Some of our top stories are notable for having a significant one-off impact; others are recurring to the point of influencing readers’ decisions. There is not enough room for all the content we want to share from Lebanon to the Palestinian Territories, Israel to Saudi Arabia, Algiers to the UAE. Nor can we highlight the full breadth of business, cultural, women’s rights and human rights stories we covered in 2019 but you can access them on our ad-free website, themedialine.org [1]. We do share some of what to look for this coming year.
Wiesenthal Center’s List of Anti-Semitic Incidents Suggests History Repeating Itself
From parliaments to campuses, verbal and physical assaults on Jews increasing
By Felice Friedson and Charles Bybelezer / The Media Line
Nothing could be timelier than this story. The list was unveiled on December 18, 2019, but before the ink could dry, a new list of anti-Semitic incidents was leading the nightly news.
The resurgence of anti-Semitism and hate crimes has ignited the worst fears of many and news agencies are struggling to distinguish one incident from another.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on anti-Semitism on December 11, 2019, applying Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to Jewish Americans. The mayor of New York launched new crime prevention efforts including neighborhood safety coalitions, and Jewish organizations are establishing new positions to head security operations.
Members of the Guardian Angels patrol in Crown Heights, Brooklyn on December 31, 2019 in New York. Five Orthodox Jews were stabbed at a synagogue on Saturday evening in the upstate New York town of Monsey. Tensions remain high in Jewish communities following a series of attacks and incidents in recent weeks. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Thousands of anti-Semitic attacks have occurred in the last few years in the United States alone and there will be no letup in 2020. The Media Line will be reporting the incidents on a global scale: the reactions, the prevention assessment and steps that need to be taken.
See Wiesenthal Center’s List of Anti-Semitic Incidents Suggests History Repeating Itself [2]
EXCLUSIVE MEDIA LINE COVERAGE of the Economic Workshop in Manama, Bahrain
Felice Friedson and Mohammad Al-Kassim report on first-hand coverage of the parley
By Felice Friedson and Mohammad Al-Kassim / The Media Line
Six months after the Bahrain workshop, little has changed. The Palestinians are still boycotting the White House while negotiations with Israel are idle, at best.
The Palestinians predicted that without them, the conference would fail, and they gleefully yet with a straight face say that not only did it fail but it achieved none of its stated goals.
“The Arab governments told us that they won’t normalize [relations] with Israel as long as no agreement was reached,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told The Media Line recently.
A group of people gathers to protest against the US-led conference in Bahrain, on June 25, 2019 in Nablus, West Bank. (Nedal Eshtayah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Despite the $50 billion pledge in cash and mega-projects promised to the Palestinians, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt, the offer found no buyers.
Israel, on the other hand, says the conference achieved much. They point to the number of Israelis who visited Manama, Bahrain, and the side meetings that took place between Arabs and Israelis there.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reminds everyone, almost daily, about Israel’s growing ties with the Gulf states.
US President Donald Trump’s so-called “deal of the century” hasn’t seen much movement lately. Jason Greenblatt, a key member of his Mideast team, has left, while his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has been busy with other duties. Israel is trying again to choose a new government next March, while the Palestinians are talking about possible presidential and legislative elections in 2020, creating political stagnation in both places.
Many Israelis and Palestinians think the US administration will not officially introduce any new peace deal in 2020, as President Trump is busy with impeachment and his re-election campaign.
See EXCLUSIVE MEDIA LINE COVERAGE of the Economic Workshop in Manama, Bahrain [3]
Regional Upheavals Leave Iran’s ‘Shi’ite Crescent’ on Shaky Ground
Tehran’s attempt to carve out contiguous territorial corridor toward Mediterranean appears to be in jeopardy
By Charles Bybelezer / The Media Line
A year that began well from Iran’s perspective is ending on a sour note. After acting with relative impunity throughout the summer, Tehran’s regional adventurism has seemingly suffered a major setback.
This weekend, the United States bombed five military sites belonging to Iranian-backed Kata’ib Hizbullah, which Washington has accused of targeting American troops in Iraq. The multipronged attack was a response to Friday’s coordinated rocket strikes on the K1 military base in Kirkuk, which killed a US defense contractor and wounded American and Iraqi soldiers.
