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FoxNews.com Op-Ed: U.N.’s Israel-Bashing Reveals A Failed System

2/19/2015

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PictureDan Mariaschin
Hamas launched thousands of rockets at Israel last summer, and hid its weapons in schools, including United Nations-run facilities and other civilian sites.

Yet, in a July 2014 report issued by the U.N. Human Rights Council directly in the wake of the rocket attacks, the agency lambasted Israel, and rehashed every charge seemingly ever made against the Jewish state.

And it is about to do it again in a report due next month.

In last year’s resolution – which ran four single-spaced pages -- Hamas, incredibly, was never cited by name.

That 2014 resolution was the usual U.N. stew, referencing previous anti-Israel measures and new allegations about Israeli “human rights violations.” It came out of yet another special Human Rights Council session unfairly attacking Israel. This, too, would not be unusual for the U.N. since nearly one-third of all special sessions of the Human Rights Council are devoted to the situation in the “Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

The initial resolution was notable for its focus on Gaza, with little regard for the impact of the indiscriminate firing on Israelis. The resolution charges Israel with indiscriminate attacks and grave “human rights violations.”  But there is no condemnation for all of the indiscriminate Hamas rocket barrages that ignited the conflict last summer or any note that Israelis have been the targets of indiscriminate Hamas rockets for well more than 10 years.

What about the human rights of Israeli citizens?

This willful and perverse omission of Hamas from the resolution was not only brazen, but also par for the course for the Human Rights Council, which, at a time of global turmoil, particularly in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, still devotes more time and attention to Israel than to human rights crises in such places as Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan and Syria.

What about the human rights of Israeli citizens? And now we are on the eve of results from yet another U.N.-sponsored “fact-finding” effort about Israel.

Should we expect anything different from the report due next month? Not really.

The council conducted its investigation through an appointed commission and began reaching its conclusions under the leadership of William Schabas, an outspoken and unabashedly biased critic of Israel. Though Schabas stepped down from his position this month once it was revealed that he had been a paid consultant for the Palestine Liberation Organization, his anti-Israel writings were already well-documented public knowledge. Yet he was still chosen to lead this supposedly “independent” panel, despite a chorus of criticism when he was named to the post. His very presence on the committee from the get-go prejudiced the outcome of its findings.

The “evidence” this panel has collected against Israel ought to be discarded and the work of the committee discontinued. There was never even a veneer of neutrality in the decision to convene the investigation in the first place.

Schabas’ appointment to the panel, in fact, reveals the way the United Nations does business when it comes to Israel. He is not the first critic of Israel to lead a U.N. investigatory body. This panel is just more proof of continuing bias. Sadly, it will probably not be the last.

How did the panel come about? In what has become a standard pattern at the United Nations, the Human Rights Council declared that Israel was already guiltya priori of a variety of crimes. Then it formed a new committee and charged it with investigating those crimes. Basically, it reached its conclusion, and then sought evidence to support it.

While the Schabas departure has resulted in a new chair in place, and while the final results could possibly change, that is not likely. Since the commission was formed with a pre-conceived notion, and since Schabas shepherded the lion’s share of the commission’s work, and with expectations high about its harsh criticism of Israel, don’t bet on any surprises.

The oft-used cliché, “we’ve seen this movie before,” is highly applicable here.

Every time a U.N. committee writes a report about Israel or resolutions are adopted criticizing the Jewish state, it further marginalizes the United Nations as a reliable venue for conflict resolution, and proves once again that the world body cannot speak with credibility on these issues.

Soon, the United Nations Human Rights Council will once again turn its attention to the annual “Item 7” on its agenda. That is the basket of anti-Israel resolutions taken up each session that speaks to the heart of this credibility gap. The voting blocs at the U.N. always march in lockstep, blindly castigating Israel. If they were honestly interested in a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they would realize that condemning Israel year after year contributes only to un-meetable Palestinian expectations and justifiable frustration on the part of Israel.

In turn, Israel then sees an organization unfairly obsessed with Israel at the expense of addressing serious fires burning in the Middle East and elsewhere. You would think Israel’s critics would try carrots, but instead they keep applying bigger sticks.

Therein lies the problem with the forthcoming “Schabas report,” the expected support once again for Item 7, and by extension, a failed United Nations system.

