RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://quillette.com/2025/05/19/a-disunited-kingdom-snp-swinney-forbes-europe/?ref=quillette-daily-newsletter

Many European states have political parties that exist to convince a part of their population to secede and make their own way in a separate polity. Most of these parties are small, electorally insignificant, and only occasionally violent (as on the French island of Corsica). But they are all likely to be assisted by the turbulence of our political moment.

Germany hosts two separatist parties—the Bavaria Party and the Free Voters of Saxony, both of which have local followings but attract only a small number of votes. In Italy, the Northern League was established in the early 1990s to create “Padania,” a new state freed from the corruption of Rome. It has since contracted its name to The League to become a small right-wing party and a partner in the current right-wing government. Belgium is divided between Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north and French-speaking Wallonia in the south. The country was expected to split after the 2024 election, but the far-right secessionist party in Flanders, Vlams Belang, came second to the more moderate, centre-right N-VA. After seven months of talks, the N-VA formed a national coalition government with Wallonia’s centre-right party, and Belgium is holding together—for the time, at least.

Spain is a country of passionately autonomist regions and it is currently experiencing a period of strong economic growth. But the country’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, is under constant attack, and the fragile coalition he leads has been dependent on the support of Catalonian independence parties. An election in the region last year, however, showed a significant rise in support for Catalonia’s pro-government socialist party. This has weakened both of the region’s secessionist parties and the grip they exercise over Sanchez.

So, a tentative peace has settled over the governments of Europe, relieved for now of the immediate worry that their borders will be challenged and that politics will return to a hectic series of late-night meetings called to avert a national break-up. Yet one country still threatens to split into separate states through the process secessionists like to call liberation, and it is the state that most boldly proclaims its national wholeness: the United Kingdom.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21622/england-we-once-respected

The future of Israel and its people will therefore rest on Israel’s own ability to defend its nation…

Israelis will live, and thrive, in their homeland despite ill-intent by their enemies. After all, the Jews are sacred custodians of eternal truths and morality – as the Torah makes clear. The world needs them.

“Instead of demonizing and vilifying Israel, the world should be thanking Israel for being on the front lines in saving Western civilization and the free world.” — Elon Gold, reported by David Suissa, The Jewish Journal, April 29, 2025.

As for England and all of Great Britain, the greatest empire of its time is no more — long gone. Rule Britannia no longer rules anything, not even the streets of London.

Since 1650, after a relatively undisturbed period in England of nearly 400 years, publicly expressed animosity toward the Jews is escalating. Islamist influence in Britain is growing exponentially. The UK’s weak leadership falls into a category of cognitive dissonance from reality, as does its cowardly display against vociferous and dangerous Jew-hatred on the streets of London.

Jews have a long history of residence in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, under King Edward I in 1290 CE, England was one of the first countries to expel Jews from its borders — an event which Oliver Cromwell remedied in 1650, after nearly 400 years.

Since 1650, after a relatively undisturbed period in the UK of nearly another 400 years, publicly expressed animosity toward the Jews is escalating. Towards the end of April 2025, a British journalist who frequently appeared on the BBC’s Arabic channel commenting on Gaza events, reportedly called for “Jews to be burned ‘as Hitler did.'” The BBC lamely explained that the person was not “a member of staff nor part of the BBC’s reporting team.” Even so, the BBC – Britain’s official broadcaster – has frequently allowed pro-Palestinian content and, by implication, anti-Jewish sentiment to be promoted.

https://www.jns.org/macron-scolds-netanyahu-backs-review-of-europe-israel-trade-ties/

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “unacceptable” and “shameful” behavior for the blocking of aid to Gaza, and agreed Europe should revisit its cooperation agreement with Israel.

Speaking during a three-hour interview special on French television titled “The Challenges of France,” Macron said of Netanyahu, “What he does is a shame. It’s shameful.”

During the interview, on French channel TF1, the French president fielded questions from public figures and regular citizens on a host of subjects.

“We must fight absolutely to reopen first,” Macron said of Israel’s closing of its borders with the Gaza Strip.

Asked why France does not sanction Israel, Macron said his administration had taken action on several occasions. “We’ve even refused to send [Israel] equipment that would allow them to go into combat. We’re giving them equipment that allows them to protect themselves, particularly against Iranian missiles. But we’ve made things a lot harder,” he said.

