RUTHFULLY YOURS

Many people were shocked when they first heard of the Islamic State (IS), a small terrorist group that took over large parts of Iraq and Syria and declared itself a new caliphate in June 2014. The rise of IS-inspired terrorist activity in France, Canada and Australia has only enhanced this shock.

However, those who heard the constant warnings coming from Israel about the dangers of the Middle East have anticipated such an event for a long time.

In this article, I want to look at the various lessons that the rise of IS can teach us about the Middle East. One can quickly discern that these are exactly the things Israel has been talking about for the past few decades, shattering many Western myths.

1. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not the central conflict in the Middle East.

For the past few decades, the Western world has acted as if the root of all problems in the Middle East is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If only we could solve this one problem, they thought, we could bring about peace in the Middle East.

The events of the past few years prove that the problems in the Middle East are much deeper than the one conflict between the Jewish state and the Arab world.

The struggle between Sunnis and Shi’ites far predates the struggle between the Arab world and Israel. It is specifically this struggle that is at the heart of the battle between IS and the government forces in Iraq. The struggle between secular and religious forces lies at the heart of many of the conflicts in the region, including the conflict between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian government, and the internal conflict in Syria. There is also an age-old battle with various groups in the region trying to gain some form of autonomy, or at least some equal rights: the Kurds, the Alawites, the Yazidis, the Druse and the Christians.

These historical conflicts, some dating back over 1,000 years, are much deeper than the Jewish-Arab one. These conflicts were silenced by strong dictatorships in the region that did not allow for any opposition. However, with the Arab Spring and the weakening of these dictatorships, these conflicts are now coming back to life.

In just the past few years, hundreds of thousands have died in these conflicts – many more deaths than resulted from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Let us make what is already clear even more blunt: The building of Jewish houses in the Jewish historical homeland of Judea and Samaria, in Israel, has absolutely nothing to do with these conflicts, and no peace deal between Palestinians and Jews could ever help solve them.

Parenting guide on how to brainwash infants into killers, raise the next generation of terrorists, uploaded to internet.

A guide for jihadi mothers on how to raise children to become terrorists has surfaced online, the US-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported.

The handbook titled “Sister’s Role in Jihad” recommends showing children jihadi websites, reading jihad tales before bed, practicing sports that require good hand-eye coordination, like darts, and going on camping trips to teach the children how to survive outdoors.

Women are expected to start training children “while they are babies” as waiting longer than that “may be too late.” The guide adds: ‘Don’t underestimate the lasting effect of what those little ears and eyes take in during the first few years of life!’

The guide’s original authors remain unknown, as the text is usually posted on file-sharing sites anonymously. However, the handbook is believed to be used regularly by Islamic State and other terrorist groups.

Other advice includes encouraging children to play and practice target-shooting with toy guns and making the training “fun” for youths, though the text stresses, “fun does not mean music and dancing, as is portrayed by Western children’s TV.”

Parents are also expected to ensure their children know how to differentiate between “who their target should be, and who their target should not be.”

Compugen teams with Johns Hopkins University on immune checkpoints

Tel Aviv’s Compugen has announced the initiation of a multi-year
research collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, School of
Medicine, on immune checkpoint candidates for the potential treatment
of cancer.

This collaborative research will expand Compugen’s ongoing assessment
of the biology and mechanism of actions of its novel B7/CD28-like
immune checkpoint proteins, and provide access to the world-class
immuno-oncology research tools and expertise at Johns Hopkins
University.

The project will be under the direction of Prof. Drew Pardoll and Dr.
Charles Drake, members of Compugen’s Scientific Advisory Board, and
well known pioneers in the field of immuno-oncology.

“We are very enthusiastic to be collaborating with them and with Johns
Hopkins University in this comprehensive research program to further
characterize and differentiate our novel cancer immunotherapy
B7/CD28-like candidates. We anticipate that this research will provide
important insights for the continuing development by us and our
potential future partners of our therapeutic candidates in the
exceptionally promising field of cancer immunotherapy,” said Dr. Anat
Cohen-Dayag, President and CEO of Compugen, a leading drug discovery
company focused on therapeutic proteins and monoclonal antibodies to
address important unmet needs in the fields of oncology and
immunology.