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Excerpts: Trump Explains Travel Ban – Officials Call Quebec City Mosque
Excerpts: Trump explains travel ban.Officials call Quebec Ciy mosque
shooting an act of terrorism.PM backs U,,S. embassy in Jerusalem,signals no
emergency January 30, 2017
+++SOURCE:Al Arabiya News 30 Jan.’17:”Trumps travel ban aims to ‘avert large
scale attack’,by Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: Trump explains travel ban
QUOTE:US President Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban is the first step in
an immigration overhaul to spare the country from the type of high-profile
attacks that have recently rocked Belgium, France and Germany”
FULL TEXT:US President Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban is the first step
in an immigration overhaul to spare the country from the type of
high-profile attacks that have recently rocked Belgium, France and Germany,
a senior administration official said Sunday.
The ban, criticized by allies at home and abroad, suspends the arrival of
all refugees for at least 120 days, Syrian refugees indefinitely and bars
citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90
days.
While the temporary ban is in place, the Trump administration is devising a
new immigration policy,a senior administration official said Sunday[29 Jan]
that the new president sees as making good on his campaign promise to
subject travelers from Muslim-majority countries to “extreme vetting” and
make America safe from “radical Islamic terrorists.”
“Situations that exist today in parts of France, in parts of Germany, in
Belgium, etc., are not situations we want replicated inside the United
States — the kind of large and permanent domestic terrorist threat,
multidimensional and multigenerational — and become sort of a permanent
feature of American life,” the administration official said.
“That’s why the administration will try and develop new screening standards
for those seeking permanent admission to the US.”
ISIS has claimed responsibility for most of the large-scale attacks on major
European cities over the past two years.
‘Not a Muslim ban’
Trump insisted Sunday that his executive order was “not a Muslim ban,” after
it was met with confusion, global outrage and huge protests across the
United States.
“America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show
compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting
our own citizens and border. America has always been the land of the free
and home of the brave,” Trump said in a statement.
Rosalie Gurna, 9, holds a sign in support of Muslim family members as people
protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban on Muslim majority
countries. “This is not about religion — this is about terror and keeping
our country safe,” he said, adding that more 40 Muslim countries were not
affected by his order.
His defense came in the form of an official written statement issued by the
White House, a rare move for a president who has favored speaking directly
to his audience via Twitter.
The president singled out the media, which he has attacked repeatedly since
coming into office just over a week ago.
“We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows,” he said,
referring to the United States.
“To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting.”
Trump signed the executive order on Friday[27 Jan], suspending the arrival
of all refugees for at least 120 days, Syrian refugees indefinitely and
barring citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for
90 days.
Judges in at least four states with major international airports –
Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Washington — issued temporary stays
to block parts of Trump’s executive order, preventing authorities from
deporting people who had been detained.
Trump recalled that his predecessor Barack Obama, a Democrat, had paused for
six months in 2011 the Iraqi refugee program.
And he stressed that the seven countries targeted by his ban were also
listed by Obama.
But the previous administration’s restrictions were of a different sort,
requiring visas for people having traveled to those countries in the past
five years.
“We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have
reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days,”
Trump added.
“I have tremendous feeling for the people involved in this horrific
humanitarian crisis in Syria. My first priority will always be to protect
and serve our country, but as president I will find ways to help all those
who are suffering.”
+++SOURCE:Naharnet(Lebanon) 30 Jan.’17:”5 Dead in Quebec City Shooting”,by
Associated Press
SUBJECT: Officials call Quebec City mosque shooting an act of terrorism
QUOTE:”Canada is generally very welcomeing towards immigrants and all
religions,but it’s less so in the French-speaking province”
FULL TEXT”Five people were killed in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque
during evening prayers, the president of the center said Sunday[29 Jan].
Authorities reported two arrests in what Quebec’s premier and Canada’s prime
minister called an act of terrorism.
Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre President Mohamed Yangui reported the
number of dead late Sunday[29 Jan] in a telephone call from the provincial
capital.
Yangui said the shooting happened in the men’s section of the mosque. He
said five males had died and he worried that some were children. He said he
wasn’t at the center when the attack occurred, but he got some details from
people on the scene.
He said an estimated 60 to 100 people would have been there at the time of
the shooting. “We are sad for the families,” he said.
Authorities did not confirm the number of fatalities. Both Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard characterized the
attack as a terrorist act, which came amid heightened tensions worldwide
over U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban on certain Muslim countries.
“We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and
refuge,” Trudeau said in a statement. “It is heart-wrenching to see such
senseless violence. Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a
value that we, as Canadians, hold dear.
“Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these
senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country,” he
said. “Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all
Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this
act and all acts of intolerance.”
Quebec City police spokesman Constable Pierre Poirier said two suspects were
arrested. Police said the mosque had been evacuated and things were under
control.
Trudeau said on Twitter that he spoke to Quebec’s premier and was being
briefed by officials. The prime minister said the government had offered
“any & all assistance needed.”
Trudeau had earlier reacted to Trump’s visa ban for people from certain
Muslim-majority countries by tweeting Saturday: “To those fleeing
persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your
faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.”
Trudeau also posted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto’s
airport in late 2015. Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian
refugees soon after he was elected.
Couillard termed the Sunday[29 Jan] mosque attack as “barbaric violence” and
expressed solidarity with the victims’ families.
The mayor of Gatineau, Quebec, near Canada’s capital of Ottawa, said there
would be increased police presence at mosques around his city following the
attack.
The New York Police Department said it was stepping up patrols at mosques
and other hours of worships in its city.
The NYPD issued a statement Sunday[19 Jan] night saying Critical Response
Command personnel had been “assigned to extended tour coverage” at certain
mosques.
“NYPD is providing additional protection for mosques in the city. All New
Yorkers should be vigilant. If you see something, say something,” New York
City Mayor Bill Blasio said on Twitter.
“Our prayers tonight are with the people of Quebec City as they deal with a
terrible attack on a mosque. We must stand together,” Blasio said in another
tweet.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said on Twitter Sunday[29 Jan] that he
was deeply saddened by the loss of life. His office said no motive had been
confirmed.
In the summer of 2016 a pig’s head was left on the doorstep of the Quebec
Islamic Cultural Centre.
The incident occurred in the middle of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn
to sunset. Practicing Muslims do not eat pork.
Francois Deschamps, an organizer of a refugee-support group in Quebec City,
said the motive was unknown, but right-wing groups are very organized in
Quebec City and distribute fliers at the university and plaster stickers
around town.
Deschamps said he has personally received death threats after starting a
refugee support group on Facebook and people have posted his address online.
“I’m not very surprised about the event,” Deschamps said.
Canada is generally very welcoming toward immigrants and all religions, but
it’s less so in the French-speaking province.
SOURCE:Jordan Times30 Jan.’17:”Netanyahu backs US embassy move to Jerusalem
though signals no urgency”,by Reuters
SUBJECT:”PM Netanyahu backsU.S.Embassy in Jerusalem,signals no emergency
FULL TEXT:OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced
support on Sunday[29 Jan] for moving the US embassy to occupied Jerusalem
but mentioned no time frame, after a Republican activist accused Israel of
pressing the Trump administration to delay the pledged step.
In an interview with Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, Marc Zell, head of the
Republicans Overseas Israel branch, said new US President Donald Trump was
“proceeding cautiously because of concerns raised by Israeli officials”.
Trump’s team spoke often during the presidential campaign about shifting the
embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel’s self-proclaimed capital and a
holy city at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But a week ago, Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, lowered expectations
of an imminent announcement about an embassy move that would anger the Arab
world and possibly touch off violence.
Palestinian officials said the embassy’s relocation would kill off any
prospects for peace. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem — which Israel
captured in a 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognised
internationally — for the capital of a state they seek in the occupied West
Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials said last Sunday[22 Jan] the embassy issue was barely
discussed in a 30-minute telephone call between Trump and Netanyahu, who are
to meet in Washington early next month.
Netanyahu addressed the matter in general terms in public remarks to his
Cabinet on Sunday[29 Jan] that were described by Israeli media as a response
to Zell’s accusation of foot-dragging.
“I want to take the opportunity to make it unequivocally clear that our
position has always been, and remains so now and at all times, that the US
embassy should be here, in Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said, without directly
mentioning Zell.
Currently, no country has its embassy in Jerusalem, the Israeli foreign
ministry said. Costa Rica and El Salvador did until a few years ago, but
they are now in Tel Aviv.
“Jerusalem is Israel’s capital and it is right and proper that all of the
foreign embassies, and not only the American embassy, move here. I believe
that in time, most of them will indeed come to Jerusalem,” Netanyahu told
the Cabinet.
The international community says Jerusalem’s final status should be
determined via direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians —
talks that collapsed in 2014.
Israeli officials have said they do not want a US embassy move rushed and
political commentators have noted that its relocation would damage the
stronger relations Israel has been quietly building with the Sunni Muslim
world.
==============
Sue Lerner – Associate, IMRA
Source: http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=72108
