WarSclerotic

Growing anti-Semitism has prompted 38% of European Jews to consider leaving Europe, a new report by a European human rights agency reveals.

The report was compiled by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, which was established to uphold human rights and fight all forms of racism. According to the report, 89% of Jews surveyed said that anti-Semitism in the EU had risen significantly in the past five years, with 85% saying that anti-Semitism was the most serious problem they faced.

The report is based on the largest survey on anti-Semitism conducted anywhere in the world, which included 16,400 respondents from 28 EU member nations.

Nearly one-third (30%) of respondents said they had personally experienced anti-Semitic attacks. Most of those were people whose appearance identified them as Jews.

Of the tens of thousands of Jews surveyed, 80% told the EUAFR that they  had refrained from reporting anti-Semitic incidents to the police or other authorities, thereby skewing official reports on the scope of anti-Semitism in a number of countries. A third of respondents said they chose to stay away from Jewish events or Jewish institutions out of fear for their personal safety.

Respondents reported that the most common anti-Semitic comments they encountered included “Jews have too much power and influence”; “Jews exploit the Holocaust for their own interests”; and “Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews.”

Yaakov Hagoel, vice chairman of the World Zionist Organization, said that the report showed that decisions taken to combat anti-Semitism must be implemented immediately.

“We expect … legislation and enforcement, budgets to implement decisions, education [about anti-Semitism], public outreach and security at Jewish institutions,” Hagoel said.

“Jews are loyal citizens of the countries where they have decided to live, and the governments of those European countries have a responsibility to ensure their safety,” he added.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday warned Western countries that they will face a massive influx of drugs if Iran becomes weakened by U.S. sanctions.

Rouhani spoke in Tehran at a six-nation conference on fighting terrorism attended by parliament speakers of Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, China and Russia.

In remarks broadcast on state TV, Rouhani said a weakened Iran would be less able to fight drug trafficking.

“Weakening Iran by sanctions, many will not be safe,” he said. “Those who do not believe us, it is good to look at the map.”

Iran lies on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe and the Persian Gulf states. Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium with its Helmand Province being the biggest opium-producing region.

Opium is the raw material for heroin, and Afghan farmers harvest about 80% of the world’s supply, according to U.N. reports.

Iran’s economy is reeling after the U.S. reimposed sanctions lifted under Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal and began restoring sanctions. Rouhani called the U.S. sanctions as “economic terrorism.”

Iran pays a heavy price to fight drug trafficking, with a number of border guards killed in fighting drug smugglers every year. Every year, the country burns about 100 tons of seized narcotics as a symbol of its determination.

Iran has also complained about accusations that it violates human rights by executing convicted drug smugglers, who make up 73% of executions in Iran.

In 2013 alone, Iran spent more than $26 million to dig canals, erect walls and embankments, create new outposts and set up barbed wire along its 2,000-kilometer (1,240-mile) border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to government statistics.

Until 2016, Iran annually spent some $2.5 billion to fight drug trafficking, officials say.

Israel will prevent Iran from using cross-border tunnels from Lebanon as a “weapon of aggression” against it, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Thursday, two days after the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Northern Shield to expose and neutralize ‎terror tunnels dug by Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.

The interview was held just hours after Netanyahu toured Israel’s northern border with reporters and diplomats. Excerpts were aired on Saturday.

Asked about Iran and the threat it posed together with Hezbollah, Netanyahu said: “They want not only to conquer all Muslims who don’t share their faith or subjugate and kill them, [but also] go against all the infidels. And guess who the great Satan is? The U.S. And who the small Satan is? Israel. We just happen to be closer.”

“We are just preventing them from taking over the Middle East, they are trying to mask their campaign to get nuclear weapons; that has to be stopped,” he said.

Netanyahu stressed that the cross-border tunnels that Israel has discovered, and is working to neutralize, dug from Lebanon into Israeli territory, underscore Iran’s efforts to target Israel before it acquires nuclear weapons.

