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Amnesty International Tag

The demonization and delegitimization of Israel and bigotry directed toward Jewish faculty, staff, and students is increasing at dramatic rates on university and college campuses. In these supposedly intellectual spaces, virulently anti-Israel “scholars” and student-activists connected to, and supportive of, the global BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement regularly:

The so-called Great March of Return held every Friday for the past four weeks at the Gaza-Israel border is falsely portrayed as a peaceful civilian protest by groups like Amnesty International. That false designation has led to claims that Israel is violating international law by using live fire against "protesters" who approach the border fence. In fact, as we have documented weekly, the "protests" are actually military operations by Hamas and other terror groups using civilian protests as cover.

Hamas seems to have found its sweet spot. Under cover of civilian protests, backed by clouds of smoke from burning tires, it sends operatives to try to breach the Israeli border fence. A fence breach would be used to surge hundreds or even thousands of people into Israeli giving Hamas a propaganda victory. Such a breach also would be used by Hamas military operatives for terror operations -- that's why such a high percentage of those killed at the fence have been Hamas or other terror group military members. We have covered this Hamas tactic in numerous prior posts:

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced that the regime has squashed the uprising that took place the last few weeks. The protests left 22 people dead and 3,700 arrested. Remember, people used social media and the internet to tell the world about the protests since Iran doesn't have a free press and the regime told state media not to report on it. To stop them, the regime shut down the internet. Yes, that helped them cut off access for the world to see the protests, but it also wrecked havoc on those who did not even participate.

The Tamimis of Nabi Saleh have been working hard to incite a “third intifada” for many years. As I have documented previously, one of their favorite tactics is sending their children out to provoke confrontations with Israeli soldiers while surrounded by photographers and videographers. It is a cynical but effective exploitation of children - if the Israeli soldier reacts it's a story of Israeli brutality; if the Israeli soldier doesn't react it's a story of Israeli cowardice. Regardless, the Tamimi media operation immediately circulates the videos and photos to biased international journalists and activists to create a false impression of Israeli abuse of children. Ahed Tamimi, with her striking blond hair, has starred prominently in these staged incidents for many years, as has her younger brother Mohammed.

For years, the Palestinian activist Issa Amro has told credulous journalists that he is “inspired by Gandhi” and firmly committed to “non-violent resistance.” One of the most recent examples is a puff piece by the Washington Post’s Ishaan Tharoor, who describes Amro as an admirable “nonviolent dissident” and suggests he might even be considered a “Palestinian Gandhi.” But as I will show, it would have taken only a quick look at the recent social media activity of Amro and his group Youth Against Settlements (YAS) to realize that the image he presents to journalists may just be a flimsy façade that hides an intense hatred of Israel and a burning ambition to see the world’s only Jewish state replaced by yet another Arab-Muslim majority country.

For almost a year, the Myanmar army has conducted "clearance operations" in Rokhine state against the Muslim Rohingya minority. 417,000 of those who survived have fled to Bangladesh, telling stories of rape and murder in their villages. The UN and human rights groups have described the situation as genocide and ethnic cleansing. De facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has largely remained silent. But on Tuesday she broke that silence with a speech that is laughable, mainly because she said she has no idea why the Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh.

Myanmar government officials have confirmed that the army targeted Rohingya villages in Rakhine state, leaving 40% emptied as of now. From The Guardian:
Of 471 villages targeted in “clearance operations” by the Burmese army since late August, 176 were now empty and at least 34 others partially abandoned, Zaw Htay said.

NATO ally Turkey seems intent on alienating its western allies from the United States to Germany and the UK. Turkey has arrested German citizens at London-based Amnesty International and released the locations of American military bases and assets. Additionally, Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is stepping up his anti-Israel rhetoric, a stance that will put him at further odds with the U.S. in light of President Trump's vocal support for Israel.

Two years ago, former President Barack Obama agreed to the Iran Nuclear Deal and told The New York Times that "Iran will be and should be a regional power." He also said that Iran has "that ability now to take some decisive steps to move toward a more constructive relationship with the world community." Obama encouraged Iranian leaders "to seize that opportunity." Well, Obama, you got your wish. Iran seized that opportunity and has taken over Iraq. Goods from Iran fill up the Iraqi markets. Not to mention that Iranian militias had a hand in dispelling ISIS from Mosul and other areas.

Turkish citizens went to the booths today to vote on a constitutional reform that would grant President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more powers. The polls have closed and Erdogan has claimed victory with 51.3% yes votes. But the opposition parties have contested these results that allow the government to "abolish the post of prime minister and entrench one-man rule." This makes Erdogan "the country's most dominant leader since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish republic."

Over the last five years, more than 10,000 people were hanged at Syrian prison Saydnaya. A new report released by Amnesty International indicates that once, sometimes twice a week, 50 people at a time were taken out of their prison cells and hanged to death. The mass hangings aren't the only atrocity. Reportedly, detainees were tortured and kept in squalor. Pulled from their cells in the middle of the night. Prisoners were beaten and then transferred to another prison building before being hanged to death.

Predictably, the "grassroots" and "spontaneous" women's march wasn't so grassroots, after all.  It may have started as such, but things changed rather quickly.  Ultimately, more than 50 groups, PACs, and assorted organizations backed by billionaire agitator George Soros were deeply involved in the march.

A self-declared "life-long liberal Democrat who voted for Trump" uncovered the tangled web of the money trail for the New York Times.  Asra Q. Nomani explains that "the march really isn’t a 'women’s march.' It’s a march for women who are anti-Trump.   As someone who voted for Trump, I don’t feel welcome . . . ."

In all the fury over the anti-Israel UN Resolution 2334 the Obama administration marshalled through the Security Council, with an "abstain" vote providing cover for the perfidy, few people have focused on a particularly pernicious and dangerous provision. I'm not talking about the provisions effectively declaring it illegal for Jews to live in Jewish Quarter of the Old City or to worship at the Western Wall. Here is the provision I'm talking about in Resolution 2334 (pdf.):