Middle East Press on: Israel, Gaza, Hamas, Syria, Lebanon, Palestinian: New Age Islam's Selection, 16 November 2024
By New Age Islam Edit Desk
16 November 2024
Iran’s Antisemitism Stems From Suspicion Of Jewish ‘Dual Loyalty’
Changing Of The Guard: A Mercurial President And Rankling Ambassador
Qatar's Step Back From Hostage Negotiations Will Only Serve As Inconvenience
Two Palestinian Prisoners Die In Israeli Custody Due To ‘Slow Death’ Policy, Says Rights Groups
Gaza Tribunal: A Voice For Humanity To Address Crisis, Says Former UN Rapporteur
Israel Applying A Colonial Mindset To Its War On Gaza
Harnessing Fusion For Saudi Arabia’s Energy Mix
Israel Plays Kurdish Card To Undermine Support For Palestine
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Iran’s Antisemitism Stems From Suspicion Of Jewish ‘Dual Loyalty’
By Haim Ben Yakov
November 16, 2024
In a recent interview on Iranian state television, Gen. Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a senior figure in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), launched a scathing critique against the Jewish people.
He claimed that Jews have “caused suffering to the Muslim world throughout history” and, citing the Qur’an, referred to Jews as the “greatest enemies of Muslims.”
Asadi, who once commanded Iranian forces in Syria, went further, stating that “Jews have neither honor nor dignity” and that they “disgrace all of humanity.” He continued with an inflammatory rhetorical question: “If those who committed genocide in Gaza are not Jews, then who are they?” He then called on Jews worldwide, asking, “Where are the Jews who would appeal to the US and Europe, complaining that Israel shames them?”
Such statements, as noted by analysts at the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs (JCFA), highlight a worrying level of state-sanctioned antisemitic incitement within Iran, home to a small but resilient Jewish community of approximately 8,000 to 10,000 people.
In the broader debate over “dual loyalty” – a concept as old as the Jewish Diaspora itself – such statements cross numerous red lines. Accusations of dual loyalty have historically fueled claims of Jewish hostility toward host nations, a trend that is by no means confined to authoritarian Iran.
The allegation operates on an embedded suspicion that any Jew living outside Israel is inherently loyal to the Jewish state and acts according to its interests, above all else.
Historically, Jewish communities navigated such suspicions by grounding their interactions with the authorities in a Talmudic principle known as “dina de-malchuta dina,” meaning, “the law of the country is the law.”
First articulated by the third-century sage Shmuel, this principle has been a cornerstone of Jewish thought for centuries. Yet this rule, though categorical, is by no means absolute. It does not imply unqualified submission or full loyalty to every ruling power under all circumstances.
In my recent book, Suitcase, Train Station, Israel: A History of Soviet Antisemitism, published last week in London in Russian, I discuss how modern interpretations maintain that this principle applies only under conditions of equal citizenship.
When host nations deny Jews equal treatment, total loyalty to such foreign regimes is not required.
The problem of dual loyalty
The problem of dual loyalty has inspired dozens of recent studies. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports that accusations of dual loyalty are one of the most prevalent anti-Semitic tropes today.
A survey showed that 41% of people in certain countries believe this stereotype, equating to around 1.7 billion individuals worldwide. Additionally, 29% of respondents think Jews wield “excessive” power and influence globally. The late Manfred Gerstenfeld, a noted historian and head of the Institute for Global Jewish Affairs, argued that these myths lay a “fertile ground” for further anti-Semitic beliefs. Gerstenfeld pointed out that if Israel’s interests clash with those of a Jewish individual’s country of residence, antisemites may accuse that individual of siding with Israel, suggesting, in essence, “You’re not one of us.”
In its most extreme form, the accusation of dual loyalty implies outright betrayal.
Ironically, suspicions of Jews as an alien “fifth column” – one aligned with foreign interests, including Israel – resurfaced with renewed intensity after World War II, even in victorious Allied nations such as the Soviet Union.
The issue continues to provoke debate, anxiety, and even dread among Jewish communities worldwide, including Iran’s.
For Iranian Jews, such rhetoric is more than a casual provocation; it signals yet another peril in a centuries-old narrative of suspicion.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-829200
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Changing Of The Guard: A Mercurial President And Rankling Ambassador
By Douglas Bloomfield
November 15, 2024
With apologies to Charles Dickens, it was the best of times and it was the worst of times in two cities this week.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Jerusalem rejoicing at the election of Donald Trump with unabashed enthusiasm, while American Jewish leaders considered him too divisive and unpopular to invite to their annual convention in Washington this week.