The mullahs have apparently been put on notice: Washington will no longer tolerate attacks on its assets and those of its allies in the Middle East.
“We will not stand for the Islamic Republic of Iran to take actions that put American men and women in jeopardy,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday after briefing President Donald Trump. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper added: “We discussed with [the president] other options that are available … and I would note also that we will take additional actions as necessary to ensure that … we deter further bad behavior from militia groups or from Iran.”
See Regional Upheavals Leave Iran’s ‘Shi’ite Crescent’ on Shaky Ground [4]
Hamas’s Well-established Presence in Germany
German authorities raid 90 properties linked to Islamist group, but security experts reveal hundreds of Hamas supporters remain scattered across the country
By Maya Margit / The Media Line
Islamist terror groups are retaining a presence in Germany despite recent pushes by the German parliament to pass measures aimed at outlawing their activities, claims a counterterrorism expert.
Earlier this month, the Bundestag passed a nonbinding resolution calling on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to abandon the distinction between the Iran-backed Hizbullah’s political and military wing and ban the group’s activities.
Benjamin Weinthal, a research fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies institute, called the motion “a good first step.”
“The federal government is supposed to review the Bundestag resolution in January to see whether it will be implemented,” Weinthal told The Media Line, adding that US envoy to Germany Richard Grenell has long advocated for a ban. “The resolution is a significant step because some months ago, the parliament rejected a ban on Hizbullah.”
Weinthal stressed that October’s far-right shooting at a synagogue in the city of Halle during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur marked a turning point for Germany’s policy on addressing anti-Semitic crime.
“There has been a change [in policy] but whether that will be implemented on the ground is another question,” he said.
Earlier this year, Berlin announced it had conducted wide-scale raids on properties across the country that were linked to Hamas and that were operating under the guise of humanitarian organizations. The groups in question – WorldWide Resistance-Help and Ansaar International – are suspected of having collected funds for the Palestinian jihadist group.
At the time, counterterrorism experts revealed to The Media Line that Hamas had hundreds of supporters scattered across the country. According to Weinthal, little has changed on that front.
“Right now, there are still Hamas operatives in Germany in Berlin and there hasn’t been any real crackdown,” he concluded.
See Hamas’s Well-established Presence in Germany [5]
Defying US, Turkey Begins Receiving Russia’s S-400 Defense System
Most analysts nevertheless believe the move will not lead to a complete rupture in Washington-Ankara ties
By Kristina Jovanovski / The Media Line
Turkey’s purchase of the Russian anti-missile defense system, the S-400s, will be a story felt into 2020 and, perhaps, much longer into the decade as one of the US’s key NATO allies shifts further away from the West.
The final parts of the second battery of Russian S-400 missile defense system arrive at Murted Airbase in Ankara, Turkey on September 15, 2019. (Turkish National Defense Ministry/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
There is a strong chance that Washington will put sanctions on Turkey over the move. Sanctions from the US in 2018 over a diplomatic crisis sparked a currency meltdown and an economic crisis, still felt today. The struggling economy weakened Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan domestically, with his party suffering the biggest defeats during his time in power with losses in mayoral elections in Istanbul and Ankara.
It is unknown how big the impact of new US sanctions would be on Turkey’s economy and domestic politics, but what is certain is Washington will have to continue to grapple with this NATO member state’s committed drive to move closer to Moscow.
See Defying US, Turkey Begins Receiving Russia’s S-400 Defense System [6]
Israeli Democracy in Flux – Again
Israel’s protracted political stalemate raises serious questions about governability and its citizens’ faith in democratic institutions
By Steven Ganot / The Media Line
As we enter 2020, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu faces several significant hurdles, both legal and political, in his quest to remain in power. Meanwhile, polls suggest that the electoral deadlock resulting in failure to form a government after two elections is likely to remain after the third election, to be held on March 2.