Netanyahu responded sharply to Macron’s comments in a statement issued by his office on Wednesday afternoon. “Macron has once again chosen to stand with a murderous Islamist terrorist organization and echo its despicable propaganda, accusing Israel of blood libels,” Netanyahu said.

“Instead of supporting the Western democratic camp fighting the Islamist terrorist organizations and calling for the release of the hostages, Macron is once again demanding that Israel surrender and reward terrorism,” Israel’s prime minister added.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21614/syria-jihadists-massacre-druze

Ever since the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) conquered the Syrian capital Damascus with Turkey’s help in December of 2024, HTS fighters and their affiliated militias — often offshoots of ISIS and al-Qaeda — have been massacring religious minorities throughout the country. The internet has been flooded with images… of Alawite men, women and children being barbarically shot at close range.

Most recently, after slaughtering Alawites, HTS and Syria’s new Islamic regime, under the self-proclaimed “presidency” of former jihadist commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, are massacring other religious minorities in the country, including Christians and Druze.

HTS is still designated as a terrorist organization by the UN, EU, US and UK.

Qatar and Turkey are apparently the powers behind the new regime in Damascus.

Sunnis in Inkhil, Daraa, were filmed running buses for those who want to go after the Druze. HTS supporters in Idlib waved ISIS flags and incited against the Druze and Jews.

Endless footage from Syria signals that HTS and its supporters have a genocidal intent towards all religious minorities in the region.

“The targeted areas were the places of Alawites and Christians. Many innocent Christian victims were also killed. Residents of some of those places were forced to leave their homes. Then they were shot and killed. Then their houses, property, and cars were stolen.” — John X, Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, March 9, 2025.

The fate of these communities should not be left to al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorists in Syria. Moreover, Syria should not be left to the savagery of al-Sharaa and his HTS offshoots of ISIS and al-Qaeda, or to Turkey’s terrorist mastermind, Erdogan.

For years, Erdogan has repeatedly vowed to “liberate Jerusalem,” as he seems to be attempting to rebuild the Ottoman Empire and install himself as Sultan. Now, with HTS and his other proxy militias in Syria, Erdogan finally has the unimpeded path he has been waiting for to do it.

Ever since the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) conquered the Syrian capital Damascus with Turkey’s help in December of 2024, HTS fighters and their affiliated militias — often offshoots of ISIS and al-Qaeda — have been massacring religious minorities throughout the country. The internet has been flooded with images — some discredited as old or manipulated, but many not — of Alawite men, women and children being barbarically shot at close range.

Most recently, after slaughtering Alawites, HTS and Syria’s new Islamic regime, under the self-proclaimed “presidency” of former jihadist commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, are massacring other religious minorities in the country, including Christians and Druze.

HTS is still designated as a terrorist organization by the UN, EU, US and UK.

https://henryjacksonsociety.org/publications/human-rights-ngos-a-crisis-of-trust-the-root-causes-and-recommended-remedies/

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are facing a deepening crisis of trust, with confidence in them steadily declining on a number of fronts across both developed and developing countries according to survey data. This erosion of trust threatens their ability to operate effectively. This report seeks to analyse the origins of this crisis of trust and offer targeted policy recommendations for NGOs. If implemented, these measures should help restore confidence in the sector, allowing it to carry out its vital work more effectively.  

The crisis of trust has worsened over the last few years. For instance, significant doubt surrounds the conduct and research of human rights NGOs towards Israel, particularly since the 7 October attacks. As Michael Powell tells us in his recent The Atlantic article: “organizations that explicitly valued impartiality and independence have become stridently critical of Israel.” In the same article, Powell argues that human rights organisations frequently apply double standards. He highlights how once-impartial groups, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which originally pursued clear and principled objectives, have become increasingly biased – particularly in their approach to the Israel–Hamas war. 

This report does not aim to assess the validity of the accusations of bias against these NGOs. Instead, it argues that the mere presence and frequency of such comments contribute to a substantial erosion of trust in the NGO sector. In a conflict where the stakes are so high, and given the critical role that NGOs play in protecting human rights both in times of peace and war, it is essential to find a way to address these concerns and restore genuine confidence in the work of these organisations.  

Another factor contributing to this erosion of trust is the increasing perception of double standards. When NGOs focus on and push for the highest ethical standards for Western companies, they create a perception that they are inadvertently distorting developing markets and contributing to worsening human rights conditions on the ground – as their activities result in critical strategic assets and operations being taken over by Chinese, Russian or other similarly less scrupulous entities.