36分鐘 ·

就在以色列剛上任第13屆總理右傾黨班內特之後，伊朗也在本週六產出第13屆總統強硬保守派易卜拉欣·雷西(Ebrahim Raisi)。新任總統將於8月3日正式上任。

伊朗總統大選結果並不讓人意外。當此結果一宣布後，國際特赦組織立即呼籲對雷西涉嫌危害人類罪進行調查。

強硬派的雷西負責伊朗司法機構，身為司法部部長的雷西，長期受到國際撻伐，該機構享有劊子手名號之稱。他與伊朗國防軍事關係堅固，前革命衛隊指揮官原本也想要參選，卻改而支持雷西，並稱乎他是改革派總統。畢竟，伊朗國內政客視魯哈尼總統太過溫和。

雷西將成為第一位甚至在上任之前就受到美國政府制裁的在職伊朗總統，他曾參與了 1988 年大規模處決政治犯的慘忍行動。

若無意外，雷西將會擔任兩個四年任期，預計有可能會面臨掌舵這個國家有幾十年最大宗教精神領袖82歲哈梅內伊(Ali Khamenei)最關鍵的時刻- 差不多要撒手人寰的年紀了。雷西也是著名的伊斯蘭神職人員，已經有分析伊朗國內情勢的專家學者表示，雷西未來可能會與哈梅內伊的兒子莫伊塔巴(Mojtaba Khamenei)一起成為該職位「大亞圖拉- 伊朗最高領袖」的競爭者。

雷西一上任，預估對於伊朗發展核武不會鬆手，反而更是加緊腳步，上個月對於聯合國監察委員派出要看伊朗目前發展濃縮鈾的報告與實際進展和規模，都置之不理了；看來伊朗協定是否還有必要再繼續或以什麼有效方式監管，這些締約國確實需要再努力並禱告神給予智慧與計謀。

對於以色列而言，伊朗換上強硬派總統，整個局勢往後有可能張力會愈趨激烈，無論未來事態如何發展，現今為伊朗禱告的重點方向：

為神做新事在伊朗教會禱告，因著線上聚會的蓬勃發展，我們為伊朗主內家人們與世界各地無論是空中與地下的網絡連結禱告，經歷禱告帶來大能翻轉伊朗的兩大權勢「軍事與宗教政權」。

同時，我們為伊朗禱告，神興起伊朗的企業家，成為被主使用祝福教會的器皿，更多伊朗弟兄姐妹們被裝備，成為精兵成為門徒；為神要成就的事情來禱告與讚美，我們很幸福，能夠親眼看見許多事情必要成就的光景，真是令人興奮！

這次投票率創伊朗自1979年伊斯蘭革命以來歷史新低，僅有48%投票率。

根據無國界記者組織 (RSF) 報告，這次伊朗總統大選，有42 名記者因撰寫有關候選人而被傳喚或威脅的案例。

這次總統選舉超過 400 萬張選票無效，有400萬名民眾投了廢票。

既然如此，為什麼伊朗民眾還是要去投票呢？

雖然伊朗沒有強制投票，但那些投票者確實會收到印章，表明他們在出生證明上投票呢！有些人擔心，若證明文件上沒有投票印章，這可能會影響並阻礙了他們申請工作和獎學金，或者影響他們在政府或安全部隊中的職位。

全球國家元首中，第一位賀電給伊朗的是俄羅斯普丁總統。

伊朗總統辦公室

#伊朗總統大選

#伊朗總統選舉

“德黑蘭屠夫”賴西在投票率低的情況下贏得伊朗大選

拉皮德：他的當選應促使重新下定決心立即停止伊朗的核計劃

通過LAHAV哈爾科夫，路透

2021 年 6 月 19 日 22:20

易卜拉欣·賴西（Ebrahim Raisi）是一名因侵犯人權而受到美國製裁的強硬派法官，在一場以選民對經濟困難和政治限制的冷漠為標誌的競選之後，週六在伊朗總統選舉中如預期般獲勝。

內政部長阿卜杜勒雷扎·拉赫馬尼·法茲利在國家電視台上說，在計算了所有 2890 萬張選票後，賴西以 1790 萬票當選。

週五四人比賽的投票率創下歷史新低，約為 48.8%，有 370 萬張無效選票可能大部分為空白或抗議選票。

外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德( Yair Lapid) 稱萊西是“德黑蘭的屠夫”和“對成千上萬伊朗人的死亡負責的極端分子”。

“他的當選應該促使重新下定決心立即停止伊朗的核計劃並結束其破壞性的地區野心，”拉皮德在推特上寫道。

外交部表示，賴西“因在法外處決超過 30,000 人中的直接作用而受到國際社會的正確譴責。

該部表示：“作為一名極端分子，致力於伊朗迅速推進的軍事核計劃，他的當選表明了伊朗真正的惡意，應該引起國際社會的嚴重關注。”

Raisi 當選之際，伊朗和六大大國正在就恢復其 2015 年核協議進行談判。當時的美國總統唐納德特朗普在 2018 年放棄了該協議，並重新實施了嚴重的製裁，這些制裁已經擠壓了伊朗的石油收入。

然而，由於伊朗的執政神職人員意識到他們的政治命運依賴於解決日益惡化的經濟困難，賴西的勝利被認為不太可能破壞伊朗重振該協議並擺脫美國嚴厲的石油和金融制裁的努力。

最高領袖阿亞圖拉阿里哈梅內伊，而不是總統，在所有國家問題上擁有最後發言權，例如伊朗的外交和核政策。

伊朗外交部長賈瓦德扎里夫在討論周六選舉結果後重返伊核協議的談判時表示，可能會在伊朗總統哈桑魯哈尼於 8 月 3 日至 8 月中旬卸任之前達成協議。

扎里夫在安塔利亞外交論壇期間接受伊朗媒體採訪時說：“很有可能在我們任期結束前達成協議。我們將在 8 月中旬將權力移交給新政府，我認為我們可能會在那個日期之前很久達成協議。

“我看到了最新編輯的協議草案。草稿變得更純了。括號[爭議的問題]正在被刪除，”他補充道。

2019 年由哈梅內伊任命擔任司法部長的高調職位，幾個月後，賴西因侵犯人權而受到美國製裁。

其中包括人權組織所說的 Raisi 在 1988 年處決數千名政治犯和 2009 年暴力鎮壓騷亂中發揮的作用。

伊朗從未承認大規模處決，雷西本人也從未公開回應有關其角色的指控。

由於哈梅內伊的支持，60 歲的 Raisi 被分析師和內部人士視為最可怕的安全機構代表，他被廣泛認為將贏得這場比賽。

伊朗的地區盟友敘利亞總統巴沙爾·阿薩德和伊斯蘭恐怖主義組織哈馬斯對賴西當選表示歡迎。國際特赦組織秘書長阿涅斯·卡拉馬德（Agnès Callamard）表示，他的勝利“嚴峻地提醒人們，有罪不罰在伊朗占主導地位。”

她在一份聲明中說：“我們繼續呼籲對易卜拉欣·賴西（Ebrahim Raisi）參與國際法規定的過去和正在進行的罪行進行調查，包括行使普遍管轄權的國家。”

即將卸任的總統哈桑·魯哈尼被憲法禁止尋求第三個任期，他在他的辦公室拜訪了賴西，向他表示祝賀，外交部長穆罕默德·賈瓦德·扎里夫表示，他將很好地領導伊朗。

“在你們的高票率和非凡的信心的支持下，我將組建一個勤奮、革命和反腐敗的政府，”官方媒體在一份聲明中援引雷西的話說。

Raisi 將於 8 月初上任，他說他將成為所有伊朗人的總統——無論他們投票支持他還是其他候選人，或者根本沒有投票。

為了提高他們的合法性，該國的神職統治者曾敦促人們在周五投票，但對經濟困難和自由受到限制的憤怒讓許多伊朗人呆在家裡。

哈梅內伊說，投票率顯示了文職機構的受歡迎程度。但超過一半的合格選民對投票感到不滿，或者似乎已經聽取了國內外數百名持不同政見者的抵制投票的呼籲。

在強硬的選舉機構禁止重量級溫和派和保守派站立之後，許多支持改革的選民的另一個威懾是缺乏選擇。

唯一真正的改良主義實用主義陣營候選人 Abdolnaser Hemamti 獲得了 3,412,712 票，而魯哈尼在 2017 年獲得了 2,300 萬票，該陣營的大多數選民都呆在家裡。

美國國務院發言人周五表示：“伊朗人被剝奪了在自由和公平的選舉過程中選擇自己領導人的權利”——這可能是指候選人被取消資格。

分析人士表示，選舉勝利可能會增加賴西接替哈梅內伊的機會，哈梅內伊本人在 1989 年成為最高領導人之前曾擔任過兩屆總統。

‘Butcher of Tehran’ Raisi wins Iran election amid low turnout

Lapid: His election should prompt renewed determination to immediately halt Iran’s nuclear program

By LAHAV HARKOV, REUTERS

JUNE 19, 2021 22:20

Iranian Presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a campaign meeting at the Mosalla mosque in Tehran, Iran

(photo credit: REUTERS)

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Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline judge under US sanctions for human rights abuses, secured victory as expected on Saturday in Iran’s presidential election after a contest marked by voter apathy over economic hardships and political restrictions.

With all 28.9 million ballots counted, Raisi was elected with a tally of 17.9 million, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said on state TV.

Turnout in Friday’s four-man race was a record low of around 48.8% and there were 3.7 million invalid ballots that were likely to have been mostly blank or protest votes.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called Raisi the “Butcher of Tehran” and “an extremist responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iranians.”

“His election should prompt renewed determination to immediately halt Iran’s nuclear program and put an end to its destructive regional ambitions,” Lapid tweeted.

