Oman Joins Saudi Arabia in Opening Airspace to Israel

Posted on February 23, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

REUTERS
Israel thanks Oman for opening its airspace
February 23, 2023

Israel’s foreign minister on Thursday thanked Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said for opening Oman’s airspace to all carriers, including Israeli airlines, which will now be able to offer shorter routes to Asia. “It’s an historic and significant decision for the Israeli economy and the Israeli traveler,” said Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. Oman’s civil aviation authority on Thursday said the sultanate’s airspace will be open for all carriers that meet the authority’s requirements for overflying. U.S. President Joe Biden in July announced a Saudi air corridor for Israeli carriers might be implemented. READ MORE

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Many Muslims see Israel as a leader in the battle against tyranny and jihad.

Posted on February 17, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Three Muslims and a settler
Yishai Fleisher
February 14, 2023

…At no point did she seem to mind that I was a Jew, an Israeli and a “settler” who works in Hebron. All that mattered was that I was connected to Abraham and that Israel was a welcoming place. Here again, there was no mention of Palestine. As a woman who had left Pakistan for Texas, she had chosen liberty over a restrictive form of Islam. To her, Israel is a place where you can connect with religion and identity, and do so in freedom. In fact, she specifically mentioned her amazement and pleasure at being able to walk freely in Jerusalem at night. Although she did not say it, I guessed that Palestine is more like the oppressive Pakistan of her past. READ MORE

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“Can the whole world be wrong?”: A new book is essential to understanding the current lunacy over Israel and the global jihad.

Posted on February 17, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Can the whole world be wrong?
Melanie Phillips
February 16, 2023

One of the mysteries of the war against Israel is the extent to which a monstrously twisted narrative about Israel and the Palestinian Arabs—casting the former as evil and the latter as sanctified victims—has been absorbed by so many people. Still stranger, this narrative seems to be the driver of progressive politics. It’s not just that “intersectionality” demonizes the Jews, but that it is driven by an obsession with Palestinianism. As Corinne Blacker wrote in Tablet, “In queer and women’s studies programs, the topic of Palestine is regularly inserted into the most unlikely contexts, to the extent that one student in a class about queer history told me that they discussed nothing but Palestine.” READ MORE

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Iranian hit squads would be deployed if Israel ever attacked #Iran

Posted on February 17, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

JEWISH CHRONICLE
Iran ‘mapping’ Jews in diaspora for kill squads
David Rose
February 16, 2023

Iran has been “mapping” the Jewish diaspora for an assassination campaign that will be triggered if Israel attacks its nuclear facilities, a Jewish woman who met Ayatollah Khamenei has told the JC. The chilling plan, disclosed at a high-level meeting in Tehran, involved identifying key Jewish figures and determining “how to strike and where”. The hit squads would be deployed if Israel ever attacked Iran, she was told, so “the diaspora would have a very nasty surprise”. The revenge plot was revealed to Catherine Perez-Shakdam, one of the few Westerners to be granted an audience with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. READ MORE

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“Jewish people who show interest in firearms are ostracized, and I would like to change that”

Posted on February 17, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Gun clubs mobilize against rising antisemitism, reported Iranian plot against Jews
Bradley Martin
February 23, 2023

…Antisemitism has for more than two years now been on the rise both stateside and globally. So what are Jews who want, and at times need, to protect themselves and their family to do? One answer has come in the form of individual self-protection. Jewish owners of gun clubs encourage fellow tribe members to learn their way around a weapon and arm themselves…“Jewish people need to be vigilant, whether it is against a jihadist or a lunatic hopped up on drugs,” he said. “This underscores the need for every congregation to have a trained professional. Whether it is just for a hobby or self-defense, what we try to do is promote responsible and legal gun ownership among the Jewish people.” READ MORE

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“All kidding aside, if you happen to live in North Chicago’s West Ridge or Rogers Park – please walk to shul in groups on 2/25”

Posted on February 17, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

JTA
Police, security agencies advise Jews to be on alert ahead of planned ‘National Day of Hate’ on Shabbat
Andrew Lapin
February 23, 2023

