russia's TASS news agency reported.

The insurgency group also said that they did not seek to seize power in Afghanistan militarily.

The insurgency group also vowed they would not attack the Afghan-Tajik border.

There has been a rapid deterioration in security in Afghanistan as the Taliban have made gains while the United States withdraws its forces after 20 years.

美國在阿富汗的戰爭結束了，但誰贏了？

中以色列：未來將在美國離開後的早晨開始，而塔利班，就像古巴、黎巴嫩和越南的游擊隊一樣，將無法通過考驗。

作者：AMOTZ ASA-EL

2021 年 7 月 8 日 21:48

2012 年，一名美國士兵在阿富汗南部坎大哈省的一次受控引爆中進行掩護。

（圖片來源：SHAMIL ZHUMATOV / REUTERS）

廣告

亨利·基辛格說，傳統軍隊不贏就輸，游擊隊不輸就贏。

當時距離西貢陷落還有六年時間，但這位傳奇政治家當時已經發現了支配多次游擊戰的原則，包括他幫助結束的那場游擊戰。

這一原則——按照傳統觀點——解釋了以色列是如何在黎巴嫩被擊敗的，以及美國及其盟友如何不僅在越南被擊敗，而且在古巴之前以及現在在阿富汗被擊敗。

在所有這些情況下，傳統智慧都是錯誤的。

展開從阿富汗撤退的美國的確是令人沮喪的。

美國正在撤退，而20 年前被推翻的伊斯蘭民兵組織塔利班正在填補真空。政府軍士氣低落。數千人放棄了他們的前哨和裝備。一些指揮官與塔利班達成協議。

阿富汗軍隊似乎越來越無關緊要。由於害怕塔利班的報復，數以千計的美國軍方助手正爭先恐後地奔向他們祖國的出口——更有野心的人尋求通往美國的道路，其他人則前往鄰國塔吉克斯坦。美國在建設和裝備阿富汗軍隊方面的投資正在付之東流。

所以是的，如果這一切都讓人想起南越公民互相推擠登上西貢大使館頂上的最後一架美國直升機，或者南黎巴嫩軍隊的軍官沖向以色列邊境圍欄的記憶，那是因為情況確實非常多。類似。

美國總統喬拜登已將 9 月 11 日標記為撤軍完成的最後期限，也就是引髮美國領導的阿富汗入侵的恐怖襲擊發生 20 週年。

奧德賽將因此最終結束，但結束的感覺不會抵消失敗的感覺，尤其是從 20 年的事後來看。

2001 年秋天，美國在戰略、軍事和政治上都犯了大錯。

在戰略上，美國在兩個完全不同的領域打了兩場戰爭。這是一種即使是超級大國也必須設法避免的過度擴張。在軍事上，美國低估了阿富汗陡峭山脈為其游擊隊提供的地形優勢。在政治上，美國能夠重新規劃另一個縣政府的假設被證明是沒有根據的。

所有這一切的後果是超過 2,400 名美國人死亡，超過 450 名其他盟軍死亡，超過 20,000 名美軍受傷，總成本約為 8,000 億美元，所有這些都是為了看到美國訓練的軍隊解體，而塔利班重返阿富汗的掌舵人。

那麼，我們怎麼能說這不是失敗呢？

要了解游擊隊的最終失敗，只需看看越南。

是的，在 1974 年，北越似乎勝利了，看到南越崩潰，美國軍隊撤退，所有外國大使館都搬到河內。然而，在接下來的十年裡，北方為之奮鬥的事業——共產主義——瓦解了。

隨著其指導思想崩潰，表面上勝利的越南政府跪下，乞求當時的總統比爾克林頓在華盛頓和河內建立外交關係。

隨著蘇聯的消失和東方集團的消失，前游擊隊失去了主要的貿易夥伴，並羞怯地承認，沒有山姆大叔，他們就沒有未來。山姆大叔同意了，現在是資本主義越南的朋友。那麼誰贏了？

是的，正如基辛格所觀察到的，游擊隊具有軍事優勢。然而，一旦到了從戰爭走向和平的時候，游擊隊就失敗了，並與他們聲稱已經擊敗的敵人握手言和。

同樣的事情也發生在古巴。

是的，菲德爾·卡斯特羅 (Fidel Castro) 的游擊隊推翻了腐敗的富爾亨西奧·巴蒂斯塔 (Fulgencio Batista)，儘管他有美國的支持。然而，一代人之後，事實證明，在更大的戰爭，思想戰爭中，古巴被擊敗了，因為卡斯特羅本人將企業所有權、企業信貸和被妖魔化的美元的使用合法化。

同樣的事情也發生在黎巴嫩。

是的，以色列撤退了，是的，一些黎巴嫩人告訴自己，與埃及、敘利亞、約旦和巴勒斯坦人不同，他們擊敗了猶太國家。正是這種妄想使古巴和越南領導人認為他們打敗了美國，其後果現在也出現了同樣的怪誕。

表面上勝利的黎巴嫩是一個屈膝的國家。司機在加油站外排隊等候數小時，電力經常下降數小時，人們說他們不吃飯，政府的外匯儲備蒸發了，英鎊現在每美元交易價格超過 15,000，在過去兩年中貶值僅佔其價值的 90%。

這是一個國家的後果，就像他們那個時代的古巴和越南一樣，他們發明了一個敵人，並將其帶入了一場他們的社會和經濟永遠無法承受的戰爭。阿富汗現在正朝著同樣的方向發展，這是否值得懷疑？

是的，美國在阿富汗犯了錯誤。建立外國政府是錯誤的，讓常規軍隊對抗游擊隊是錯誤的，同時在喀布爾和巴格達作戰也是錯誤的。

但入侵也有成就。阿富汗人拒絕驅逐的基地組織與其領導人一起被擊潰，美國向世界表明，如果受到攻擊，它會報復，它的許多盟友都站在一邊。

是的，塔利班會說他們驅逐了美國，很容易忘記美國從來沒有打算統治阿富汗。它來到那裡是為了阻止伊斯蘭主義對阿富汗的攻擊，而不是對全人類的攻擊，而這一目標實現了。

至於阿富汗本身，它必須自己與癌症作鬥爭。這就是古巴人在約翰·肯尼迪的豬灣慘敗之後學到的，這就是黎巴嫩人在梅納赫姆·貝京的加利利和平行動之後學到的，這就是阿富汗人在他們悲慘的國家從黑暗時代出現時學到的美國離開後，它將進入早晨。

Amotz Asa-El 的暢銷書 Mitzad Ha'ivelet Ha'yehudi（猶太愚蠢遊行，Yediot Sefarim，2019 年）是一部從古代到現代的猶太人領導權的修正主義歷史。

The US war in Afghanistan is over, but who won?

MIDDLE ISRAEL: The future will begin the morning after America’s departure, and the Taliban, like the guerrillas of Cuba, Lebanon and Vietnam, will fail its test.

By AMOTZ ASA-EL

JULY 8, 2021 21:48

A US SOLDIER takes cover during a controlled detonation in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province in 2012.

(photo credit: SHAMIL ZHUMATOV / REUTERS)

Advertisement

Conventional armies lose if they don’t win, and guerrillas win if they don’t lose, said Henry Kissinger.

The fall of Saigon was six years away at the time, but the legendary statesman detected already then the principle that governed multiple guerrilla wars, including the one he helped end.

That principle – goes the conventional wisdom – explains how Israel was defeated in Lebanon and how the US and its allies were defeated not only in Vietnam, but before that in Cuba, and now in Afghanistan.

Well in all these cases, conventional wisdom is wrong.

THE UNFOLDING American retreat from Afghanistan is indeed frustrating.

America is retreating, and the Taliban, the Islamist militia America dethroned 20 years ago, is filling the vacuum. Government troops are demoralized. Thousands abandoned their outposts and equipment. Some commanders struck deals with the Taliban.

The Afghan Army seems increasingly irrelevant. Fearing the Taliban’s retribution, thousands of the American military’s helpers are scrambling to their homeland’s exit doors – the more ambitious seeking paths to America, others to neighboring Tajikistan. The American investment in building and equipping the Afghan Army is going down the drain.

So yes, if all this brings to mind memories of South Vietnamese citizens pushing each other to climb the last American helicopter atop the embassy in Saigon, or the South Lebanese Army’s officers rushing to Israel’s border fence, it is because the situations are indeed very much analogous.

US President Joe Biden has marked September 11 as the deadline for the withdrawal’s completion, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that triggered Afghanistan’s American-led invasion.

The odyssey will thus finally end, but the sense of closure will not offset the sense of defeat, especially when viewed with 20 years’ hindsight.

Punched out of the blue in its stomach and nose, the US made big mistakes, strategically, militarily and politically, in autumn 2001.

Strategically, the US went to two wars in two entirely different arenas. It was an overstretch that even superpowers must try to avoid. Militarily, the US underplayed the topographical advantage Afghanistan’s steep mountains would grant its guerrillas. And politically, the assumption that America was in a position to reprogram another county’s government proved unfounded.

The aftermath of all this is more than 2,400 American fatalities, more than 450 other allied fatalities, more than 20,000 American troops wounded, and some $800 billion in overall costs, all in order to see the American-trained army unravel while the Taliban return to Afghanistan’s helm.

How, then, can we say that this is not defeat?

TO UNDERSTAND guerrilla’s ultimate defeat just look to Vietnam.

