Former UN Official Praises Netanyahu’s Speech
A former deputy director of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency hailed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu’s speech to Congress as an “important message” to the world regarding the unknowns surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and the West’s pending deal with Tehran.
Olli Heinonen previously served as head of the Department of Safeguards for the IAEA, the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
In a special podcast edition of “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,” Heinonen was asked what he thought of Netanyahu’s address.
“I think it was an important message,” Heinonen replied. “I don’t go through the politics, you know, why he’s speaking there and who is attending. Let’s put that aside. Let’s look at where we are today, and this is a crucial time to decide what kind of nuclear program Iran will have in years to come – what kinds of restraints are put there, what we know about Iran’s nuclear program.”
Heinonen said Netanyahu raised a number of “important issues” regarding the hidden nature of both Iran’s nuclear program and the contents of the Western deal being negotiated with Tehran.
He said his former agency, the IAEA, “has not been able to do a verification of the completeness of Iran’s declaration.”
That means, he said, “we are not sure whether all the nuclear installations in Iran have been declared to the IAEA and whether all the nuclear material has been submitted under IAEA safeguards.”
Heinonen further warned Iran has “shortcomings” in its history of being honest with IAEA.
He added: “You don’t need to do a deal at this second if you are uncomfortable with the terms.”
Netanyahu Complains Of Interference In Elections
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned over the weekend about what he said was a foreign-funded election plot to mobilize Israeli Arabs to vote in next week’s elections.
This reporter first exposed the purported scheme last month, in an article documenting that the Abraham Fund, a State Department-financed non-profit based in Israel, is currently engaged in a major effort to get young Arab citizens to the voting booths in the upcoming Israeli elections.
Israeli election trends have long demonstrated that Arab citizens vote overwhelmingly for left-wing and Arab parties. Any increase in the Arab vote would clearly come at the expense of Likud Party as well as other right-wing parties.
Indeed, following the country’s most recent parliamentary election, in 2013, Arab lawmakers complained that a higher Arab voter turnout could have tipped the election toward the left and defeated Netanyahu. Now for the first time, four Arab political parties have united under one banner, calling themselves the Joint List.
Polling is showing the Joint Arab List could potentially gain at least 12 seats in Israel’s 120 seat parliaments, finishing third and potentially becoming a major force in coalition building to form a new government.
In an interview with this reporter, Amnon Beeri-Sulitzeanu, co-executive director of the Abraham Fund, maintained that his group’s voter participation activities are entirely nonpartisan.
In 2010, the State Department provided the Abraham Fund a $999,715 three-year grant for an education initiative in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Education. Another part of the grant was designated to a project with the Israeli security services aimed at fostering closer Arab-Jewish ties.
Beeri-Sulitzeanu said the U.S. government funds are not being utilized for the voter-participation drive. He acknowledged, however, that “some [money for the project] comes from our core funding at the Abraham Fund.”
“Since our workers are getting paid anyway, some of their job is dedicated to the vote project,” he said.
A source close to the Abraham Fund said the financing for the voter participation project came in large part from private wealthy American donors. The same source said the voter-participation drive was encouraged by staffers from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.