Read FoxNews.com

Daniel S. Mariaschin is the Executive Vice President at B'nai B'rith International, and has spent nearly all of his professional life working on behalf of Jewish organizations. As the organization’s top executive officer, he directs and supervises B’nai B’rith programs, activities and staff in the more than 50 countries where B’nai B’rith is organized. He also serves as director of B'nai B'rith's Center for Human Rights and Public Policy (CHRPP). In that capacity, he presents B’nai B’rith’s perspective to a variety of audiences, including Congress and the media, and coordinates the center’s programs and policies on issues of concern to the Jewish community. To view some of his additional content, Click Here.
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Argentina: Between Consternation and Despair (English & Español)

2/13/2015

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English Version:

PictureAdriana Camisar
Argentina is experiencing today a political (and institutional) crisis of enormous proportions. The "mysterious" death of Federal Prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who had been investigating for more than 10 years the worst terrorist attack ever committed in a Latin American country (the bombing of the building of the Jewish Communal Organization (AMIA) in 1994) left people in dismay.

Four days prior to his death, the prosecutor had accused President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, his Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman and other people close to the government, of signing a pact with Teheran with the goal of obtaining complete impunity for the Iranians accused of plotting and executing the AMIA attack.  

The pact the prosecutor was referring to - known as "Memorandum of Understanding" - was made public in January of 2013. Through this agreement, both governments pledged to create a "truth commission" to jointly investigate the AMIA bombing. Although the government justified the signing of this agreement on the need to advance a case that was - in their words - "paralyzed," all those who were fairly familiar with the case, interpreted the agreement as a clear shift in government policy, and an attempt to improve relations with the regime in Tehran at the expense of the victims of this terrible crime.

In his complaint, the prosecutor corroborated this hypothesis but went even further. He did not just say that the government sought to get closer to Teheran by signing this pact. According to him, the plan was not only to delay or dilute the investigation but also to find other people to blame in order to get complete impunity for the Iranians, in exchange for a commercial arrangement that included an exchange of grains for oil.  

The extensive 300-page complaint was accompanied by thousands of wiretaps in which agents apparently linked to the government negotiated with Iranian brokers a cover-up plan.  

The complaint submitted by Nisman was probably the most serious accusation ever made against a sitting government and generated great commotion throughout the country. But his death, just a day before his planned presentation in Congress to expand on his allegations, let the public in a state of shock. 

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The reaction of President Cristina Fernández to this tremendously serious incident was not only inappropriate but also deeply irresponsible. The president waited almost a full day from the moment the news of Nisman's death was made public to post a letter on her "Facebook" account, in which she implied that the prosecutor had committed suicide. 

Three days later, she published a second letter, this time on her official website, in which she stated that the prosecutor was surely killed as part of a plot against her government. Five days afterwards, the president finally decided to talk to all Argentineans - on national TV - to announce a plan to reform the national intelligence agency, implicitly blaming a sector of that agency for what happened, and emphasizing – once again - that it was all part of a plot against her government. 

In none of those three messages the president expressed regret over what happened to Nisman or sent her condolences to his family, which naturally angered a great deal of Argentineans.  

Several other senior government officials also reacted to Nisman's death in a way that was highly inappropriate and outrageous. Instead of acting prudently, pending the outcome of the judicial investigation, they immediately advanced conspiracy theories in support of the president and even tried to tarnish the memory of the prosecutor.  

As a result of all these, it is very difficult to know if we will ever get to know the truth about what happened. The future of the AMIA investigation will now be in the hands of new prosecutors that will be appointed by Attorney General Alejandra Gils Carbó, a person that far from being independent, is known for her strong ties with the government, and who is even believed to have planned to remove the deceased prosecutor from his position before he submitted his complaint.  
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The cover-up case that emerges from Nisman's complaint was assigned to Judge Daniel Rafecas, a Judge of impeccable reputation, after Judge Ariel Lijo (who Nisman had originally submitted the complaint to) excused himself. The prosecutor will be Gerardo Pollicita, who must decide whether to initiate an investigation.  

Finally, the case about Nisman's death was assigned to Judge Fabiana Palmaghini, and the investigation is being conducted by Prosecutor Viviana Fein. 

Regardless of the personal characteristics of the people in charge of these investigations though, this terrible incident exposed the fragility of Argentina’s institutions, which coupled with the fear that now prevails in the country, casts serious doubts about the possibility of getting to the truth, at least in the near future.

The common Argentinean citizen feels today both frightened and hopeless. And Argentina's Jewish community in particular feels - once again - as the victim of a terrible crime, and stripped of any possibility of truth and justice. 

Versión Español:

La Argentina esta atravesando hoy una crisis política e institucional de enormes proporciones. 

La “misteriosa” muerte del fiscal federal Alberto Nisman, quien investigaba desde el año 2004 el peor atentado terrorista sufrido por un país Latinoamericano (la explosión de la sede de la mutual judía (AMIA) en el año 1994) dejó a la ciudadanía sumida en el estupor.