Yes, in 1974, North Vietnam seemed victorious, having seen South Vietnam collapse, the American military retreat and all foreign embassies relocate to Hanoi. However, by the following decade the cause for which the North fought – Communism – unraveled itself.

And with its guiding idea collapsed, the ostensibly victorious Vietnamese government went down on its knees, begging then-president Bill Clinton to establish diplomatic ties between Washington and Hanoi.

With the Soviet Union gone and the East Bloc vanished, the former guerrillas lost their main trade partners, and sheepishly conceded they would have no future without Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam agreed, and is now a capitalist Vietnam’s friend. So who won?

Yes, as Kissinger observed, the guerrillas had a military edge. However, once it came time to proceed from war to peace, the guerrillas failed, and went hat in hand to the enemy they claimed to have defeated.

The same thing happened with Cuba.

Yes, Fidel Castro’s guerrillas deposed the corrupt Fulgencio Batista, despite his American backing. However, a generation later it turned out that in the bigger war, the war of ideas, Cuba was trounced, as Castro himself legalized business ownership, entrepreneurial credit and usage of the demonized dollar.

The same thing happened in Lebanon.

Yes, Israel retreated, and yes, some Lebanese told themselves that they – unlike Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and the Palestinians – defeated the Jewish state. It was the same delusional thinking that made Cuban and Vietnamese leaders think they defeated America, and its aftermath now emerges similarly grotesque.

The ostensibly victorious Lebanon is a country on its knees. Drivers spend hours in snaking lines outside gas stations, electricity routinely falls for hours, people say they are skipping meals, the government’s foreign currency reserves have evaporated, and the pound, now trading at more than 15,000 per dollar, lost over the past two years alone 90% of its value.

This is the aftermath of a country whose leaders, like Cuba’s and Vietnam’s in their times, invented an enemy and took it to a war that their society and economy could never afford. Is there any doubt Afghanistan is now headed the same way?

Yes, America made mistakes in Afghanistan. It was wrong to install a foreign-powered government, it was wrong to pit a conventional army against guerrillas, and it was wrong to fight simultaneously in Kabul and Baghdad.

But the invasion also had achievements. Al-Qaeda, which the Afghans refused to evict, was routed along with its leader, and America showed the world that if attacked it will retaliate, with its many allies at its side.

Yes, the Taliban will say they evicted America, conveniently forgetting that America never meant to rule Afghanistan. It came there to stem Islamism’s assault not on Afghanistan, but on all of mankind, and that goal was achieved.

As for Afghanistan itself, it will have to fight its cancer by itself. That is what the Cubans learned after John F. Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs fiasco, that is what the Lebanese learned after Menachem Begin’s Operation Peace for Galilee, and that is what the Afghanis will have learned by the time their sorry country emerges from the dark era it will enter the morning after America leaves.

Amotz Asa-El’s bestselling Mitzad Ha’ivelet Ha’yehudi (The Jewish March of Folly, Yediot Sefarim, 2019) is a revisionist history of the Jewish people’s leadership from antiquity to modernity.

民兵指揮官急於援助阿富汗軍隊對抗塔利班

上週，塔利班佔領了與伊朗、塔吉克斯坦、土庫曼斯坦、中國和巴基斯坦等五個國家接壤的地區，外國軍隊結束了他們長達兩年的干預。

通過路透

2021 年 7 月 9 日 06:21

2019 年 5 月 30 日，塔利班首席談判代表毛拉·阿卜杜勒·加尼·巴拉達爾（前）在俄羅斯莫斯科與阿富汗高級政客進行和平談判後離開

（圖片來源：路透社/EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA）

廣告

當地官員周五表示，一名擁有私人民兵的著名反塔利班指揮官將幫助阿富汗軍隊打擊塔利班叛亂分子，以奪回對阿富汗西部部分地區的控制，包括與伊朗的邊境口岸。

赫拉特省的一個關鍵地區是數万少數什葉派哈扎拉人的家園，週四被強硬的遜尼派穆斯林叛亂組織的戰士佔領，這是他們驅逐阿富汗軍隊並控制關鍵邊境城鎮和貿易路線戰略的一部分.

前部長穆罕默德·伊斯梅爾·汗和 2009 年塔利班襲擊的倖存者是北方聯盟的重要成員，該聯盟的民兵在 2001 年幫助美軍推翻了塔利班。

一位被稱為赫拉特之獅的塔吉克斯坦資深指揮官伊斯梅爾汗計劃舉行一次集會，準備他的部隊與塔利班作戰並捍衛他在赫拉特的權力基地，一名官員說，並補充說幾位前反塔利班指揮官正在支持過度緊張的阿富汗軍隊保衛西部和北部的邊界。

塔利班和阿富汗政府官員無法立即分享有關赫拉特激烈衝突的細節。

訪問莫斯科的塔利班政治成員向俄羅斯官員保證，他們承諾即使在外國軍隊最終撤離後，也允許外國大使館和援助團體在阿富汗開展活動。

“現在在 IEA（阿富汗伊斯蘭酋長國）控制下的所有邊界將保持開放和功能。我們向所有人保證，我們不會針對外交官、大使館和領事館、非政府組織及其工作人員，”塔利班發言人 Suhail Shaheen 說。在一條推文中。

儘管該國大部分地區被塔利班佔領，但美國總統喬拜登強烈捍衛他將軍隊撤出阿富汗的決定，稱阿富汗人民必須決定自己的未來，並且他不會將另一代美國人交給 20 年。戰爭。

拜登將美軍最終撤出的目標日期定為 8 月 31 日，減去大約 650 名士兵，為美國駐喀布爾大使館提供安全保障。

長期以來對美國和北約在阿富汗的軍事存在持懷疑態度的拜登表示，美國早就實現了 2001 年入侵該國的最初理由：剷除基地組織武裝分子並防止對美國的另一次襲擊，例如那個是在 2001 年 9 月 11 日發動的。那次襲擊的策劃者奧薩馬·本·拉登於 2011 年在鄰國巴基斯坦被美國軍事小組擊斃。

阿富汗安全官員表示，塔利班武裝分子週四奪取了阿富汗西部一個重要地區的控制權，該地區包括一個與伊朗的主要過境點，因為伊斯蘭叛亂分子繼續在全國范圍內迅速推進軍事行動。

上週，塔利班佔領了與伊朗、塔吉克斯坦、土庫曼斯坦、中國和巴基斯坦五國接壤的地區，外國勢力結束了長達兩年的干預，國內安全局勢惡化。

在與烏茲別克斯坦接壤的巴爾赫省北部，塔利班武裝分子與阿富汗政府軍之間的激戰也在進行中。

兩名不願透露姓名的高級安全官員告訴路透社，位於赫拉特省與伊朗的伊斯蘭 Qala 過境點已落入塔利班之手，阿富汗安全和海關官員已越過邊界逃離。

伊朗官方阿拉伯語服務 Al Alamam TV 也報導說，阿富汗士兵為了逃離塔利班，通過過境點進入伊朗領土。

阿富汗內政部發言人塔里克·阿里安否認了這些報導，並表示過境點仍在政府軍的控制之下。

路透社致電省長辦公室和警方均無人接聽。

另一名安全官員說，塔利班武裝分子未經戰鬥就佔領了赫拉特的五個地區。

本週早些時候，隨著塔利班佔領了與中國和巴基斯坦接壤的北部巴達赫尚省的大部分地區，超過 1,000 名阿富汗安全人員逃往塔吉克斯坦。

西部省份的衝突

國防部表示，阿富汗政府軍周四早些時候奪回了對西部省份巴德吉斯省首府 Qala-e-Naw 的控制權，該地區周三遭到塔利班襲擊。

該部表示，數百名士兵被部署到該地區，並補充說，在 Qala-e-Naw 的邊緣，戰鬥仍在繼續，叛亂分子早些時候佔領了該市的主要政府大樓，包括警察總部。

國防部發言人法瓦德·阿曼說：“這座城市完全（回到）在我們的控制之下，我們正在該市郊區對塔利班開展行動。”

該部表示，有 69 名塔利班戰士在 Qala-e-Naw 邊緣的行動中喪生，這是叛亂分子在最近的攻勢中進入的第一個主要省會。

巴德吉斯省的其餘部分在塔利班手中。西方安全官員說，塔利班已經佔領了阿富汗的 100 多個地區。塔利班表示，他們在 34 個省擁有 200 多個地區，佔該國的一半以上。主要城市仍處於政府控制之下。

叛亂分子數週以來一直在奪取領土，但隨著美國撤離其主要的阿富汗基地，他們加快了攻勢，有效地結束了始於 2001 年推翻伊斯蘭塔利班政府的干預。

塔利班在北部省份取得的進展尤其引人注目，在那裡他們長期以來一直受到阻撓。

政府與叛亂分子之間的停頓和談仍然沒有結果。塔利班代表團週三訪問了伊朗，週四在莫斯科。

週四，總統喬拜登為美軍撤出阿富汗的決定辯護，他表示，他不認為塔利班會接管整個國家，他相信阿富汗軍隊。

“我們正在結束美國最長的戰爭，”他說。

Militia commanders rush to aid Afghan forces against Taliban

In the last week, the Taliban have overrun areas bordering five countries - Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China and Pakistan - as foreign forces end their two-decade intervention.

By REUTERS

JULY 9, 2021 06:21

Taliban chief negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (front) leaves after peace talks with Afghan senior politicians in Moscow, Russia May 30, 2019

(photo credit: REUTERS/EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA)

Advertisement

A prominent anti-Taliban commander with private militia will help Afghan forces in their fight against Taliban insurgents to claw back control over parts of western Afghanistan including a border crossing with Iran, local officials said on Friday.

