Shall the Voice of Zion be silenced?

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David N Robinson

When a strong voice of decency – voice against radical Islam, jihad, anti-Semitism, Sharia rule and Caliphate is being suffocated by the Bangladesh authorities, it is becoming evidently clear that the international community including the journalist’s rights groups are remaining surprisingly silent on such extreme notoriety.

What is the strength of Zion? It is the power of faith and hope and love; the power of patience and perseverance and courage and meekness. A settled faith is power, and Zion has a fixed and positive belief. Confidence and trust are power. Love is power, and godly charity never faileth. Patience, perseverance and courage are powers, before which obstacles yield and dangers flee away, and the children of are blessed to be patient and steadfast and brave.

Children of Zion can never be defeated as they are under the divine shield and protection of G-d.

For more than 16 years, a lonely individual – a truest Son of Israel has been almost singlehandedly sighting radical Islam, jihad, anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial, culture of religious hatred, and Israel-bashing through a newspaper of distinctive difference. Nothing could stop him even for a moment. He has faced series of extreme adversities, repression and cruelty for years – including rigorous imprisonment for seven years, just for his ‘crime’ of defending Israel and for denouncing radical Islam and antisemitism. But he remain undeterred – undefeated and still continues his noble mission. If the world – especially the Jewish communities are genuinely looking for an ally – a real defender of Israel, this is the man – the most virtuous – a maverick – Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. He may not be a celebrity like Daniel Pipes, Prof Phyllis Chesler, Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld, Caroline Glick, Robert Spencer and others, but what he has been doing is not only adorable but also extremely crucial – very much essential.

While all of us are speaking out at the top of our voice against Louis Farrakhan, Linda Sarsour, Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib – patrons of radical Islam and enemies of Jews and the Jewish State are continuing cruel notoriety in suffocating the voice of a newspaper – a  of distinctive difference, which is a genuine and effective voice of the Zion.

In Bangladesh, a Muslim majority country of 170 million populations, with almost 95 percent of them being notoriously anti-Semitic, Blitz has already been able to emerge as a direct challenge to radical Islam jihad, sharia rule and Israel-bashing. Mainstream political parties, including pro-Caliphate groups such as Hefazat e Islam and Hizb Ut Tahrir, as well as the ruling party want to silence this newspaper – by hook or by crook.

Lately, a ‘secularist’ Bangladesh government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has exhibited extreme notoriety by blocking access to the online edition of Blitz from Bangladesh, thus barring Bangladeshi readers in reading this newspaper. As this unwarranted blocking has been continuing from January 22, 2019, the state machinery clearly is unwilling in lifting this blockade mostly because, international rights groups, journalist’s rights groups, Jewish organizations and the defenders of Israel are yet to raise voice condemning barbaric acts of the anti-Semitic government in Bangladesh.

Good news it – despite such nefarious cruelty, Blitz is not silenced – totally. It is still being read throughout the world by the policymakers and people who matter. All of them are already aware of this unacceptable blocking of Blitz site in Bangladesh. But till date, there is no word from any of them – even from Journalist’s rights groups such as Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Sans Frontiers, PEN, International Federation of Journalists etc.

Let us not forget, the latest incident of blocking Blitz online edition by the authorities in Bangladesh evidently proves – the country is now under tremendous influence of pro-Caliphate and anti-Semitic forces. This blocking not only is a direct threat to free press and freedom of expression but it also is an example as to how Islamists, jihadists, anti-Semites and Caliphate-mongers have become extremely influential and active in Bangladesh. Alarming rise of such forces poses grave threat to regional and global securities especially when it has already been reported of a newly formed nexus of ISIS, Jamaat e Islami and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) being gradually becoming active in the region.

Western policymakers and those anti-jihadist and anti-Caliphate forces in the world need to immediately raise concerns about Bangladesh authority’s nefarious actions against Asia’s only anti-militancy newspaper, although it is largely believed, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is in total dark about such extreme notoriety of some pro-Caliphate, pro-jihad and anti-Semite forces within her administration. But again, after one week of this unacceptable blocking, when the international media gradually is becoming vocal condemning such act of crude notoriety of suffocating free media, it is very much unlikely that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is still unaware of this case.

While I applaud President Donald Trump for extending his renewed assurance of continuing cooperation with the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, it may now be asked if the US President has greeted a government that is behaving like Nicolas Maduro, Iranian mullahs, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and those cruel dictators around the world. It is time for the Senators and members of Congress from the Republican Party as well as Democratic Party to raise voice against the blocking of Blitz online edition to ensure freedom of press and freedom of expression.

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