The Foreign Ministry said Raisi has “been rightly denounced by the international community for his direct role in the extrajudicial executions of over 30,000 people.

“An extremist figure, committed to Iran’s rapidly advancing military nuclear program, his election makes clear Iran’s true malign intentions, and should prompt grave concern among the international community,” the ministry stated.

Raisi’s election comes as Iran and six major powers are in talks to revive their 2015 nuclear deal. Donald Trump, US president at the time, abandoned the deal in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions that have squeezed Iran’s oil income.

However, with Iran’s ruling clerics aware their political fortunes rely on tackling worsening economic hardships, Raisi’s win is considered unlikely to disrupt Iran’s effort to revive the pact and break free of tough US oil and financial sanctions.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not the president, has the last say on all issue of state such as Iran’s foreign and nuclear policies.

Discussing the negotiations to return to the JCPOA nuclear deal following Saturday’s election result, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that an agreement could be reached before Iranian President Hassan Rouhani leaves office between August 3 and mid-August.

In an interview published in Iranian media on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Zarif said that “There is a good chance that an agreement will be reached before the end of our tenure. We will hand over the power to the new administration in mid-August and I think we will probably be able to reach an agreement long before that date.

“I have seen the latest edited draft of the agreement. The draft has become purer. The parentheses [the issues of the dispute] are being removed,” he added.

APPOINTED BY Khamenei to the high-profile job of judiciary chief in 2019, Raisi was placed under US sanctions a few months later over human rights violations.

Those included the role that human rights group say Raisi played in the executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 and in the violent suppression of unrest in 2009.

Iran has never acknowledged the mass executions, and Raisi himself has never publicly addressed allegations about his role.

Seen by analysts and insiders as representing the security establishment at its most fearsome, Raisi, 60, had been widely tipped to win the contest, thanks to Khamenei’s endorsement.

Iran’s regional allies, Syrian President Bashar Assad and the terrorist Islamist group Hamas, welcomed Raisi’s election. Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said his victory was “a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran.”

“We continue to call for Ebrahim Raisi to be investigated for his involvement in past and ongoing crimes under international law, including by states that exercise universal jurisdiction,” she said in a statement.

Outgoing President Hassan Rouhani, barred by the constitution from seeking a third term, visited Raisi at his office to congratulate him, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he would lead Iran well.

“Backed by your high vote and exceptional confidence, I will form a hard-working, revolutionary and anti-corruption government,” state media quoted Raisi as saying in a statement.

Raisi, who takes office in early August, said he will be a president for all Iranians – whether they voted for him or for the other candidates, or did not vote at all.

Hoping to boost their legitimacy, the country’s clerical rulers had urged people to turn out and vote on Friday, but simmering anger over economic hardships and curbs on freedoms kept many Iranians at home.

Khamenei said the turnout displayed the clerical establishment’s popularity. But more than half of eligible voters were too dissatisfied to vote or appeared to have heeded calls by hundreds of dissidents, at home and abroad, to boycott the vote.

Another deterrent for many pro-reform voters was a lack of choice, after a hardline election body barred heavyweight moderates and conservatives from standing.

The only real reformist-pragmatist camp candidate, Abdolnaser Hemamti, gained 3,412,712 compared to Rouhani’s 23 million in 2017, with most voters in that camp staying home.

A US State Department spokesperson said on Friday: “Iranians were denied their right to choose their own leaders in a free and fair electoral process” – a likely reference to the disqualification of candidates.

Analysts say the election win could increase Raisi’s chances of succeeding Khamenei, who himself served two terms as president before becoming supreme leader in 1989.

關於伊朗 Raisi 的“強硬派”話題是粉飾嗎？

這個詞準確地描述了伊朗極右翼的極端神權領袖，還是用來粉飾伊朗的政治並為其開脫？

作者：SETH J. FRANZMAN

2021 年 6 月 19 日 20:37

伊朗司法機構負責人易卜拉欣·賴西（Ebrahim Raisi）正在登記參加 2017 年伊朗總統選舉。

（圖片來源：維基共享資源）

廣告

主要媒體中的全球敘事使用的術語是“強硬派”來形容 易卜拉欣賴斯我，伊朗總統大選的贏家週六宣布。

“強硬派”一詞是各大媒體發明的，用來形容伊朗的極右翼。它通常不用於描述世界上任何其他形式的政治。例如，以色列、沙特阿拉伯、馬來西亞、日本、西班牙或剛果沒有“強硬派”——只有伊朗。

這個詞是否準確地描述了伊朗極右翼的極端主義神權領袖，還是用來粉飾和為伊朗的政治找藉口，就像“激進分子”用來描述大規模謀殺平民的極端組織一樣？

使用“強硬派”一詞的主要媒體有時也會向讀者解釋它的含義。英國廣播公司指出，“伊朗的強硬派將尋求加強伊斯蘭政府清教徒式的製度，這可能意味著對社會活動進行更多控制，減少女性的自由和工作，並對社交媒體和新聞進行更嚴格的控制。強硬派對西方持懷疑態度，但賴西和最高領袖哈梅內伊都讚成重新就伊朗核活動達成國際協議。”

BBC 6 月 19 日的標題是“強硬派 Raisi 將成為總統”。

CNN 還表示，Raisi 是將成為下一任總統的“強硬派”。然而，CNN的標題也稱他為“超保守”。

文章指出，“從 2018 年起，[前總統唐納德]特朗普發動了一系列制裁，削弱了伊朗經濟，並鼓勵強硬派。神職人員階級給予魯哈尼總統溫和政府與美國和歐洲接觸的微小機會之窗開始迅速關閉。伊朗保守派一再表示，特朗普已經證明強硬派對西方的懷疑是正確的。”

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據 France24 報導，Raisi 是一位“極端保守派”，他正在取代現任總統哈桑·魯哈尼 (Hassan Rouhani) 中的“改革派”。在魯哈尼治下，人們因不遮頭、抗議和其他輕微罪行而受到迫害。一位著名的摔跤手在魯哈尼所謂的“改革”領導下被謀殺。外國遊客被綁架並關押在監獄中。記者和持不同政見者在國外遭到追捕。CBS 也稱 Raisi 為強硬派，土耳其的 TRT 也是如此。

隨著“強硬派”一詞成為唯一可用於描述 Raisi 的規範術語，值得想知道還有什麼發生了。

“強硬派”下的政權與“改革派”下的政權有本質區別嗎？

伊朗允許思想的多樣性。它的媒體比土耳其完全的極權主義媒體有更多有趣的故事，在土耳其官方媒體上只播放支持 AKP 的觀點，對總統的批評可能會讓人們入獄。

伊朗政權比伊朗支持的大馬士革政權及其支持的真主黨和胡塞武裝以及伊拉克民兵中的暴徒更加開放。

然而，賴西可能比伊朗過去所看到的還要糟糕。6 月 19 日，大赦國際和人權觀察組織表示，“易卜拉欣·賴西當選伊朗新總統是對人權的打擊，並呼籲對他在華盛頓和人權組織所說的數千1988 年的政治犯，”據路透社報導。

看起來 Raisi 不僅僅是一個“強硬派”或“保守派”，而是對大屠殺負責。這將使他與其他凶殘的政權領導人相提並論。對於一個國家的統治者來說，危害人類罪的指控並不常見。

國際特赦組織指出，“2018 年，我們的組織記錄了 Ebrahim Raisi 如何成為‘死亡委員會’的成員，該委員會於 1988 年在德黑蘭附近的 Evin 和 Gohardasht 監獄中強迫失踪並秘密處決了數千名持不同政見者。” 這聽起來不僅僅是“強硬派”。

發明“強硬派”一詞的原因主要是作為西方敘事的陪襯。西方國家需要絞死無辜的極右翼伊朗政權有好的一面，於是“改革者”被召喚出來。

然後據說“強硬派”反對他們。但現實是，由阿亞圖拉哈梅內伊和伊斯蘭革命衛隊領導的伊朗政權已經是世界上最極端的政權之一。

但西方政府希望在 2015 年 JCPOA 之前與它達成協議。為此，通過焦點小組和與政府和媒體關係密切的各種遊說團體，創造了一種敘事，以推動有關所謂“伊朗交易”和“賦予溫和派權力”的必要性的敘事。

這創造了一種說法，即任何反對伊朗協議的人都通過不給予伊朗政權它想要的一切來“賦予強硬派權力”。

伊朗政權是否監禁人們並為音樂視頻“鞭打”他們或綁架西方遊客並指責他們無緣無故地進行間諜活動並不重要——該政權有“溫和派”和“強硬派”。 ”

在 特朗普 時代，敘事努力將他描繪成“賦予權力的強硬派”。當拜登政府上台時，有人試圖爭辯說，政府應該盡快回到伊朗協議，否則“強硬派”可能會贏得 6 月的選舉。現在我們看到了基本上只允許“強硬派”參選的“選舉”。

與其他國家一樣，伊朗也有“強硬派”，這是理所當然的。伊朗不存在於月球上；它的政治與伊拉克、黎巴嫩和該地區其他地區的政治有關。它可能是唯一的什葉派神權政治，但它的政治伊斯蘭版本與運行土耳其正發黨的穆斯林兄弟會的支持者並沒有太大不同。

它是一種“革命”的力量，但主要是反動的。這留下了許多問題，即為什麼它有“強硬派”而其他國家通常沒有，至少一直是伊朗政治被稱為分裂的方式。

這讓人想起西方國家如何經常被稱為“極右翼”，就像以色列擁有“極右翼”一樣——而在黎巴嫩、土耳其、伊拉克、巴基斯坦或馬來西亞，“極右翼”的提及較少。

這是因為西方媒體往往缺乏討論非西方政治制度的詞彙。在這種情況下，會使用諸如“強硬派”之類的任意術語。這是在地方條款的地方。

當談到 Raisi 時，尚不清楚“強硬派”一詞是否足以描述一個現在可能因危害人類罪而被通緝的人。

Is the 'hardliner' talking point about Iran’s Raisi a whitewash?