Cuatro días antes de su muerte, el fiscal había acusado formalmente a la Presidenta Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, a su Canciller Héctor Timerman y a otras personas allegadas al gobierno, de firmar un pacto para desligar a los iraníes imputados en la causa AMIA de toda responsabilidad por el atentado.
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El pacto al que se refería el fiscal – conocido como “Memorandum de Entendimiento” – fue hecho público en enero de 2013. Por medio de este pacto, ambos gobiernos se comprometían a crear una “comisión de la verdad” para investigar conjuntamente el atentado contra la AMIA. Aunque el gobierno justificó la firma de este pacto en la necesidad de avanzar con una causa que estaba paralizada, todos aquellos que estábamos medianamente familiarizados con la causa interpretamos que el acuerdo implicaba un claro giro en la política del gobierno. Un intento de mejorar las relaciones con el régimen de Teherán a expensas de las víctimas de este terrible crimen.

El fiscal en su denuncia corroboró esta hipótesis pero fue incluso más allá. No solo afirmó que el gobierno buscaba acercarse a Irán mediante la firma de este pacto. Según el fiscal, el plan no era solo demorar o diluir la causa sino incluso encontrar falsos culpables, a cambio de un acuerdo económico que incluía el intercambio de granos por petróleo.

La extensa denuncia de 300 páginas estaba acompañada de miles de escuchas telefónicas en las que agentes vinculados al gobierno aparentemente negociaban con operadores iraníes el plan de encubrimiento.

La denuncia de Nisman fue probablemente la denuncia más grave jamás hecha contra un gobierno que aun esta en el poder y generó una gran conmoción en todo el país. Pero su muerte, un día antes de su planeada presentación en el Congreso para ampliar su denuncia, dejó a la ciudadanía en un estado de shock.

La reacción de la Presidenta Cristina Fernández ante semejante incidente fue no solo inapropiada sino profundamente irresponsable. La presidenta espero casi un día completo desde que se supo la noticia de la muerte del fiscal para publicar una carta en su cuenta de “Facebook,” en la que insinuaba que el fiscal se había suicidado. Tres días después, publicó una segunda carta, esta vez en su página web oficial, asegurando que el fiscal probablemente había sido asesinado como parte de un plan en contra del gobierno. Cinco días más tarde la Presidenta decidió finalmente hablarle a todos los argentinos - por cadena nacional - para anunciar un plan de reforma de la agencia nacional de inteligencia, responsabilizando implícitamente a un sector de esa agencia de lo ocurrido y enfatizando que todo había sido parte de un complot contra su gobierno.

En ninguno de sus tres mensajes la Presidenta expresó pesar por lo ocurrido ni envió sus condolencias a la familia del fiscal, lo que naturalmente escandalizó a gran parte de la sociedad.
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Las reacciones de otros altos funcionarios del gobierno también fueron altamente inapropiadas y escandalosas. En lugar de actuar prudentemente y de esperar el resultado de la investigación judicial, presentaron inmediatamente teorías conspiratorias en apoyo a la Presidenta, e incluso intentaron ensuciar la memoria del fiscal.

Como resultado de todo esto, es muy difícil saber si algún día se llegará a conocer la verdad de todo lo ocurrido. El futuro de la investigación de la causa AMIA estará en manos de nuevos fiscales que serán designados por la Procuradora General de la Nación Alejandra Gils Carbó, una persona que lejos de ser independiente es conocida por sus fuertes lazos con el gobierno, y es además sospechada de haber planeado destituir al fiscal fallecido antes de que este presentara su denuncia.

La causa por encubrimiento que surge de la denuncia del fiscal fue asignada al juez Daniel Rafecas, de impecable reputación, después de que el juez Ariel Lijo (a quien Nisman presentara originalmente la denuncia por estar a cargo de otra causa anterior por encubrimiento) se excusara. El fiscal será Gerardo Pollicita, quien deberá resolver si impulsa una investigación. 

Finalmente, la causa acerca de la muerte del fiscal Nisman fue asignada a la jueza Fabiana Palmaghini y la investigación está siendo conducida por la fiscal Viviana Fein. 

Independientemente de las características personales de las personas a cargo de estas investigaciones, este terrible incidente puso de manifiesto la gran fragilidad institucional del país, lo que sumado al miedo que impera hoy en la sociedad, genera serias dudas sobre la posibilidad de llegar a la verdad, al menos en un futuro cercano.