The ruling Likud party held a primary election on December 26 for the position of party leader. Netanyahu won a commanding 72.5% of the vote, defeating his challenger, Knesset Member Gideon Sa’ar.
On December 31, the Supreme Court began to hear deliberations on whether an indicted member of Knesset can be tasted to form a new government. If the court rules that such an MK is ineligible, Netanyahu’s political career will effectively be over unless he stands trial and is found not guilty on the serious charges that have been leveled against him.
Supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu protest against the Supreme Court’s hearing on whether a prime minister who has been indicted can form a government, on December 31, 2019. (Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images)
Netanyahu is also poised to ask the Knesset to grant him immunity from prosecution. This request must be considered by the Knesset House Committee – which has not been formed by the current Knesset due to Israel’s protracted political crisis.
Prof. Yuval Shany and Dr. Amir Fuchs of the Israel Democracy Institute have written that “a request for immunity is likely to lead to a delay in criminal proceedings against the Prime Minister. Without such a request, the indictment against him can be submitted to the courts this coming Sunday. A request for immunity is meant to be heard by the Knesset House Committee, but in light of the position of the Knesset’s legal counsel, unless a decision is taken to form that committee, the matter will remain on hold until after the next general election. Any decision, when taken, can be appealed to the High Court of Justice, a procedure that is likely to postpone the submission of the indictment for several months. The best way to understand the prime minister’s move is as a legal tactic to block, at least temporarily, his having to face the court.”
See Israeli Democracy in Flux – Again [7]
Exclusive: Pakistan Arrests ‘Last Terrorist at Large’ in Daniel Pearl Killing
Terrorist also suspect in assassination attempt against former president Musharraf
By Felice Friedson and Arshad Mehmood / The Media Line
Daniel Pearl, the South Asian bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped and beheaded by a self-proclaimed Islamist group in the southern city of Karachi in 2002.
Azim Jan was the final fugitive of the group that was involved in the abduction and murder of Daniel Pearl. He was apprehended in April 2019, in a joint operation led by Pakistan Security Forces.
Omer Saeed Sheikh, a British-born Pakistani, was supposed to be a prime suspect behind the Daniel assassination. He was held along with his three close aides and sentenced to death by hanging. Unfortunately due to the laxity of the Pakistani judicial system, the death sentence of the main accused has not yet been implemented but still there is a hope that in 2020 all those involved in the brutal murder of Pearl will definitely be punished.
See Exclusive: Pakistan Arrests ‘Last Terrorist at Large’ in Daniel Pearl Killing [8]
The Khashoggi Murder: One Year On
Qatari writer says affair revealed ‘repressive face’ of Saudi Arabia, affected its image ‘at all levels’
By Dima Abumaria / The Media Line
On December 23, the Saudi judiciary sentenced five men to death for the gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but the convictions has been condemned by a UN investigator.
Dr. Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, slammed the Saudi court rulings as a “mockery.”
Three more men were given a combined 24 years in prison.
The court decision didn’t calm criticism of the powerful de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
Callamard, who has directly linked Mohammad to the killing, wrote on Twitter: “And the travesty of investigation, prosecution and justice continues.”
The Paris-based media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders said justice had been “trampled on” in a trial that disrespected international standards of justice.
Amnesty International criticized the verdict as a “whitewash,” saying it “brings neither justice nor the truth for Jamal Khashoggi and his loved ones.”
Members of Reporters Without Borders organization stage a protest demanding justice for murdered Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi outside the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Berlin, Germany on October 1, 2019. (Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The grisly killing in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 created a diplomatic crisis between Riyadh and many of its Western allies.
Two close aides to the kingdom’s powerful crown prince had been implicated in the slaying. One, Saud al-Qahtani, a royal adviser, was not charged. The other, Ahmed al-Asiri, deputy chief of intelligence, was tried but acquitted due to what Deputy Public Prosecutor Shalaan al-Shalaan called a lack of evidence.
Al-Shalaan pointed out the pleadings took place in nine sessions, and the verdict was pronounced in the 10th session. “Bloodshed cases in the Saudi courts are among the most serious, as they involve 13 judges in three primary stages, appeals and the high court, and what has been accomplished by the criminal court represents the first stage.”