Is the term accurately a descriptive for Iran’s far-right extremist theocratic leaders, or is it used to whitewash and excuse Iran’s politics?

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN

JUNE 19, 2021 20:37

Iran's Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi is seen registering for the 2017 Iranian presidential elections.

(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

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A global narrative among major media outlets uses the term “hardliner” to describe Ebrahim Raisi, the winner of Iran’s presidential election announced Saturday.

The term “hardliner” was invented by major media to describe the far-right in Iran. It is generally not used to describe any other form of politics in the world. For instance, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Japan, Spain or the Congo don’t have “hardliners” – only Iran.

Does the term accurately describe Iran’s far-right extremist theocratic leaders, or is it used to whitewash and excuse Iran’s politics, the way “militants” is used to describe extremist groups that mass murder civilians?

Major media that use the term “hardliner” also explain to the readers what it means – sometimes. The BBC notes that “Iran’s hardliners will seek to reinforce a puritanical system of Islamic government, possibly meaning more controls on social activities, fewer freedoms and jobs for women, and tighter control of social media and the press. The hardliners are suspicious of the West, but both Raisi and Supreme Leader Khamenei favor a return to an international deal on Iran’s nuclear activity.”

BBC’s headline on June 19 was that “hardliner Raisi will become president.”

CNN also says that Raisi is the “hardliner” who will be the next president. However, CNN’s headline also calls him “ultraconservative.”

The article notes that “From 2018 onwards, [former President Donald] Trump unleashed a torrent of sanctions that crippled Iran’s economy and emboldened hardliners. The tiny window of opportunity granted by the clerical class to the moderate government of President Rouhani to engage with the US and Europe began to quickly close. Trump had proven the hardliners’ skepticism about the West correct, Iran’s conservatives repeatedly said.”

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According to France24, Raisi is an “ultra-conservative” who is replacing a “reformist” in the current President Hassan Rouhani. Under Rouhani, people were persecuted for not covering their hair, for protesting, and for other minor offenses. A well-known wrestler was murdered under Rouhani’s supposed “reform” leadership. Foreign tourists were kidnapped and kept in prison. Journalists and dissidents were hunted down abroad. CBS also calls Raisi a hardliner, as does Turkey’s TRT.

With the term “hardliner” cemented as the only normative term that can be used to describe Raisi, it is worth wondering what else is going on.

Is there any substantial difference between the regime under the “hardliners” than under the “reformers”?

IRAN ALLOWS some diversity of thought. Its media has more interesting stories than the totally totalitarian media in Turkey, where only pro-AKP views are aired on state media and where criticism of the president can land people in prison.

Iran’s regime is more open than the regimes Iran supports in Damascus and the thugs it supports among Hezbollah and the Houthis, as well as militias in Iraq.

However, Raisi may be even worse than what Iran has seen in the past. On June 19, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said that “Ebrahim Raisi’s election as Iran’s new president was a blow for human rights and called for him to be investigated over his role in what Washington and rights groups have called the extrajudicial executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988,” according to Reuters.

It looks like Raisi is not just a “hardliner” or “conservative” but was responsible for mass murder. That would put him on par with other murderous regime leaders. Accusations of crimes against humanity are not usual for a ruler of a country.

Amnesty noted that, “in 2018, our organization documented how Ebrahim Raisi had been a member of the ‘death commission’ which forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed in secret thousands of political dissidents in Evin and Gohardasht prisons near Tehran in 1988.” This sounds like a lot more than just “hardliner.”

THE REASON the term “hardliner” was invented was largely as a foil for narratives in the West. The Western countries needed the far-right extremist Iranian regime that hangs innocent people to have a good side, so “reformers” were conjured up.

Then “hardliners” were said to oppose them. But the reality was that Iran’s regime, run by Ayatollah Khamenei and the IRGC, was already one of the most extremist regimes in the world.

But Western governments wanted to make a deal with it in the run-up to the 2015 JCPOA. To do this, a narrative was created – through focus groups and various lobbying groups that were close to governments and media – to push narratives about the so-called “Iran Deal” and the need to “empower moderates.”

This created a narrative whereby anyone opposing the Iran deal was “empowering hardliners” by not giving Iran’s regime everything it wanted.

It didn’t matter if Iran’s regime was imprisoning people and giving them “lashes” for music videos or kidnapping Western tourists and accusing them of spying for no reason other than to use them as hostages – the regime had “moderates” and “hardliners.”

During the Trump era, the narrative worked to portray him as “empowering hardliners.” When the Biden administration came into office, there were attempts to argue that the administration should rush back to the Iran deal or the “hardliners” might win the June elections. Now we have seen the “elections” in which basically only “hardliners” were allowed to run.

It stands to reason that Iran has “hardliners” the way other countries do. Iran doesn’t exist on the moon; its politics are linked to those in Iraq, Lebanon and the rest of the region. It may be the only Shi’ite theocracy, but its version of political Islam is not so different from that of the supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood who run Turkey’s AKP.

It is a “revolutionary” power, but largely in a reactionary way. This leaves many questions as to why it has “hardliners” while other countries often do not, at least consistently the way Iran’s politics is said to be divided.

This brings to mind how Western countries are often said to have a “far right,” much as Israel has a “far right” – while in Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan or Malaysia there are fewer references to the “far right.”

This is because Western media often lacks a lexicon to discuss non-Western political systems. In such cases, arbitrary terms like “hardliner” are used. This is in place of local terms.

When it comes to Raisi it’s not clear if the term “hardliner” is enough to describe a man now potentially wanted for crimes against humanity.

唐納德特朗普說更多的美國猶太人應該投票給他

出口民意調查選舉之夜發現，特朗普在猶太人選票中的得分在 21% 到 30.5% 之間。他也是正確的，絕大多數東正教猶太人投票支持他。

作者：RON KAMPEAS/JTA

2021 年 6 月 19 日 03:59

美國前總統唐納德·特朗普於 2021 年 2 月 28 日在美國佛羅里達州奧蘭多舉行的保守黨政治行動會議 (CPAC) 上發表講話。

（照片來源：路透社/OCTAVIO JONES/文件照片）

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（JTA）——唐納德特朗普仍在試圖弄清楚為什麼更多的美國猶太人沒有投票給他，他在本週接受 haredi Orthodox 雜誌採訪時爭辯說他們“不夠愛以色列”以及他所做的與以色列有關的舉動作為總統應該為他贏得更多的猶太人選票。

“你知道什麼讓我很驚訝嗎？” 特朗普告訴 Ami 雜誌。“我做了高地，我做了耶路撒冷，我做了伊朗——伊朗協議是一場災難，對吧？而且我還做了很多其他的事情。住在美國的猶太人不夠愛以色列。這對你有意義嗎？我不是在談論東正教猶太人。我相信我們得到了 25% 的猶太人選票，這沒有意義。只是我覺得很奇怪。”

特朗普提到他決定承認以色列對戈蘭高地的主權，承認耶路撒冷為以色列的首都，並將美國大使館從特拉維夫遷至耶路撒冷，並退出以色列政府厭惡的伊朗核協議。

出口民意調查選舉之夜發現，特朗普在猶太人選票中的得分在 21% 到 30.5% 之間。他也是正確的，絕大多數東正教猶太人投票支持他。

猶太團體在 2019 年抨擊特朗普，因為他說猶太人不忠於投票給民主黨並加倍支持這一主張。

Donald Trump says more American Jews should have voted for him

Exit polls election night found Trump scored between 21% and 30.5% of the Jewish vote. He is also correct that an overwhelming majority of Orthodox Jews voted for him.

By RON KAMPEAS/JTA

JUNE 19, 2021 03:59

Former US President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, US February 28, 2021.

(photo credit: REUTERS/OCTAVIO JONES/FILE PHOTO)

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(JTA) — Donald Trump is still trying to figure out why more American Jews didn’t vote for him, arguing in a haredi Orthodox magazine interview this week that they “don’t love Israel enough” and the Israel-related moves he made as president should have earned him a larger share of the Jewish vote.

“You know what really surprised me?” Trump told Ami Magazine. “I did the Heights, I did Jerusalem, and I did Iran — the Iran Deal was a disaster, right? And I also did many other things. Jewish people who live in the United States don’t love Israel enough. Does that make sense to you? I’m not talking about Orthodox Jews. I believe we got 25% of the Jewish vote, and it doesn’t make sense. It just seems strange to me.”

Trump referred to his decisions to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, which Israel’s government loathes.

Exit polls election night found Trump scored between 21% and 30.5% of the Jewish vote. He is also correct that an overwhelming majority of Orthodox Jews voted for him.

Jewish groups slammed Trump in 2019 after he said that Jews were disloyal for voting for Democrats and doubling down on the claim.

