The Western Wall Plaza in the heart of the old city of Jerusalem is arguably the holiest site in the world. In a proximity important to three great religions, people have been allowed to practice the beliefs freely since it fell into Israeli control in June 1967.

This week, UNESCO will vote on a resolution that effectively abrogates Jewish and Christian history. In an effort to denigrate Israel, the organisation will call for sanctions against the Jewish state. And it is this clear divide between the reality of pluralism as opposed to the world of vicious political or diplomatic manipulations that brought me to question:

‘What else does the world not want to hear about Israel?’.

With incredible timing, this morning I came across three seemingly unrelated pieces of news. Individually, they may be interesting. Together, they reveal a society in Israel that is bubbling, at least partially integrated, and continually struggling to improve despite of all the surrounding external threats. For example: –

Let me deliberately start with some news from the military. The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) has just completed its latest and largest programme to induct people with special needs. In the past few days, 80 young recruits finished a basic training course and are starting to find their way to their designated units.

Then there is the contentious issue as to how Israel treats Palestinians. Now I am not going to boast that all is rosy. However, I can say that this week, I will be starting with a new client who may claim that he is a Palestinian. And this video clip presents a whole different take to what is reported in places like the New York Times and similar. War is created through distrust, while on the ground Israel is doing much to break down barriers with Palestinians.

Number three on my list is actually a set of three women: Miriam Banki, Adenko Sabhat Haimovich and Esther Tapeta Gradi. Not exactly household names. All three ladies were  appointed as judges a couple of weeks ago, not something you would see in most other Middle Eastern countries.

And now look again. Banki’s teenage daughter was murdered last year, when she marched in a gay a parade. There was mass condemnation at the outrage, and this “promotion” must also be seen in that context. In contrast, Haimovich and Gardi were born in Ethiopia. And for all the struggles of the community which has emigrated from there, they represent the progress towards integration that has been made over the decades, and the more that still needs to be done.

Yes, Israeli society is not perfect. However what these stories and anecdotes illustrate is that UNESCO’s resolution today is based on one big fabrication. Is it not ironical, sad and shaming that the leading global agency for cultural integration is promoting a modern form of that classic hatred, known as anti-Semitism?

For decades, Palestinian leaders have been trying to convince the world that heir economy is bankrupt, and that can only be the fault of Israel. In a year of Brexit, a bizarre American election campaign and continued global retrenchment, has that rhetoric changed. And anyway, who is still listening?

Some facts: In July of this year, an IMF team warned that overseas donations, a critical part of the numbers for the exchequer in Ramallah, were slowing down again. Israel had held up its contributions, due to the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) massive state to Jerusalem. Unemployment is 27% in the West bank and much higher in Gaza. While their is growth of over 3%, this does not cover the growing population.

The World Bank status report, released this week, also makes for depressing reading. The fiscal system is under pressure. And because there is such a disproportionately large public sector, there is a looming threat of a pensions crisis.

The problem for the Palestinians is that the world financial crisis, which continues to fizzle along, ensures that there is no longer so much spare cash available for international aid. In parallel, the competing crisis of refugees from Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East has demanded that large sums be set aside for them.

Add into that equation the continuous flow of stories and rumours about corruption and mismanagement within the Palestinian leadership, and what do you end up with? Less funding!

Even the notoriously conservative thinking British government’s Department for International Development, which has handed out hundreds of millions in aid over the years, observed: “…we will work with organisations in the right way to make sure that we are delivering the right outcomes that meet our Government priorities—both peace and stability, as well as humanitarian causes.” That is Oliverian Newspeak for ‘we are reviewing the situation…you have all been warned’.

One positive factor did emerge this week. Israel and the PA finally settled their argument over how the Palestinians owe Israelis for use of their electricity and other amenities. A time schedule was established to pay off the debt, while Israel wrote off a billion shekels in back payments. Such a deal also answered the critiques, who have repeatedly claimed over the years that Israel has cut off power to the Gaza Strip.

However, the future does not look too bright. 81-year old President Abbas is clearly losing control over the West Bank. That is probably the true reason why elections there have been postponed. In addition, it is becoming horrendously apparent that Abbas will block any challenge to replace him, especially if that means the financial empires of his two sons are threatened. The Falcon Enterprise is evidently worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Whatever the true size of the Abbas family’ private fortune (and that of Hamas leaders), as the Autumn of 2016 approaches, the rhetoric of hatred directed against Israel continues unabated. Many Palestinians continue to live in poverty. And their representatives continue to prosper.

A British JP, Joy Wolfe (who I know) yesterday wrote on her Facebook page that:

I am deeply disturbed by the growing evidence of virulent antisemitism at the top level of the Labour Party. The latest examples come from members of the Shadow Cabinet and are frankly mind blowing and would seem more at home in Nazi Germany that multicultural Britain.

Communities spokesman Grahame Morris wants British Jews who serve in the Israeli defence force to be treated as suspected terrorists.

And Justice spokesman Richard Burgon has urged MPs and party members to quit the Labour Friends of Israel group, declaring: “Zionism is the enemy of peace.

I suppose that in trying to support the Palestinians at any price, such comments may appear justifiable to the socialist politicians. There again, I fail to find any statements from them regarding the 3,000+ Palestinians killed in Syria since 2011. Thus, clearly, the hate contained in their words is directed solely against Israel and its citizens.

So let us spend two minutes and look at some recent developments in Israeli society – three quick ‘did-you-knows’ and a bonus package for the MPs themselves.

  • Did you know that the Israeli army has 18,000 thousand volunteers? And did you know that approximately 25% of them – about 4,500 – come from Arab communities (Muslim or Christian)? For the record, the numbers of Arabs in the army continues to grow every year.
  • Did you know that in the aftermath of a fatal terrorist incident last month in the West Bank, one the first people on the scene to help was Dr Ali Abu Shareh. Now this is man, who assumedly rejects the concept of Jews living in places like Hebron and the West Bank. Yet he rightly and proudly placed humanity before politics. He tried to save lives. Ironically, Dr Shareh has since been fired from his job by his Palestinian superiors. Coincidence? Whatever – it has been left to the Jews of Hebron to help him find new employment.
  • Did you know that Check Point, an Israeli company and a global leader in the fight against software fraud, has just discovered mega security flaws in 900 million android devices around the globe. I could cynically imagine that our intrepid MPs would prefer the bugs to remain in place rather than benefit from technology emanating from such a wicked country, ‘the enemy of peace’.