A key district in Herat province, home to tens of thousands of minority Shi’ite Hazaras was captured by fighters of the hardline Sunni Muslim insurgent group on Thursday as part of their strategy to oust Afghan forces and hold sway over critical border towns and trade routes.

A former minister Mohammad Ismail Khan and a survivor of a Taliban attack in 2009 was a key member of the Northern Alliance whose militia helped US forces in toppling the Taliban in 2001.

Known as the Lion of Herat, Ismail Khan a veteran Tajik commander is scheduled to hold a gathering to prepare his forces to fight against the Taliban and defend his power base in Herat, an official said, adding that several erstwhile anti-Taliban commanders were supporting the over-stretched Afghan forces to defend borders in the West and the North.

Taliban and Afghan government officials were not immediately available to share details about the intense clashes in Herat.

Political members of the Taliban visiting Moscow assured Russian officials of their commitment to allow foreign embassies and aid groups to operate in Afghanistan even after the final exit of foreign forces.

"All borders now in IEA (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) control will remain open and functional. We assure all, we are not going to target diplomats, embassies and consulates, NGOs and their staff," said Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban in a tweet.

US President Joe Biden has strongly defended his decision to pull military forces out of Afghanistan despite large parts of country being overrun by the Taliban saying the Afghan people must decide their own future and that he would not consign another generation of Americans to the 20-year war.

Biden set a target date of Aug. 31 for the final withdrawal of US forces, minus about 650 troops to provide security for the US embassy in Kabul.

A long-time skeptic of the US and NATO military presence in Afghanistan, Biden said the United States had long ago achieved its original rationale for invading the country in 2001: to root out al-Qaeda militants and prevent another attack on the United States like the one launched on Sept.11, 2001. The mastermind of that attack, Osama bin Laden, was killed by a US military team in neighboring Pakistan in 2011.

Taliban fighters seized control on Thursday of a key district in western Afghanistan that includes a major border crossing with Iran, Afghan security officials said, as the Islamist insurgents continued their rapid military advances around the country.

In the last week, the Taliban have overrun areas bordering five countries - Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China and Pakistan - as foreign forces end their two-decade intervention and the domestic security situation deteriorates.

Pitched battles between Taliban fighters and Afghan government forces were also underway in the northern Balkh province bordering Uzbekistan.

Two senior security officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the Islam Qala border crossing with Iran, located in Herat province, had fallen to the Taliban and that Afghan security and customs officials had fled across the border.

Al Alalam TV, Iran's official Arabic language service, also reported that Afghan soldiers had entered Iranian territory via the border crossing to escape the Taliban.

Tariq Arian, spokesman for the Afghan interior ministry, denied the reports and said the border crossing was still under the control of government forces.

Calls by Reuters to the offices of the provincial governor and police went unanswered.

Another security official said Taliban fighters had seized five districts in Herat without a fight.

Earlier this week, more than 1,000 Afghan security personnel fled into Tajikistan as the Taliban captured most of the northern province of Badakhshan, which also borders China and Pakistan.

CLASHES IN WESTERN PROVINCE

The defense ministry said Afghan government forces earlier on Thursday wrested back control of Qala-e-Naw, capital of the western province of Badghis, which had been stormed by the Taliban on Wednesday.

Hundreds of troops were deployed to the region, the ministry said, adding that fighting was continuing on the fringes of Qala-e-Naw, where insurgents had earlier seized key government buildings in the city including police headquarters.

"The city is fully (back) under our control, and we are conducting operations against the Taliban on the outskirts of the city," Defence Ministry spokesman Fawad Aman said.

The ministry said 69 Taliban fighters were killed in operations on the edge of Qala-e-Naw - the first major provincial capital entered by the insurgents in their latest offensive.

The rest of Badghis province is in Taliban hands. Western security officials say the Taliban have captured more than 100 districts in Afghanistan. The Taliban say they hold over 200 districts in 34 provinces, comprising over half the country. Major cities remain under government control.

The insurgents have been gaining territory for weeks, but accelerated their thrust as the United States vacated its main Afghan base, effectively ending an intervention that began with the ousting of the Islamist Taliban government in 2001.

Taliban advances have been especially dramatic in northern provinces, where they had long been kept at bay.

Stop-start peace talks between the government and insurgents remain inconclusive. Taliban delegations visited Iran on Wednesday and were in Moscow on Thursday.

Defending the decision to pull U.S. forces out of Afghanistan, President Joe Biden said on Thursday he did not expect the Taliban to take over the whole country and that he trusted the Afghan military.

"We're ending America's longest war," he said.

官方消息：約旦現在是伊朗的盟友-意見

約旦國王相信向什葉派敞開大門將使他的國家免於這些危機。但正如我們所說，這將是一把雙刃劍。

作者：EDY COHEN

2021 年 7 月 8 日 20:18

約旦國王阿布杜拉二世五月在安曼的一次會議上聆聽。

（照片來源：ALEX BRANDON/POOL VIA REUTERS）

廣告

2021年6月27日，約旦國王阿卜杜拉二世在巴格達會見了伊拉克總理穆斯塔法·卡迪米和埃及總統阿卜杜勒·法塔赫·塞西。三者都宣布了一項合作協議，通過管道將伊拉克石油從伊拉克輸送到約旦再到埃及，然後從那里通過地中海出口到歐洲。該協議是阿卜杜拉國王與伊朗的“最親密的協議”。現在是正式的：約旦與伊朗結盟，因為伊拉克實際上在伊朗的控制之下。伊拉克政府是伊朗控制的傀儡國家。通過約旦向歐洲出口伊拉克石油只是出口伊朗控制的石油，伊朗通過其什葉派民兵統治伊拉克並控制該國的資源。

這件事發生一天后，約旦官方媒體開始宣傳與伊朗的全面金融合作。這對約旦公眾和 40 年前當時的總統安瓦爾薩達特宣布與以色列和平的埃及公眾一樣震驚。

阿卜杜拉國王的顧問、新任命的“國王顧問委員會”成員 Zaid Nabulsi 告訴媒體，“伊朗的宗教旅遊將為約旦注入活力。” 政府控制的媒體網站開始談論大約一百萬預期的宗教遊客。這些人打算參觀 120 公里外的南部村莊 Kerak。安曼以南（75 英里），參觀賈法爾·伊本·阿布·塔勒布 (Jaffar Ibn Abu Taleb) 的神殿。除此之外，約旦和阿拉伯媒體開始談論伊朗在喀拉克建造機場的提議。

賈法爾·伊本·阿布·塔勒布是先知穆罕默德的堂兄，他在克拉克與拜占庭帝國的戰鬥中陣亡。他的神殿被認為是什葉派信仰最神聖的地方。儘管如此，遜尼派信仰普遍禁止參觀墳墓進行禮拜，並認為這是對上帝不忠的行為，因此神殿大多關閉。儘管如此，國王本人還是進行了訪問，以促進和幫助使這些未來的訪問合法化

它走得更遠，通過君主制支持的運動，甚至促進什葉派信仰本身。這就是伊朗在敘利亞和伊拉克所做的。這正是這一切的開始。

一位以與哈希姆君主穆阿法克·馬哈登 (Mouafaq Mahadeen) 關係密切而聞名的約旦記者在國王訪問後的兩個晚上出現在電視上，他說“黎巴嫩 80% 的什葉派都來自喀拉克。” 約旦媒體網站重申，伊朗正在考慮在克拉克建造機場。舊新聞再次浮出水面，稱伊朗承諾向該國免費供應石油 30 年

7 月 3 日，約旦電視台播出了一個節目，演講者聲稱歡迎伊朗人以遊客身份進入約旦並沒有任何危險。這是為了回應該國巴勒斯坦佔多數的領導人以及貝都因土著少數民族的領導人發出的相互威脅和警告。兩人都於 7 月 1 日向國王發出信息，警告他不要將伊朗帶入約旦。正常情況下，雙方都不敢批評國王，更別提警告他了。

毫無疑問，由於新冠病毒、腐敗、管理不善、缺乏自然資源（包括缺水），約旦正遭受嚴重的經濟困難。約旦國王相信向什葉派敞開大門將使他的國家免於這些危機。但正如我們所說，這將是一把雙刃劍，用不了多久約旦就會像黎巴嫩、敘利亞、伊拉克和也門一樣陷入黑暗。至於以色列，則擔心在什葉派控制下的約旦邊境地區開闢地獄戰線，派遣無人機，甚至挖掘隧道。

It's official: Jordan is now allies with Iran - opinion

The king of Jordan believes that opening the door to the Shi’ites will save his country from these crises. But as we have said, this will be a double-edged sword.

By EDY COHEN

JULY 8, 2021 20:18

JORDAN’S KING ABDULLAH II listens during a meeting in Amman in May.

(photo credit: ALEX BRANDON/POOL VIA REUTERS)

Advertisement

On 27 June 2021, Jordan’s King Abdullah II met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Baghdad. All three announced an agreement to cooperate on transporting Iraqi oil through pipelines from Iraq to Jordan to Egypt, from where it will be exported to Europe through the Mediterranean. This agreement is King Abdullah’s “coming out of the closest” with Iran. It is now official: Jordan is allied with Iran because Iraq is actually under Iran’s control. The Iraqi government is a puppet state controlled by Iran. Exporting Iraqi oil through Jordan to Europe is simply exporting oil controlled by Iran, which rules Iraq through its Shi’ite militias and controls the country’s resources.