“The second thing that they want to do is to use their proxies, principally Hezbollah, [as] the forward arm to attack Israel with the goal of destroying it,” Netanyahu continued. “As part of that, Hezbollah is building terror tunnels under Israeli territory; we have known that for several years, [and] a few days ago we tore the mask off, uncovered the first tunnel, and we are going to uncover the rest and deprive Iran of this weapon of aggression.”

“I hope countries will take the U.S.’s lead on this. It [the U.S.]  is bringing a resolution to the General Assembly … daring countries [to] stand up to the truth,” Netanyahu said.

The tunnels are reportedly designed to allow Hezbollah operatives to infiltrate Israel in the event of a war, thus overcoming the border barriers Israel has placed above ground. The military has not disclosed how ‎many tunnels snake ‎‎into Israeli territory from ‎Lebanon or how long the ‎‎operation is going to last. The Israeli operation has been limited to Israeli territory.

Northern Israel was covered by thick fog during the course of ‎the weekend with near-zero visibility. The ‎rain came and went, mostly drizzling and ‎turning everything that is not concrete into mud. ‎

Someone just passing through would probably be ‎unable to tell anything was wrong or that the entire area ‎was on edge. The partial military restrictions ‎imposed on a section of the border when Operation ‎Northern Shield was launched last week have already ‎been lifted, and nothing could be said for a military ‎presence beyond the sporadic military vehicle ‎driving around. For all intents and purposes, this ‎was just another rainy Saturday in northern Israel. ‎

This facade, however, successfully hid the military’s nonstop ‎efforts to ‎neutralize Hezbollah terror tunnels snaking under ‎the Israel-Lebanon border.‎

The decision to continue the search for tunnels over ‎the weekend was unorthodox, and not only because it ‎involved operations on Shabbat. The work was hindered ‎by the stormy weather, but the complex engineering ‎and logistics effort involved in this intense ‎operation never waned. If anything, the IDF kept ‎pushing and everyone – from GOC Northern Command ‎Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick to the last special combat ‎engineering soldier deployed on the ground – seemed ‎to be accelerating the pace.‎

The Israeli operation is currently underway in several locations ‎simultaneously. One of them is a tunnel running ‎under the northern town of Metula and on Saturday ‎afternoon, another significant tunnel was ‎discovered. ‎

A security incident interrupted the work on Saturday ‎when IDF commandos securing the operation came ‎across three Hezbollah operatives trying to exploit ‎the fog to steal technical equipment. The troops ‎opened fire and the three fled, but the incident ‎stressed the prudence of increasing military ‎deployment along the border, as the threat is very ‎real. ‎

Hezbollah may be biding its time quietly at the moment, but it very well may retaliate – not just verbally (though Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is sure to give a fiery speech eventually), but also physically, in the battlefield. There is real concern ‎that Hezbollah operatives could booby-trap one of the ‎tunnels, use the weather to plant roadside bombs or ‎try to target the Israeli troops with sniper fire. ‎

These scenarios are passed on to the soldiers in ‎every security briefing. Anyone who scoffed at the fact that this military activity was labeled an “operation” is welcome to ‎visit the border and see how palpable the threat actually is.‎

The military effort on the ground is only part of ‎the overall effort. In the background, the Israeli ‎Air Force is gearing up for potential escalation and ‎Military Intelligence is fully engaged as well. ‎

Another important aspect is the international diplomatic effort, where Israel engages in ‎massive public diplomacy. ‎Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been briefing ‎world leaders on the issue since last week, ‎including – and perhaps most importantly – Russian ‎President Vladimir Putin.‎

The United Nations Security Council is expected to ‎discuss a draft resolution condemning Lebanon on ‎Monday, over the fact that it turns a blind eye to ‎Hezbollah’s activities, and Israel would like to see ‎Russia refrain from using its veto power on the ‎issue.‎

Israel would like to see international pressure on the Lebanese government stir up a ‎public debate in the country and prompt criticism of ‎the Shiite terrorist group despite the considerable ‎political power it wields. Lebanon has so far ‎remained indifferent, but it is doubtful whether ‎Beirut could keep that up for long. Operation ‎Northern Shield is expected to last several weeks, ‎and the daily media attention to the issue will turn ‎the spotlight on Lebanon’s actions or lack thereof‎. ‎