But here’s the crunch issue for the esteemed reps of the British people. It is now horrendously apparent that large chunks of British aid for the Palestinian people have been diverted towards the private bank accounts of their leaders – I suppose that technically they too are a part of the ‘people’ – or towards means of war against Israeli civilians. The trouble is that these monies come from the pockets of British taxpayers. They could have been used more effectively by true sufferers in other regions.

In other words, basic democratic principles of accountability and transparency have been flouted in the name of hatred. I can but presume that this is what Joy Wolfe is so rightly concerned about. It is the kind of ‘politically correct’ deceit that was used by Mosley in the 1930s.

It is the language that was rejected by one of the great democratic socialists of all eras, George Orwell, who described it as the defence of the indefensible. Shame upon them and their supporters.

Last week’s blog on “4 takeaways of the Palestinian economy” highlighted how so much money seeps into Gaza and the West Bank. Yet so little is accountable and so much seems to escape the notice of Western donors.

As one person commented that rather than ‘takeaways’, this is a policy of “giveaways”! And thus on that note, I would like to apply one more comment to this huge generosity from Western taxpayers.

 Alex Fishman wrote a detailed commentary this weekend on the continuing tension between Gaza and Israel. While the government of Jerusalem is investing billions in new tech to prevent tunnels reaching its territory, Hamas has upped the level of digging and shoveling beyond anything previously known. 50 or so terrorists – captured, or those that gave themselves up – have spilt the beans on what is being dug, where, by whom and how.

But let me concentrate on the financials and stats that Fishman alluded to:

  • To date, in 2016, it is estimated that Hamas has channeled up to 300 million nis towards the tunnels. (About US80 m)
  • Approximately 20% of the Hamas budget is allocated to military needs.
  • Despite Egyptian efforts, Hamas still has around 10 or so tunnels pointing in the direction of Cairo. (It is worth recalling, Egypt is furious that ISIS operators in Sinai receive regular support from Hamas, including escape routes and medical treatment.)
  • The tunnel creation is a 24/7 project that has already cost at least 20 lives this year alone.
  • Roughly 5,000 Hamas militia are being trained for ‘tunnel warfare’, more than double the total available in 2014.

Now Fishman did not offer any directs sources to substantiate these facts. However, I think it reasonable to state that Hamas are up to no good. These tunnels are designed to cause injury and destruction.

So, where does the concrete come from? Lorries enter from Israel, ostensibly with raw materials for new homes. Oh come off it!!! No wonder, UNWRA complains that home building is behind schedule.

And where does the financing come from? Strange how that question never seems to be asked in European Parliaments………..even if these same governments give hundreds of millions directly and indirectly every year to Gaza and to the West Bank?

The default reporting mechanism for the Palestinian economy is that it is bust and that is mainly due to Israeli oppression.

The facts that Ramallah and Gaza and surrounds are today replete with shopping centres or that the economy leapt forward when under full Israeli control up to 1999 seem to be irrelevant. So I briefly want to take a quick survey of anecdotal evidence as to what is happening.

Ostensibly, the answer is nothing. The Ma’an News Agency in Ramallah has not updated its economic section in English for over two months. Moving beyond this bizarre situation, I found out that:

1) Certainly, the EU continues to pour in hundreds of millions of Euros on behalf of the Palestinians. It justifies this on the grounds that the money stops a complete collapse of the two-state economy. The strange thing is that the donors from the Arab states are still around US$1 billion short in meeting their commitments, and show little real to pick up the slack.

This does beg the question why the oil-rich nations revoke on their financial pledges to the leadership of Abbas and Hamas? What do they know?

2) That the Palestinian economy is in dire straights is not an argument. It is a fact. The perennial question is where does all the aid go to?

It is significant that even the British newspaper, the Guardian, considered one of the most hostile to Israel for two decades now accepts that:

About 6 percent of the Palestinian budget is diverted to prisoner salaries. All this money comes from so-called ‘donor countries’ such as the United States, Great Britain, Norway, and Denmark.

Thus, by one calculation: “The Palestinian Authority is paying them (prisoners) up to £1,957 a month – more than the average salary of a UK worker.” Absolutely stunning!

Why the complete lack of accountability? Why does UNWRA, what I describe as the largest charity in the world, have no external auditor? Why is so much of taxpayers’ money poured into bottomless pot, yet relatively little is spent elsewhere?

3) The blog of Haifa Diary picked up on a small yet significant news item. The Israeli security services arrested a small-time Palestinian smuggler. No big deal, except that he was carrying thousands of dollars intended to fund Hamas terrorism in the West Bank.

So what is it? The average Palestinian does not need the cash, or their livelihood is just irrelevant for their leaders in this incessant game of hatred?

4) And if we are talking of illegal trade, did you hear about the illegal spare automotive parts, which were nearly smuggled into Gaza? No? Silence in your media?

Well, I bet you did not hear about all of these stories? And maybe it is time to ask why?

For decades, we have heard that the Palestinians do not have any money. We know that their brothers in the Arab League do not readily convert financial promises into actual deliveries. Despite that, Palestinians mange to build extravagant tunnels and shopping centres.

So who is paying for the development of the Hamas regime in Gaza or the perpetuation of the Abbas empire in Ramallah? Consider these three anecdotes that shows what happens on the quiet to the earnings of Western taxpayers.

First, the generosity of the UK knows few limits. It was revealed in the Parliament of Westminster on July 4th by the minister for the DFID, the Department for International Development that: –

DFID provided almost £157 million to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) between 2014/15 and 2015/16 to help build Palestinian institutions, deliver basic services and promote economic development. DFID has either met or exceeded the majority of its targets for programmes in the OPTs.