One day after this happened, Jordanian state media began promoting full financial cooperation with Iran. This is as shocking to the Jordanian public as it was to the Egyptian public 40 years ago when then-president Anwar Sadat announced peace with Israel.

King Abdullah’s adviser, Zaid Nabulsi, a member of the newly appointed “king’s advisory board,” told the media, “Iranian religious tourism will breathe life back into Jordan.” Government-controlled media sites began speaking about one million expected religious tourists. Those are meant to visit the southern village of Kerak, 120 km. (75 miles) south of Amman, to visit the shrine of Jaffar Ibn Abu Taleb. In addition to that, the Jordanian and Arab press began speaking of an Iranian proposal to build an airport in Kerak.

Jaffar Ibn Abu Taleb was the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin who died fighting against the Byzantine Empire in Kerak. His shrine is considered most holy to the Shi’ite faith. Nonetheless, the Sunni faith generally bans visiting graves for worship and considers it an act of infidelity toward God, hence the shrine is mostly closed. Nonetheless, the king himself went for a visit to promote and help legitimize these future visits

It went further, with a monarchy-supported campaign to even promote the Shi’ite faith itself. This is what Iran did in both Syria and Iraq. This is exactly how it all began.

A Jordanian journalist known for his close ties to the Hashemite monarch, Mouafaq Mahadeen, appeared on TV two nights after the king’s visit and said “80% of Lebanon’s Shi’ites are originally from Kerak.” Jordanian media sites repeated that Iran was considering building an airport in Kerak. Old news stories resurfaced of Iran allegedly promising to supply the kingdom with free oil for 30 years

On July 3, Jordanian TV broadcast a show in which the speakers claimed it was not at all dangerous to welcome the Iranians into Jordan as tourists. This was in response to mutual threats and warnings issued by the leaders of the Palestinian majority of the country as well as the Bedouin native minority. Both issued messages to the king on July 1 warning him against bringing Iran into Jordan. In a normal situation, both sides would not dare criticize the king, let alone send him a warning.

There is no doubt that Jordan is suffering from severe financial hardship due to COVID, corruption, mismanagement, a lack of natural resources including shortage of water. The king of Jordan believes that opening the door to the Shi’ites will save his country from these crises. But as we have said, this will be a double-edged sword, and it will not take long for Jordan to sink into darkness just like Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen have. As for Israel, there is a fear of opening a front from hell, sending drones, or even digging tunnels in the areas bordering Jordan, which will be under the control of the Shi’ites.

Dr. Edy Cohen grew up in Lebanon and served for 15 years in the Israeli intelligence community. He is a researcher at the BESA Center who specializes in inter-Arab relations, the Arab-Israeli conflict, terrorism and Jewish communities in the Arab world. He is author of The Holocaust in the Eyes of Mahmoud Abbas (Hebrew).

阿維格多·利伯曼 (Avigdor Liberman) 反對極端正統派的舉動使聯盟沸騰

削減日托補貼引發了 Haredi 社區的憤怒，他們的政黨誓言報復；目前尚不清楚此舉是否與其他聯盟成員充分協調

通過沙洛姆耶路莎米 今天，晚上 8:15

2021 年 6 月 3 日，阿維格多·利伯曼 (Avigdor Liberman) 出席了在耶路撒冷舉行的第 13 頻道新聞發布會。 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

財政部長阿維格多·利伯曼 (Avigdor Liberman) 削減對一些極端正統派的日托補貼的舉措讓他在搖搖欲墜的聯盟中的合作夥伴擔心他的行為可能會破壞他們取得的所有進展。

在政府成立僅三週後，利伯曼決定將極端正統派作為目標，這對他們傷害最大，並且在通過立法方面面臨持續壓力，這讓聯盟中的許多人感到不安。

週四，一位高級部長告訴以色列希伯來語姊妹網站《泰晤士報》Zman Yisrael：“我不懂利伯曼。我們承諾不會傷害極端正統派。貝內特和拉皮德都重複了一遍。他在做什麼？毀滅一切，甚至連他們加入聯盟的機會都沒有。”

“今天看來還很遙遠，”這位部長補充說，“但如果預算通過，政府穩定，總有一天可以與極端正統派對話。他們是反對派中唯一可以退出的部分。”

目前的聯盟跨越了來自右翼、中間、左翼和阿拉伯地區的八個政黨，並在以色列議會中佔據了微弱的多數。

它的許多成員都希望那些依賴大規模國家補貼為其社區提供資金的極端正統黨派可能會被誘惑加入聯盟以確保獲得資金。

但在周三，利伯曼宣布，從即將到來的學年，不工作的猶太學校學生將沒有資格為他們三歲以下的孩子享受有監督的補貼日托服務。該決定引起了極端正統派社區的憤怒，並看到了針對利伯曼的憤怒浪潮。

利伯曼的決定影響了大約 20,000 個極端正統派家庭；極端正統派聲稱此舉最終將使國家花費更多資金。

廣告

說明：耶路撒冷猶太學校的學生，2018 年 8 月 16 日。（Aharon Krohn/Flash90）

如果一個極端正統的女人代替她的丈夫工作，而他在猶太學校學習，現在被迫呆在家裡照顧小孩，國家最終將向這些家庭支付比補貼更高的失業救濟金，他們爭論。

利伯曼的同夥聲稱他實際上是在與黑市經濟作鬥爭，而且許多極端正統派實際上確實工作，但不在書本上，並且沒有在猶太學校全日制學習。或者，他們說，男人可以幫忙日托。

無論如何，反響很強烈。

“貝內特-利伯曼政府正在讓以色列的孩子挨餓，”沙斯分發的傳單上寫道。隸屬於聯合托拉猶太教 MK Yaakov Litzman 的東正教報紙 Hamodia 在其頭版將利伯曼稱為“惡意和破壞政府的財​​政部長”。

在 UTJ MK Meir Porush 的 Hamashber 論文中，一個大的紅色標題寫道：“財政部長反對極端正統公眾的運動仍在繼續。” 另一份極端正統派的報紙 Shaharit 報導了 Liberman 的“可惡的法令”。

一些漫畫仍然更具挑釁性。在其中之一，在 Yated Ne'eman 報紙上，有人看到 Liberman 用獨輪車將極端正統派的幼兒推到垃圾填埋場——引用了 Liberman 先前反對極端正統派的言論——並且看到 Bennett 看著他說：我會保護政府不受任何極端正統派的傷害。”

廣告

在第二部卡通片中，利伯曼從一個飢餓的極端正統派孩子身上拉出一條麵包，一篇文章寫道：“兒童襲擊者，摩爾多瓦利伯曼再次出擊。” 利伯曼此前曾因在 1999 年襲擊一名據稱傷害他兒子的 12 歲男孩而被定罪。

極端正統派現在將在每一個可能的角落尋求報復，包括瞄準利伯曼的盟友。

週四，波拉什、利茲曼和聯合托拉猶太教領袖 MK Moshe Gafni 發誓要確保耶路撒冷市長 Moshe Lion 在兩年半任期結束時不會再次當選，因為他與利伯曼關係密切。如果沒有極端正統派的支持，萊昂是不會當選的，但現在他們打算尋找另一位候選人來接替他的位置。

與此同時，利伯曼正在為自己的利益工作。他的選民支持最新舉措；長期以來，他一直致力於在以色列更公平地分配負擔，並承諾試圖讓極端正統派人士納稅並在軍隊中服役。

但政府和聯盟正在付出代價。在這幾週內，極端正統派已經成為以色列議會中最堅定的反對派力量，而現在利伯曼正在為他們提供更多的能量，在即將到來的議會政治鬥爭之前。

據政治消息人士透露，納夫塔利·貝內特總理對利伯曼的宣布並不滿意，目前還不清楚是否與他協調。聯盟主席和 Yamina MK Idit Silman 公開反對這一決定。然而，利伯曼的同夥聲稱，他是按照財政部專業機構制定的有序計劃進行的，而這一切都為貝內特所知。

納夫塔利·貝內特總理於 2021 年 7 月 4 日在耶路撒冷總理辦公室主持每週內閣會議。 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

對利伯曼的批評也來自聯盟的左翼。Meretz 的衛生部長 Nitzan Horowitz 和工黨的 Emily Moati 和 Naama Lazimi 以及 Meretz 的 Gaby Lasky 對終止補貼的決定進行了抨擊。

廣告

MK Mossi Raz (Meretz) 告訴 Zman Yisrael：“Liberman 鼓勵極端正統派去工作，這很好，但你不能以這種方式為他們削減一切，傷害兒童。”

Avigdor Liberman’s moves against the ultra-Orthodox have the coalition seething

Cuts to daycare subsidies spark outrage among Haredi communities, vows of revenge from their parties; it’s not clear move was fully coordinated with other coalition members

By SHALOM YERUSHALMI Today, 8:15 pm

Avigdor Liberman attends a Channel 13 news conference in Jerusalem on June 3, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman’s move to slash daycare subsidies for some ultra-Orthodox has his partners in the shaky coalition worried that his actions could torpedo all the progress they have made.

Liberman’s decision to dramatically target the ultra-Orthodox where it hurts them the most, just three weeks after the government’s formation and as it faces ongoing strains in getting legislation passed, upset many in the coalition.

A senior minister told Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister-site, on Thursday: “I don’t understand Liberman. We promised not to harm the ultra-Orthodox. Both Bennett and Lapid repeated it. What is he doing? Destroying everything, even the chance that they may enter the coalition.”