Netanyahu celebrated after ridding himself of his meddlesome minister of defense, Yoav Gallant, who kept trying to end the Israel-Hamas War and accused the PM of sacrificing the hostages for his own personal political interests, namely reoccupation of Gaza and building settlements there. Gallant was replaced by Israel Katz, a yes-man who knows better than to try to put the national interest above that of the PM.
Netanyahu’s next move is sure to rankle American Jewry and the Democrats: He named Yechiel Leiter to be Israel’s next ambassador to the United States. Leiter, whose son was an IDF officer killed fighting in Gaza last year, is a longtime leader of the settler movement, an outspoken foe of Palestinian statehood and an advocate of annexing the West Bank – all policies opposed by most American Jews and Democrats, the party which lost big in last week’s election but still had the support of three out of four Jewish voters.
The American-born (Scranton, PA, like Joe Biden) ambassador-to-be, aged 65, is a former follower of the late Meir Kahane’s Jewish Defense League, which the FBI described in congressional testimony as “a known violent extremist Jewish organization.” JDL was reportedly involved in plotting and executing acts of terrorism within the United States.
Leiter replaces centrist Ambassador Michael Herzog, a retired IDF general and military scholar whose brother is the current president of Israel. He is expected to assume his new post after Trump takes office on January 20. Whatever the turnout that day for the inauguration, you can expect Trump to declare it the largest in American history.
Israel rally in DC falls short
THAT CAN’T be said about the crowd on Sunday’s rally that gathered at Nationals Park, a baseball stadium in DC, to demonstrate support for Israel, to demand release of the hostages, and to combat antisemitism. Sponsors – the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations – expected 30,000 or more to mark 400 days since the Hamas pogrom, but fewer than a tenth of that number showed up, according to media reports.
“Where are all the Jews at?” asked emcee and comedian Tiffany Haddish. No one expected it to match last year’s march on the mall in front of the Capitol, which drew some 300,000 supporters of Israel. But the shrinkage was a shock.
The event was to kick off the JFNA annual General Assembly of leaders of Jewish communities across the country. What distinguished the conference was not who was there but who wasn’t.
Prime Minister Netanyahu was not invited – not because he was too busy but because he was too divisive. Organizers feared his presence would spark large and potentially violent anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian demonstrations and a boycott by many Jewish activists.
A JFNA poll in April showed most American Jews love Israel but not its prime minister. Nearly two out of three (63%) said they were unhappy with him and his extremist government, while 32% held a favorable view of him. There is widespread opposition beyond the Jewish community as well to the current government, which is the most extreme in Israel’s history, notably for its anti-democratic scheme to end Israel’s independent judiciary and its conduct during the Gaza war.
In addition to having to sell policies like that, ambassador-designate Leiter will be Netanyahu’s point man in his campaign to win Trump’s blessing for unilateral annexation of the West Bank and to prevent Palestinian statehood.
SETTLEMENT EXPANSION and annexation are top priorities of the prime minister and Trump’s $100-million campaign donor, Miriam Adelson. An Israeli-American dual citizen who lives primarily in Israel, she has also been a major contributor to Netanyahu’s political career.
Leiter will be expected to help her collect on her investment. She reportedly got a commitment from Trump that when the time came, he would recognize the legitimacy of Israeli annexation in the West Bank as he did in the Golan Heights during his first term.
Her late husband, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, was among the largest contributors to Trump in 2016 and 2020 and is credited with getting him to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognize the city as Israel’s capital.
An ordained rabbi, scholar and former top aide to Netanyahu, Leiter enjoys close ties with both Orthodox Jews and the Republican Party. His greatest challenge will be to connect to a wider Jewish community that overwhelmingly opposed Trump, votes Democrat and doesn’t care much for Netanyahu. Democrats are strongly pro-Israel, but increasingly support Palestinian statehood and are critical of the humanitarian crisis this war has created in Gaza.
Bibi moved quickly to congratulate Trump, and they spoke at least three times before week’s end. You can bet the Israeli leader assured the next leader of the free world that he’s been loyal all these years and never liked old man Biden anyway. The PM, who once told an interviewer, “I speak Republican,” has reportedly said he thinks the Jews and Democrats are of secondary importance because he has the backing of the far more numerous and less argumentative Evangelicals.