DFID supported over 390 companies to improve their operations and increase competitiveness. In each of the two years, through UNRWA support, over 26,000 families received social transfers (either food or cash) and almost 45,000 children were provided basic education. Furthermore, over 1.6 million medical consultations were provided over the two years.

In addition to this support, the UK provided more than £17m in immediate humanitarian assistance for those affected by the Gaza conflict in the summer of 2014. Non-food Item (NFI) packages were provided for 23,400 families covering their needs for three months.

Very noble. And this does not mention contributions to the EU for Palestinian-specific projects.

So, turning to Brussels, there is no doubt that the EU can be incredibly supportive. It recently contributed 10 million Euros towards a much needed desalination plant in Gaza. Officially, the EU contributes around 170 million Euros annually to the Palestinians. This does not include the hundreds of millions, which find their way to UNRWA. Could this be one of the reasons that the British voted to opt out of Europe?

And finally, some may say ironically, there is the support and training provided by Israel. Yes, the government in Jerusalem is not immune to what happens in the West Bank and in Gaza. One prominent expression of this can be found in the agricultural sector, where two sides met up regularly.  In fact is staggering just how much Israel gives to the Palestinians via business centres, education, medical assistance and much more.  This must be worth tens of millions of dollars in any given year.

This week, a flotilla of aid from Turkey arrived in Israel. The goods are to be transferred under supervision to Gaza. This act of charity may save face for the Turkish regime, but it is not what the Palestinians necessarily need not will it directly help the overall cause of peace.

It is time to change the narrative. The Palestinians do have money – not a lot, but it is right there. They do need more investment, not in its leadership but directly in the people. And as the UK Parliament is beginning to understand, the monitoring of these donations has to become transparent and accountable, which simply is not what happens today.

Thursday 30th June 2016 represented a day of mixed feelings for Israel

Early in the day, a Palestinian entered the home of an Israeli family and slew a 13 year old girl in her sleep. A few hours later, there was another stabbing incident on the costal city of Netanya.

While that was going on, the British Labour Party released its report on anti-Semitism in its ranks. Led by Sami Chakrabarti, it concluded that “too much clear evidence of minority hateful or ignorant attitudes” amongst members. Fair enough. However, party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, when commenting about the findings, made his central point the equivalence of Israel with ISIS!

While wondering if Corbyn realises (or cares) that Jews pray in the direction of Zion in Jerusalem, it did not take long for the leaders of the   Jewish community to dismiss outright such a statement. Yet if Corbyn’s language was not vile enough, his apparent supporters were caught on camera uttering further anti-Semitic remarks…… and never a mention of a few words for the wretched family, whose daughter had just been stabbed to death ‘in the name of peace’.

In total contrast, a few hours later, I was on my way to take part in the 3rd Tel Aviv Whisky Live event. Thousands attended, of every creed and colour. And arguably the most popular stands were those with reps – whisky ambassadors – from the distilleries from the British Isles.

For example, Tomintoul had an excellent display, and I admit to being pleased with my tasting their 12 year old malt. What I found particularly interesting was their understanding of the kosher laws regarding this very special drink, an issue that most seem very obscure to the Speyside team. Similarly, I was delighted to learn about Teelings single malt, whose base is in the heart of Dublin, Eire. And to be honest, I left with a very healthy looking bottle of heavily peated Jura.

The point is that these companies and their competitors and fully engaged now in the Israeli market. They look beyond the hypocrisies and misjudgments of people like Corbyn and fellow politically correct animals – who would advocate people to boycott such an event.

Spiritually, and in more ways than one, the distilleries are simply working with the Jewish nation, treating the local populace just like any other country. Which raises the question as to what sinister issue is preventing Monsieur Corbyn from doing the same?

People who live in Israel often have a problem explaining the ‘true Israel’ to outsiders. They are encouraged to believe by international media that the modern-day Holy Land is engulfed in violence 24/7, while the locals are rude and abrasive.

Moving rapidly away from this over simplification, Ruth Corman has released a beautiful book entitled “Unexpected Israel”, which rightly highlights unusual individuals or the peculiar characteristics of groups in Israel. Together, the sum of the parts is what makes Israel so wonderful and thrilling.

The book reflects close to 90 anecdotes, descriptions or just cameos, all enriched by some excellent photography. For example: What is so unique about playing ‘matkot’ on the beach at Tel Aviv? Alternatively, Corman gives deserved space to the amazing fauna and birds that have entered and conquered the country over the centuries. And she then describes the numerous types of pilgrimages that swamp the country throughout any given year.

It is this last point that truly struck me. So many of her observations seem to focus on people outside Judaism. On reflection, this is a triumph for the pluralism inherent in most Israelis.

However, as  a blogger who tries to find the ‘unusual’ in Jerusalem, I must quickly acknowledge that this is where Corman excels.

  • Tsegue-Mariam, the Ethiopian nun, who escaped fascist and Marxist torture in order to play the piano in the Holy city.
  • Elia Kahvedjian, an Armenian, who survived Ottoman persecution and set up a thriving photography business in central Jerusalem
  • Those many worshippers who write notes of hope and prayer, leaving them in the cracks in the Western Wall.
  • Hassadna, a musical school that strives for excellence, while deliberately looking out for the physically and financially distressed children who want to learn.

Unexpected, but this is only a partial list. That said, my favourite story refers to Dr, Yossi Leshem, who realised that more fighter planes are lost through “clashes with migrating birds” than through enemy action. His solution was to create a fleet of aerial drones to report about the movement of birds.

Leshem’s scheme is so successful that it is supported by Palestinian ornithologists. Jordan and Turkey have incorporated his techniques. And he is in the process of setting a system that will bring together countries along the whole of the African Rift Valley.

Without fuss, Leshem along with countless other Israelis have found a way to breach the established rules of hatred in the Middle East. But you will not read about these stories in the established media.

Israel is a country that never ceases to surprise, and Jerusalem remains at the core of this adventure. It is a duty of Ruth Corman and her others to reveal yet more ‘secrets’ of this small country.

If I normally write about business in Israel and primarily in Jerusalem, the events of last night force me to discuss what happened in Tel Aviv.