巴勒斯坦人拒絕以色列轉讓超過 100 萬人口的協議。冠狀病毒病疫苗

該公告是在以色列向巴勒斯坦權力機構交付第一批輝瑞 COVID 疫苗之後發布的。

作者：拉哈夫·哈爾科夫、哈立德·阿布·托米

2021 年 6 月 19 日 23:20

在以色列拉馬特甘的謝巴醫療中心，醫務人員正在接種一瓶輝瑞公司的冠狀病毒病 (COVID-19) 疫苗

（圖片來源：路透社/AMIR COHEN/文件照片）

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巴勒斯坦權力 機構衛生部長邁·凱拉在周五晚些時候的新聞發布會上說，在其衛生當局確定它們“不符合技術標準”後，巴勒斯坦權力機構拒絕從以色列轉移超過 100 萬劑 COVID-19 疫苗。，在巴勒斯坦公開批評之後。

該公告是在以色列政府宣布疫苗交換協議後數小時內向巴勒斯坦權力機構交付了第一批 100,000 劑輝瑞 COVID-19 疫苗之後發布的。

以色列表示將立即向巴勒斯坦權力機構提供多達 140 萬劑疫苗，並在 9 月或 10 月，當巴勒斯坦權力機構從輝瑞購買的疫苗到達時，相同數量的疫苗將返還給以色列。

交換協議將允許大量巴勒斯坦人比計劃提前幾個月接種疫苗。

然而，在一些疫苗已經轉移到巴勒斯坦人的財產之後，總理穆罕默德·施泰耶週五晚間宣布他將取消發貨，因為它們即將到期。

然而，以色列表示已經向巴勒斯坦人提供了這些信息。

在許多巴勒斯坦人批評巴勒斯坦權力機構政府與以色列的交易後，巴勒斯坦權力機構採取了逆轉措施，主要是因為劑量即將到期。他們呼籲政府取消協議。

Al-Kaila 說，巴勒斯坦權力機構政府已通知以色列，疫苗必須符合有效性和安全性的所有規範和條件。

“醫療和技術團隊收到並檢查第一批後，發現這些劑量不符合先前約定的技術規範，並且它們的有效期已接近，”她說。

以色列衛生部周六晚表示，“我們提供給巴勒斯坦權力機構的 COVID-19 疫苗是完全有效的。巴勒斯坦權力機構知道有效期，一切都是事先商定的。巴勒斯坦人收到的疫苗與目前提供的疫苗相同。給以色列人。”

她說，巴勒斯坦權力機構政府從輝瑞公司購買了 400 萬支疫苗，並希望盡快收到它們，並指出將繼續向該公司施加壓力，要求他們盡快向巴勒斯坦人提供他們購買的疫苗。

據報導，在周四，在正式宣布之前，巴勒斯坦權力機構對疫苗轉讓的兩個條件提出異議，其中一個是該協議不會在“巴勒斯坦國”下簽署，第二個是疫苗不會轉移到加沙地帶。

巴勒斯坦衛生部長周五表示：“昨天，我們通知以色列人，我們將放棄所有疫苗，因為他們同意不向加沙提供其中一些疫苗。” “今天，他們回來找我們並同意了。”

由於過去幾個月的疫苗接種運動，以色列的發病率急劇下降，許多衛生專家警告說，巴勒斯坦人口對這種病毒的脆弱性對以色列來說是一種風險，該國應優先考慮為巴勒斯坦人接種疫苗。

衛生部長尼贊·霍洛維茨 (Nitzan Horowitz) 週五與 al-Kaila 進行了交談，並表示該協議將降低巴勒斯坦權力機構的 COVID-19 數量，而不會減少以色列的疫苗儲備。

霍洛維茨說：“冠狀病毒不分國界，也不區分國家。” “這一重要舉措符合各方利益。我希望並相信此舉也將促進以色列與其巴勒斯坦鄰國在其他領域的合作。”

COGAT 指揮官少將。Rassan Alian 說：“在過去的幾周里，我們一直在努力促成以色列國和巴勒斯坦權力機構簽署疫苗接種協議，這需要共同努力在我們地區根除 COVID-19 .

“這是最重要的健康和經濟利益，因為我們生活在一個流行病學空間，”Alian 解釋說。“該協議是推進和實施的一系列措施中的另一項……旨在維護該地區居民的健康並恢復日常生活。”

今年早些時候，活動人士、非政府組織和媒體指責以色列扣留巴勒斯坦人接種疫苗，違反國際法，不為他們接種疫苗。

然而，巴勒斯坦當局並沒有向以色列尋求疫苗方面的幫助，而在以色列的疫苗推廣達到頂峰時，以色列實際上已經提供了援助，並為 100,000 名持有以色列工作許可證的巴勒斯坦人接種了疫苗。以色列還在東耶路撒冷為在以色列 HMO 下登記的巴勒斯坦人接種了疫苗。

此外，奧斯陸協議規定巴勒斯坦權力機構負責猶太、撒馬利亞和加沙的巴勒斯坦人的醫療保健，包括疫苗接種。

今年早些時候，他們還收到了大約 10,000 劑俄羅斯人造衛星 V疫苗。

人權醫師表示，週五的宣布“太少也太遲了”。

“以色列沒有立即承擔責任並向全體人民提供疫苗，也沒有進行不必要的計算，而是與數百萬人的生命和健康進行交易，”人權醫師的 Ghada Majadli 說。

“根據國際法，以色列負有道義和法律責任，以確保其控制下的領土上居民的健康，”馬賈德利說。“以色列只轉讓少量疫苗的事實是可恥的，是可恥的逃避責任。以色列必須立即向西岸和加沙的所有居民提供疫苗。”

Palestinians reject Israeli deal to transfer over 1m. COVID vaccines

The announcement came after Israel delivered a first shipment of Pfizer COVID vaccine to the Palestinian Authority.

By LAHAV HARKOV, KHALED ABU TOAMEH

JUNE 19, 2021 23:20

A vial of the Pfizer vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is seen as medical staff are vaccinated at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel

(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN/FILE PHOTO)

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The Palestinian Authority has rejected the transfer of more than a million COVID-19 vaccine doses from Israel after its health authorities determined that they “fall short of meeting the technical criteria,” PA Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said in a press conference late Friday, following Palestinian public criticism.

The announcement came after Israel delivered a first shipment of 100,000 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses to the PA, within hours of the Israeli government’s announcement of the vaccine exchange agreement.

Israel said it would supply up to 1.4 million doses of the vaccine immediately to the PA, and in September or October, when the doses purchased from Pfizer by the PA are due to arrive, the same number of doses would be returned to Israel.

The exchange deal would allow a large number of Palestinians to be vaccinated months earlier than planned.

However, after some of the vaccines had already been transferred to Palestinian possession, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced late Friday that he was canceling the shipment because they are expiring soon.

Israel, however, said it had given the Palestinians that information.

The PA’s reversal was taken after many Palestinians criticized the PA government over the deal with Israel, largely because the doses were about to expire. They called on the government to cancel the agreement.

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Al-Kaila said that the PA government had notified Israel that the vaccines must conform to all specifications and conditions of validity and safety.

“After medical and technical teams received and inspected the first batch, it was found that the doses did not conform to the technical specifications as previously agreed upon, and that their expiry date was close,” she said.

The Israeli Health Ministry said on Saturday night that "the COVID-19 vaccines we gave the Palestinian Authority were perfectly valid. The expiration dates were known to the PA and everything was agreed upon in advance. The Palestinians received the same vaccines that are currently given to Israelis."

The PA government purchased four million vaccines from Pfizer and is hoping to receive them as soon as possible, she said, noting that it would continue to exert pressure on the company to provide the Palestinians with the vaccines they had purchased as soon as possible.

Already on Thursday, before any formal announcement was made, the PA reportedly held issue with two conditions surrounding the transfer of the vaccines, one of which was that the agreement would not be signed under the “State of Palestine” and the second was that the vaccines would not be transferred to the Gaza Strip.

“Yesterday, we informed the Israelis that we were giving up all vaccines because they had agreed not to supply some of them to Gaza,” the Palestinian Health minister said Friday. “Today, they came back to us and agreed.”

AS MORBIDITY in Israel has plummeted due to the vaccination campaign over the past few months, many health experts warned that the vulnerability of the Palestinian population to the virus represents a risk for Israel and that the country should consider inoculation of Palestinians to be a priority.

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz spoke with al-Kaila on Friday, and said the agreement will lower the COVID-19 numbers in the Palestinian Authority without reducing Israel’s stores of vaccines.

“Coronavirus does not recognize borders or differentiate between nations,” Horowitz said. “This important move is in the interest of all sides. I hope and believe this move will promote cooperation between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors in other areas, as well.”

COGAT commander Maj.-Gen. Rassan Alian said that “over the last few weeks, we have been working very hard to bring about the signing of the vaccination agreement between the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which entails a significant joint effort to eradicate COVID-19 in our region.

“This is of paramount health and economic interest, as we live in one epidemiological space,” Alian explained. “This agreement is another in a series of measures advanced and implemented… with the aim of maintaining the health of the area’s residents and restoring the routine of life.”

Earlier this year, activists, NGOs and media outlets accused Israel of withholding vaccines from Palestinians and violating international law by not vaccinating them.

However, the Palestinian Authority had not asked Israel for help with the vaccines, while Israel had actually offered assistance and vaccinated 100,000 Palestinians with Israeli work permits as Israel’s vaccine rollout reached its peak. Israel also vaccinated Palestinians in east Jerusalem, who are registered under Israeli HMOs.

In addition, the Oslo Accords stipulate that the PA is responsible for healthcare, including vaccinations, for Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and Gaza.

They received about 10,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine earlier this year, as well.

Physicians for Human Rights said that Friday’s announcement was “too little and far too late.”

“Instead of taking responsibility and providing vaccines without delay to the entire population and without unnecessary calculations, Israel is making deals with the lives and health of millions of people,” according to Ghada Majadli of Physicians for Human Rights.

“Israel has a moral and legal responsibility, according to international law, to ensure the health of the residents of the territories under its control,” Majadli said. “The fact that Israel has only transferred a small number of vaccines is disgraceful and a shameful avoidance of responsibility. Israel must immediately provide vaccines to all residents of the West Bank and Gaza.”