See The Khashoggi Murder: One Year On [9]
Palestinian Businesspeople Vie for Investment Funding in Joint Venture with Israelis
Project launched earlier this year by Judea-Samaria Chamber of Commerce aims to build economic bridges
By Maya Margit / The Media Line
Palestinian entrepreneurs are set to compete for domestic and international investment funding as part of broad Israeli-Palestinian initiative aimed at boosting economic opportunities in the West Bank.
Launched in early 2019, the project – called the “Judea-Samaria Regional Development Financing Initiative – aims to encourage Palestinian businesspeople and their Israeli counterparts to work together in launching new ventures.
Avi Zimmerman, president of Judea and Samaria Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told The Media Line that following the organization’s first forum last February, there has been significant movement on the ground to move business projects forward.
“In January, we’ll launch an online portal for new business initiatives,” Zimmerman said.
“Whether they are start-ups, small, medium enterprises or large industrial projects, they have an opportunity to compete for investment funds coming in from domestic but primarily international investors,” he explained, adding that the process would ultimately culminate in a second economic forum in July 2020, which would see winning ventures awarded funding.
According to Zimmerman, many of the business deals are taking place behind-closed-doors because most Palestinian entrepreneurs involved in the project wish to remain under the radar due to ongoing political issues resulting from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“There’s pressure on our Palestinian associates not to be [linked] to Israelis. It’s very tricky,” Zimmerman revealed.
See Building Economic Bridges: Israelis & Palestinians Launch Joint Initiative (with VIDEO) [10]
Slow Pace of Rebuilding Mosul Angers Residents
Longtime residents won’t give up on the city despite horrific destruction
By Mohammad Al-Kassim / The Media Line
The battle between the so-called Islamic State organization and Iraqi forces has devastated Mosul, Iraq, leaving the once-proud city in ruin.
When The Media Line visited the city last September, construction crews were hard at work under the hot summer sun trying to pave streets and connect electrical cables.
The efforts did convince a handful of business owners and residents to return to the city.
Mosul was ransacked by IS fighters in 2014. The group claimed it as a capital to its caliphate in Iraq. It took the Iraqi army three years to defeat IS and reclaim the city.
The Media Line toured the once-vibrant city with Hosam Al-Amari, a member of the Nineveh Provincial Council, who was inspecting the work in the streets. He told The Media Line that the central government in Baghdad has pledged numerous times to help rebuild Mosul.
“Rehabilitation by the government is really slow but today we are committed to allocating funds. These projects are part of the 2019 budget. But the work requires more effort and more time.”
An Iraqi worker enters the Great Mosque of Al-Nuri during the complex’s reconstruction in Mosul’s war-ravaged old town, on December 15, 2019. (Zaid al-Obeidi/AFP via Getty Images)
Few residents are back; many of the city streets were largely deserted. Many business owners are staying away, but not Rafee Al-Ta’e, or Abu Omar, as he’s known in his neighborhood. He lived through the time of ISIS’s rule.
“It was a very difficult period. It’s very difficult to forget.”
Al-Ta’e, who has lived in Mosul for 40 years, refuses to leave. He reopened his paint shop despite it being one of only a handful of shops returning.
We spoke to Abu Omar recently. He told us that a few streets have been paved but work is slow. Abu Omar says the central government in Baghdad is not fully committed to the rebuilding of the city. However, he is hopeful that 2020 will be better.
See Slow Pace of Rebuilding Mosul Angers Residents [12]
Not Much of a Rush of Embassy Moves
Despite Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s push, few countries have emulated US move
By Tara Kavaler / The Media Line
Not much has transpired since The Media Line wrote about the lack of embassies moving to Jerusalem following the US’s decision to transfer the location of its chief mission. Guatemala is still the only other country to follow in Washington’s footsteps. While Moldova announced plans to move its embassy from Tel Aviv, it has yet to do so.
However, there is some good news for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who has made persuading other nations to move their embassies to Israel’s capital a cornerstone of his foreign policy. Brazil announced earlier this month that it plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem in 2020.