Two young Palestinians, dressed up very elegantly, ordered coffee at the popular Max Brenner restaurant in the trendy Sarona market complex in central Tel Aviv. Nothing wrong in that, except that once they had calmly finished their drinks, they slew at point blank range four fellow customers. The security camera captured the massacre.

Since the Autumn of last year, Israel, and particularly Jerusalem, has been the subject of a number of horrendous terrorist incidents. They typically involved random stabbings of innocent civilians.

However, the attack in Tel Aviv has created a new atmosphere, one that has captured the viewpoint of just about all Israelis, whatever their political or religious take. After the anguish, a feeling of deep, deep, deep anger has rushed to the surface. So what was different about last night?

  1. As the video graphically depicts, the attack was cold blooded, just like recent events in Paris and in Brussels.
  2. Despite the comparisons to events in Europe, the BBC, CNN and many others have not been able to call the slaughter a terrorist incident. Somehow, when it comes to Israel, the country is judged differently to 199 other countries around the globe. That stinks of something very putrid.
  3. The attack took place in Max Brenner boutique chocolate restaurant. This chain has many branches overseas and has often been the target of calls to boycott Israeli products. With a very bitter taste of irony, the protest posters include an image of a menacing Israeli soldier, carrying a machine gun……………horrifically similar to the one used by the Palestinians in the attack. Such hypocrisy.
  4. Once the incident ended, the injured were taken to hospital and treated on the basis of ‘most serious come first’. And that included one of the terrorists. Pictures available on the net clearly show the man being treated by a team of Jews and Arabs, despite the carnage the patient had caused barely an hour beforehand. Yes, Israeli medical treatment does not discriminate, but then you have to ask why no Jews are treated in Palestinian hospitals.
  5. Meanwhile, condemnations have come in from the Secretary General of the UN, Prime Minister Cameron and others. Staff from the Australian embassy in Tel Aviv visited Sarona this morning in support of the families who have suffered. And yet….

And yet…..in Gaza and in the West Bank, sweets were handed out in celebration of the killings. One of the largest groups in the PLO described the incident as a “natural response“! Hamas praised it and President Abbas has remained silent.

It sickens. It hurts. It is gut-wrenching. However, for me this is not the cause of my anger.

What truly annoys me is that in another day or in another week, the EU and Obama and others will put this ‘shooting spree’ to one side and call on Israel to make compromises towards peace. As in the past, predictably no such demands or pressure will be asked of the Palestinians.

Remember Paris? Recall Brussels airport? Did the politicians in Europe respond by offering the assailants boxes of chocolates (from Max Brenner, sic?). Israel is treated differently. That is morally repugnant, and this attitude represents a threat to my family.

So I will not apologise for standing up and shouting, very very loudly: I refuse to accept it. Terror needs to be fought, not appeased. World diplomats really must think again, before the attacks spread beyond the capitals of Paris and Belgium.

As I have stated on more than one occasion, the Palestinian economy could and deserves to be so much stronger. Yet, in the words of that great political American commentator, Britney Spears, it is a case of “oops, I have done it again“.

Here is what I mean: –

  1. It turns out that Hamas continues to use its resources to invest in a creating a war economy to fight Israel.Weapons are still smuggled into Israel, diverting investments away from social needs.
  2. Israel has just started to allow concrete imports back into Gaza, despite the fear that it will used to build more offensive  tunnels rather than new homes, as conceded by the UN. And while the tunnel economy continues to thrive, Hamas has managed to bulldoze away some of the last vestiges of Christian history in Gaza.
  3. And then there is the question of financial aid …or taxes? We know that the Palestinian economy receives 70% of its funding from overseas. And we know that much of the UNRWA budget is neither transparent nor accountable. But given all that, why does Hamas still need to impose higher taxes on those very people who should be benefitting from such large handouts from Western taxpayers?

Samir Abu Mudallala, an economics professor at Al-Azhar University, echoed Ajala’s assessment. In a March 19 statement to Kofia Press, Mudallala said, “Forcing new taxes on the Gaza Strip is a form of economic piracy and may worsen the current economic situation. It will also deepen the people’s scourges and increase poverty rates and food insecurity.”

Gazans deserve better. It is time for donors to face the truth.

Reporting accurately on the Palestinian economy has never been easy. If you look carefully at the documents of the World Bank or the IMF, they often contain statements that data collected from Ramallah and Gaza is not of the most reliable standards. That said, various news items more recently have given the outside world a better understanding as to how revenues are used by the Palestinian Authority and by Hamas.

Why is this important for outsiders? Because according to the OECD, approximately 70% of Palestinian expenditure comes from overseas aid. And the overwhelming majority of that aid comes from the generosity of Western taxpayers, who in turn are suffering from their own economic uncertainties.

The OECD estimates that the Palestinians receive around US$2.5 billion in direct aid annually. Ostensibly, the USA is the largest single donor, but much of UNRWA’s support comes from the pockets of European citizens. 49% of the total sums are designated for ‘other social infrastructure’, whatever that may mean. (BTW, total annual contributions to global aid peak above $130 billion. Thus, per capita, the Palestinians receive a very healthy share of the total pool).

And where specially does this money end up? Here are four quick case studies:

  1. A few weeks ago, I discussed how in spite of the checks in place, monies from the UK and from the EU seep through to political prisoners and terrorists. Coblogger Arnold Roth has expanded on this theme. He believes that “the perpetually financially strapped PA spent $144 million paying salaries” in 2014 alone.  Thus, using the 70% factor, donors (including British taxpayers) paid about US$100m towards helping these ‘deserving people’.
  2. On a similar note, the Palestinian commentator Khaled Abu Toameh observed this week that “The Palestinian Authority has used international funds to build prisons and detention centers in the West Bank where torture has become the norm.” He outlines how the Independent Palestinian Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) has received 782 complaints concerning torture and similar abuses. Again, the money to maintain this state of affairs primarily came from overseas.
  3. Moving away from direct political issues, even culture is not immune to the misuse of funds. The New York Times revealed that a spanking new museum in Ramallah was opened on the basis of a US$24m budget. This is to be a great celebration of Palestinian history and art. However, due to internal wrangling, there is not one exhibit for inspection. So, I am forced to ask, where did the budget disappear to and how was it accounted for in front of the donors?
  4. And there is UNRWA, where the EU is proud to show off its contribution. VP Mogherini announced on 4th April:

Since 2000, EU has provided over EUR 1.6 billion to UNRWA out of the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) allocation for Palestine. The bulk of EU aid for UNRWA, EUR 82 million per year for the period 2014-2016, has gone to finance its General Fund (or  Programme Budget)………On top of this, there are ad hoc temporary projects financed via other instruments. Humanitarian funding to UNRWA amounted to EUR 5 million both in 2015 and 2016 (of which, EUR 4 million for shelter assistance in Gaza)……….