Gantz 將提交國家委員會對案例 3000 的調查

潛艇事件是一個持續的醜聞，涉及與德國蒂森克虜伯公司達成的價值數十億美元的潛艇交易。

作者：安娜·阿羅海姆，約娜·傑瑞米·鮑勃

2021 年 6 月 19 日 22:12

2021 年 3 月 7 日，候補總理兼國防部長本尼·甘茨出席以色列電視新聞公司在耶路撒冷舉行的會議。

（照片來源：YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90）

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國防部長本尼甘茨將提交一項決議，提議成立一個國家調查委員會，調查潛艇和船隻的購買情況，他的辦公室週六晚宣布。

將在未來幾天制定的決議草案將在國防部工作人員結束後並與司法部長 Avichai Mandelblit 協調提交。

他的辦公室表示，該委員會將有能力“深入和獨立地審查國家調查，這與甘茨因內塔尼亞胡反對國家調查而試圖建立的部委委員會不同” 。

“我預計這一次，所有政府部長都會支持委員會的成立，”甘茨說，“不能留下問號，必須得出結論。”

去年 11 月，甘茨曾表示他將成立一個政府調查委員會，以調查從德國採購新潛艇和船隻的問題，但前總理本雅明內塔尼亞胡拒絕批准。

甘茨隨後任命了退休法官阿姆農·斯特拉施諾夫（Amnon Straschnov），他是首席軍事檢察官，負責領導調查。與他一起，甘茨任命了總理辦公室前採購負責人兼國防部生產和採購局經濟部門負責人 Yael Grill，以及前指揮官 Avraham Ben-Shoshan 將軍 (res.)以色列海軍和軍事專員在以色列駐華盛頓特區大使館。

據環球報報導，該委員會的工作重點是採購三艘新潛艇以及內塔尼亞胡對購買第四艘的需求。

由於難以獲得權力，該委員會沒有開始活動。然後，隨著第四輪選舉的宣布，甘茨決定暫停建立它的努力。從那時起，案件就被提起訴訟，並且有可能在證據具有法律約束力的情況下建立這樣一個委員會。

Gantz 的辦公室已將此事提交給以色列議會發言人 Mickey Levi 辦公室，未來幾天將就該主題進行討論。

利庫德集團回應稱，甘茨本人“多次”表示沒有必要調查此案。

“既然甘茨決定將國防機構拖入政治辯論，將會發生什麼變化？令人遺憾的是，即使在鐵梳子梳理了這件事後一無所獲，在國家安全委員會前高級成員作證購買潛艇和船隻沒有任何缺陷後，甘茨繼續對內塔尼亞胡和內塔尼亞胡進行盲目追捕。利庫德集團，”聲明說。

該潛艇事理是涉及數十億美元的潛艇交易與德國蒂森克虜伯集團在過去幾年，包括2016年，其中政治類有，儘管他被執法清除取得對抗總理內塔尼亞胡指責正在進行的醜聞。

在 2019 年 12 月和其他公告中，曼德爾布利特宣布他可能會起訴接近內塔尼亞胡的高級官員和前海軍高級官員行賄，以主張從蒂森克虜伯購買不必要的額外潛艇和軍艦。

與內塔尼亞胡關係密切並已捲入此事的人包括律師大衛·希姆倫，他是內塔尼亞胡的親信和堂兄；前總理辦公室參謀長戴維·夏蘭（David Sharan）；和前副國家安全顧問 Avriel Bar-Yosef。

預計前海軍總司令埃利澤·馬羅姆和其他高級官員也將被起訴。

儘管如此，總檢察長得出的結論是，沒有證據表明內塔尼亞胡知道該計劃，而且他最多是在可疑情況下推動購買船隻。

甘茨的調查旨在超越法律證明標準，以確定內塔尼亞胡在這件事中的行為是否不道德。

以色列目前擁有三艘海豚級潛艇和兩艘海豚 2 級潛艇（另一艘預計將於 2018 年交付）。據稱，這些潛艇的保質期約為 30 年，因此再過 10 年就會過時。

據稱，這些前往以色列的潛艇有 16 個多用途魚雷發射管，可以發射魚雷，甚至是游泳者發射系統。據國外報導，這些潛艇為以色列提供了核二次打擊能力，可攜帶帶核彈頭的遠程巡航導彈。他們再過十年都不會到達以色列的海岸。

Gantz to submit proposal for state commission of inquiry into Case 3000

The Submarine Affair is an ongoing scandal involving a multi-billion dollar submarine deal with Germany’s ThyssenKrupp AG.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM, YONAH JEREMY BOB

JUNE 19, 2021 22:12

Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Benny Gantz attends a conference of the Israeli Television News Company in Jerusalem on March 7, 2021.

(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90)

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Defense Minister Benny Gantz will submit a resolution proposing the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the purchase of the submarines and vessels, his office announced on Saturday night.

The draft resolution that will be formulated in the coming days will be submitted following the end of the staff work in the defense ministry and in coordination with Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.

The committee will have the ability to examine the state inquiry “in-depth and independently, in contrast to the ministry committee” that Gantz had tried to establish in light of Netanyahu’s opposition to the state inquiry, his office said.

"I expect that this time, all government ministers will support the establishment of the committee,” Gantz said. “The question marks must not be left open, and conclusions must be drawn.”

In November Gantz had said that he would set up a government committee of inquiry to investigate the procurement of new submarines and vessels from Germany but former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to approve it.

Gantz then appointed retired judge Amnon Straschnov, who was chief military prosecutor to lead the inquiry. Alongside him, Gantz appointed Yael Grill, the former head of procurement in the Prime Minister's Office and head of the economic unit of the Ministry of Defense Production and Procurement Directorate, as well as General (res.) Avraham Ben-Shoshan, a former commander of the Israel Navy and military attaché at the Embassy of Israel in Washington DC.

According to Globes, the committee’s work was to focus on the procurement of the three new submarines and Netanyahu’s demand for the purchase of a fourth.

The committee did not start its activities due to difficulties in obtaining the powers. Then, with the announcement of the fourth round of elections, Gantz decided to suspend the efforts to establish it. Since then, indictments were filed in the case and it’s possible to establish such a committee where the evidence is legally binding.

Gantz’s office has already addressed the matter to the Office of the Knesset Speaker, Mickey Levi and the discussion on the subject will take place in the coming days.

In response the Likud said that Gantz himself said “dozens of times” that there was no need to investigate the case.

“What will change now that Gantz decides to drag the defense establishment into a political debate? It is unfortunate that even after combing through the affair with iron combs and finding nothing and after former senior members of the National Security Council testified that there was no flaw in the purchase of the submarines and vessels, Ganz continues a blind pursuit against Netanyahu and the Likud,” the statement said.

The Submarine Affair is an ongoing scandal involving a multi-billion dollar submarine deal with Germany’s ThyssenKrupp AG conglomerate over several years, including 2016, in which the political class has made accusations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite his being cleared by law enforcement.

In December 2019 and additional announcements, Mandelblit announced he will likely indict top officials close to Netanyahu and top former Naval officials for bribery to advocate for the purchase of unnecessary extra submarines and military boats from the ThyssenKrupp .

Among those close to Netanyahu and already implicated in the affair are lawyer David Shimron, a confidant and cousin of Netanyahu; David Sharan, a former chief of staff in the Prime Minister’s Office; and Avriel Bar-Yosef, a former deputy national security adviser.

Former naval chief Eliezer Marom and other top officials are also expected to be indicted.

Nevertheless, the attorney-general concluded that there is no proof Netanyahu knew about the scheme, and that at most, he pushed for buying the vessels under suspicious circumstances.

Gantz's inquiry was designed to go beyond legal standards of proof to determine if Netanyahu's conduct in the affair was unethical.

Israel currently has three Dolphin-class submarines and two Dolphin 2-class submarines (another one is expected to be delivered in 2018). The subs are said to have a shelf-life of around 30 years, making them obsolete in another 10 years.

The Israel-bound subs in question are said to have 16 multipurpose torpedo tubes which can fire torpedoes and even swimmer delivery systems. According to foreign reports, these submarines provide Israel with nuclear second-strike capabilities, carrying long-range cruise missiles with nuclear warheads. They would not reach Israel’s coast for another decade.

內塔尼亞胡同意7月10日前離開官邸

離開將在貝內特上週開始擔任英超聯賽后近一個月進行。

通過LAHAV哈爾科夫

2021 年 6 月 19 日 23:34

在周六與總理納夫塔利·貝內特達成協議後，反對黨領袖本傑明·內塔尼亞胡將於7 月 10 日離開位於耶路撒冷貝爾福街的總理官邸。

離職將在貝內特上週開始擔任總理後近一個月發生，比內塔尼亞胡在 1999 年輸給埃胡德巴拉克後離開貝爾福官邸的六週時間要短。

內塔尼亞胡還同意不在官邸舉行正式會議。貝內特宣誓就任總理後的第二天，內塔尼亞胡在總理官邸接待了美國前駐聯合國大使尼基·黑利和基督教徒聯盟為以色列領導人約翰·哈吉牧師。

貝內特預計不會全職搬進貝爾福住所，而是主要將其用於正式會議。他的妻子和四個孩子，分別是 9 歲、12 歲、14 歲和 16 歲，預計將留在他們位於 Ra'anana 的家中。

Netanyahu agrees to leave official residence by July 10

The departure will take place nearly a month after Bennett began the premiership last week.

By LAHAV HARKOV

JUNE 19, 2021 23:34

Street sign for the road on which the prime minister's residence lies.

(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

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Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu will leave the Prime Minister’s Residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem by July 10, after reaching an agreement with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Saturday.

The departure will take place nearly a month after Bennett began his premiership last week, shorter than the six-weeks it took Netanyahu to leave the Balfour residence after losing an election to Ehud Barak in 1999.

