Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2019
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer, Director

Day 2

Israel's fight against Islamic Jihad is continuing for a second day. Reports of "relative calm" overnight were shattered by a barrage of rocket fire this morning, bringing the total number of rockets fired at Israel to more than 350.

Israel is showing tremendous restraint. The Times of Israel reports that the IDF "largely refrained from retaliating for the first six hours" and focused many of its strikes on eliminating Islamic Jihad terrorists who were "preparing to launch projectiles at Israel."

As the fighting escalated yesterday, the IDF hit Islamic Jihad training camps, weapons depots, observation posts and at least one terror tunnel.

So far, Hamas has not engaged in the fighting and Israel has refrained from attacking Hamas targets. IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus made it clear that Hamas had been warned to stand down, adding, "We are monitoring [Hamas's] activities and will conduct ourselves accordingly."

Haaretz notes that one of the Palestinian rockets "scored a direct hit on the office of Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights, which scrutinizes . . . and reports on [Palestinian] violations of human rights." Presumably, the Commission will have a lot to say about Palestinian Islamic Jihad in its next report.

America Stands With Israel

There was a strong outpouring of support for Israel yesterday by leaders of both political parties. Vice President Mike Pence tweeted:

"The United States condemns the barrage of rockets on Israeli civilians. It's clear Hamas & Palestinian Islamic Jihad put violence ahead of bettering the lives of the people of Gaza. America strongly affirms Israel's right to defend itself."

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman tweeted:

"Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an Islamist terrorist [organization] backed by Iran, is again attacking Israel with 100's of missiles aimed at civilians. We stand w our friend & ally Israel at this critical moment & support Israel's right to defend itself & bring an end to these barbaric attacks."

Avi Berkowitz, the Trump Administration's new Middle East envoy, wrote:

"The U.S. fully supports our partner & ally Israel in their fight against terrorism and the terrorist group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The Administration strongly condemns the barrage of rockets on Israeli civilians. . . It's clear that the main obstacles holding Gazans back are Hamas and PIJ who put violence ahead of bettering the lives of the people of Gaza."

Former Vice President Joe Biden tweeted:

"Israel has a right to defend itself against terrorist threats. It is intolerable that Israeli civilians live their lives under the constant fear of rocket attacks. That's why our administration was such a strong supporter of Israel's life-saving Iron Dome."

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer echoed Biden's remarks, saying:

"Israel has a right to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks. The hundreds of rockets fired by terrorist organizations at Israeli civilians are a stark reminder of the importance of bipartisan support for the life-saving Iron Dome system."

Europe's Anti-Israel Bias

The anti-Israel bias of the European Union was on full display this week when the European Court of Justice issued an order that fully complied with a primary demand of the anti-Semitic BDS movement -- the labeling of products produced in Israeli settlements as a first step toward eventually banning such products. The ruling undermined Israeli sovereignty and prejudged critical issues in the peace process.

Ambassador Danny Danon, Israel's representative at the United Nations, blasted the court's decision as "providing legal cover for anti-Semitism." Danon added:

"The court's decision will only spread this ancient bigotry across the continent, providing extra fuel for the forces trying to undermine and damage the Jewish State. Today marks a dark stain of Europe's own doing that will never wash away."

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations denounced the ruling in a statement, writing:

"Today, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down a deeply flawed ruling which determined that goods produced by Israelis in the West Bank may not be labeled as 'Made in Israel.' . . .

"We find this ruling to be profoundly repugnant, as it blatantly discriminates against Israeli products with a double standard that is not applied to other sovereign nations involved in territorial disputes. There are over 200 ongoing territorial disputes across the world, yet the Court has not rendered a single ruling related to the labeling of products originating in these areas.

"EU related bodies unfortunately have a record of unequal treatment of Israel on legal and other matters, and the singling out of Israeli products for labeling echoes some of the darkest periods in Jewish history."

State Department Press Secretary Morgan Ortagus also condemned the ruling. In a statement, she declared:

"The United States is deeply concerned by the . . . decision issued yesterday by the Court of Justice of the European Union. . . The circumstances surrounding the labeling requirement . . . are suggestive of anti-Israel bias. This requirement serves only to encourage, facilitate, and promote boycotts, divestments, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel.

"The United States unequivocally opposes any effort to engage in BDS, or to otherwise economically pressure, isolate, or otherwise delegitimize Israel. . . America stands with Israel against efforts to economically pressure, isolate, or delegitimize it."