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We Believe in Israel and B’nai B’rith organizations demanded to know whether U.K. taxpayers are contributing to Ramallah’s “pay-for-slay” policy.

By JNS

The U.K. Foreign Office has declined to disclose how British development aid to the Palestinian Authority is audited, claiming it would “not be in the public interest” to do so, Jewish groups claimed on Monday.

In a statement first reported by the Jewish News website, We Believe in Israel and B’nai B’rith U.K. accused London’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) of attempting to dodge a May 2023 freedom of information request that sought to make public audit reports related to the so-called “Palestinian Recovery and Development Program.”

Established in 2008 by the World Bank, the donor scheme seeks to combine donations from multiple countries, including the United Kingdom, to provide a persistent cash flow to the PA. Notably, as pointed out by Palestinian Media Watch in 2019, funds are provided to the PA. “untied and unearmarked.”

Accordingly, following the April 7, 2023 terror attack that killed three members of the British-Israeli Dee family, We Believe in Israel and B’nai B’rith demanded to know whether U.K. taxpayers are contributing to Ramallah’s “pay-for-slay” policy, under which it pays monthly stipends to terrorists and to the families of slain terrorists.

The two organizations said that Foreign Office initially ignored the request, in breach of the law, leading the Information Commissioner’s Office, the authority which enforces the Freedom of Information Act, to order a response.

“The disclosure of information detailing the audit reports of the Palestinian Recovery and Development Programme could potentially damage the bilateral relationship between the U.K. and Palestine,” the FCDO subsequently replied, adding that this would harm the government’s ability to “protect and promote” U.K. interests through its relations with “Palestine.”

London furthermore argued that the presence of “third-party personal data” prevented publication.

“Our FOI request was submitted in good faith as part of an attempt to ensure that British aid to the Palestinian Authority is not being used to support, facilitate, or incentivise terrorism, be that directly or indirectly,” stated Luke Akehurst, director of We Believe in Israel. “By initially failing to lawfully respond and now refusing to provide the disclosure, the FCDO raises questions about the integrity of its foreign aid distribution,” he continued.

B’nai B’rith U.K. International Affairs Director Jeremy Havardi said, “While the FCDO may not want to answer as to whether or not they are aware the aid it disburses to the PA incentivizes terrorism, we do not accept their position. Our work continues, and we are confident that we will succeed in securing this disclosure.”

The British Consulate in eastern Jerusalem last week expressed deep concerns over Israel’s counterterrorism operation in the Samaria city of Jenin. “We call on Israel to adhere to the principles of necessity and proportionality when defending its legitimate security interest,” the July 3 statement read.

The PLO’s envoy to London, for his part, on Saturday commemorated a Palestinian terrorist linked to an attack that killed over two dozen people. Ghassan Kanafani stands accused of orchestrating a May 1972 PFLP massacre in which terrorists recruited by the group gunned down 26 travelers at Israel’s international airport, including American citizens from Puerto Rico.

The post UK refuses to release documents on aid to Palestinians appeared first on World Israel News.

Seth Mandel, executive editor of the “Washington Examiner,” wrote that something is “deeply wrong” with the paper of record.

By JNS

If there is a quintessential New York Times reporter, that writer might complain that Orthodox New York Jews have too much influence and are not the “archetypical Jewish New Yorker.”

That’s just what Dana Rubinstein did in a July 6 article about New York City’s first Jewish Advisory Council, which Mayor Eric Adams appointed.

“If there is an archetypical Jewish New Yorker, that person might be found on the Upper West Side, somewhere between Zabar’s and Barney Greengrass,” Rubinstein wrote. But on the new council, “that type of Jewish New Yorker was in short supply. Instead, at least 23 members of the 37-member council are Orthodox, and only nine are women.”

The Times noted that about 40% of Jews in New York city identified as Orthodox in 2011, citing UJA-Federation of New York data. Much more recently — in 2021 —the Pew Research Center noted that “Orthodox Jews have much higher fertility rates and live in larger households than non-Orthodox Jews.”

Orthodox Jews have an average of 3.3 children born per adult —more than double the 1.4, on average, for non-Orthodox Jews, per Pew.