Netanyahu also agreed to not to hold official meetings in the residence. The day after Bennett was sworn in as prime minister, Netanyahu hosted former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and Christians United for Israel leader Pastor John Hagee in the Prime Minister’s Residence.

Bennett is not expected to move into the Balfour residence full-time, but to use it mostly for official meetings. His wife and four children, aged 9, 12, 14 and 16, are expected to remain in their home in Ra’anana.

Nikki Haley 的白宮之路是從耶路撒冷開始的嗎？

“以色列不應該孤軍奮戰，”前美國駐聯合國大使在前往以色列被火箭摧毀的南部進行聲援任務時說。

作者：瑪雅·賈夫·霍夫曼

2021 年 6 月 17 日 10:20

與 CUFI 創始人 John Hagee 牧師一起觀看鐵穹頂。

（圖片來源：OREN COHEN/CUFI）

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“這太過分了，”前美國駐聯合國大使妮基·黑莉 (Nikki Haley)在自發地擁抱了一名在 5 月戰爭期間被哈馬斯火箭損壞的阿什克倫居民後，低聲說道。

當她把他抱在懷裡，在他佈滿瓦礫的房子外面時，他們的雙眼都噙滿了淚水。

黑莉上週五抵達該國，作為以色列基督徒聯合組織 (CUFI) 組織的團結使命的一部分，該組織擁有 1000 萬會員，被認為是美國最大的親以色列基督教組織。

該任務是在最近的加沙戰爭之後安排的，該戰爭被稱為“城牆守護者行動”，該行動在以色列殺死了 12 人——包括兩名兒童——以幫助向以色列人傳達一個信息，即他們有愛他們並關心他們的朋友。

CUFI 的 81 歲創始人兼主席約翰·哈吉（John Hagee）牧師解釋說：“我們代表著美國超過 1000 萬人，這些人非常想對你說，以色列，我們支持你。”使命的重要性。

黑利是自上月底哈馬斯停火以來第四位抵達該國的共和黨政治領導人。其他人包括前國務卿邁克龐培、參議員特德克魯茲（德克薩斯州）和參議員林賽格雷厄姆（南卡羅來納州）。

對於那些可能會在 2024 年競選的人來說，人們猜測聖地是前往白宮途中的早期競選站。

出類拔萃的海莉是最有活力和知名度的候選人之一，儘管她在以色列期間沒有正式宣布參選計劃，也不願意就此發表任何評論。

黑莉於 2018 年 12 月在 2020 年大選之前以及 1 月 8 日國會暴動之前很久離開了她在聯合國的職位。她在很大程度上謹慎地表示支持前總統唐納德特朗普，但她的提前離職使她成為與他的政府關聯最少的候選人。

特朗普將歷史上一直是兩黨問題的以色列變成了 2016 年共和黨競選活動的焦點，他在當地僱傭了一個團隊，並將他的信息重點放在耶路撒冷，著眼於每天為聖城和平祈禱的基督徒.

在他任職期間，他承認耶路撒冷是以色列的首都和以色列對戈蘭高地的主權，將美國大使館從特拉維夫遷至耶路撒冷，並承認該國最終有權對猶太和撒馬利亞（基督徒的聖經中心地帶）行使有限的主權。

這些舉措是為了吸引和拉近他的福音派基督徒支持者，就像他們為了支持猶太人和猶太國家一樣。

走道兩邊的美國總統候選人在以色列競選並不罕見。2008 年，作為民主黨總統候選人，巴拉克·奧巴馬 (Barack Obama) 前往以色列，探訪南部飽受戰爭蹂躪的家庭，並把手放在西牆上。

前參議員約翰麥凱恩和米特羅姆尼分別在第一次和第二次選舉中與奧巴馬競選總統，作為競選活動的一部分，他們前往這個猶太州。

據推測，同樣地，海莉來到以色列既是為了表示團結，也是為了支持她與福音派的關係。

她在訪問期間說，沒有正式職位不應該阻止她來到以色列並為猶太國家和人民而戰。

“我向以色列人民保證，只要我還在呼吸，我就永遠不會停止為以色列而戰。我認為真正重要的是回到這裡，在經歷了一場可怕的衝突之後，一場毫無根據和不必要的衝突，而且經常發生的衝突，來到這裡並確保我們讓以色列人民知道我們的立場和你在一起，”海莉說。“我們會和你一起戰鬥。”

黑利在聯合國一直是以色列的堅定擁護者，他毫不含糊地譴責哈馬斯在 5 月的大火中向以色列發射了近 4,500 枚火箭和迫擊砲彈。

“以色列人應該在家中安全，”她說。

說話時，她凝視著攝像師的鏡頭，他在一堆瓦礫上搖搖晃晃地保持平衡，現在是被其中一枚火箭摧毀的阿什克倫住宅的地板。黑莉穿著一條白色棉質牛仔褲，太陽鏡架在頭頂，譴責全世界對這個猶太國家視而不見，就像她在 2017 年至 2018 年任期內在聯合國大會上發表講話時所用的有力方式一樣.

“哈馬斯試圖殺害平民。以色列人正試圖保護自己，”黑利說。“認為 [哈馬斯] 恐怖組織可以自由攻擊無辜平民的想法……是不可想像和不可接受的。

“[聯合國] 安理會在哪裡？每個相信民主和自由的政府在哪裡？” 她繼續說。“世界必須做出回應。以色列不應該單獨作戰。”

在總理納夫塔利·貝內特和外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德將本傑明·內塔尼亞胡總理趕下台後，一名聲稱代表 7700 萬虔誠基督徒的福音派領袖威脅要撤回對這個猶太國家的支持僅兩週之後，這一使命就來了。

但哈吉說這些評論是無稽之談，因為“聖經信徒致力於支持這個國家正式當選的代表。

“這一切都歸結為你對書面經文的承諾，”他解釋說。“致力於書寫聖經的人將支持以色列，因為以色列不是一個政治問題。這是一個聖經問題。”

詩篇 122 篇 6 節說：“為耶路撒冷祈求平安：愛你的人必興旺，”牧師說。“這不是建議。那是命令。”

在短途旅行中，海莉和哈吉會見了拉皮德和內塔尼亞胡。據 CUFI 稱，由於日程安排方面的挑戰，該小組沒有與 Bennett 會面。然而，一位接近貝內特的消息人士透露，另一個考慮是，如果新首相第一次與國際人物會面是與一位共和黨領袖人物會面，而貝內特想從頭開始，那麼這對喬·拜登總統的政府來說可能會很糟糕。與以色列最親密的盟友。

“以色列人在政治上經歷了很多，我非常感謝內塔尼亞胡總理以及他為以色列人民所做的一切，”黑利告訴郵報。“他通過經濟、外交和安全關係加強以色列的方式已載入史冊，我們對他深表感謝。

“我們顯然要祝賀貝內特總理，讓他知道以色列的領導人是誰並不重要，重要的是美國無論如何都與她站在一起。”

HAGEE 與他的妻子 Diana（她也是 CUFI 的聯合執行董事）和聯合執行董事 Shari Dollinger 共同組織了這次小型任務。Haley 的丈夫 Michael 和牧師的女兒 Sandra 也是這個團體的成員。

“我們帶著電視攝像機拍攝了對以色列發動的戰爭，”哈吉在周一晚上的非公開簡報中告訴《耶路撒冷郵報》。“我們看到六英寸混凝土牆的房屋被火箭彈擊碎。我們看到離爆炸中心 50 碼遠的房子，屋頂被扯掉了。我們看到那些火箭彈的爆炸把人的頭髮抹在牆上。”

他說，他們來到以色列是為了“安慰戰爭的受害者，並向美國人民宣傳伊朗摧毀猶太國家的瘋狂夢想”。

因此，週日上午，黑利與阿什克倫和斯德羅特的居民會面，他們的家園被哈馬斯的火箭襲擊摧毀。下午，她參觀了一個鐵穹反導砲台，在那裡聽取了以色列國防軍高級官員的簡報，前往加沙邊境附近的戰略遠景，並參觀了那裡的一個軍事基地。

在為期 11 天的戰爭中，阿什克倫是受災最嚴重的地區之一。大約 900 枚火箭襲擊了這座城市。有時，5 分鐘內有 100 多枚火箭落下，相當於每秒近一枚火箭。雖然該市超過 130,000 名居民中的大多數人都有防空洞，但估計有 40,000 人沒有。因此，在恐怖活動期間，他們被迫住在社區避難所。

擁抱一位在最近的戰爭中房屋受損的阿什克倫居民。（來源：MAAYAN HOFFMAN）

Sigal Ariely 的家在戰役的最後一天被導彈直接擊中。當火箭墜落時，她在安全的房間裡，就在她家外面。但她26歲的兒子在家裡。Ariely 說，他躲在樓梯下，只能靠上帝的恩典才得救。

“我的家人知道當你聽到警報聲時，房子裡的任何人都需要跑——你不用等任何人，你只要跑就行，”Ariely 告訴 Haley 和 Hagee。“在這個特定的警報期間，我兒子在樓上，我的狗在裡面。我一邊跑一邊為他尖叫，但我不確定他在做什麼。”

她的兒子停下來抓狗，這讓他放慢了速度，“所以他站在那裡，”她指著一個混凝土樓梯說道，樓梯上佈滿了彈片和傷痕。

“當我聽到轟鳴聲時，感覺天都要塌下來了。我知道它很接近，但我無法想像有多接近，”她回憶道。

Ariely 為大巴爾的摩猶太聯合會工作，作為他們在以色列的代表。她說她總是在講述阿什凱倫人的故事，但“如果是你的故事，那就不一樣了。”