El ciudadano común se siente hoy atemorizado y desesperanzado. Y la comunidad judía argentina en particular se siente una vez más víctima de un terrible atentado, y despojada de toda posibilidad de verdad y justicia
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Adriana Camisar, is an attorney by training who holds a graduate degree in international law and diplomacy from The Fletcher School (Tufts University). She has been B'nai B'rith International Assistant Director for Latin American Affairs since late 2008, and Special Advisor on Latin American Affairs since 2013, when she relocated to Argentina, her native country. Prior to joining B'nai B'rith International, she worked as a research assistant to visiting Professor Luis Moreno Ocampo (former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court), at Harvard University; interned at the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs; worked at a children's rights organization in San Diego, CA; and worked briefly as a research assistant to the Secretary for Legal Affairs at the Organization of American States (OAS). To view some of her additional content, Click Here.

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People Helping People: The Story Of B'nai B'rith Senior Housing

2/12/2015

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PictureJanel Doughten
B’nai B’rith International is the largest National Jewish sponsor of U.S. federally subsidized housing for older adults.

As one of our key organizational priorities, the B’nai B’rith Center for Senior Services (CSS) was created to provide safe, affordable housing for low-income seniors. Through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), our properties provide a secure, supportive community environment, without regard to religion, race or national origin in order to maximize a resident’s independence and dignified lifestyle. 

The CSS mission is an extension of the primary mission of B’nai B’rith, that is, helping people and performing “tikkun olam,” or repairing the world. 

The B’nai B’rith seniors program began in the summer of 1964, when a small group of dedicated B’nai B’rith volunteers decided they wanted to provide this type of service in their communities. The driving force behind this idea was the late Abe Cramer of Pottstown, Pa., a B’nai B’rith member involved in the real-estate business. 

Along with B’nai B’rith members in other communities, Abe became aware of the HUD Section 202 Senior Housing program which made monies available to community-based not-for-profits to provide low income senior housing in local communities.

As part of the U.S. Housing Act of 1959, the Section 202 program is the primary program in the U.S. for providing affordable rental housing with supportive services for the elderly, so they can continue to age in place with dignity and independence. Generally, it is a multi-year process from the time the initial application is submitted, through construction, rent-up and opening of the property. 

The first B’nai B’rith property was opened in September 1971, in Wilkes Barre, PA. More buildings followed, and we now boast a senior housing network that has grown to a total of 42 apartment buildings located in 27 communities across the United States. 

Generally, we serve close to 8,000 persons, throughout the United States. Additionally, B’nai B’rith sponsors senior residences in Canada, Israel, England, Australia and New Zealand, each funded and governed by programs in the host country. 

According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), one in six older Americans lives below the federal poverty line. In Section 202 buildings, residents pay one-third of their income for rent, with a federal subsidy paid to the property to assist in meeting the operating budget. 

Each property in the B’nai B’rith Senior Housing Network has a waiting list for apartments, because the need is so great.

It should be noted that the B’nai B’rith Senior Housing Network is more than “bricks and mortar” and provides so much more than just basic shelter needs. Quality housing is key to aging with dignity. Each of our buildings provides personal interaction, services, and life enhancing activities for every resident in the property. 

Our goal is to not just build an apartment building, but to create a sense of community, and a welcoming environment for all of the residents, as well as to keep them living independently in their neighborhoods for as long as possible.  

That is why this program is so unique. It is housing built for seniors, with services built in to help them create and maintain that community. Each building has a Service Coordinator who works to bring services to residents who need additional help to live independently. 

The Service Coordinator also plans varied informational sessions for residents, such as health fairs, nutritional counseling, or even how not to become a victim of elder fraud. 

Additionally, CSS staff  in the Washington, DC office help create programming on a national level, including applying for grants to fund programming for the buildings.  

As part of the CSS mission to provide safe, affordable housing, we provide training for the on-site property managers, service coordinators and boards of directors to ensure that the buildings are well run and provide opportunities to share information and knowledge. 

Topics are varied and relevant, including how to deal with difficult residents and gossip/adult bullying, to how to work with and motivate volunteers in the buildings.

Each building has a tenants’ association for the residents to plan their own activities as well. Our most innovative program, begun in 1987, is the week-long B’nai B’rith Resident Leadership Retreat. 

Held every other summer at Perlman Camp in Pennsylvania, it brings together leaders of the tenants’ associations for a week-long retreat of workshops to help them to be better leaders in their communities. 

The residents share ideas, network and have some fun. They also mingle with the young Perlman campers in a variety of intergenerational programs and activities. This summer we will be holding our 15th retreat.    

Our motto is: People Helping People. And, after 172 years of providing service to the community, we think we’re pretty successful!! 