“Something is deeply wrong with The New York Times,” Seth Mandel, executive editor of The Washington Examiner, tweeted, sharing a screenshot of the article.

“Yes, please tell us what box every Jew in New York City is supposed to fit into,” added Fabien Levy, press secretary to the mayor.

Dovid Margolin, a senior editor at Chabad.org, called the paper of record “bigoted.”

“Imagine ‘If there is an archetypical American, that person might be found in Rye, be named Graham Cabot III and eat lobster rolls,’” he tweeted.

The post ‘New York Times’: Orthodox Jews not ‘archetypical’ appeared first on World Israel News.

Turkey breaks deal with Russia and releases Ukrainian neo-Nazis.

Economist Alexis Habiyaremye from the University of Johannesburg says that a proposed common BRICS currency, if used effectively and systematically for all trade transactions between BRICS nations, would “alleviate the burden on these countries to finance” the “disproportionate advantage that the dollar enjoyed in the international monetary system.”

Press officers were told to “ignore” enquiries about the Mountbatten diaries, saying: “Let the answerphone get it”

Global interest among nations seeking to join the BRICS economic bloc led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is demonstrating its growing influence as a new geopolitical force with the potential to challenge the largely Western-led financial system

The expansion of BRICS would be a major blow to the US dollar, which is currently the world’s reserve currency. The US dollar is used in most international transactions, and it is also the currency of choice for many countries when they hold foreign reserves besides BRICS would enhance its global influence, creating a more balanced multipolar world order by including other emerging economies

Goldman Sachs and Bank of America foundations gave over $600,000 to ultraconservative groups

Local security services have arrested an Afghani on suspicion of planning the attack.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The state security services of Azerbaijan arrested on Monday an Afgani citizen suspected of planning a terrorist attack on the Israeli embassy in Baku.

The Azeri authorities are reportedly working in close cooperation with their Israeli counterparts after detaining Pavzan Musa Khan, 23, on the street outside the embassy, which is located in one of the towers of the Hyatt hotel complex in the capital city.

In their announcement of the arrest, they said that Khan had contacted potential co-conspirators to carry out the attack. He helped buy explosives and other weapons as well as conducting extensive surveillance of the area.

His aim, they said, was to murder innocent people and cause damage to property “in order to destabilize the social stability of the country, create panic among the population and influence the decision-making of the state authorities and international organizations.”

The State Security Service released footage of Baku streets and buildings that it captured on Khan’s mobile phone. He can be seen pretending to have phone conversations to cover his actions.

The footage also includes portions of his interrogation in which he talked of the parameters of the task, such as finding out how big the embassy is, who the people are who work there, “when they come and when they leave.”

He said he knew it would be necessary to have a car, a machine gun, and clothes, as well as to “conduct a lot of observation… consult, and determine the time of the operation. How many people will participate … how to get in there.”

“Ninety-nine percent of this work is observation,” and one percent is action, he added.

The moment of the arrest is also shown, with two men in plain clothes crossing the street and then one of them lunging at Khan, catching his arms behind his back. Within seconds, six more casually dressed men surround him.

Jerusalem and Baku have had diplomatic relations almost since the moment Azerbaijan declared its independence in late 1991. The relations are very warm, even though it is a Shiite Muslim-majority country. Israel has supplied Azerbaijan with significant arms, while the Azeris are the source for 40% of Israel’s oil imports.

Despite the good terms of the relationship, Baku opened an embassy in Israel for the first time only in March. This may have had to do with the fact that it shares a border with Iran, although the two nations are not allies.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen noted at the embassy opening that Azerbaijan’s “strategic location makes the relationship between us of great importance and great potential. Israel and Azerbaijan share the same perception of the Iranian threat. The Iranian ayatollah regime threatens both our regions, finances terrorism and destabilizes the entire Middle East.”

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is expected to land in Azerbaijan this week for a working visit. This follows President Isaac Herzog’s state visit to Baku last month, where he talked of expanding relations to areas other than defense, such as tourism and energy.

The post Terror target in Azerbaijan was Israeli embassy appeared first on World Israel News.

The case exposes very clearly Kiev’s anti-humanitarian practices.