Still, nothing essential is likely to change, ‎except, of course, for the fact that Israel has deprived ‎Hezbollah of a major strategic asset. This cannot be ‎taken lightly, as one need not have a particularly ‎wild imagination to understand what Hezbollah had ‎planned for Metula and other Israeli communities ‎along the border. Some of the tunnels were on the ‎verge of becoming operational in the coming weeks. If an attack had been launched using those tunnels, the first question for the ‎political echelon and the IDF would have been, “If ‎you knew, why didn’t you do anything?”‎

As IDF forces continued to expose and destroy Hezbollah tunnels on the Israeli-Lebanese border amid Operation Northern Shield, Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem issued threats Sunday in an interview with Iranian media, saying that Hezbollah has Israel “deterred.”

“It is not an option for the Zionist enemy to take military action against Lebanon,” Qassem declared. “Since 2006 [Second Lebanon War], they have been deterred.”

Qassem said that Hezbollah was not actively firing at Israel, but added that Hezbollah’s responses to Israeli “attacks” would be enough to start a war between Israel and Lebanon.

“The Israeli home front – even Tel Aviv – is vulnerable,” he told the Arabic-language Iranian newspaper Al-Vefagh, which is published by the state-run IRNA.

“There is no target in the Zionist entity that is not within the range of Hezbollah missiles,” he said, referring to Israel.

Qassem went on to say that “the Zionists” were unwilling to suffer such an attack, “even when they say, ‘If Hezbollah attacks.'”

According to Qassem the “rules of the game” Hezbollah had established in Lebanon and the rules of deterrence Israel had established for itself would make it “very difficult” for Israel to consider launching a war against Lebanon.

On Saturday, Israeli forces announced the discovery of another Hezbollah tunnel dug from Lebanon into Israeli territory, an announcement that came shortly after troops fired at suspected Hezbollah operatives who approached the site of IDF engineering work.

Reuters

The tunnel is at least the second cross-border tunnel discovered since Israel launched Operation Northern Shield last week to detect and “neutralize” attack passageways dug by the Iranian-backed group into northern Israel.

IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told reporters the new tunnel runs into Israel but “does not pose an imminent threat to Israeli communities.”

He said the military planted explosives in the tunnel to prevent infiltration, adding that Israel holds the Lebanese government responsible “for Hezbollah’s activities and all Hezbollah violations.”

The IDF warned Israeli and Lebanese residents living near the tunnel to keep their distance.

Israel plans to expand its operation to locate and neutralize Hezbollah tunnels to additional locations on the northern border. The military expects the operation to last another few weeks until all the tunnels dug beneath the border over the past few years have been found and destroyed.

Earlier on Saturday, the IDF fired at three Hezbollah suspects who approached the border where the army was working.

Conricus said Israeli troops crossed the fence into Lebanon but did not breach the U.N.-established demarcation line.

According to Conricus, Hezbollah operatives took advantage of the inclement weather to try to steal IDF equipment but fled after Israeli forces opened fire at them.

The Lebanese version of events was somewhat different.

“Israeli enemy soldiers shot into the air following their deployment near the Blue Line [of demarcation] in Kroum al-Sharaqi region to the east of Meis al-Jabal village,” the state-run National News Agency said.

The Israelis “were surprised, due to thick fog, by a routine Lebanese army patrol inside the Lebanese territories,” the NNA report added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Israel’s intention to “foil the tunnels’ threat,” according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.

Netanyahu vowed to continue efforts “to prevent the establishment of an Iranian presence in Syria and to act against Iranian and Hezbollah aggression,” the statement added.

Netanyahu’s office also said that he and Putin had agreed that mutual security teams would meet to discuss the threats and Operation Northern Shield.

The relationship between Russia and Israel has been strained since September, when Russia accused Israel of indirectly causing the downing of a Russian military jet by Syrian air defenses following an Israeli Air Force strike nearby.

In October, Moscow said it had delivered S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Syria, where Israel has bombed Iranian targets.

“The president of Russia stressed the importance of ensuring stability in the region,” the Kremlin said in its own statement.