然而，她回憶說，在尖叫和哭泣幾分鐘後，當警察、以色列國防軍和記者開始到達她家時，她做了一個大臉。

“我對自己說，你必須振作起來，傳遞出我們強大的信息，”艾瑞利說。“這不是一個玩笑。這真的可以殺死你。我們失去的是財產。但如果上帝不讓我兒子發生什麼事，我什至不知道我該如何繼續。你不能在經歷了這樣的事情后就回到正常生活。在家裡你應該是安全的，但實際上你不是。”

黑莉還拜訪了一名在直接襲擊中受重傷的 80 歲大屠殺倖存者的家。這名婦女的看護人、32 歲的 Soumya Santosh 在襲擊中喪生。

房子被鬆散的木板覆蓋，女人的財物被埋在瓦礫中，讓人難以站立。

“你所要做的就是看看這個損壞，然後告訴我這裡哪裡有政府辦公室，”黑莉站在房子中央說。“告訴我這裡哪裡有政府辦公室。這不是他們（哈馬斯）試圖傷害以色列政府。這是他們試圖追隨以色列人的心，他們知道這就是人民。”

她對拜登努力平衡應對局勢表示失望，她說這完全是片面的。她強調，哈馬斯是一個恐怖組織。

“如果你有 4,500 枚火箭進入 [華盛頓] 特區，如果我們的任何盟友說他們認為我們需要雙方保持克制，我認為我們不會非常感激。”

黑莉說，當她在聯合國時，她會“看看中國，我會看看俄羅斯，我會看看安理會，然後我會說，‘如果你有成千上萬的火箭進入你的家，告訴我你不會為自己辯護，告訴我你不會做你需要做的一切來確保你的人安全。聯合國做得還不夠。”

當任務離開倖存者的家時，他們遇到了她的隔壁鄰居佩尼娜，她的家也被火箭的餘震嚴重損壞。佩妮娜認出了海莉，小心翼翼地翻過碎石去找大使講述她的故事。

導彈落下時，她家裡有 9 個人，其中包括她 18 個月大的孫子，他正在一間臥室裡休息。當警笛響起時，她將他撲進懷裡，跑向避難所，但一枚導彈擊中了途中。

“彈片擊穿屋頂，我正在奔跑，一塊石頭落在我的頭上，但我告訴自己，'救救你的孫子，'”佩尼娜回憶道。爆炸聲引人入勝，把她從腳上撞倒，頭撞在牆上，她的頭髮仍然因為壓力而粘在牆上。

“我摔倒了，但我沒有離開他，”佩尼娜回憶道。“我緊緊地抱著他。這是一個奇蹟。”

黑利說她很“生氣”，因為她知道上個月在與哈馬斯的安全升級期間發生的事情與真主黨對以色列構成的威脅相比顯得微不足道。

在擔任聯合國大使期間，黑莉在黎巴嫩和以色列邊境度過了一段時間。

“你有真主黨在等待——真主黨讓哈馬斯看起來像兒戲，”黑利說。“真主黨將成為以色列的下一個問題”。

這同時也知道美國正在考慮重新加入伊朗核協議——聯合綜合行動計劃——她說這是對以色列和世界的“死亡願望”。

“現在的想法是，包括美國在內的世界上有多個國家正在尋找如何重做伊朗協議的想法，這只不過是對以色列的一個死亡願望，最終是對世界的一個死亡願望，”她說。週一晚上，她在耶路撒冷的華爾道夫酒店（Waldorf Astoria）與一群精選的記者交談時說，她住在那裡。

黑利猛烈抨擊拜登政府最近與伊朗打交道的努力，稱拜登“為了重回伊朗協議而自暴自棄”這一事實非常令人作嘔。

“伊朗永遠不會改變它的方式，”她警告說。“它永遠不會停止說，'以色列的死亡。' 它永遠不會停止說，“美國之死。” 我們能夠實現變革的唯一方法就是收回資金並收回錢包。”

她告誡說，當伊朗人獲得資金時，他們不會去養活伊朗人民。相反，他們向哈馬斯、真主黨和胡塞武裝提供資金。他們在也門、黎巴嫩、加沙、敘利亞和阿富汗製造麻煩。

“他們的觸手伸得越來越遠，”海莉說。“如果你資助伊朗，你就是資助想要殺死以色列的恐怖分子。”

她還譴責拜登沒有“感謝”阿拉伯國家，如阿拉伯聯合酋長國和巴林，他們將與以色列的關係正常化，這是特朗普總統領導下的亞伯拉罕協議的一部分。黑利指責拜登通過與德黑蘭的談判“扇了他們一巴掌”。

黑利說：“你不能與以色列成為朋友，也不能通過回到伊朗協議來對那些想與以色列成為朋友的人說謝謝。”

哈吉也利用這次訪問證實了他的組織反對重新加入核協議的明確立場，並警告美國人民，“我們需要對與伊朗的關係非常謹慎，我們需要以更明確的方式支持以色列，更有力的方式，所以這個國家（以色列）可以擁有自由的邊界和自由做他們想做的事情，以保護他們的公民免受邪惡的伊朗帝國的傷害。”

黑利在簡報會上還談到了打擊反猶太主義的必要性，她說“不幸的是，反猶太主義正在美國上升”，並且她“對民主黨方面對以色列的仇恨言論如何上升感到極度失望”。

她指出，“當然不是所有的民主黨人都反對以色列，但它似乎正在增長。無論是 [明尼蘇達州國會女議員] 伊爾汗·奧馬爾 (Ilhan Omar) 還是 [佛蒙特州參議員] 伯尼·桑德斯 (Bernie Sanders)，他們的聲音都越來越大。”

上週，奧馬爾在推特上說“我們看到了美國、哈馬斯、以色列、阿富汗和塔利班犯下的難以想像的暴行”，她的批評者說這暗示了道德上的對等。

“為什麼她可以坐在那裡，把美國和以色列等同於哈馬斯，等同於一個恐怖組織？” 海莉問道。“如果她對任何其他人群這樣做，我們都會感到震驚，每個人都會要求她辭職。”

她補充說：“當你看到這些民主黨人中的一些人呼籲停止與以色列的資助協議時，當你看到他們開始批評以色列與這場衝突有關係，而不是對造成無辜生命的恐怖組織發表任何評論時——對民主黨來說是一個沉重的負擔。

她斷言：“拜登總統對此不發表意見意味著他接受這些聲明是有效的。” “而且我認為這很不幸。”

Does Nikki Haley’s road to the White House start in Jerusalem?

"Israel should not be fighting alone," said the former-US ambassador to the UN on a solidarity mission to Israel's rocket-ravaged south.

By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN

JUNE 17, 2021 10:20

VIEWING THE Iron Dome with CUFI founder Pastor John Hagee.

(photo credit: OREN COHEN/CUFI)

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‘It is too much,” former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley whispered under her breath after she had spontaneously hugged an Ashkelon resident whose home had been damaged by a Hamas rocket during the May war.

Tears had swelled up in both their eyes as she wrapped him in her arms outside his rubble-strewn home.

Haley arrived in the country last Friday as part of a solidarity mission organized by Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which has 10 million members and is considered the largest pro-Israel Christian organization in the United States.

The mission was arranged in the aftermath of the recent Gaza war, known as Operation Guardian of the Walls, which killed 12 people in Israel – including two children – to help send a message to Israelis that they have friends who love them and care.

“We represent 10 million-plus people in America and these people very much want to say to you, Israel, we have your back,” said Pastor John Hagee, the 81-year-old founder and chairman of CUFI, as he explained the importance of the mission.

Haley is the fourth Republican political leader to arrive in the country since the Hamas ceasefire at the end of last month. The others include former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina).

Speculation is high that the Holy Land is an early campaign stop on the way to the White House for those who may be eyeing a 2024 run.

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Out of the pack, Haley is one of the most viable and high-profile candidates, although she has made no formal announcement of plans to run nor was she willing to make any comment on the subject while she was in Israel.

Haley left her post at the UN in December 2018, before the 2020 election and long before the January 8 Capitol riot. She has largely been careful to show support for former president Donald Trump but her early departure makes her the least associated candidate with his administration.

Trump turned Israel, which had historically been a bipartisan issue, into a focus of the 2016 Republican campaign, hiring a team on the ground and focusing his messaging on Jerusalem with an eye toward the Christians who pray for the peace of the Holy City every day.

During his tenure, he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, relocated the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognized the country’s eventual right to apply limited sovereignty over Judea and Samaria – the Biblical Heartland for Christians.

Those moves were made as much if not more to attract and keep close his evangelical Christian supporters as they were to support the Jews and the Jewish state.

It is not unusual for US presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle to campaign in Israel. In 2008 as a Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama traveled to Israel, visited war-torn families in the South and put his hand on the Western Wall.

Both former senators John McCain and Mitt Romney, who ran for president against Obama in his first and second election, respectively, took trips to the Jewish state as part of their election campaigns.

It is presumed that likewise, Haley came to Israel both as a show of solidarity and to shore up her credentials with the evangelicals.

She said during her visit that not having a formal position should not stop her from coming to Israel and fighting for the Jewish state and people.

“I promised the people of Israel that I would never stop fighting for Israel as long as I was taking a breath. I think what is really important is coming back here, after what has been a horrific conflict, one that was unwarranted and unnecessary, and one that happens all too often, to come here and make sure that we let the Israeli people know we are standing with you,” Haley said. “We will fight with you.”

Haley, who had been a strong advocate for Israel at the United Nations, minced no words in condemning Hamas for its launch of nearly 4,500 rockets and mortars against Israel during the May conflagration.

“Israelis deserve to be safe in their homes,” she said.

As she spoke, she stared into the lens of the camera of a videographer who balanced precariously on a pile of rubble, now the floor of an Ashkelon home that was destroyed by one of the rockets. In a pair of white cotton jeans, her sunglasses perched on top of her head, Haley scolded the world for turning a blind eye to the Jewish state in the same powerful way she used to address the UN General Assembly during her tenure from 2017 to 2018.

