![Israel must continue to be able to deter Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stressed on Wednesday, speaking amid efforts to reach a ceasefire with Iran's Lebanese terrorist proxy. "We need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations. And we will have to act in time, before the problem will grow," the minister told a gathering of nearly 100 foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem, the Times of Israel reported. A deal to end more than a year of fighting on the northern border must be durable, Sa'ar said, saying Jerusalem “would like to reach an agreement that will stand the test of time." He added that a ceasefire would be an "opportunity" for Lebanon to regain its sovereignty after the Israeli military severely degraded the Iranian-backed group in recent months. He called for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be strengthened and urged the international community to invest more in the economically devastated country, which is drowning in debt following years of mismanagement and corruption. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also emphasized on Wednesday the necessity for Jerusalem to be able to act against any Hezbollah threats that may arise after a ceasefire deal is implemented. “The condition for any political settlement in Lebanon is the preservation of the intelligence capability and the preservation of the [IDF’s] right to act and protect the citizens of Israel from Hezbollah,” Katz said. Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein remained in Beirut for a second day on Wednesday to discuss "technical details" of an American ceasefire proposal with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement. President Joe Biden's point man in the Land of the Cedars announced he would travel to Israel on Wednesday night, speaking after he made "additional progress" in a second meeting with Berri. Hochstein was scheduled to meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer shortly after his arrival, followed by a tête-à-tête with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the following day. “The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday, and made additional progress,” Hochstein said. “So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can.” The Biden envoy added that he will work with the incoming Trump administration on ceasefire efforts, saying that he has kept the president-elect's transition team informed of progress. Hochstein described as "very productive" his meetings with Lebanese officials on Tuesday. “We have a real opportunity to end the conflict, and now is the moment to decide. We are committed to doing everything we can to work with Lebanon and Israel to end this conflict,” Hochstein said at a press conference on Tuesday. Hochstein also met on Tuesday with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and he was scheduled to meet with Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Joseph Aoun. Mikati emphasized that Lebanon’s primary objectives are achieving a ceasefire and safeguarding its sovereignty. He highlighted the need to implement international resolutions and bolster the Lebanese Armed Forces in the southern part of the country. Lebanon delivered its written response to the latest U.S. proposal on Monday. According to Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Berri, the response included “comments” that were “presented in a positive atmosphere.” He did not provide details on the nature of the comments, saying only that they “affirm the precise adherence to [U.N. Security Council] Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” according to Reuters. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in a speech on Wednesday that the terrorist group had "read the ceasefire proposal. "We have our comments, and Nabih Berri has comments, and ours and the Lebanese government's comments are, Inshallah ['God willing'], identical," Qassem said. "We have decided not to discuss these ceasefire proposals or our comments in the media. All I will say is that Israeli is trying to obtain through negotiations what it couldn't through war." The terrorist leader vowed to “continue our efforts on the ground, whether the negotiations succeed or not. “We are confronting a savage enemy, and we will remain on the ground, no matter the cost, as we will also increase the cost for the enemy. We are facing Israeli human monsters supported by American human monsters,” threatened Qassem. Disarm and retreat Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, stipulated that Hezbollah must disarm and retreat north of the Litani River, but was never enforced. The Litani lies some 20 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. Its enforcement, along with Israeli freedom of operation in Lebanon should Hezbollah violate the terms of a ceasefire agreement, are the key sticking points in the current negotiations. Netanyahu emphasized during a speech in the Knesset plenum on Monday that Israel will not allow Hezbollah to “return to the state it was in on Oct. 6, 2023. “We will be required, in order to ensure our security in the north, to systematically carry out operations—not only against Hezbollah’s attacks, which could come. Even if there is a ceasefire, nobody can guarantee it will hold. So it’s not only our reaction, a preventive reaction, a reaction in the wake of attack but also the capacity to prevent Hezbollah from strengthening,” he said. Hezbollah has launched some 16,000 rockets, missiles and drones from Lebanon at Israel since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Gaza-based terrorist group’s massacre in southern Israel. More than 60,000 residents of northern Israel remain internally displaced due to the ongoing rocket and drone attacks from Lebanon. Seventy-six people in northern Israel have been killed by Hezbollah cross-border rocket, missile and drone attacks since the start of the war, including 31 soldiers and six foreign citizens, according to the latest data provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, updated on Sunday. In addition, 729 people have been wounded, including 497 civilians and 232 soldiers. Of these, 29 civilians and 37 soldiers were severely injured; 63 civilians and 38 soldiers were moderately injured and 405 civilians and 157 soldiers were lightly injured. Hezbollah’s leadership has been left in tatters following a series of targeted killings by Israel, including that of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sept. 27. This was preceded by Israeli sabotage of Hezbollah communication devices that killed 39 people and wounded more than 3,400 members of the terrorist group. Israel has been waging a devastating aerial campaign against Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, including its stronghold of Dahieh south of Beirut. According to Israeli estimates, the terrorist group has lost most of its arsenal to the ongoing strikes. Then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in late October that Hezbollah had lost an estimated 80%-plus of its long-range rockets since the start of the war. Israel also continues to battle Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The terrorist group still holds 101 hostages in the Strip, 97 of whom were kidnapped on Oct. 7. Many of the captives are believed to be dead. Brazil summit Meanwhile, G20 leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro for a summit put out a joint statement on Monday calling for “comprehensive” ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon. The leaders of the world’s biggest economies called for U.S. proposals to end fighting in Gaza and free the hostages, and one for Lebanon “that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.” The 13-point U.S. proposal presented to Lebanese officials on Nov. 14 includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would redeploy its troops along the border. The proposal also calls for Moscow to prevent Hezbollah from resupplying itself via Syrian land routes. Hezbollah would retreat north of the Litani River, with the border area then being under control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, overseen by the United States and Britain. Israeli officials are emphasizing, however, that the Israel Defense Forces must retain freedom of operation in Lebanon to thwart attempts by Hezbollah to violate the agreement and rearm and reestablish itself. A senior Israeli diplomatic official told Israel Hayom on Saturday that the IDF will retain operational freedom to respond to any security threats from across the northern border, regardless of any diplomatic arrangements. However, a source close to Hezbollah told The Washington Post that the group’s “condition for progress remains clear: Israel must be prohibited from conducting operations within Lebanese territory.” Berri emphasized at the time that any ceasefire agreement must not include the ability for Israel to attack by land, sea or air, Channel 12 reported. “Otherwise, what’s the purpose of an agreement?” he remarked. Another sticking point is Lebanon’s objection to the United Kingdom and Germany monitoring the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701. Beirut reportedly favors the United States and France. If the ceasefire efforts fail, there are plans in the works to expand ground operations in Lebanon, an Israeli military official told the Post. Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed the proposal with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a visit to his Florida estate earlier this month, as well as with senior Biden administration officials in Washington. Dermer also traveled to Russia to discuss the ceasefire proposal. Tehran is telling its Lebanese terrorist proxy Hezbollah that it supports ending the war against Israel, The New York Times reported over the weekend. Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, met with senior Lebanese officials in Beirut on Nov. 15 to discuss the matter. Two Iranians affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps told the Times that Larijani conveyed messages to Hezbollah from Khamenei that he supported the end of the war and that the regime would assist with rebuilding the terrorist group’s forces and recovering from the war.](https://jewishwebsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Gideon-Saar-1320x880-2-218x150.jpg "Sa’ar: Israel must be free to act against Hezbollah truce violations")
On the 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht and in a clear gesture that it is finally taking public responsibility for its past, the government of Austria unveiled the Shoah Wall of Names Memorial, its first public Holocaust memorial. Located in Ostarrichi Park in the center of Vienna, it pays tribute to the 64,440 Austrian Jewish children, women and men who lost their lives during the Holocaust. Construction work on the memorial began in March 2020.
The ceremony was attended by Austria’s new Chancellor, Alexander Schallenberg; the Speaker of the Austrian Parliament Wolfgang Subotka; ministers and senior government; and officials from the European Union and members of the Jewish community. Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nachman Shai addressed the audience as the official representative of the State of Israel. Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen was scheduled to attend but is in quarantine after his secretary was diagnosed with COVID-19.
In his speech, Shai pointed to rising numbers of anti-Semitism across Europe and around the world. In Austria alone, there was a 6.4 percent increase in anti-Semitic cases and 585 hate crimes recorded online and offline last year.
The memorial is made up of 180 “Kashmir Gold” granite slabs. Each slab is 1 meter (3.2 feet) wide and 2 (6.5 feet) meters high. They were produced in India, the only location where they are available. After first being shipped to Italy where they were polished, they arrived in Vienna for engraving, which took seven months to complete.