In recent months, the two leaders patched over their differences. They have a lot in common, including criminal indictments and a desire to stay in power in order to stay out of prison. Netanyahu knows what it will mean if he fails to keep on the good side of the mercurial Trump, and he’ll do what it takes to stay there.
One leader of a large Jewish community told me that’s why he is worried that “the Bibi-Donald bromance” will drive even more Jews away from Israel.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-828997
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Qatar's Step Back From Hostage Negotiations Will Only Serve As Inconvenience
By Ruby Chen
November 15, 2024
While Qatar evicting Hamas leaders is a necessary step – no country should harbor terrorists –the impact will serve mainly as an inconvenience.
Hamas’s main leadership in Doha will simply relocate and continue operations as usual. It will be the same terrorist group with a different mailing address but the same bank account.
Why won’t it matter? As in most cases, one simply has to follow the money.
It won’t make a difference because, in large part, the global financial network supporting Hamas remains intact.
“Charity organizations” operating out of Turkey, financial backing from Iran and Kuwait, and other shadowy funding sources have not been, and will not be, affected by Qatar’s decision.
The money Hamas relies on to fund its terror, pay its operatives, and rebuild its infrastructure in Gaza will continue to flow.
Without seriously disrupting Hamas’s financial network, diplomatic efforts won’t accomplish enough to address the ongoing threat.
The real issue is dismantling the global infrastructure of resources and financial networks that fuel Hamas’s ongoing operations.
Having said that, there are likely several reasons behind Qatar’s alleged decision, including diplomatic pressure from Israel and the US, but I believe that the main motivation behind it was indeed, as the Qataris stated, that both Hamas and Israel have not made a hostage deal a priority and Qatar does not wish to be further blamed for the failed deal.
I believe that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu felt that freeing all the hostages was a top priority, both morally and strategically for Israel, given the victory of the military operations in Gaza, a deal could be signed in days.
Hostages not on list of priorities
Unfortunately, other objectives are taking precedence.
Hostages, like my son Itay and the other 101 hostages who are held captive in Hamas dungeons, remain secondary.
As a US citizen, I believe the US election’s decisive outcome presents a window of opportunity that should not be missed.
President-elect Trump has a proven track record of caring and succeeding in freeing hostages. Now is the time for the Biden administration to bring in their successors to the National Security Council and CIA and state that the hostage issue is a bipartisan issue that cannot wait till January 20.
The teams should immediately work together and force a deal for the release of all the hostages, the return of Israeli citizens to their homes, and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
We call on all of you who believe there must be a deal to show your presence this coming Tuesday evening and every Tuesday evening at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to pray and sing with us, together with religious leaders, for the well-being and release of all the hostages.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-829196
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Two Palestinian Prisoners Die In Israeli Custody Due To ‘Slow Death’ Policy, Says Rights Groups
November 15, 2024
Two Palestinian prisoners, Sameeh Eleiwi from Nablus and Anwar Esleem from Gaza, have died in Israeli custody, announced the Palestinian Prisoners’ Commission and the Prisoners Society.
In a joint statement, the two organisations explained that Sameeh Eleiwi, 61, from Nablus, was pronounced dead on 6 November, just six days after being moved by Israeli soldiers from the Ramleh Prison clinic to Assaf Harofeh Hospital.
He had been imprisoned at Ramleh since his detention in October last year and Israeli authorities delayed announcing his death, despite their duty to inform the public.
Moreover, 44-year-old Anwar Esleem, from Gaza, died yesterday during a transfer from Negev Prison to Soroka Hospital after his health had deteriorated rapidly in the days leading to his death.
According to Wafa news agency, both men suffered severe health issues worsened by their imprisonment. Sameeh Eleiwi, who had a history of medical problems, including a benign intestinal tumour that had required multiple surgeries, was scheduled for another surgery at the time of his arrest.
Despite his deteriorating condition, he endured harsh treatment imposed by Israeli authorities, including being shackled during medical transfers, which further harmed his health.
By August, the Commission’s lawyer observed that Eleiwi had lost over 40 kilograms, struggled to eat and had not received sufficient medical care during his detention in the Israeli jails.
Moreover, Anwar Esleem, detained since December, had no known health issues before his arrest, according to his family. However, his health rapidly declined in Israeli custody due to the reported lack of appropriate medical care, leading to his death.
Both Eleiwi and Esleem had experienced multiple imprisonments by Israeli authorities. Eleiwi, who was married with nine children, had spent nearly a decade in Israeli prisons since 1988. Esleem, also married and a father of four, faced numerous detentions throughout his life.