Well that is clear. However, less than a month later, we learnt of an event that took place at the UNRWA refugee camp in Aida, near Bethlehem. This celebrated a violent attack on Israeli buses a few days previously. And it would appear that this abuse of funds is not one isolated party.

I could list other items. For example, Hamas has returned to building offensive tunnels to fight Israel. Such an operation can only be carried out by syphoning off raw materials meant for the reconstruction of the area.

If there is good news it is that more and more of this misuse of Western generosity is being reported. However, sadly, Western governments, the EU and others are failing to take serious action. Meanwhile, the instigators of the verbal and military war against Israel grow richer.

Give aid by all means, but make sure you can check where it is going in a transparent and accountable manner. Otherwise, send it to those who do not just need it but will…………..actually receive it.

My post earlier this week about “UK taxpayers’ contributions to the Palestinians – Who benefits? ” has proven to be very timely.

For example, I noted that the UK government struggles to fund joint cooperation programmes between Israeli and Palestinian groups. I was encouraged to read a news release yesterday from the House of Commons, which confirmed that:

As many as 25 Conservative MPs and Lord Polak CBE have written a joint-letter to the Secretary of State for International Development, Rt. Hon. Justine Greening MP, calling on her Department to consider Israeli NGO Save A Child’s Heart (SACH) for funding support.

The MPs write: “Having seen the work of SACH at the Wolfson Medical Centre first-hand, we believe that further UK Government involvement in this laudable charity would be extremely worthwhile”.

Over 50% of the 4000 children who have received life-saving heart surgery from SACH live in Gaza and the West Bank, with the rest coming from across the developing world. The charity also trains physicians and nurses from these countries, providing them with in-depth postgraduate training.

At a time, when the Daily Mail newspaper and others have highlighted the loose way overseas aid is distributed, supporting SACH could only improve the lives of thousands. More importantly, it will allow Palestinian children and their parents to see how Israel need not be seen as an evil enemy.

However, as I asked in my original piece, why is the UK government not seen to be fully transparent and accountable in its funding of Palestinians? And I stress: The issue is not if the Palestinians deserve assistance, but who receives it. The repeated stories of corruption are numerous. And there is no doubt that Palestinian terrorists and their families benefit from overseas aid.

On the latter subject, Palestinian Media Watch has just released a 15 page report, detailing how both the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) have repeatedly hidden the truth from Western governments. Bluntly speaking, both the PA and the PLO subvert the generosity of Western taxpayers. Millions end up with those who have carried out acts of violence against ordinary civilians!

This has to stop. And one way to do that is to ensure that all UK overseas aid is fully scrutinized. And that includes knowing who the independent auditors are and what is their mode of operandi. Otherwise, the unworthy will get richer. More people will be harmed or worse. And British taxpayers will end up throwing away yet more money.

As declared this year in the British Parliament on February 9th:

The Department for International Development (DfID) provided £349 million in support of Palestinian development from 2011-15 and will provide a further £72 million in 2015-16, of which up to £25.5 million will be provided to the Palestinian Authority. This year, UK aid will support 36,000 children in primary education and support 270 enterprises to improve their annual sales or productivity.

What is the equivalent of such sums for the British taxpayer? Well a £349 million injection would wipe off the debts of the NHS trusts in England. Very useful, if you could get hold of it.

On 30th March, it was further announced that:

As part of this support, between 2011 and 2015, DFID provided over £3 million to the Facility for New Market Development Programme and Palestinian Market Development Programme, which has helped businesses expand into new markets and products, and supported the creation of over 2800 new jobs. DFID also provided £2 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency’s which supported the creation of over 45,000 short-term jobs for Palestinians in Gaza who have been affected by movement and access restrictions.

In this case, the numbers do not appear to be consistent. Could £3 million over 4 years really help to create 2,800 jobs? That works out at about £1,000 pounds per job. Maybe. However, £2 million to support 45,000 short term jobs? That is £45 per position. No way!

So what is the fascination with the UK and its apparent need to give to the Palestinians in such generous and unlimited quantities?

Yes, there is deep poverty in parts of the West Bank and in Gaza. It is generally accepted that until that the economic despair is resolved, it remains a potential cause for renewed conflict with Israel. And some believe that it is the duty of Europeans to redress the imbalance caused by America’s massive military aid to Israel.

Even if that baseline remains unchallenged, there are two questions that dominate the debate about the size of the contributions just described. (And these sums do not include support for NGOs and the massive funding via the EU). First, the Palestinians have consistently received what has previously been described by the World Bank as the largest amount of money per capita in the history of foreign aid”. So why do they keep demanding so much more? Second, where does the money go? Who benefits?

It is the latter issue that has so concerned me over the years. For example, the recent scandal of the ‘Panama papers’ revealed cited at least two Palestinians, who you would have hoped would not appear.

  • The son of President Abbas, Tareq, and his “holding company worth more than $1 million in the British Virgin Islands”.
  • Muhamed Mustafa, former deputy PM and now head of the powerful Palestine Investment Fund.

A smell of possible kleptocracy? Ironically, around the same time of the leaking of the Panama documents, the Daily Mail newspaper released an expose, which detailed how UK taxation was funding Palestinian terrorists. The item was so intense that it drew an official government response. In fact, much of the denial was forced to focus on the issue of the Palestinians.