“Today it seems far off,” the minister added, “but if the budget passes and the government stabilizes, it will be possible to talk to the ultra-Orthodox one day. They are the only segment in the opposition that can drop out.”

The current coalition spans eight parties from the right, center, left and Arab sector and commands a razor-thin majority in the Knesset.

Many of its members have hoped that the ultra-Orthodox parties, who are reliant on large-scale state subsidies for their communities, could be tempted to join the coalition to secure access to funds.

But on Wednesday, Liberman announced that from the coming school year yeshiva students that do not work would not be eligible for subsidized supervised daycare for their children up to the age of three. The decision caused outrage in the ultra-Orthodox community and saw waves of anger directed toward Liberman.

Liberman’s decision hits some 20,000 ultra-Orthodox families; the ultra-Orthodox claim that the move will ultimately cost the state more money.

Illustrative: Students in a Jerusalem yeshiva, August 16, 2018. (Aharon Krohn/Flash90)

If an ultra-Orthodox woman who works instead of her husband, while he studies in a yeshiva, is now compelled to stay at home and take care of the small children, the state will wind up paying these families higher unemployment benefits than the subsidies, they argue.

Liberman’s associates claim that he is actually fighting the black market economy, and that many of the ultra-Orthodox actually do work, but off the books, and do not study in the yeshiva full-time. Alternatively, they say, the men could help out with the daycare.

Regardless, the reactions were stark.

“The Bennett-Liberman government is starving the children of Israel,” read leaflets distributed by Shas. The Orthodox newspaper Hamodia, affiliated with United Torah Judaism MK Yaakov Litzman, branded Liberman on its front page “the finance minister of the malice and destruction government.”

In UTJ MK Meir Porush’s Hamashber paper, a large red headline read: “The finance minister’s campaign against the ultra-Orthodox public continues.” Another ultra-Orthodox paper, Shaharit, reported on Liberman’s “hateful decrees.”

Some caricatures were still more provocative. In one, in the Yated Ne’eman newspaper, Liberman is seen wheeling ultra-Orthodox toddlers in a wheelbarrow to a landfill — in a reference to previous remarks by Liberman against the ultra-Orthodox — and Bennett is seen looking at him, saying “I will protect the government from any harm to the ultra-Orthodox.”

ADVERTISEMENT

In a second cartoon, Liberman is seen pulling a loaf of bread from a hungry ultra-Orthodox child, and an article reads, “Child assaulter, Moldovan Liberman strikes again.” Liberman had previously been convicted of assaulting a 12-year-old boy in 1999 who allegedly harmed his son.

The ultra-Orthodox will now seek revenge at every possible corner, including targeting Liberman’s allies.

On Thursday, Porush, Litzman and United Torah Judaism leader MK Moshe Gafni vowed to ensure that Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion will not be re-elected when his term ends in two and a half years, because he is close to Liberman. Lion would not have been elected without the support of the ultra-Orthodox, but now they intend to find another candidate in his place.

Liberman, meanwhile, is working in his own interest. His voters support the latest move; he has long campaigned for a more equitable distribution of the burden in Israel, with promises to try and get the ultra-Orthodox to pay taxes and serve in the military.

But the government and the coalition are paying a price. The ultra-Orthodox have emerged in these weeks as the most determined opposition force in the Knesset, and now Liberman is giving them more energy, ahead of upcoming political battles in the Knesset.

According to political sources, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was not happy with Liberman’s announcement, and it is unclear whether it was coordinated with him. Coalition chair and Yamina MK Idit Silman spoke out against the decision. Liberman’s associates, however, claim that he is proceeding according to an orderly plan drawn up by the professional bodies in the Finance Ministry, and that all this was known to Bennett.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett leads the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on July 4, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Criticism of Liberman also came from the left-wing of the coalition. Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz of Meretz and Labor’s Emily Moati and Naama Lazimi, as well as Meretz’s Gaby Lasky, attacked the decision to end the subsidy.

ADVERTISEMENT

MK Mossi Raz (Meretz) told Zman Yisrael: “Liberman encourages the ultra-Orthodox to go to work and that’s good, but you can’t cut everything for them in this way, and harm children.”

伊扎克·約瑟夫（Yitzhak Yosef）沒有資格成為以色列的首席拉比 - 意見

在 2023 年的下一次投票之前很久就改變選擇下一任首席拉比的製度和標準

作者：大衛·溫伯格

2021 年 7 月 8 日 20:52

以色列的塞法迪首席拉比Yitzhak Yosef正在橫衝直撞。他一次又一次地爆發出粗魯的長篇大論，攻擊以色列、世俗的以色列人和俄羅斯移民的潛在皈依者。他也野蠻宗教猶太復國主義以色列人，儘管他領導的機構是重生的猶太國家卓越的宗教猶太復國主義表達的機構。

Rabbi Yosef 最新的謾罵針對的是以色列主流的核心，這對於他的品味來說過於物質主義和褻瀆。事實上，“荷茲利亞”是如此糟糕，以至於相信猶太人不應該住在那裡。“生活在那種世俗環境中所造成的精神傷害比死亡更糟糕，”他說。

結果，Yosef paskened（發布了一項宗教法裁決）散居海外的虔誠猶太人如果意味著生活在這些非哈雷迪地區，則不應移居以色列。換句話說，與世俗的以色列人相比，住在 galut（散居地）更好。

約瑟夫在每週週六晚上的佈道中發表了這些令人髮指的言論，突尼斯傑爾巴島的首席拉比拉比海姆比坦坐在他旁邊。

“當我訪問突尼斯猶太社區時，我被要求決定傑爾巴島的猶太人是否應該移民到以色列，”約瑟夫說。“我告訴他們這取決於他們住在哪裡。如果他們打算住在極端正統的社區或 Kisse Rahamim [在突尼斯成立的 Bnei Brak 猶太教] 附近，那麼他們應該移民到以色列。但如果他們要住在荷茲利亞這樣的地方或另一個世俗地點……他們應該留在原地。”

首席拉比約瑟夫 (Rabbi Yosef) 所謂的“halachic 指導”不僅是對他所擔任的職位以及數百萬為這個國家而戰、納稅和擁有真正猶太身份的以色列人的侮辱，而且還違背了猶太教的核心教義。

塔木德和猶太法典規定，一個人應該始終努力生活在以色列的土地上，即使是在一個大多數人根本不是猶太人的城市！Yosef 的言論也與聖經預言和以色列國關於聚集所有流亡猶太人的存在理由背道而馳。

作為 rishon le-Zion（錫安的領袖），這是以色列塞法迪首席拉比的另一個正式頭銜。

十天前，拉比約瑟夫 (Rabbi Yosef) 對通識教育進行了咆哮，認為科學和數學是“胡說八道”，因此年輕人應該只在專門教授托拉科目的猶太學校學習。

“沒有什麼能比得上神聖的托拉。托拉高於一切，”約瑟夫在猶太教堂講話中說。“如果一個學生被問到：'你想去哪裡，是一所猶太學校（宗教研究與核心“世俗”課程一起教授的地方）還是一所神聖的猶​​太學校？[只教授塔木德和猶太法]，毫無疑問！在神聖的神學院學習。在那裡，他們在沒有世俗科目，沒有核心課程，沒有所有這些廢話的情況下學習托拉。他們坐下來學習妥拉。”

約瑟夫傲慢地吹噓道：“我自己，我學的是核心課程嗎？我完成學業了嗎？即使在今天，我也沒有畢業證書——沒有高中文憑，也沒有畢業證書。我錯過了什麼嗎？不。看看我升到的位置！所以[世俗研究]是無稽之談。最重要的是我們神聖的托拉。”

具有諷刺意味的是，每個人都知道 Yitzhak Yosef 成為以色列的首席拉比主要不是因為他的猶太教或一般知識，而是因為他的家族血統。他是拉比 Ovadia Yosef 的兒子，他是前“Rishon le-Zion”，確實是上個世紀最偉大的 halachic 學者之一。不幸的是，Ovadia Yosef 的兒子們都認為他們擁有塞法迪首席拉比職位和其他關鍵拉比職位的遺產。

這裡的恥辱在於，Yitzhak Yosef 實質上是在促進 haredi 對政府施捨和慈善捐款的依賴，而不是通過基礎教育促進自力更生和社區尊嚴。未能為極端正統派的男孩提供英語、數學、科學和良好公民方面的核心技能，再加上該社區的人口高速增長，意味著以色列 21 世紀以高科技為導向的經濟及其西方民主價值觀，正處於危險之中。

除此之外，約瑟夫的立場是反猶太人的。Haredi 對救濟的依賴是褻瀆神靈的。它遇到了數十個塔木德和權威的猶太法律來源，這些來源堅持認為成為好人的唯一方法就是誠實地支付工資。

“父親有義務為兒子行割禮，贖回長子，教他妥拉，娶他為妻，並教他職業，”塔木德（Kiddushin 29a）指示，以便他“不應該成為公共負擔。”

塔木德再次教導說：“人們最好通過工作維持生計，並相信上帝，而不是接受另一個人的甜蜜支持”（Eruvin 18b）。“一個學習托拉但同時支持自己的工匠在這個世界和來世都值得所有的榮譽和美好，”邁蒙尼德斷言（《塔木德律法》3:10）。