More than 10,800 Palestinians have been arrested in the Occupied West Bank and Jerusalem since the start of the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza last October. Hundreds more have been killed or wounded by the Israeli occupation forces.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and the Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Commission condemned their deaths as Israel’s systematic policy of “slow death” against Palestinian prisoners. They stated this policy includes medical negligence, torture and deprivation of essential needs, which have led to the deaths of thousands Palestinian detainees over the years.
Both organisations called for international intervention and accountability, urging an end to the ongoing human rights abuses by Israeli authorities. They further stated that the denial of medical care, physical mistreatment and extreme prison conditions are used as tools of collective punishment against Palestinian detainees, in violation of human rights and international law.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241115-two-palestinian-prisoners-die-in-israeli-custody-due-to-slow-death-policy-says-rights-groups/
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Gaza Tribunal: A Voice For Humanity To Address Crisis, Says Former Un Rapporteur
By Anadolu Agency
November 15, 2024
The “Gaza Tribunal,” a group of academics, jurists, rights advocates, artists and media and civil society representatives doing important work to pursue justice on behalf of Palestinians, a former UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories has said.
In an interview with Anadolu, Richard Falk emphasized that the aim of the symbolic Tribunal, an independent initiative based in London to investigate the legal, political and ethical aspects of what is happening in Gaza amid Israel’s genocidal offensive, is to speak directly to humanity.
Falk underlined that the current situation in Gaza, Lebanon and the Occupied West Bank has reached a “critical level”.
“I think that it is a dangerous period for the region, more so than previously, because it (Israel) seems to be aiming its strategic goals at some kind of encounter with Iran, and that would be an extreme hazard as far as the peace and stability of the region is concerned, and even short of that, the devastation and destruction and loss of life in Lebanon is a terrible addition to the Gaza genocide, which is the underlying process.”
Highlighting Israel’s expansionist aims in Gaza and the West Bank, he said: “From the political expressions we hear from the Israeli leadership now, the annexation of the West Bank is at the top of their expansionist agenda.”
“There are all kinds of evidence that not only is Israel destroying the Gaza Strip and devastating the people and their infrastructure, but it seems to want to dispossess as many as possible.
“Hard to know where they would end up, but the idea of making a whole population into permanent refugees is unacceptable from the perspective of human rights.”
This situation, according to Falk, “represents an ongoing genocide risk, an increased risk of mass starvation and disease, as well as the destruction of the ecological infrastructure of the entire area.”
Falk also emphasized that support from the US and some European countries for Israel has deepened the problems in the region.
“These are the major concerns that are accentuated by the continuing support given to Israel by the US and some other European countries that they have done very little; they’ve talked some about limiting what Israel does, but they have not imposed any meaningful restraint,” he explained.
‘Germany doesn’t see genocide as primary concern’
Mentioning Germany’s unconditional support for Israel and the historical reasons behind it, Falk said Berlin has misinterpreted the lessons of the Holocaust.
Germany views the Holocaust as solely a genocide targeting Jews and believes its past mistake was punishing Jewish people as a national minority, he elaborated.
This is why “Germany does not see genocide as a primary concern […] they think, or are conscious of, anything against Israel as a repetition of anti-Semitism.”
“They don’t look at the genocide as the primary concern. They look at anything that is against Israel that would be viewed […] as a repetition of anti-Semitism.”
‘ICC being manipulated by geopolitical pressures’
Falk also commented on the discrepancy between the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prompt approval of the arrest warrant against Russian President, Vladimir Putin, while the request for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, has been pending for six months.
He noted that the ICC, established by the 1998 Rome Statute and not part of the UN system, is highly susceptible to political pressure and financially insecure.
“There is no doubt that there’s a double standard, both in practice and in terms of the degree to which the ICC is manipulated by geopolitical pressures,” said Falk. “The ICC is very vulnerable to political pressure, insecure about its funding base, and generally has played a biased role.”
“The ICC should be distinguished from the International Court of Justice, which has upheld a professional responsibility to address the international law dimension of a dispute of this magnitude and character, and their decision last January, an interim decision which was defied by Israel, was an admirable display of political independence.
“Even the US and other supportive governments of Israel, the judges that had those national affiliations, voted professionally, not as mere subjects of their particular country, and that’s what an international tribunal should do,” he added.