The police bulletins have circulated among Jews on social media, in WhatsApp chats and via email: A white supremacist group is calling for a “National Day of Hate” this Saturday and encouraging antisemites to vandalize and deface Jewish institutions. Information about the antisemitic campaign was first provided by the Chicago Police Department, and a “situational awareness alert” with NYPD insignia circulating online advises local Jewish communities to be on the lookout for suspicious activity. Law enforcement and security agencies in the Chicago and New York City areas, however, say that as of Thursday afternoon, there are no known concrete threats to Jewish institutions. READ MORE

JEWISH PRESS Chicago PD Warns Jews about ‘Day of Hate’ this Shabbat On Monday night this week, two Chicago media outlets reported that the CPD’s 24th District, which includes West Ridge and Rogers Park, the two largest Jewish neighborhoods in Chicago, has sent out a warning to residents to be “situationally aware” of an extremist group’s planned antisemitic “day of hate” on February 25.

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Jewish Agency for Israel: #Ukraine rescue of Jews “one of the largest rescue operations in history”

Posted on February 17, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

JEWISH PRESS
15,000 Ukrainians Immigrated to Israel Since War Started
February 19, 2023

More than 15,000 Ukrainians have immigrated to Israel since the outbreak of war in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, according to figures released by The Jewish Agency for Israel and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. These olim have included many young people who enrolled in special absorption programs, mothers with young children, and senior citizens, as well as hundreds of Holocaust survivors. The olim arrived in Israel with the help of The Jewish Agency, which worked in cooperation with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), and established emergency Aliyah centers in countries bordering Ukraine immediately once hostilities broke out. READ MORE

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New survey shows overwhelming number of Israelis believe Birthright has critical role in bolstering Israel’s overall security and ties with Jews around the world

Posted on February 17, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
Taglit-Birthright ‘most influential organization’ in Diaspora-Israel relations
February 23, 2023

An overwhelming majority of Israelis believe that the Birthright Israel organization, also known as Taglit, is the most influential entity affecting the relationship between Diaspora Jews and Israel. Birthright Israel brings young Jews from all over the world on a 10-day free tour in Israel. According to its website, it seeks to strengthen Jewish identity, Jewish community, and connection with Israel by offering a free trip to Israel for young Jewish adults. The new survey, released on Wednesday, shows that 70% of Israelis believe it has become the most important organization in the bond between Jews in Israel and outside of it. Another finding from the survey shows that 88% of Israelis think that strengthening the ties with young Jews in the Diaspora is critical for Israel’s overall strength. READ MORE

Click here to donate to Birthright Israel Foundation a 501 (c) (3) non-profit

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It’s unclear what “latest polls” Amanpour might be referring to, given that every major recent poll from the Palestinian side shows exactly the opposite

Posted on February 17, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

CAMERA
Christiane Amanpour’s Dubious, and Likely Fabricated, Polling Data
David Litman
February 16, 2023

In yet another display of Christiane Amanpour’s prioritization of her disdain for Israel over journalistic integrity, the CNN anchor appears to have fabricated poll results to falsely suggest that the Palestinian side supports the two-state solution with Israel. The comments came during her interview with former Israeli ambassador Yael German on February 14, 2023…Recent polling by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) has consistently shown low support for a two-state solution. A June 2022 poll found that only 28% of Palestinians support the concept of a two-state solution. In September, that figure rose to 37%, but dropped again in December to 32%. READ MORE

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“There is just no evidence that masks make any difference”

Posted on February 17, 2023 by ArchitectGuy

NEW YORK TIMES
The Mask Mandates Did Nothing. Will Any Lessons Be Learned?
Bret Stephens
February 21, 2023

The most rigorous and comprehensive analysis of scientific studies conducted on the efficacy of masks for reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses — including Covid-19 — was published late last month. Its conclusions, said Tom Jefferson, the Oxford epidemiologist who is its lead author, were unambiguous. “There is just no evidence that they” — masks — “make any difference,” he told the journalist Maryanne Demasi. “Full stop.” But, wait, hold on. What about N-95 masks, as opposed to lower-quality surgical or cloth masks? “Makes no difference — none of it,” said Jefferson. READ MORE

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