For future blog entries, we will focus on specific issues that are relevant to the management of the buildings, the residents, boards and volunteers.
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B’nai B’rith Covenant House in Tucson, AZ
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The Martin D. Popky B’nai B’rith Apartments in Wilkes-Barre, PA which opened in 1971.
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B’nai B’rith Homecrest House residents meeting with students from the Barrie School.
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Exercise class at Covenant Place in St. Louis, MO.
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Another from the fused glass class at Goldberg B’nai B’rith Towers in Houston, TX.
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Fused glass class at Goldberg B’nai B’rith Towers in Houston, TX.
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Participants and staff from the 2011 B’nai B’rith Resident Leadership Retreat.
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Retreat participants with some of the Perlman campers after an intergenerational program.

Janel Doughten is the associate director of the B’nai B’rith International Center for Senior Services, focusing on the subsidized senior housing program. She has been with B’nai B’rith for 23 years, and looks forward to leading the 15th Resident Leadership Retreat later this year. To view some of her additional content, Click Here.

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Schabas' Resignation Lays Bare Bias Of U.N.H.R.C.'s Israel Inquiry

2/4/2015

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PictureOren Drori
On Monday, William Schabas quit his position as head of the U.N. Human Rights Council’s (HRC) “Commission of Inquiry” into Israel’s defensive operations against Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza. 

Schabas resigned after it was revealed that he had done paid consultative work for the PLO (the Palestine Liberation Organization), which created a conflict of interest. His resignation, however, will not save the report of the commission from its predetermined destiny of illegitimacy.

From the beginning, Schabas stood for everything that was wrong in the process, a process that began in July with the HRC’s emergency session on Gaza (the seventh such session called to focus solely on Israel). That session produced a biased resolution that created the commission. 

As is common practice when it comes to Israel, the HRC determined that Israel was guilty of various crimes and asked the newly-formed commission to “investigate.” Hamas was not mentioned in the resolution, despite being the instigator of the conflict. A few weeks later, Schabas was announced as the head of the commission.

Under normal circumstances, Schabas would have been quickly recognized as a poor choice to sit on an “independent” investigative panel, let alone be the head of it. His many past statements on the conflict have shown a consistent bias against Israel—he famously once said that he would like to see Benjamin Netanyahu be put on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC). 
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And yet, when an Israeli television station interviewed Schabas after his appointment on whether he would also be investigating Hamas violations (as the prior major U.N. investigation of Israel—the Goldstone commission—had at least feigned to do, albeit in a rather terse and dissatisfactory manner), he was noncommittal. And when asked if he thought Hamas was a terrorist organization, he replied that it would be “inappropriate” for him to answer because the question had to be studied in “as neutral and objective manner as possible.” 

He was judicious and cautious when it came to Hamas, but he was quite outspoken in his opinions on Israel, and those who picked him likely knew it.

In his resignation letter, Schabas states that when the U.N. asked him to lead the investigation, he was not asked about previous statements on the conflict, and that, indeed, his views were very public and well-known. 

The HRC also neglected to ask him about any prior activities or ties that would create a clear conflict of interest. It was not the first error that the U.N. made in rushing to put together a panel that could best delegitimize Israel’s counter-terrorism operations. 

In a rather obvious play for publicity, Amal Alamuddin (then fiancée, now wife of George Clooney) was originally announced as commission member, only to have her quickly decline the invitation. The announcement of a celebrity panelist did bring the desired attention, though. 

Just last month, Tina Fey made a joke at the Golden Globes that included Alamuddin’s invitation to join this panel as one of her many accomplishments in the field of human rights law (meanwhile, the joke’s target—George Clooney, merely an actor—was getting the Globes’ lifetime achievement award).

The U.N. has already announced that it will move forward as planned with the report. One of the other panelists, Mary McGowan Davis, will take over as chair, but Schabas’s fingerprints will be all over the report. 

Schabas has resigned the month before the final product is due. All of the “evidence” has already been gathered. In a press release on Tuesday, the HRC claimed that by resigning, Schabas has preserved “the integrity of the process.” 

In truth, his resignation lays bare for all the bias in that process. The HRC has set up a kangaroo court to try Israel, and impartiality is not an asset.

Oren Drori is the Program Officer for United Nations Affairs at B’nai B’rith International where he supports advocacy and programming efforts that advance B’nai B’rith’s goals at the U.N., which include: defending Israel, combating anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, and promoting global human rights and humanitarian concerns. He received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota in 2004 and an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Chicago in 2006. To view some of his additional content, Click Here.
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