Earlier in the day, a wreath-laying ceremony took place at the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial site. Judenplatz was the center of Jewish life in Vienna during the Middle Ages. Today, the “Nameless Library” memorial—made of concrete and depicting rows of inverted nameless books representing the many victims of the Holocaust—stands at one end of the plaza. The memorial does not include the names of Austrian Jews killed in the Holocaust.
Afterwards, Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress (EJC), was awarded the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria. This prestigious national honor was bestowed on him by the president of the Austrian National Council, Austria’s parliament, Wolfgang Sobotka, for “his fight against anti-Semitism, racism, extremism and intolerance and for greatly contributing to preserving the memory of the Shoah and revitalizing Jewish life in Europe.”
The Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold is Austria’s highest distinction and has been bestowed on various monarchs, including Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, as well as international leaders and fighters against racism, such as the late French president Jacques Chirac, and former Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal.
“I am honored to receive this award from the Republic of Austria,” said Kantor, “because it is a nation that has taken its role in the fight against anti-Semitism very seriously. It has led the way on many issues, including giving Holocaust survivors a priority in receiving COVID vaccines and safeguarding a Jewish future, and I remain ready, willing and available to assist Austria in meeting these challenges. I pledge that I will endeavor to continue serving not only the interests of the Austrian Jewish community but also those of the entire Austrian society.”
He thanked the government of Austria for its “comprehensive response in securing and promoting Jewish life” and highlighted the “excellent cooperation and high-level of trust between the Jewish community and the authorities, which serve as an example to the rest of Europe.”
“None of this would have been possible without the systematic efforts of IKG president Oskar Deutsch, and honorary president and European Jewish Congress vice president Ariel Muzicant. That is why I consider that this decoration is not only presented to me personally but to the Jewish community of Austria and its leaders.”
Five-part study: ‘An End to Anti-Semitism!’
In addition, Kantor presented an unprecedented and detailed study—titled “An End to Antisemitism!”—conducted under the patronage of Sobotka, the city of Vienna and the EJC. Comprising a five-volume book series, the study is the outcome of an international high-level conference held in Vienna in 2018 as a collaboration between the University of Vienna, together with New York and Tel Aviv universities, and the EJC.
“This is the most ambitious study of the problem of anti-Semitism,” said Kantor, speaking at the official release of the publication. “More importantly, it details the groundwork for a united and concerted preventive action plan for society today and in the future.”
“We want to create an academic platform on which we can develop other, much simpler and clearer instruments,” Kantor told JNS.
“In every democratic state constitution, there should be a direct law that prohibits anti-Semitism in all forms,” he said. “Second, these books will give an academic platform for the very important social media. People today are losing the ability to receive long-term education. We need to create something which is easy to digest and understand from the first word.”
Kantor spoke of the need to speak the same language as young people. “They do have a different vocabulary,” he said. We have to come to them and not wait for them to come to us.
And he talked of the requirement to ensure that this research is made available to young people in every country. One idea, he said, is to enlist social-media influencers.
“Our objective is to distribute this study as widely as possible so that it can be used as a force multiplier by governments, academics, religious institutions, the media and other organizations.”
Its goals are to prevent further Jew-hatred as it manifests in the current political and social climate and into the future. A total of 119 international experts scrutinize the multi-faceted problem of anti-Semitism and shed light on its history and specific features. Based on their analysis, they offer recommendations for a joint and effective fight against anti-Semitism.
Among the authors are renowned political and religious decision-makers, including Katharina von Schnurbein (European Commission Coordinator on Combating Anti-Semitism), Natan Sharansky (former chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel), Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa (Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem) and Imam Hassen Chalghoumi (president of the Conférence des Imams de France).
The study comprises five parts. The first offers practical solutions and recommendations for decision-makers; the second deals with Jew-hatred in religion; the third deals with the history of anti-Semitism; the fourth with its role in philosophy, pedagogy and social sciences; and the fifth explores manifestations in modern media, and in the legal and political worlds.
“Eighty-three years after Kristallnacht and 76 years after the end of the Shoah, hatred, disinformation, conspiracy theories about Jews and the Jewish state are more than ever circulating online and poisoning hearts and minds,” said Kantor. “Thanks to significant efforts around Europe, we are seeing great progress at the political level. Nonetheless, the problem of anti-Semitism in society is unfortunately getting worse.”
Responding to a question of how it’s possible to reverse hateful ideologies that some of today’s youth are exposed to, Kantor said he believes that social media has become more influential on youth than family education.
“We have to find the way,” he insisted. “We have to speak their language and to their values.”