邁蒙尼德嚴厲警告說：“一個專業地研究托拉而沒有工作，靠慈善謀生的人——褻瀆上帝的名，羞辱托拉，熄滅宗教的火焰，傷害自己，並放棄他在來世的地位…… .. 沒有工作的托拉沒有持久力，不可避免地會把人帶入罪中，”他繼續說道。“正如拉比耶胡達在塔木德（同上）中所教導的那樣，沒有學習專業或工作的人最終會偷別人的東西。”

伊扎克·約瑟夫 (Yitzhak Yosef) 的世界觀在許多其他方面也極其短視。2020 年 1 月及此後多次，他猛烈攻擊非猶太的俄羅斯移民到以色列，以及那些尋求歡迎方式讓其中一些人皈依的東正教拉比。

Rabbi Yosef 經常在這方面發謾罵，例如稱來自俄羅斯的以色列 olim 為“每個星期天都去教堂的 goyim”；或貶低猶太機構官員，他們為諸如“尋求削弱以色列政治中哈雷迪政黨權力的宗教仇恨者”提供便利；或野蠻的猶太復國主義拉比，如什洛莫·瑞斯金、大衛·斯塔夫和大衛·巴斯作為“改革猶太人”，他們進行虛假的“傳送帶”轉換。

如果伊扎克·約瑟夫 (Yitzhak Yosef) 用更精緻、更少誹謗的術語來表達自己，人們或許可以認真對待他的批評。他可能有益地引發了關於將這麼多俄羅斯非猶太人帶到以色列的問題以及議會重新考慮回歸法中的“孫子條款”（這是問題的核心部分）的辯論。

如果伊扎克·約瑟夫 (Yitzhak Yosef) 用適合托拉真正宗教猶太人的語言表達自己，更不用說“首席”拉比人物了，並提供自己的建設性解決方案，而不僅僅是謾罵，那麼他可能會因尋求化解當前局勢構成的巨大人口和社會定時炸彈。但不是。鑑於他對以色列社會的黃疸看法，拉比約瑟夫除了對他軌道之外的每個人咆哮外，沒有其他策略。

相比之下，約瑟夫的對手，現任德系猶太人首席拉比以色列大衛劉，是一個對話和愉快的人。拉比劉也不是拉比革命者，也不是哈拉奇節制的強大力量，但仍然以高貴和自我克制的方式行事。

總而言之，Yosef 不斷的謾罵清楚表明他沒有資格成為以色列的首席拉比。出於對他在猶太法學方面的學術研究和對他的拉比資歷的適當尊重，不可避免的結論是他應該立即被替換。

最重要的是，在 2023 年的下一次投票之前很久，選擇以色列下一任首席拉比的製度以及成為首席拉比的標準必鬚髮生巨大變化。差異和富有成效的解決問題的方法應該是強制性的基準。讓以色列選舉國際化和通情達理的首席拉比。

作者是耶路撒冷戰略與安全研究所副所長，jiss.org.il。他的網站是davidmweinberg.com。這篇文章反映了他的個人觀點。

Yitzhak Yosef has no business being chief rabbi of Israel - opinion

Change system and criteria for choosing next chief rabbis long before the next vote in 2023

By DAVID M. WEINBERG

JULY 8, 2021 20:52

Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef is on a rampage. Time and time again he erupts with loutish tirades, attacking Israel, secular Israelis and Russian immigrant would-be converts. He savages religious-Zionist Israelis, too, even though he heads an institution that is an expression of religious Zionism par excellence in the reborn Jewish state.

Rabbi Yosef’s latest diatribe was directed at that heart of mainstream Israel, which is far too materialistic and profane for his tastes. In fact, “Herzliya” is so bad that believing Jews should not live there. “The spiritual harm done by living in that secular environment is worse than dying,” he said.

As a result, Yosef paskened (issued a religious law ruling) that observant Jews in the Diaspora should not move to Israel if it means living in such non-haredi areas. In other words, it is better to live in galut (the Diaspora) than among secular Israelis.

Yosef made these outrageous comments during his weekly Saturday night sermon, with the visiting chief rabbi of the Tunisian island of Djerba, Rabbi Haim Bitan, sitting next to him.

“When I visited the Tunisian Jewish community, I was asked to rule whether or not Djerba’s Jews should immigrate to Israel,” said Yosef. “I told them it depends on where they would live. If they are going to live in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood or next to Kisse Rahamim [a Bnei Brak yeshiva founded in Tunisia], then they should immigrate to Israel. But if they are to live in a place like Herzliya or another one of the secular locations… they should stay where they are.”

Chief Rabbi Yosef’s so-called “halachic guidance” is not only an affront to the office he holds and to millions of Israelis who fight for this country, pay taxes and hold authentic Jewish identities, it also contradicts core Jewish teachings.

The Talmud and Code of Jewish Law rule that a person should always strive to live in the Land of Israel, even in a city where most people are not Jews at all! Yosef’s remarks also run counter to biblical prophecies and to the raison d’etre of the State of Israel regarding the ingathering of all Jewish exiles.

So much for being a rishon le-Zion (leader of Zion), which is another formal title for the Sephardi chief rabbi of Israel.

Ten days ago, Rabbi Yosef went on a rant against general education, arguing that science and math are “nonsense,” and therefore youths should study only in yeshivas that teach Torah subjects exclusively.

“There is nothing like the holy Torah. The Torah is above everything,” said Yosef in a synagogue address. “If a student is asked: ‘Where do you want to go, a yeshiva high school [where religious studies are taught together with the core “secular” curriculum] or a holy yeshiva? [where only Talmud and Jewish law are taught], there is no doubt! Study at a holy yeshiva. There, they learn Torah without secular subjects, without the core curriculum, without all this nonsense. They sit and learn Torah.”

Yosef arrogantly boasted, “Myself, did I learn the core curriculum? Did I finish school? Even today I don’t have a graduation certificate – not a high school diploma and not a graduation certificate. Have I missed anything? No. And look at the position I have risen to! So [secular studies are] nonsense. The most important thing is our holy Torah.”

The irony here is that everybody knows that Yitzhak Yosef became chief rabbi of Israel not primarily because of his Judaic or general knowledge, but thanks to his family lineage. He is the son of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former “Rishon le-Zion” and indeed one of the greatest halachic scholars of the past century. Unfortunately, Ovadia Yosef’s sons all think they hold a patrimony over the Sephardi chief rabbi position and other key rabbinical posts.

THE DISGRACE here is that Yitzhak Yosef essentially is promoting haredi dependence on government handouts and charitable donations instead of advancing self-reliance and community dignity through basic education. The failure to give boys in the ultra-Orthodox sector core skills in English, math, science and good citizenship, combined with the high population growth of that community, means that Israel’s 21st-century, hi-tech-oriented economy, and its Western democratic values, are in peril.

Aside from all that, Yosef’s position is contra-Jewish. Haredi dependency on the dole is sacrilegious. It runs up against dozens of Talmudic and authoritative Jewish legal sources that insist the only way to be a good person is by making an honest wage.

“A father is obligated to circumcise his son, to redeem the firstborn, to teach him Torah, to marry him off, and to teach him a profession,” instructs the Talmud (Kiddushin 29a), in order that he “should not become a burden on the public.”

“It is preferable that man eke out a livelihood as bitter as an olive through work, and trust in God, than to accept honey-sweet support from another man,” teaches the Talmud again (Eruvin 18b). “A craftsman who studies Torah but simultaneously supports himself merits all the honor and good in this world and in the world to come,” asserts Maimonides (Laws of Talmud Torah 3:10).

Maimonides sternly warns that “One who studies Torah professionally and fails to work, counting on charity for a livelihood – desecrates God’s name, shames the Torah, extinguishes the flame of religion, harms himself, and abdicates his place in the world to come…. Torah that is not accompanied by work has no staying power and inevitably draws one into sin,” he continues. “As Rabbi Yehuda taught in the Talmud (ibid.), the man who fails to learn a profession or to work will ultimately come to steal from others.”

Yitzhak Yosef’s worldview is extremely short-sighted in many other ways too. In January 2020, and many times since, he has vehemently attacked non-Jewish Russian immigrants to Israel and those Orthodox rabbis who seek welcoming ways to convert some of them.

Rabbi Yosef regularly disgorges foul invective in this regard, such as calling Israeli olim from Russia “goyim who go to church every Sunday”; or disparaging Jewish Agency officials who facilitate such aliyah as “religion haters who seek to diminish the power of haredi parties in Israeli politics”; or savaging religious-Zionist rabbis like Shlomo Riskin, David Stav and David Bas as “Reform Jews” who conduct phony “conveyor belt” conversions.

Were Yitzhak Yosef to express himself in terms a bit more refined and less defamatory, one might be able to relate to his criticism seriously. He might usefully have sparked debate about the problems of bringing so many Russian non-Jews to Israel and about parliamentary reconsideration of the “grandchild clause” in the Law of Return (which is a central part of the problem).

Were Yitzhak Yosef to express himself in language befitting a Torah-true religious Jew, never mind a “chief” rabbinical figure, and offer constructive solutions of his own instead of just vituperation, it might be possible to give him credit for seeking to defuse the enormous demographic and societal time bomb posed by the current situation. But no. Given his jaundiced view of Israeli society, Rabbi Yosef has no strategy other than snarling at everybody outside his orbit.

In contrast, Yosef’s counterpart, current Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau, is a man of dialogue and pleasantness. Rabbi Lau also is no rabbinical revolutionary and no great force for halachic moderation, but still conducts himself with nobility and self-restraint.