‘Gaza Tribunal speaks on behalf of the people’
Emphasizing the global significance of the Gaza Tribunal, which he leads, Falk emphasized that one of its justifications was that it “speaks on behalf of the people and doesn’t attempt to be an organ that is addressed principally to government.”
He outlined four priority issues for the Tribunal, with the first being to address the genocide in Gaza. “That’s the core motivation for the establishment of the Tribunal, to not only depict and give the evidence that confirmed a reading of the genocide but to also deal with the whole international problem of genocide and its prevention.”
The second priority is to actively help end hostilities in the region, said Falk. “In other words, to implement successfully a ceasefire that will stop the spread of the war and prevent any further intolerable suffering for the peoples of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” he underlined.
The third issue it aims to address is the foreign support Israel has received and especially “the complicity of governments in Europe and North America, and principally the US role.”
Falk noted that, while the US has recently attempted to demonstrate humanitarian concerns, it has not taken steps to stop Israel’s daily genocidal acts that cause severe suffering.
He also expressed disappointment over the failure of the Arab states neighbouring Israel to take more action to oppose Tel Aviv.
Despite this, he welcomed a recent joint summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and a statement by the Kingdom’s Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, against an attack on Iran. According to Falk, this was a significant development that could shift the balance in the region.
The fourth issue is the failure of the UN and other international institutions to address the dramatic international crimes and human tragedies that have taken place in the region.
This, said Falk, suggests “that there needs to be a substantial reform of the global system to structure it in such a way that it can protect human interest and not just be a vehicle of clashing national interests.”
Gaza Tribunal
Taking an alternative route to international justice, the Gaza Tribunal aims to spotlight voices from civil society in the examination of abuses following the conflict that escalated after Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October, 2023.
Its Presidential Committee includes former UN Special Rapporteurs, Michael Lynk and Hilal Elver, alongside academics such as Raji Sourani, Susan Akram, Ahmet Koroglu, John Reynolds, Diana Buttu, Cemil Aydin and Penny Green.
The Tribunal’s formation reflects growing frustration with perceived constraints and delays in formal international justice systems, such as the ICJ and ICC, where cases related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been slow to progress.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241115-gaza-tribunal-a-voice-for-humanity-to-address-crisis-says-former-un-rapporteur/
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Israel Applying A Colonial Mindset To Its War On Gaza
Daoud Kuttab
November 15, 2024
Western colonial powers have often failed miserably in their endeavours by following a harsh, inhumane policy that is derived from what their orientalist “experts” tell them.
During the British mandate of Palestine, the British colonialists applied pressure tactics such as hanging those who dared to challenge their rule through armed resistance, destroying entire family homes of individuals suspected of attacking British soldiers and a widespread detention campaign of a whole generation of young people under the draconian “administrative detention” orders.
Most of these acts of collective punishment were codified into law during the mandate’s final years. In 1945, the Defense (Emergency) Regulations were legislated by decree in a failed attempt to control the Palestinian fedayeen, as well as the Jewish underground. At the time, Jewish leaders criticized the administrative detention law, with future Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin calling it “tyrannical,” “unethical” and a “Nazi law.”
Yet, following the end of the British mandate period, the very same laws were used against the Palestinian population that remained in what would become Israel. A military rule that restricted movement and allowed the arrest of political opponents was based on the British emergency regulations. The laws were never repealed, even though military rule was abolished in 1966 for the Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Since Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967, it has continued to use British laws to demolish the homes of Palestinians and hold tens of thousands of Palestinians in administrative detention. At present, nearly 10,000 Palestinians are being held without charge or trial. The only judicial process is an Israeli army judge deciding whether to renew detainees’ six-month detention orders. The military judge’s decisions are based on secret evidence provided by Israeli intelligence, which neither the accused nor their lawyer have a chance to see or contest.
A central ideological tenet of the Israeli legal punishment and penalty scheme against Palestinians is derived from an orientalist notion. Israeli occupation decision-makers are told that Palestinians are conservative and family-oriented and, therefore, to ensure control of them, the direct family, the larger “hamula” (tribe) and the entire community must be punished so that those collective entities put enough social pressure on their youth to guarantee their quiet.
Unhappy with the failure of this collective punishment (which is a clear violation of international law, as well as biblical and ethical ethos) because of the power of Palestinian nationalism, Israel started searching for another way to ensure compliance with its occupation.