“Hamas is trying to kill civilians. Israelis are trying to defend themselves,” Haley said. “The idea that the [Hamas] terrorist organization is running free being able to attack innocent civilians… is unthinkable and unacceptable.

“Where is the [UN] Security Council? Where is every government that believes in democracy and freedom?” she continued. “The world has to respond. Israel should not be fighting alone.”

SENDING THE message she cares: Nikki Haley in the rocket-ravaged South, June 13, 2021. (Credit: OREN COHEN/CUFI)

THE MISSION came only two weeks after one evangelical leader, who claimed to represent 77 million devout Christians, threatened to withdraw support for the Jewish state after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid ousted prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power.

But Hagee said the comments were nonsense because “Bible believers are committed to supporting whoever the duly elected representatives of this nation happen to be.

“It all boils down to your commitment to the written scripture,” he explained. “The people who are committed to written scripture will be supportive of Israel because Israel is not a political issue. It is a Bible issue.”

The words of Psalm 122:6 state, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee,” the pastor said. “That is not a recommendation. That is a command.”

During the short trip, Haley and Hagee met with Lapid and Netanyahu. The group did not meet with Bennett, according to CUFI, due to scheduling challenges. However, a source close to Bennett revealed that another consideration was that it might look bad to President Joe Biden’s administration if the new prime minister’s first meeting with an international figure was with a leading Republican figure, and Bennett wanted to start out on the right foot with Israel’s closest ally.

“Israelis have been through a lot politically, and I am very thankful for prime minister Netanyahu and all that he did for the people of Israel,” Haley told the Post. “The way he strengthened Israel through economic, diplomatic and security ties has been one for the history books and we owe him a great debt of gratitude.

“We obviously want to congratulate Prime Minister Bennett and let him know it does not matter who the leader of Israel is, it matters that America stands with her regardless.”

HAGEE ORGANIZED the mini-mission with his wife, Diana – who is also co-executive director of CUFI – and co-executive director Shari Dollinger. Haley’s husband, Michael, and the pastor’s daughter, Sandra, were also part of the group.

“We brought our television cameras to take pictures of the war that has been committed against Israel,” Hagee told The Jerusalem Post in a closed briefing on Monday night. “We saw houses with six-inch concrete walls shattered by rocket fire. We saw houses 50 yards away from the blast center where the roof had been ripped off. We saw human hair plastered to the wall by the blast of those rockets.”

He said they came to Israel to “comfort the victims of the war and to inform the American people about Iran’s maniacal dream of destroying the Jewish state.”

As such, on Sunday, Haley spent the morning meeting with residents of Ashkelon and Sderot whose homes had been destroyed by Hamas’s rocket attacks. In the afternoon, she visited an Iron Dome anti-missile battery where she was briefed by top IDF officials, traveled to a strategic outlook near the Gaza border and visited a military base there.

Ashkelon was among the hardest hit during the 11-day war. Some 900 rockets battered the city. Some days, more than 100 rockets fell in five minutes, the equivalent of nearly one rocket per second. While the majority of the city’s more than 130,000 residents have bomb shelters, an estimated 40,000 do not. They were thus forced to live in community shelters during the duration of the terror campaign.

HUGGING AN Ashkelon resident whose home was damaged in the recent war. (Credit: MAAYAN HOFFMAN)

Sigal Ariely’s home was directly hit by a missile on the last day of the campaign. When the rocket fell, she was in her safe room, which is directly outside her home. But her 26-year-old son was in the house. He sheltered under the stairs, saved only by the grace of God, Ariely said.

“My family knows when you hear a siren, whoever is in the house needs to run – you don’t wait for anyone, you just run,” Ariely told Haley and Hagee. “During this specific siren, my son was upstairs and my dog was inside. As I ran, I screamed for him, but I was not sure what he was doing.”

Her son had stopped to grab the dog, which slowed him down, “so he stood under there,” she said as she pointed at a concrete staircase, pockmarked and scarred by shrapnel.

“When I heard the boom, it felt like the sky was falling. I knew it was close, but I could not imagine how close,” she recounted.

Ariely works for the Jewish Federation of Greater Baltimore as their representative in Israel. She said she is always telling the story of the people of Ashkelon, but “it is different when it is your story.”

Yet after screaming and crying for a few minutes, as the police, IDF and reporters began arriving at her home she did an about-face, she recalled.

“I said to myself, you have to pull yourself together and give a message that we are strong,” Ariely said. “This is not a joke. This could literally kill you. What we lost is property. But if God forbid something happened to my son, I don’t even know how I could continue. You cannot just switch back to normal life after going through something like that. At home you should be safe, but really you’re not.”

Haley also visited the home of an 80-year-old Holocaust survivor who was seriously injured in a direct assault. The woman’s caregiver, 32-year-old Soumya Santosh, was killed in the attack.

The house lay covered in loose boards, the woman’s belongings buried in the rubble, making it difficult to stand.

“All you have to do is look at this damage and tell me where there is a government office here,” Haley said while standing in the center of the home. “Tell me where there are any government offices here. This wasn’t them [Hamas] trying to hurt the government of Israel. This was them trying to go after the heart of Israel, which they know is the people.”

She expressed frustration with Biden’s effort at a balanced response to the situation, which she said is grossly one-sided. Hamas, she stressed, is a terrorist organization.

“If you had 4,500 rockets that went into [Washington] DC, if any of our allies said they think we need to see restraint on both sides, I don’t think we would be very appreciative.”

Haley said that when she was at the UN, she would “look at China, I would look at Russia, I would look at the Security Council and I would say, ‘If you had thousands of rockets going into your homes, tell me that you wouldn’t defend yourselves, tell me that you wouldn’t do everything you needed to do to make sure your people were safe.’ The UN hasn’t done enough.”

As the mission left the survivor’s home, they came upon her next-door neighbor, Penina, whose home was also severely damaged by the aftershock of the rocket. Penina recognized Haley and carefully made her way over the broken stones to the ambassador to tell her story.

When the missile fell, she had nine people in her home, including her 18-month-old grandson, who was resting in one of the bedrooms. When the siren went off, she swooped him into her arms and ran for the shelter, but a missile struck en route.

“Shrapnel slammed through the roof and I was running and a rock fell on my head, but I told myself, ‘Just save your grandson,’” Penina recalled. The blast was riveting, knocking her off her feet and slamming her head against the wall, where strands of her hair are still stuck from the pressure.

“I fell down, but I did not leave him,” Penina remembered. “I held him so tightly. It was a miracle.”

HALEY SAID she is “angry,” knowing that what happened last month during the security escalation with Hamas pales in comparison to the threat posed to Israel by Hezbollah.

Haley spent time on the Lebanese-Israeli border during her tenure as UN ambassador.

“You have Hezbollah waiting in the wings – and Hezbollah makes Hamas look like child’s play,” Haley said. “Hezbollah is going to be the next issue” for Israel.

This while also knowing that America is considering re-entering the Iranian nuclear deal – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – which she said is a “death wish” to Israel and the world.

“The idea right now that you have multiple countries around the world, including the United States, looking to figure out how to redo this Iran deal is nothing more than a death wish for Israel, and eventually a death wish for the world,” she stated during a conversation Monday evening with a select group of reporters at Jerusalem’s Waldorf Astoria hotel, where she stayed.

Haley lashed out at the Biden administration’s recent efforts to engage with the Islamic Republic, saying the fact that Biden is “falling over himself to get back into the Iran deal is pretty disgusting.

“Iran is never going to change its ways,” she warned. “It is never going to stop saying, ‘Death to Israel.’ It is never going to stop saying, ‘Death to America.’ And the only way we can effect change is to pull the money back and pull the purse strings back.”

She cautioned that when Iranians receive funding they do not go and feed the Iranian people. Instead, they give money to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. They cause trouble in Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza, Syria and Afghanistan.

“Their tentacles go far and wide,” Haley said. “If you fund Iran, you are funding terrorists that want to kill Israel.”

She also condemned Biden for failing to “thank” the Arab countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, who normalized ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords under president Trump. Haley accused Biden of “slapping them in the face” by engaging in talks with Tehran.

“You cannot be friends with Israel, and you cannot say thank you to the people who want to be friends with Israel, by getting back into the Iran deal,” Haley said.

Hagee, too, used the mission to confirm his organization’s unequivocal stance against rejoining the nuclear deal and warned the American people, “We need to be very cautious about our relationship with Iran and we need to stand by Israel in a more definitive way, a more forceful way, so this nation [Israel] can have free borders and the freedom to do as they like to protect their citizens from the evil empire of Iran.”

HALEY ALSO spoke during the briefing about the need to fight antisemitism, which she said is “unfortunately on the rise in the US,” and her “extreme disappointment with how hate speech toward Israel has risen on the Democratic side.”

She noted, “Certainly not all Democrats are against Israel, but it seems like it is growing. Whether it is [Minnesota Congresswoman] Ilhan Omar or [Vermont Senator] Bernie Sanders, their voices are getting louder.”

Last week, Omar tweeted that “we have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the US, Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan and the Taliban,” which her critics said implied a moral equivalence.

“Why is it okay for her to sit there and equate the US and Israel with Hamas, with a terrorist organization?” Haley asked. “If she did that to any other segment of the population, we would all be appalled and everybody would be asking for her resignation.”

She added, “When you see some of these Democrats calling to stop the funding agreements with Israel, when you see them start to criticize Israel as having something to do with this conflict and not saying anything about the terrorist organizations that cost innocent lives – that is a big burden for the Democrats to carry.

“For President Biden not to say something about it means he accepts the statements as being valid,” she asserted. “And I think that is unfortunate.”

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