Hen Mazzig: “The peril lies in the White House’s choice to enlist an individual who has espoused profoundly offensive and injurious rhetoric concerning Israel and Jews”

Posted on June 27, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

FREE BEACON
White House Hires Anti-Israel Professor From University Engulfed in Anti-Semitism Controversy
Adam Kredo
June 27, 2023

The White House’s newest hire is a City University of New York (CUNY) professor who has accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and “systematic genocide,” a move that is raising alarms among the many people who are already concerned about the Biden administration’s failure to combat anti-Semitism on America’s college campuses. Ramzi Kassem, a professor at CUNY’s law school, was tapped to serve as a senior policy adviser for immigration in the White House’s Domestic Policy Council… Kassem’s hiring comes as the Biden administration fights the perception it is feeding Israel’s opponents. A closely watched White House plan on combating anti-Semitism, for instance, was recently watered down by anti-Israel activists. The State Department admitted on Monday that it is boycotting research partnerships with certain Israeli organizations. READ MORE

DAILY SIGNAL Why Did Biden’s Antisemitism Strategy Involve CAIR? New Tolerance Campaign Demands Answers A nonpartisan group dedicated to applying equal standards of tolerance sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday, demanding answers as to why the White House touted the involvement of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in the implementation of its National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. “That a recognized antisemitic organization could be welcomed by the White House to help implement the ‘National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism’ is breathtaking,” Gregory T. Angelo, president of The New Tolerance Campaign, told The Daily Signal.

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A roundtable discussion with Israeli expats living in the U.S. about why they came to America, how they feel about leaving Israel, the differences in Jewish life between the two countries, and what Americans get wrong about Israelis

Posted on June 23, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

TABLET MAG
‘I Speak English, but I Don’t Speak American’
Abigail Pogrebin
June 28, 2023

What is it like to be an Israeli living in America? Over 500,000 Israeli expats live in the U.S., with the largest enclaves in New York, California, Florida, and New Jersey. They often maintain the Hebrew language in their homes and gravitate toward fellow Israelis through social networks, synagogues, Jewish community centers, or more recently, the Israeli American Council, founded in 2007, which is the largest Israeli American organization in the U.S. Many Israelis came to the U.S. for education or job opportunities; some came because of disappointment in Israel’s schools, economy, or religious/sectarian pluralism. Some miss Israel’s sunlight, its shuk (market), or the ineffable power of living in a country that almost didn’t come to be. Conversely, some prefer America’s diversity, and its invitation to practice Judaism without Orthodoxy. READ MORE

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In rare joint statement, top officials say vigilante attacks targeting Palestinian civilians ‘contradict Jewish values,’ divert forces from fighting Palestinian terror

Posted on June 23, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

TIMES OF ISRAEL
IDF, Shin Bet, police chiefs denounce settler attacks as ‘terror,’ vow to fight them
Emanuel Fabian
June 24, 2023

Israel Defense Forces chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai in a joint statement on Saturday strongly condemned an ongoing series of settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, branding them as “nationalist terrorism in the full sense of the term.” In the wake of a deadly terror attack carried out by Hamas-affiliated gunmen in the West Bank on Tuesday, in which four Israelis were killed, the past five days have seen hundreds of settlers rampage inside Palestinian towns and villages, setting fire to homes, cars, and even opening fire in some cases. READ MORE

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Tuesday’s shooting, which killed four Israelis and wounded four others, took place at a restaurant and gas station located on the highway overlooked by Eli

Posted on June 23, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

JEWISH PRESS
Israel Mulls Military Operation as Judea and Samaria Security Crumbles
Yaakov Lappin
June 22, 2023

The murderous terror attack at a gas station near Eli in Judea and Samaria on Tuesday marked another stage in the ongoing deterioration of the security situation in the area. The two terrorists who shot dead four Israeli civilians before being killed—one by an armed Israeli civilian on the scene, the second a few hours later by Israeli special forces—came from Urif, a village south of Shechem (Nablus), meaning that violence is spreading southwards from Jenin. The Palestinian Authority continues to be a non-entity across swaths of Samaria, and the IDF not only has to fill the growing power vacuum, but also prepare for the possibility of launching a larger security operation to clamp down on the increasingly bold terror factions. READ MORE

JEWISH PRESS Jews Returning to Evyatar Outpost with Gallant and Netanyahu’s Tacit Approval Immediately after the funerals of the four victims of the attack, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement saying Netanyahu, Gallant, and Bezalel Smotrich agreed on promoting an immediate plan for approximately 1,000 new housing units adjacent to the site of the deadly attack.