An Israeli professor at Hebrew University, Menahem Milson, in 1981 used his new position as the head of the Civil Administration of the Occupied Territories to design an orientalist plan. He attempted to avert the city-based leaders opposed to Israeli occupation by tribal leaders by widening the power of the village heads in the hopes that the occupiers can more easily control them. Milson called his plan the “Village Leagues.” This failed miserably when, in 1988, the First Intifada erupted in total opposition to Israeli rule.
Israel, unhappy with the position of the secular Palestine Liberation Organization nationalists, began working on building up an alternative leadership, this time not tribal but religious. To counter the PLO, Israel allowed Islamic clergy to set up social networks, using mosques as a meeting place and providing help to families by setting up kindergartens and other charities. However, this effort, which morphed into the Islamic Resistance Movement, aka Hamas, also refused to be silent regarding the Israeli occupation. It joined Palestinian nationalists in resisting Israel, although it went further than the popular protests of the PLO and introduced armed resistance.
The Israeli attempts to crush the Islamic resistance, which cost them dearly on Oct. 7, 2023, follow a similar wrongheaded pattern. Unable to force a religiously motivated movement to surrender, Israel decided to follow the orientalist playbook by trying to cause enough pain to the entire community so as to force the leaders of the resistance to give in. In Lebanon, the secular PLO was eventually forced to leave alive rather than fight to the death, but in Gaza, Palestinians are in their own country. The Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters who believe in martyrdom, as Yahya Sinwar showed, are not deterred and are willing to fight to the death. The death, destruction and starvation that Israel has caused to the people of Gaza cannot be explained by pure security terms or even by applying the ideas of deterrence.
Israelis and their supporters refuse to believe that the live pictures shown daily on social media and often sanitized on establishment media are real. They question the number of Palestinian victims and accept the concept that all Palestinian civilian deaths are because they are used as human shields by Palestinian combatants. They refuse to believe that Israel blows up schools, hospitals, mosques and churches because an enlightened country like Israel does not do that.
Israel, for its part, has controlled the narrative since Oct. 7 by refusing to allow a single foreign journalist to enter Gaza, while also systematically killing local Palestinian journalists and bombing media facilities. The Israeli narrative — focused on the human suffering of the hostages and false claims of huge Hamas headquarters under hospitals — is transmitted without the ability or willingness of the international media to question it. Violating international law, committing war crimes and being charged with genocide have done little to deter Israel because of its ability to mislead the world’s media and ensure that the major Western powers are on its side as it fights the so-called wicked and inhumane barbarians.
Attempts to annihilate an entire people and justify these acts against innocent civilians continue to be based on this misguided colonial, orientalist hope that previously failed the British and will certainly fail the Israeli occupiers. People yearn for freedom and independence from their occupiers, and they refuse to turn against the family members who are fighting and dying to allow them to be free.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2579462
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Harnessing Fusion For Saudi Arabia’s Energy Mix
Hamad S. Alshehab & Hassan M. Alzain
November 15, 2024
In recent years, the development of fusion energy has accelerated, promising to revolutionize clean energy production and reshape the global energy landscape.
According to the Fusion Industry Association, total investments in the fusion industry have surpassed $7.1 billion as of 2024, reflecting a surge driven by significant growth in both public and private funding.
Public funding alone increased by 57 percent in the last 12 months to $426 million, indicating government recognition of fusion’s potential.
This surge underscores the substantial benefits offered by fusion energy. Not only is it low carbon, but it is also inherently safe; fusion reactions are self-limiting and cannot cause meltdowns.
It is also reliable, with abundant fuel sources like deuterium, which is found in seawater, and tritium, which can be bred from lithium.
Globally, the race to harness fusion energy already includes 45 start-ups employing more than 4,000 people, all exploring various methods to achieve practical fusion power.
Helion Energy stands out in this burgeoning field, backed by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, who has invested more than $375 million in the company. Altman’s support underscores the growing confidence in fusion’s potential to transform the energy landscape.
In a landmark move signalling corporate faith in fusion’s viability, Microsoft committed to purchasing electricity from Helion’s inaugural fusion power plant which is scheduled for deployment in 2028.
Such commitments not only validate fusion technology but also accelerate its path to commercialization.
Fusion’s potential extends beyond electricity generation. It could potentially become the next general purpose technology, fundamentally transforming the energy industry.
Recent breakthroughs, like achieving net energy gain from fusion reactions — as demonstrated by the National Ignition Facility in December 2022, where scientists produced 3.15 megajoules of energy from an input of 2.05 megajoules — make this prospect more tangible.