In sum, Yosef’s constant jeremiads make it clear that he has no business being chief rabbi of Israel. With all due respect to his scholarship in Jewish jurisprudence, and with all appropriate reverence to his rabbinical seniority, the inescapable conclusion is that he should be replaced forthwith.

Most of all, the system for choosing Israel’s next chief rabbis, and the criteria for becoming a chief rabbi, must be changed dramatically, long before the next vote in 2023. Religious-Zionist commitment, a Torah worldview that embraces broad education, the dignity of difference and a fruitful problem-solving approach should be mandatory benchmarks. Let Israel elect cosmopolitan and reasonable chief rabbis.

The author is vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, jiss.org.il. His site is davidmweinberg.com. This article reflects his personal views.

巴勒斯坦權力機構面臨前所未有的抗議浪潮

巴勒斯坦事務：激進分子尼扎爾·巴納特 (Nizar Banat) 的暴力死亡讓阿巴斯處於守勢，哈馬斯和以色列是他的後備目標。

由哈利·阿布·托梅

2021 年 7 月 8 日 22:05

Akil Awawdi 希望本週早些時候報導被巴勒斯坦權力機構安全部隊拘留的政治活動家家屬在拉馬拉舉行的抗議活動。

但這位記者、他的一些同事和抗議者所經歷的事情被巴勒斯坦人權活動家描述為“黑色星期一”。

下午 5 點前不久，數十名安全人員封鎖了拉馬拉市中心的所有入口，並阻止巴勒斯坦人再次抗議反腐敗活動家尼扎爾巴納特 (Nizar Banat)之死，他是巴勒斯坦權力機構的著名批評者。

6 月 24 日，巴納特被 20 多名巴勒斯坦權力機構官員毆打致死，他們襲擊了他在希伯倫的家，在西岸引發了前所未有的抗議浪潮。

到本周初，很明顯，巴勒斯坦權力機構領導層不再準備容忍街頭抗議，尤其是譴責巴勒斯坦權力機構主席馬哈茂德·阿巴斯並呼籲他下台的口號。

很明顯，部署在拉馬拉市中心的軍官們收到了禁止任何形式抗議的嚴格命令。幾名試圖聚集在拉馬拉市中心的巴勒斯坦激進分子很快被安全部隊拘留。

當晚晚些時候，被拘留者的家人抵達附近城市 El-Bireh 的一個巴勒斯坦權力機構警察局，要求釋放他們的兒子、丈夫和父親。

Awawdi 在巴勒斯坦廣播電台 24FM 工作，是被警察毆打的四名記者之一，他們使用胡椒噴霧和棍棒驅散家人。

Awawdi 在他的 Facebook 頁面上講述了他的經歷：“他們擊中了我心臟旁邊的胸部，其中隱藏著對國家和人民的熱愛。他們把我拖到我們每天為之而死的地面上，以保持尊嚴和榮譽。數十條腿和警棍在我身體的每個部位都留下了痕跡。我用肺喊了一聲：我是記者！我什至沒有給他們拍照，因為我為我自己和我的人民擔心我親眼目睹的恐怖場景。”

Awawdi 說，警察隨後將他拖到車站，在那裡毆打仍在繼續。民警發現他的血壓下降後，叫來了救護車，將他轉移到醫院。

Al-Haq 人權組織的負責人 Shawan Jabarin 在一次新聞發布會上表示，顯然被警察的暴力所動搖：“令人遺憾的是，巴勒斯坦領導人和安全部隊堅持訴諸野蠻行動，襲擊那些要求釋放他們的人。那些抗議任意逮捕的人。家人高呼反對政治逮捕的口號。他們沒有念誦其他任何東西。看來這個口號激怒了巴勒斯坦領導人。我相信今晚發生的事情不是當地警察指揮官命令的結果。”

賈巴林說，他打電話給巴勒斯坦權力機構總理穆罕默德·施泰耶，抱怨對抗議者的襲擊。

“他告訴我，聽到這個消息他很驚訝，”賈巴林回憶道。“他告訴我他會跟進此事，但後來他的電話被關閉了。”

賈巴林說，他親眼目睹了警察對抗議者的襲擊。“非常痛苦和可恥的是，安全部隊正在襲擊人們並將他們拖在地上。我親眼看到了這一點。他們拽著女人的頭髮，包括 Dima Amin 博士和工程師 Nadia Habash。他們踢他們，用警棍毆打他們。這是一個可怕的場景。其中一名警官也威脅要毆打我。”

根據賈巴林的說法，巴勒斯坦權力機構安全部隊的行為應該“嚇到每一個關心自己家園的巴勒斯坦人”。

SHTAYYEH 有充分的理由關掉他的手機。

對抗議者和記者的攻擊是在 Shtayyeh 在巴勒斯坦權力機構內閣每週會議上宣布巴勒斯坦權力機構尊重言論自由和記者工作後數小時發生的。他還承諾，巴勒斯坦安全官員此前對女性抗議者和記者的襲擊“不會再發生”。

對於 Shtayyeh 來說，警察對抗議者的暴力行為明顯違反了他的聲明，是一種嚴重的尷尬。它還提出了他是否對巴勒斯坦權力機構安全部隊有真正影響的問題。作為內政部長，他還負責巴勒斯坦權力機構的安全部隊。

但拉馬拉的每個人都知道，這些部隊也直接接受巴勒斯坦權力機構總統辦公室的命令，在某些情況下，還接受西岸法塔赫領導人的直接命令。

作為內政部長，Shtayyeh 也對巴納特死於巴勒斯坦權力機構安全人員之手負有責任。巴納特死後兩週，尚不清楚是誰下令突襲他的家，以及為什麼派出巴勒斯坦權力機構安全部隊逮捕一名在 Facebook 上多次批評施塔耶的激進分子。

圍繞巴納特死亡情況的保密性促使許多巴勒斯坦人質疑巴勒斯坦權力機構政府對該事件展開調查的嚴重性。

由巴勒斯坦權力機構司法部長 Mohammed al-Shalaldeh 領導的一個委員會向 Shtayyeh 提交了調查結果，但沒有公佈。

巴勒斯坦權力機構安全部隊發言人塔拉勒·德韋卡特 (Talal Dweikat) 說，14 名軍官因參與巴納特之死而被移交司法系統。

不過，目前尚不清楚這些官員是否已被捕。目前也不清楚他們屬於哪支安全部隊，誰命令他們襲擊巴納特的家以及為什麼。

有趣的是，司法部長宣布，他的委員會採訪了當安全人員進入他們家時在場的巴納特家族成員。

然而，家人否認了部長的說法，並表示事件發生後，巴勒斯坦權力機構政府或安全部隊沒有人與他們聯繫。家屬和一些人權組織呼籲進行國際調查，稱他們對巴勒斯坦權力機構的調查委員會沒有信心。

此外，家人和巴納特的朋友還公佈了一些據稱參與襲擊巴納特的巴勒斯坦權力機構安全人員的照片和姓名。

顯然，巴勒斯坦權力機構領導層沒有預料到巴納特之死會引起軒然大波。它也沒有指望許多巴勒斯坦人走上街頭和社交媒體平台譴責巴勒斯坦權力機構對抗議者和記者採取的鎮壓措施，並呼籲阿巴斯下台。

過去兩週，拉馬拉和希伯倫街頭巴勒斯坦示威者的口號讓人想起十多年前阿拉伯人在所謂的“阿拉伯之春”期間的口號。

巴勒斯坦政治活動家和人權倡導者現在將巴勒斯坦權力機構稱為“警察國家”和“獨裁政權”。

一位活動家阿布·沙克·米勒姆 (Abu Shaker Milhem) 甚至說巴勒斯坦人生活在以色列的“佔領”下會更好。

“帶回佔領，”米爾赫​​姆說。“我們的人民不再能夠支付[以色列和巴勒斯坦權力機構]兩種佔領的代價。是的，我們想回到 1993 年奧斯陸協議簽署之前的日子，它已成為我們人民的新災難[災難]。”

與此同時，巴勒斯坦權力機構官員確信，他們的政治對手支持廣泛的抗議活動，這是破壞巴勒斯坦領導層和“為外國議程和以色列利益服務”的“陰謀”的一部分。

官員們聲稱抗議活動不是自發的。

他們指責哈馬斯、被驅逐的法塔赫領導人穆罕默德·達赫蘭（阿巴斯在阿拉伯聯合酋長國的主要競爭對手），以及巴解組織的馬克思列寧主義團體、解放巴勒斯坦人民陣線和解放巴勒斯坦民主陣線，以及巴勒斯坦解放陣線。伊斯蘭組織 Hizb ut Tahrir，負責推動反巴勒斯坦權力機構的抗議活動。

“許多抗議者和記者都與這些政黨有關聯，”一位官員說。“他們正在利用尼扎爾·巴納特的案件煽動反對馬哈茂德·阿巴斯總統和巴勒斯坦領導人。和巴納特一樣，示威者和記者都是極端分子，他們反對與以色列的任何和平進程。”

這一評估反映了拉馬拉巴勒斯坦權力機構領導層的否認狀態。

巴勒斯坦權力機構領導層未能看到新一代巴勒斯坦人希望改變政權並在決策過程中擁有發言權。

事實上，許多抗議巴納特之死的巴勒斯坦人都隸屬於拒絕《奧斯陸協定》和任何形式的與以色列正常化的極端主義團體。

的確，許多抗議者走上街頭並不是出於對激進分子的喜愛，而是出於對巴勒斯坦權力機構領導層的老衛兵的厭惡。

在許多巴勒斯坦人看來，阿巴斯取消原定於5月22日舉行的巴勒斯坦議會選舉的決定是壓死駱駝的最後一根稻草。對他們來說，該決定進一步證明，巴勒斯坦領導人仍然對巴勒斯坦公眾的要求漠不關心，包括選舉新代表和領導人的權利。