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“I’ve had representatives of those groups come and testify on other issues. But you know, it just occurred to me, I’m gonna boycott them”

Posted on June 23, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

ALGEMEINER
‘Disgusted’: Congressional Human Rights Chair Announces Boycott of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch Over Israel Treatment
Andrew Bernard
June 22, 2023

The chairman of the Congressional subcommittee responsible for human rights announced on Thursday that he would boycott representatives from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch from testifying before his committee because of their position that Israel is an “apartheid” state. Speaking at a hearing on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias in the UN, the Palestinian Authority and NGOs, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, said he was “disgusted” by the two human rights organizations…“To sit there and take that type of language and smear Israel with it is appalling and Human Rights Watch is doing the exact same thing.” READ MORE

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Israeli officials sought to ensure that UN report, which documents those who kill and main children in armed conflicts, did not falsely accuse Jewish State

Posted on June 23, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
After broad lobbying effort, UN leaves Israel off child-killer ‘list of shame’
Mike Wagenheim
June 23, 2023

Following a lobbying campaign by Israeli officials, the United Nations left the Jewish State off of its list intended to shame nations, whose armed forces do harm to large numbers of children. The United Nations distributed its annual report on the treatment of children in conflict zones to members of the U.N. Security Council on June 22. It is expected to release the report publicly on June 27. Israel has never been listed, but Palestinians and their allies pressured U.N. officials to flag the Jewish State this year, after it received a 2021 warning. READ MORE

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Judges presiding over PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial informed prosecutors that they would struggle to prove bribery in corruption charge

Posted on June 23, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

JERUSALEM POST
Supporters blast Netanyahu trial after report shows bribery case falling apart
Michael Starr
June 23, 2023

After a report was published claiming that a bribery charge against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was collapsing, the Likud leader’s political allies showed their support of him on Thursday evening, attacking the corruption trials against him. “After years of media and legal persecution against the prime minister, a persecution that has turned an entire country, today the judges also say clearly that there is no chance of a conviction for bribery,” said Education Minister Yoav Kisch in response to a Channel 12 report about a secret meeting about Case 4000 between the judges, State Attorney’s Office representatives, and Netanyahu and Bezeq owner Shaul Elovitch’s lawyers. READ MORE

YNET Drama in Netanyahu trial: ‘You would struggle to prove bribery,’ judges tell prosecutors Presiding judges advise prosecutors to opt for mediation, Channel 13 reports; PM still has to contend with charges of fraud and breach of trust even if bribery charge dropped

DNYUZ The Hollywood Producer Who Could Bring Down Israel’s Netanyahu The life story of Arnon Milchan, billionaire Hollywood mogul and secret agent, could have been made for the silver screen: He produced blockbusters like “Pretty Woman,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and also made a fortune from arms dealing, including covert exploits procuring weapons for Israel, his native country.

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We now know that Obama and his team worked in parallel or together with sympathetic Israeli officials to block Netanyahu from launching an Israeli strike in the period 2009-12

Posted on June 21, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

TABLET MAG
Biden’s Ties That Bind
Michael Doran
June 20, 2023

…Biden officials regard Netanyahu as their bête noire not simply because he openly objects to their approach or because he sides with Republicans, but because he is better positioned than anyone else to expose the egregious flaws of the strategy they favor, which is based on the assumptions that accommodation with Iran is both possible and in the American interest. Netanyahu is that rarest of things: a foreign leader to whom Americans directly listen as if he were one of their own. Israeli military capabilities amplify his voice and embarrass the administration. Starting with Obama himself, supporters of the Iran realignment have never been open and honest with the American people about their true convictions. READ MORE

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“This is an opportunity for the PA to reassert itself in Gaza as a government that provides for the people”

Posted on June 21, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

FDD
Israel green-lights Gaza offshore gas development
June 18, 2023

The Israeli government gave the Palestinian Authority and Egypt a green-light on June 18 to develop a natural gas field off the Gaza Strip’s shore on condition that Israel’s national interests are safeguarded. Located about 22 miles out in Mediterranean waters, Gaza Marine is believed to hold about 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, more than enough to cover Palestinians’ energy needs and provide them with a measure of economic independence. But the prospect’s development has been held up for years given the geopolitical combustibility of Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, an Islamist terrorist group at loggerheads with the Palestinian Authority. READ MORE

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In March, Biden declared that he would not meet with Netanyahu, even after the latter suspended his judicial reforms

Posted on June 21, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

BREITBART
Amb. Friedman: It’s ‘Despicable’ that Biden Won’t Meet Netanyahu
Joel B. Pollak
June 15, 2023

“This idea that Biden can get away with not meeting with Netanyahu. … One the one hand we preach about democracy and how important it is, and [yet] we refuse to meet with Israel’s democratic leaders,” he said. Friedman was one of the most consequential ambassadors to Israel in U.S. history, playing a key role in forging the Abraham Accords, a series of peace agreements between Israel and several Arab states in the region. Friedman blamed the leadership of the American Jewish community for the impasse as well, because it had joined the Israeli left in condemning Netanyahu’s proposed judicial reforms, and had not criticized Biden. READ MORE

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