Since then, there have been several questions in both of the Houses of Parliament as to what steps Her Majesty’s Government “are taking to ensure that UK aid to Palestine is not given, directly or indirectly, to the families of suicide bombers or to convicted prisoners.” And the answer is often that:

UK aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is subject to rigorous scrutiny, with safeguards in place to ensure its being used for proper development purposes. Our financial assistance to the PA is used to pay the salaries of civil servant and pensioners. Our support is provided through a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, which carries out close monitoring of PA expenditure. Only named civil servants from a pre-approved EU list are eligible, and the vetting process ensures that our funds do not benefit terrorist groups. The process is subject to independent auditing.

But no lists are provided. The independent auditor is not revealed. Even the EU auditors determined back in December 2013 that its own ‘independent’ system by the name of Pegase “needed to be strengthened”.

Significantly, on April 15th, the government conceded that “UK officials meet regularly with the (Palestinian) Ministry of Finance and consistently lobby it at the highest levels on whether prisoner payments can be made more transparent and affordable.” George Orwell would feel vindicated with this double talk.

But what is staggering is that these so-called Palestinian civil servants undoubtedly include the full gamut of the Palestinian security sector – police, the army, Presidential Guard and a vast array of secret forces. All have been linked to terror in the past. And many are on the pay role of Hamas in Gaza, whose is persona non grata throughout Europe, America and elsewhere. In other words, the UK is supporting the very people who are destroying the purpose of what the funds are set aside for – peace and a better society for all.

Where could the funds go instead? Well there is no point in directing them towards UNRWA. Nominally part of the UN, this is probably the largest charity in the world, yet it has no external audit. Words such as transparency and accountability are seemingly irrelevant to its operations.

Disturbingly, on February 10th, there was an admission that there is no direct UK funding of joint Israeli-Palestinian programmes. However, through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), the UK provides a meager £40,000 for the ‘Youth Creating Peace On/Line’ project which encourages educational cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis.

So how about investing resources in key infrastructure projects? And then I hit on this report, albeit from the European Union in Brussels on April 21st.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) awarded in 1999 a 25-year exploration license for the marine area off the Gaza Strip (called Gaza Marine) to a consortium of the BG Group (British multinational oil and gas company) for 90% and the Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) for 10%. The BG Group, which discovered the Gaza Marine field about 36 kilometres offshore in 2000, has recently merged with Shell. The field has not been developed to date.

And there you have it. In the blue corner, Israel develops its offshore gas resources, thus strengthening its financial base. In the red corner, Hamas ignores a ‘brave new world and cries ‘poverty’. In turn, it receives billions in international handouts and thus develops its ‘tunnel economy’. This fosters exports in the form of terrorists sent to attack Israeli civilians.

Arnold Roth is a well-known blogger on the theme of financial transparency. He has been invited to speak at Parliaments around the globe. He wrote recently that it is an outrage that no professional resources have been devoted to discovering where all this money has disappeared to. And he continues:

The Europeans and the Brits can say what they like about everything being checked and no possible room for malfeasance. But that’s not what the PA says to its own people. The message from the Abbas insiders for internal consumption is that, as bankrupt as their regime is, there will always be money for those “heroic” Palestinian Arab convicted slaughterers of children and of Holocaust survivors.

In that light, you have to ask if the thousand or so tunnel diggers are also considered civil servants as per the list held by the UK government. Similarly, if Hamas is able to devote resources to renewing its tunnel war against Israel, why is the UN surprised that around 75,000 houses in Gaza have yet to be rebuilt? Maybe the leaders of Hamas should direct some of their profits from the foreign currency monopoly or real estate transactions towards helping their own citizens?

And if they did? Hundred of thousands of Palestinians would be better off. And decent taxpayers in the UK might be able to receive greater benefit from their own monies that they have gainfully earned yet have been asked to part with for the ‘greater international good’.

It’s the 9th March 2016. This morning in Jerusalem, reckless acts of violence were committed against Jews, almost like in the days of the crusaders hundreds of years back.

However, despite the blood and suffering, there is one major difference between now and then. The perpetrators of old were seeking to replace one theocracy with another. This time they are attempting to destroy a successful pluralistic society.

And what is that pluralism and multi-culturalism? Well, in no order of importance, this is what is going on in Jerusalem over the next three weeks.

  • It is estimated that around 22,000 runners will take part in the 6th annual Jerusalem Marathon on March 18th. Around about 10% of the participants will have flown in specially from overseas.
  • Over the same weekend, the first International Bach Festival will take place in the holy city. Hosting a wealth of local talent and from abroad, one critic speculated that there is no other such celebration of music taking place on the birthday of the renowned composer.
  • To the world of high-tech, the city continues to show off its prowess. I have previously addressed the strengths of the biotech and VC sectors in Jerusalem. The recent international successes of Melodea, Lightricks, Mobileye and others confirm the point.

However, for me, what was really telling about today’s event near the Old City of Jerusalem was the nature of the person injured in the malicious attack by a Palestinian. Apparently:

….paramedics treated a man about 50 years old who was seriously wounded in his upper body. He was sent to Hadassa Medical Center in Jerusalem. The wounded man is (also) a Palestinian, from Beit Hanina, who was in his vehicle on his way to Jerusalem’s city center.

Yes, Jerusalem is open for business to all, whatever their background and religion.

In the past three days, I have witnessed three amazing and seemingly unconnected events in Jerusalem.

First, I was waiting for a taxi at the airport to fill up and to take me back to the Holy City, when suddenly the driver was engulfed. A group of Christian pilgrims from the UK had just flown in for a prayer meeting at the Dan Hotel. Nine of them excitedly clambered on board and we drove to their home for the week. Located in what some call Eastern Jerusalem, they were looking forward to seeing the Jewish homeland.

The next day, I was in Sha’are Zedek hospital in the centre of the city, this time waiting for a lift. The hospital is known to treat everyone by everyone. For example, it actively seeks to train doctors from areas like Bethlehem. As I entered the lift, a large Muslim family turned up, about ten of them of different ages. We moved up the floors together, with no hassles either way. I smiled.

And yesterday, I moderated a “speed dating” event at the Jerusalem Business Networking Forum. Over 50 people of different religious persuasions swopping business cards and creating commercial relationships.