As energy-intensive technologies like artificial intelligence surge, demanding ever-increasing power for data centers and computational processes, fusion energy offers a sustainable solution to meet these needs without exacerbating environmental concerns.
According to Goldman Sachs, AI is expected to drive a 160 percent increase in data center power demand by 2030.
Additionally, a study led by researcher Sasha Luccioni found that AI data center processing technology uses more than 30 times the energy of traditional task-specific software.
Data centers are already responsible for around 1-1.5 percent of global electricity consumption and nearly 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Energy Agency.
Studies suggest that fusion’s evolution could stimulate economic growth, necessitate new policies and foster international collaboration to manage its development responsibly.
Saudi Arabia, through its Vision 2030 goals, has set a target of generating 50 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030, significantly diversifying its energy mix.
This commitment underscores the Kingdom’s focus on exploring new energy sources, increasing sustainability and fostering climate change leadership.
The potential benefits offered by fusion energy, which experts believe will provide cleaner, safer and more efficient power, could drive Saudi Arabia to establish infrastructure and resources to harness this potential when breakthroughs are made.
While this ambition is within reach, the critical question remains: What is the long-term unique value proposition that Saudi Arabia could realize as a result of pursuing fusion energy research and integration as part of its energy mix to meet its climate change goals?
Fusion energy results from combining two lighter atomic nuclei — typically isotopes of hydrogen such as deuterium and tritium — to form a heavier nucleus, releasing an enormous amount of energy in the process.
This reaction mirrors the energy production mechanism of the sun and holds the promise of providing a virtually limitless source of clean energy.
Unlike nuclear fission, which splits heavy atoms and generates long-lived radioactive waste, fusion produces minimal radioactive byproducts with significantly shorter half-lives, reducing long-term environmental and health concerns.
Additionally, fusion does not emit greenhouse gases during operation, making it an attractive option for minimizing carbon emissions.
Saudi Arabia aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, reinforcing its commitment to climate leadership. To sustain this momentum, the Kingdom can benefit from closely monitoring global fusion energy initiatives such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project.
ITER seeks to demonstrate the technological and scientific feasibility of fusion power in collaboration with the EU, Japan, China, Russia, the US, India and South Korea.
Meanwhile, the Fusion Industry Association says more than $4.7 billion has been injected into fusion energy start-ups, which signifies the ambitions of the private sector to achieve a breakthrough in fusion energy development.
Although not currently a member, Saudi Arabia’s considerable financial resources and dedication to clean energy position are promising for future inclusion in such partnerships.
Engaging with established leaders in fusion research could facilitate the Kingdom’s adoption of fusion energy technologies, accelerating its fusion adoption progress.
While fusion energy offers immense hope for a more sustainable and affordable energy future, experts stress that significant challenges must be addressed to make it a viable reality.
Countries aspiring to develop fusion energy infrastructure need to invest heavily in research and pilot projects to overcome current technological hurdles and lay the groundwork for large-scale reactor deployment.
For instance, initiating a fusion reaction requires achieving temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees centigrade — hotter than the sun’s core. Maintaining plasma stability in such extreme conditions is a monumental engineering feat.
Currently, fusion experiments often consume more energy than they produce. Constructing reactors capable of withstanding intense neutron bombardment demands the use of advanced and costly materials.
Moreover, fusion reactions rely on tritium, a scarce isotope of hydrogen that is difficult to produce in large quantities.
The global momentum behind fusion energy development presents a timely opportunity for Saudi Arabia to invest strategically, collaborate internationally and position itself at the forefront of this transformative technology.
Embracing fusion energy could significantly boost the Kingdom’s long-term grid capacity and reduce carbon emissions from non-renewable sources, aligning seamlessly with its Vision 2030 objectives.
By introducing fusion, Saudi Arabia can make substantial strides toward its national energy diversification goals.
This advancement would not only meet the soaring energy demands of critical sectors like desalination plants, which are essential for providing fresh water in the arid environment, but also support the burgeoning needs of energy-intensive technologies.
By seizing this futuristic opportunity, the Kingdom can further advance its national energy security, stimulate economic growth, and solidify its role as a global leader in sustainable energy innovation.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2579466
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Israel Plays Kurdish Card To Undermine Support For Palestine
Sinem Cengiz
November 15, 2024
In international relations, alliances have different forms and motivations. However, no alliance can be considered permanent, as evolving policies and changing national interests can lead to their collapse or the establishment of new ones. Turkiye was once considered an ally of Israel, but now Tel Aviv views the Kurds — whom Ankara views as a national security threat — as its “natural allies.”