US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin (C-L) claps as the US president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, unveils an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018. (Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images)
Professor Ephraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, argues that more embassies did not copy the US because of its diminished stature on the world stage.
“The US is becoming less dominant in the international field and it is not an easy decision,” he told The Media Line.
He contends that in order to motivate more embassies to transfer locales from Tel Aviv, Israel must continue to pressure its allies to make the change.
“[It will take] Israeli perseverance [to add more embassies to Jerusalem],” Inbar said. “We have to push it.”
And more good news heading into 2020: While the initial US Embassy move involved little more than changing the sign on what was previously the US Consulate in Jerusalem, there are media reports that the Americans will be starting construction on their new embassy within the next half year.
See Not Much of a Rush of Embassy Moves [13]
Egypt’s El-Sisi Seeks Support for Infrastructure Drive
The president is learning there is no public support without budget transparency
By Mina Nader / The Media Line
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi strengthened his grip on power in 2019, amid accusations from rights group and dissidents of cracking down on opposition.
Amnesty International warned last November that the Egyptian government had built a “parallel justice system” to crack down on critics and dissent.
The London-based rights watchdog said the key tools of repression were the Supreme State Security Prosecution service, as well as counter-terrorism courts and special police forces.
Hisham Kassem, a former publisher of a private Egyptian newspaper and pro-democracy activist, told The Media Line that “Mohamed Ali is not a political figure but a whistleblower who created a trajectory which showed that the regime is vulnerable and that the opposition once thought dead is still alive, and that connectivity, which is the main engine driving the Arab Spring, has spread even further. The protests that followed the Mohamad Ali videos came from rural areas that were marginalized politically at the beginning of the Arab Spring. The opposition in exile is now trying to use the trajectory, which is losing traction, to relaunch its political position. This is not likely to gain momentum and any further consequences of the videos would be the result of their repercussions.”
Egyptian self-exiled businessman Mohamed Ali poses during an interview in an office near Barcelona on October 23, 2019. – Exiled Egyptian businessman, whose viral videos sparked rare small-scale protests in Egypt in September, says he is working with the opposition to topple President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and calls for fresh demonstrations in the coming weeks. (Josep LAGO / AFP via Getty Images)
Rights groups have repeatedly accused Egyptian authorities of cracking down on freedoms and muzzling any form of discord including from Islamist and secular opposition.
Under el-Sisi, protests have effectively been outlawed, a renewable state of emergency remains in effect, and authorities last year also adopted a law to clamp down on social media.
See Egypt’s El-Sisi Seeks Support for Infrastructure Drive [14]
How Augmented Reality is Transforming the Oil Industry
Israeli company Fieldbit among many firms providing technology aimed at helping field technicians fix issues and prevent oil spills
By Maya Margit / The Media Line
The Israeli company Fieldbit is partnering with firms in the oil industry and water treatment sector to bring augmented reality (AR) technology to on-site technicians.
Fieldbit recently announced it had cemented a deal with Veolia Water Technologies, a transnational firm specializing in water treatment, to allow the latter to use its AR software for technical support issues. Via smart glasses or goggles, workers in the field can perform complex maintenance operations and make repairs, as well as connect with remote support in case they need someone to guide them through a particularly difficult procedure.
AR is expected to transform a number of industrial jobs in the coming years, including those in the oil and gas industry. Several firms have already adopted the emerging technology – which could help to avert oil spills – including Chevron, British Petroleum (BP) and Baker Hughes.
Earlier this year, it was announced that BP relies on “smart glasses” that use a software platform developed by Fieldbit, whose technology is used by field service technicians via interactive AR-based glasses, mobile devices and web browsers.
A visitor tries an augmented reality helmet during the Virtuality Paris 2019 show on November 21, 2019 in Paris, France. (Chesnot/Getty Images)
Overall, the global AR and mixed reality market was valued at $2.06 billion in 2018 and is expected to climb to $18.96 billion by 2024, according to the Research and Markets online platform.
See How Augmented Reality is Transforming the Oil Industry [15]
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