Amongst all of this most natural of multiculturalism wanders the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, and declares otherwise. At a session of the Security Council in New York, ostensibly about peace in the whole of the Middle East, he devoted 90% of his words to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

If you study Ban’s speech carefully, you will note that he hurriedly condemns Palestinian violence against Israeli citizens. However, of his 1,273 words, at least half can be attributed to an attack on Israeli policies and his appraisal that the government in Jerusalem is not pursuing peace. Prime Minister Netanyahu has since responded and the two sides are engaged in a war of words.

The point? Well, Ban did not call on the Palestinians to make efforts towards peace with Israel. In fact, he stated that “as oppressed peoples have demonstrated throughout the ages, it is human nature to react to occupation…”

In the decades since the PLO launched modern terrorism in 1964 with the backing of the Soviet block, never have I heard just a justification for terror. Does that mean that tens of thousands of pilgrims, hundreds of thousands of non Jewish visitors to hospitals, and countless business leaders of different backgrounds have got it wrong? Should they be turning (physically?) on their hosts in Jerusalem? Is that how people all over the world should react if they feel ‘oppressed’?

Last night, about half a kilometer away from where I was, people were hanging out as usual in a local burger bar. An 18 year old Muslim deliberately followed a 35 year old orthodox Jew into the place and proceeded to stab him in the neck.

I refuse to describe this act as “human nature”. Thus I call on others to reject the UN’s pathetic model towards peace. I welcome those Christians and Muslims and Jews who I met in Jerusalem earlier as my heroes for the week.

The BDS campaign is designed to secure support for the Palestinian cause, by highlighting the wrongs of Israeli society. Friends and campaigners are asked at the very least to boycott Israeli goods made in the West Bank. And this call to action has been extended to all Israeli products, as well as to entertainers and academics.

So, what does this mean in effect? There are those who determindly buy into this line of thought. On the other hand, just recently, there have been some startling rebuttals. For example: –

Just where can BDS make a successful difference against Israel? To show the way forward, last weekend, a group of protesters, dressed up as “inspectors”. They stormed into a large supermarket in Bremen, Germany, frightening customers and insisting that Israeli products be ‘correctly labeled’. A similar incident took place in the Galeria Kaufhof store in Berlin.

I can only assume that these people achieved their desired effect and thus sales on the relevant products dipped for the day. And it is almost 78 years to the day, Kristallnacht, when Nazi Germany created the same effect, demonstrating the full trust of their anti-Semitism.

Over six months has passed since Human Rights Watch (HRW) released an extensive report regarding the use of Palestinian child labour in Israel settlements. It sets out to detail that hundreds of children are employed, usually on farms, sometimes under aged, and frequently for miserable amounts of money. If correct, this is wrong. The analysis still triggers questions in the European, British and other Parliaments.

NGO Monitor has regularly pointed out the disproportionality of HRW’s work when it comes to Israel. In this specific case, the group rightly questions the methodology as well as the transparency of the evidence supplied. Reading the  HRW report, the flaws are obvious to even the untrained eye.

But what about those Palestinian children?

First, let us assume that there is just one Palestinian child abused on just one farm. That is one too many. However, as the report admits, Israeli child law is based on international law. Instead of investing millions in creating a 70 page document – of which over 50% seems to focus on the minutiae of irrelevant international law and not the children – and in order to obtain justice, HRW merely needed to ensure that prosecution lawyers were found – again assuming the allegations are truthful.

It would seem that HRW is not actually interested in the children per se. And for the record, HRW did not discuss the possibility of Jewish kids working on the farms – a point which I find abhorrently selective.

Second, and in my view more relevant, why is stronger criticism not thrown at the Palestinian middlemen, who reportedly connect the children with potential employers. If the kids need to work, why do the not place them with Palestinian businesses and farms?

Also lacking here is equivalency. There is no parallel HRW report of such Palestinian employees. Yet, if you surf the internet carefully, you will find documented incidences of how these children are exploited by their own community leaders.

The ‘need to work’ then prompts the issue of the Palestinian economy itself. We know that since the Oslo Accords of 1994, the Israeli economy has doubled in size. Yet, as asked by leading academic Moshe Elad, what have the Palestinians done to develop their own economy? Yes, the IMF has confirmed that the Palestinian economy grew annually by 5.5% for three decades since 1967 under Israeli supervision. However,

In other words, what can be left for the average Palestinian business owner in order to employ adults or even teenagers? Wages in the Palestinians territories are clearly so poor that it is the key factor why every day tens of thousands of Palestinians flock to work inside Israel, and this includes people under the age of eighteen. And as for the practices of good social government and the protection of children by the regimes in Ramallah and in Gaza, forget it!

Israel has often claimed that Palestinian children have been used as human shields in the fields of battle. That is against the Geneva Convention. But these youngsters have also become pawns in the battle for Western media and the opinions of decision makers.

The true winner in this  debate is ‘reverse psychology’. The Palestinian children are abused. The real criminals are shouting, pouring bile and blame in the direction of Israel. This rhetoric merely serves as a convenient cover for their own sins. The HRW was blind enough to lap it all up. And you now know who has lost out? The abused themselves.

Boris Johnson, mayor of London, conservative MP and possible future Prime Ministerial material, is leading a delegation of commercial leaders this week to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

His Monday morning in Tel Aviv was a great success for the locals. And that should come as no surprise. Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown consistently for over a decade. And Israeli companies have raised over $3.0bn in London financial markets in the past two years alone.

As Johnson himself said at a function: Why would you – of all the countries in the region – why would you boycott the one which is actually a functioning democracy and a pluralist, open society…. the most vibrant?” And when interviewed on Britain’s Channel 4 news, Johnson referred to an academic boycott of Israel as ‘foolish’.

Johnson is not alone, both in his perception of how Israel and UK can work together and how BDS is an impediment to peace. Jan Koum, founder of WattsApp, tweeted his objection to BDS this week. Lord Robert Winston, IVF Pioneer. was similarly emphatic in his words, when receiving an honourary doctorate at the Weizman Institute from the British ambassador to Israel.