In his first speech on taking office, new Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar this week said Israel should reach out to the Kurds and that this approach has both political and security aspects. His statement came as Tel Aviv’s relations with Turkiye have reached rock bottom due to Israel’s bloody war in Gaza. He went on to say that Turkiye used to be an ally, while some Arab states were adversaries, and that it is impossible to know how things will shake out in the future. This is true because, for Israel, interests are the priority, not principles, and this can be clearly seen in its policy toward the Kurds.
In the 1990s, the Turkish-Israeli alliance was viewed as a critical buffer to states that were backing the Kurdish PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkiye and many Western nations. Due to support for the PKK from Syria and, to a lesser extent, from Iran and Iraq, Turkiye and Israel signed a memorandum of understanding on military cooperation in 1996. This military cooperation involved stronger intelligence cooperation, logistical support and training for the Turkish military.
While the Arab states perceived this military cooperation as directed against them, Turkiye and Israel insisted that their alliance was not aimed against any party in the region. However, it was obviously a deterrent against Syria, Iraq and Iran, which despite supporting the PKK against Turkiye also had issues with the Kurds within their own territories.
Ankara’s converging interests with Israel on the PKK issue was highlighted by the-then Turkish defence minister, who said that Turkiye and Israel saw eye to eye regarding Syria’s support to the PKK. Benjamin Netanyahu, who was the Israeli prime minister at the time, stated that the PKK was a terrorist organization and added that Israel opposed the establishment of a Kurdish state. In this way, Tel Aviv secretly agreed to support Ankara’s policy toward the Syrian-backed PKK, as Damascus’ support to the Kurds and other groups was seen as a security threat by Turkiye and Israel.
Today’s Israel, under the same prime minister, calls for closer ties with the Kurds, who it was once against. This is not surprising, since Israel was also the only country in the region to openly support the independence referendum held by the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq in 2017. Concerned that it may fuel Kurdish independence aspirations in Turkiye and Iran, Ankara and Tehran both strongly opposed and criticized the referendum.
Israel’s changing attitude proves that its policy toward the Kurds is not ideologically driven, but rather dependent on the course of its relations with Turkiye. According to reports, within the context of the 1996 military agreement, Turkiye has used Heron drones it bought from Israel in the struggle against the PKK. The PKK and its supporters have also long accused Israeli intelligence of involvement in the imprisonment of their leader, Abdullah Ocalan, after he was captured by Turkish intelligence in Nairobi in 1999. And when Israel supported the 2017 referendum, Kurds stated that Israel “only speaks out when it benefits its own national interests and does not really care about the Kurdish cause,” according to reports.
The interests and identities of states are not static. As interests evolve, approaches may also change because of developments in the domestic and international environments. These changes may dominate a state’s foreign policy discourse.
It is very clear that the new Israeli foreign policy approach toward the Kurds is a response to Turkiye’s support for the Palestinian people facing Israeli aggression. Israel’s call to the Kurds came just three days before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the severing of all ties with Israel. Erdogan stated on Wednesday: “The government of the Republic of Turkiye, under the leadership of Tayyip Erdogan, will not continue or develop relations with Israel … and we will maintain this stance in the future as well.” Erdogan also called on all regional countries to cooperate to end the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people. Within this context, it is easier to understand the motives behind the Israeli approach to the Kurds.
However, there is a striking difference here. While an independent Palestinian state is supported by all regional states, an independent Kurdish state is not supported by anyone but Israel, which perceives the establishment of such a country as a chance to strengthen its position in the Middle East.
Israeli policy toward the Kurds remains closely linked to its vision for a broader Middle East. This approach is particularly seen as a threat by regional states, not only now but even decades ago. For instance, back in 1966, Iraqi Defense Minister Abd Al-Aziz Al-Uqayli blamed the Kurds of Iraq for seeking to establish “a second Israel” in the Middle East. When the Kurds of Iraq held their referendum decades later, in 2017, the governments in Iraq, Turkiye and Iran all rejected it.
Israel’s approach to the Kurds, which seeks their autonomy, reveals its desperation, as Tel Aviv seeks to use them to undermine the regional states that support Palestinian rights.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2579463
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/middle-east-press/israel-gaza-hamas-syria-lebanon-palestinian/d/133723
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