即使巴勒斯坦權力機構成功地平息了當前的起義，很明顯它已經失去了它在巴勒斯坦人中的可信度和合法性。

在目前的情況下，巴勒斯坦權力機構如何能夠與以色列恢復任何和平進程還​​很難說。正如過去兩週的事件所表明的那樣，越來越多的巴勒斯坦人認為巴勒斯坦權力機構已死在水中。他們想看到頭滾動。他們不太可能停止，直到阿巴斯同意解僱 Shtayyeh 或對參與巴納特之死的安全官員進行公開審判。

與此同時，阿巴斯和巴勒斯坦權力機構領導層剩下的就是將巴勒斯坦街頭的憤怒轉向以色列。果然，巴勒斯坦權力機構和法塔赫官員已經開始談論確保“指南針始終指向以色列”的必要性。這就是阿巴斯和他的人民希望擺脫當前危機的方式。

但是，儘管危機是新的，但策略卻是舊的：將責任歸咎於以色列。

Palestinian Authority facing unprecedented wave of protests

PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS: The violent death of activist Nizar Banat has Abbas on the defensive, with Hamas and Israel as his fallback targets.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

JULY 8, 2021 22:05

Akil Awawdi was hoping earlier this week to cover a protest in Ramallah by families of political activists detained by the Palestinian Authority security forces.

But what the journalist, some of his colleagues and the protesters experienced is being described by Palestinian human rights activists as “Black Monday.”

Shortly before 5 p.m., dozens of security officers sealed off all entrances to the center of Ramallah and prevented Palestinians from holding another protest against the death of anti-corruption activist Nizar Banat, a prominent critic of the PA.

The death of Banat, who was beaten to death by more than 20 PA officers who raided his home in Hebron on June 24, has triggered an unprecedented wave of protests in the West Bank.

By the beginning of this week, it was clear that the PA leadership was no longer prepared to tolerate the street protests, especially chants denouncing PA President Mahmoud Abbas and calling on him to step down.

It was evident that the officers who were deployed in the center of Ramallah had received strict orders to ban any form of protest. Several Palestinian activists who tried to gather in the center of Ramallah were quickly detained by the security forces.

Later that evening, the families of the detainees arrived at a PA police station in the nearby city of El-Bireh to demand the release of their sons, husbands and fathers.

Awawdi, who works for the Palestinian radio station 24FM, was one of four journalists physically assaulted by the officers, who used pepper spray and clubs to disperse the families.

Recounting his experience, Awawdi wrote on his Facebook page: “They hit me on the chest next to my heart, in which I hide a great love for the country and its people. They dragged me on the ground for which we die every day to keep it dignified and honored. Dozens of legs and batons left marks on every part of my body. I screamed at the top of my lungs: I am a journalist! I did not even take pictures of them, because I feared for myself and my people from the horror of the scenes that I witnessed with my own eyes.”

Awawdi said that the police officers then dragged him into the station, where the beating continued. After realizing that his blood pressure had dropped, the policemen summoned an ambulance and ordered him transferred to a hospital.

Visibly shaken by the police violence, Shawan Jabarin, director of the Al-Haq human rights group, said during a press conference: “Regrettably, the Palestinian leadership and security forces insisted on resorting to brutal action by assaulting those who were demanding the release of those who were protesting against arbitrary arrests. The families were chanting slogans against political arrests. They did not chant anything else. It seems this slogan provoked the Palestinian leadership. I believe that what happened tonight was not the result of an order by the local police commander.”

Jabarin said that he called PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh to complain about the assaults on the protesters.

“He told me that he was surprised to hear this,” Jabarin recalled. “He told me he will follow up on the matter, but afterwards his phone was shut.”

Jabarin said that he personally witnessed the police assault on the protesters. “What is very painful and shameful is that the security forces were attacking people and dragging them on the ground. I saw this with my own eyes. They were dragging women by their hair, including Dr. Dima Amin and engineer Nadia Habash. They kicked them and beat them with batons. It was a horrifying scene. One of the officers threatened to beat me, too.”

According to Jabarin, the behavior of the PA security forces should “scare every Palestinian who cares about his or her homeland.”

SHTAYYEH HAD good reason to switch off his mobile phone.

The assault on the protesters and journalists came hours after Shtayyeh announced during the weekly meeting of the PA cabinet that the PA respects freedom of expression and the work of journalists. He also promised that previous assaults by Palestinian security officers on female protesters and journalists “would not happen again.”

For Shtayyeh, the police violence against the protesters, in clear violation of his statements, came as a serious embarrassment. It also raised questions as to whether he has real influence over the PA security forces. As interior minister, he is also in charge of the PA security forces.

But everyone in Ramallah knows that these forces also receive direct orders from the office of the PA president and, in some instances, from the Fatah leadership in the West Bank.

And as interior minister, Shtayyeh also bears responsibility for the death of Banat at the hands of the PA security officers. Two weeks after the death of Banat, it remains unclear who gave the order to raid his home and why the PA security forces were sent to arrest an activist who had repeatedly criticized Shtayyeh in a number of Facebook posts.

The secrecy surrounding the circumstances of Banat’s death has prompted many Palestinians to question the seriousness of the investigation launched by the PA government into the incident.

A committee headed by PA Justice Minister Mohammed al-Shalaldeh to investigate the death of the activist presented its findings to Shtayyeh, but did not publicize them.

Talal Dweikat, spokesman for the PA security forces, said that 14 officers have been referred to the judicial system for their involvement in the death of Banat.

It’s not clear, however, whether the officers have been arrested. It’s also not clear which security force they belong to and who ordered them to raid Banat’s home and why.

What is interesting is that the justice minister announced that his committee interviewed members of the Banat family who were present when the security officers entered their home.

The family, however, denied the minister’s claim and said that no one from the PA government or security forces contacted them after the incident. The family and a number of human rights organizations have called for an international investigation, saying they have no confidence in the PA’s committee of inquiry.

The family and Banat’s friends, in addition, have published photos and names of a number of PA security officers who allegedly participated in the assault on Banat.

OBVIOUSLY, THE PA leadership did not anticipate the uproar over the death of Banat. Nor did it expect many Palestinians to take to the streets and social media platforms to condemn the PA for its repressive measures against protesters and journalists and call on Abbas to step down.

The chants of Palestinian demonstrators on the streets of Ramallah and Hebron in the past two weeks were reminiscent of those sounded by Arabs during the so-called Arab Spring more than a decade ago.

Palestinian political activists and human rights advocates are now referring to the PA as a “police state” and “dictatorship.”

One activist, Abu Shaker Milhem, went as far as saying that the Palestinians would be better off living under Israeli “occupation.”

“Bring back the occupation,” Milhem said. “Our people are no longer able to pay the price of two occupations [by Israel and the PA]. Yes, we want to return to the days before the 1993 Oslo Accords, which have become a new nakba [catastrophe] for our people.”

PA officials, meanwhile, are convinced that their political rivals are behind the widespread protests as part of a “plot” to undermine the Palestinian leadership and “serve foreign agendas and the interests of Israel.”

The officials claim that the protests are not spontaneous.

They are accusing Hamas, ousted Fatah leader Mohammad Dahlan, an archrival of Abbas based in the United Arab Emirates, and the PLO’s Marxist-Leninist groups, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as well as the Islamist group Hizb ut Tahrir, of driving the anti-PA protests.

“Many of the protesters and journalists are affiliated with these parties,” said one official. “They are exploiting the case of Nizar Banat to incite against President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership. Like Banat, the demonstrators and journalists are extremists who oppose any peace process with Israel.”

This assessment reflects the state of denial in which the PA leadership in Ramallah is living.

The PA leadership has failed to see that there is a new generation of Palestinians that wants regime change and a say in the decision-making process.

Indeed, many of the Palestinians who have been protesting the death of Banat are affiliated with extremist groups that reject the Oslo Accords and any form of normalization with Israel.

It is also true that many of the protesters did not take to the streets out of affection for the activist as much as out of disgust with the old guard of the PA leadership.

As far as many Palestinians are concerned, Abbas’s decision to call off the Palestinian parliamentary election that was supposed to take place on May 22 was the straw that broke the camel’s back. For them, the decision provided further proof that the Palestinian leadership remains insensitive to the demands of the Palestinian public, including the right to elect new representatives and leaders.

Even if the PA succeeds in quashing the current uprising, it is already clear that it has lost whatever is left of its credibility and legitimacy among the Palestinians.

Under the current circumstances, it is hard to see how the PA would be able to resume any peace process with Israel. As the events of the past two weeks have shown, a fast-growing number of Palestinians consider the PA dead in the water. They want to see heads rolling. They are unlikely to stop until Abbas complies either by firing Shtayyeh or holding a public trial for the security officers who were involved in the death of Banat.

Meanwhile, all that remains for Abbas and the PA leadership is to redirect the anger on the Palestinian street toward Israel. Sure enough, PA and Fatah officials have begun talking about the need to ensure that the “compass remains directed against Israel.” This is how Abbas and his people hope to rid themselves of the current crisis.

But while the crisis is new, the tactics are old: point the finger of blame at Israel.

--
Hosting provided by SoundOn