For all these announcements, this is also the week, when the EU is insisting on invoking its policy that products manufactured in the Palestinian territories are no  longer considered as Israeli, and thus must be labeled accordingly. Israeli officialdom has reacted angrily, noting that there are dozens of political – military conflicts around the globe. Yet in not one other incidence has the EU taken such an aggressive and one-sided approach.

Will this European move help the peace process? According to the respected journalist Danny Rubinstein, there may be about 1,000 manufacturing Israeli enterprises in the Palestinian territories. Many have parts made elsewhere and thus beat the regulations that way. A few, like Sodastream have left the area, thus leaving dozens of Palestinians unemployed. As for the rest, very few export…. and some are improving their packaging, which will actually help sales.

Just for the record, Palestinians employed in Israeli West Bank factories must by law receive all social benefits, such as national insurance as per any other worker in Israel. These are far more generous than those of the Palestinian Authority. In fact, however measured, their wages overall are much higher than their counterparts in Ramallah etc.

Johnson’s visit is all about building links with new partners. Prosperity increases the chances of peace. While the attention is on the London- Tel Aviv – Ramallah axis, this week Israel signed an agreement with Jordan. A new joint industrial zone will be built. “The Jordan Gate” will be supported by the construction of a new bridge to link the two sides. Is that the most interesting lesson for all in this time of heightened tensions?

After the festive meal to celebrate the Jewish New Year, Alexander Levlovitch gave a lift to his daughters and was driving back home through the dark south-easterly streets of Jerusalem. His car was deliberately attacked. He lost control, but still had enough sense to veer away from others in order to minimize the loss of limbs.

He died clutching the steering wheel. Lawyers can argue whether it was the one kilo rock that struck his car or the incitement that the killers had endured which are responsible for the death of Levlovitch. The eulogies and articles merely describe a person, who sought peace between his fellow human beings.

Jerusalem and the region have been burning ever since. For example, thirty days later – and 30 days is significant because this is when mourners in Judaism remember the deceased –  “a Palestinian woman was shot after stabbing a Border Police officer near the capital’s police headquarters”. This was October 12th, a day of multiple acts of terror.

What was so special about this one specific stabbing? It is not that the terrorist was treated on the spot by an Israeli police woman. It is not that the terrorist was then taken to a hospital in Jerusalem, where care was delivered on the same basis as to everyone else.

What sets this story apart is that the police woman is Captain Maya Stolero, who’s late father was…….dear Alexander Levlovitch. She did her job. She is trained to help civilians. And that is what she did, regardless of race and religion.

It would be convenient to let the story end there. However, the incident raises a very troubling question. Agreed, not everything is ‘rosy’ in Israeli society. Yet, if this is how the Israeli police and local hospitals behave towards those who hate them, what are the Palestinians actually complaining about?

There are those who advocate on behalf of the Palestinians by claiming that they are poor, carved aside from regular society. They have no hope. And I bet there are stats to show that the Arab sector in Israel deserves a larger share of the national pie.

But to say ‘no hope’? I have just shown two simple examples of where such hope lies, daily. And what about the Oslo Accords of the early 1990s. As my wife reminded me, that framework was installed precisely to offer the kind of hope that the Palestinians are looking for today. Unfortunately, the violence of Arafat’s Intifada destroyed such dreams for many, of all persuasions.

And the rock that was hurled at Alexander Levlovitch’s car? It was as much about the desire for peace and mutual recognition and was that same Intifada. In other words, the terrorists are burying the very “hope” they aspire to, and you have to ask why?

The violence in the Holy Land reached a new level of horror last night. Until now, much of the Palestinian terror has been focused in the capital, Jerusalem. On this occasion, a young man ran amuck in Beersheba, killing at least one person and severely injuring many others.

A murderous act, directed against Jews. But what prompted it? Is it economic distress and poverty, as many international commentators and academics like to advocate?

Three facts stand out in this discussion.

  1. For all the problems with accuracy that the World Bank has in measuring Palestinian GDP, Gross Domestic Product, – the accepted international measurement of the size of an economy – the amount for the West Bank and Gaza is low. In current US$, the figure is US$12.8 billion. This reflects high unemployment, negligible collection of taxes, low wages, all of which combine in turn to have knock on effects re corruption etc.
  2. According to the IMF, there are dozens of countries, whose GDP is on a par or less than that of the Palestinians. To name but a few – Bahamas, Malta, Malawi, several pacific islands, etc. Yet despite the relative low income levels, most of these countries do not have swathes of citizens looking to pick up knives and guns and then use them against specific ethnic groupings.
  3. In a rare but fascinating social analysis of the families of some of those who have perpetrated these heinous crimes, it emerges that most of the attackers have come from ‘middle-class’ backgrounds. “They all lived in houses owned by their families, and had unlimited access to the internet. They all carried smartphones that allowed them to share their views on Facebook and Twitter and, among other things, to engage in wanton incitement against Israel and Jews.”

In parallel, it is also gradually emerging that the Palestinian Authority (PA) , which for decades has been crying about its empty coffers, has a veritable surplus of riches. For example, last week, I cited a Palestinian source that mentioned how the PA carries around US$1.3 billion in overseas investments.

And yesterday, I read some original research by Doron Peskin in the Hebrew newspaper, “The Calcalist”, which menas “The Economist”. The Palestinian National Fund was established way back in 1964. Today, it is directly controlled by President Abbas himself. Aside from donations from the Saddam Husseins of this world, every public employee in the PA ‘donates’ 5% of his salary to the Fund.

The total current value of the fund is unknown, although assumed to be in the billions. Peskin’s coverage of the financial worth of Palestinian leaders has proved to be accurate over the years.

So, if ain’t the money, what prompts a young Palestinian adult to pick up a knife and look for a Jew to murder? If you look at the backgrounds of Muhannad Halabi, Shuruq Dweyat, Fadi Alloun and others – male or female – for all their lives they have been exposed to incitement. It is available of Palestinian television. It is available in school textbooks, funded by UNESCO, which in turn is funded by Western taxpayers. And it is available on social media.

This is hatred. It is time for the rest of the world to shout “No, Enough. Unacceptable”. Otherwise, as has already happened on the streets in London and Berlin, these crimes will become another successful export from the Middle East.

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