On 2nd anniversary of signing ceremony, US ambassador says Washington is working to deepen and broaden Israel’s normalization with Arab neighbors

Posted on September 15, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Nides: Biden administration taking Abraham Accords ‘from start-up to real operation’
Jacob Magid
September 15, 2022

In the early days of the Biden administration, there appeared to be some reluctance in Washington to embrace the Abraham Accords. Biden officials acknowledged that the Trump-brokered normalization agreements Israel signed with the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco in 2020 were positive developments for the region, but took little public action to advance the initiative in early 2021. Some senior US officials intentionally referred to them only as “normalization agreements,” rather than using the term coined by the previous administration…At his Senate confirmation hearing last September, Nides made a point of demonstrating his support for the initiative regardless of its origins. “The Abraham Accords — yes, the Abraham Accords — are critical to the region’s stability and prosperity,” he said then. READ MORE

US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price can’t quite bring himself to use the words “Abraham Accords”

JNS Abraham Accords two years later: Economic collaboration and cultural exchange flourishing Two organizations with many former Trump administration officials joined together on Monday to celebrate the second anniversary of the Abraham Accords, which over the years has proven far more durable and consequential than many expected when signed under former President Donald Trump.

ALGEMEINER Young Israelis, Emiratis, Bahrainis, and Moroccans To Celebrate Anniversary of Abraham Accords A coalition of young Israelis, Emiratis, Bahrainis, and Moroccans will together celebrate the second anniversary of the signing of the Abraham Accords as part of a joint initiative program taking place in Washington, DC.

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“Al Qaeda once again has a safe haven in Afghanistan, endangering Americans”

Posted on September 9, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

FOREIGN POLICY
On 9/11 Anniversary, End the Self-Delusion About America’s Enemies
H. R. McMaster and Bradley Bowman
September 9, 2022

To understand the persistent malady of self-delusion in Washington, consider U.S. President Joe Biden’s comments in August 2021. “What interest do we have in Afghanistan at this point with al Qaeda gone?” he asked in an effort to justify his decision to withdraw every U.S. service member from Afghanistan. “We went to Afghanistan for the express purpose of getting rid of al Qaeda in Afghanistan. … And we did.” The problem with such statements is that they were clearly not accurate, as many warned early last year and as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal has documented for many years. The Taliban gave al Qaeda a safe haven to plan 9/11, and the two groups have remained attached at the hip ever since. Indeed, no less than a United Nations monitoring team reiterated in an April 2021 assessment that “the Taliban and Al-Qaida remain closely aligned and show no indication of breaking ties.” You know there is a problem when a U.N. entity has a clearer view of the United States’ enemies than the White House. READ MORE

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In 2015, #USHMM US Holocaust Memorial Museum reached out to Burns with a request: Would he consider making a film about America during the #Holocaust?

Posted on September 9, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

JTA
Ken Burns’ PBS documentary ‘The U.S. And The Holocaust’ asks hard questions about how Americans treated Jews and immigrants during wartime
Andrew Lapin
September 2, 2022

One of the first people introduced in Ken Burns’ new documentary series about the Holocaust is Otto, a Jewish man seen in the series’ first episode who tries to secure passage to America for his family but gets stymied by the country’s fierce anti-immigration legislation. It isn’t until the third episode that viewers learn that Otto’s daughter is nicknamed Anne, and the pieces fall into place: He’s the father of Anne Frank, the Holocaust’s most famous victim. Burns calls the delayed detail a “hidden ball trick,” hoping that an audience with only passing knowledge of the Frank family will not immediately clue into the fact that Otto was Anne’s father. READ MORE

PBS link The U.S. and the Holocaust is a three-part, six hour series that examines America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century.

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“The objective of #Palestinianism–the #Palestinian Cause–is the replacement of Israel by an Arab state, the violent expulsion of the Jews, and their replacement by the descendants of the Arab refugees of 1948”

Posted on September 9, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

ABU YEHUDA
Palestinianism: an Ideology and an Identity
Victor Rosenthal
September 14, 2022

…Palestinianism had its origin in the 1960s, when it was created by the cognitive warriors of the Soviet KGB. The Soviets had had an interest for some time in opposing US and British influence in the Middle East, which they did by supporting Arab nationalists like Gamal Abdel Nasser. With the decline of pan-Arabism, Palestinianism provided a cause that the Soviets could use to unite all the Arabs of the Middle East against the West. It also provided a reason to oppose Israel. Although Stalin had initially hoped that Israel would join the socialist camp, it became clear to the Soviets by the mid-1950s that Israel was moving more and more in the direction of the West. READ MORE

GATESTONE Khaled Abu Toameh: The Palestinians and the World Do Not Need Another Corrupt, Failed Terrorist Arab State The truth, however, is that neither the Palestinian Authority leadership nor the Palestinian people is ready for statehood. And the responsibility for that fact lies squarely with the ruthless and failed Palestinian leaders.

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Yeshiva University “would “likely win” if the case were to come again before the Supreme Court”

Posted on September 9, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

NEW YORK POST
Supreme Court sides with LGBTQ group at Yeshiva University
Cayla Bamberger
September 14, 2022

The Supreme Court refused to block a state court order that requires New York’s Yeshiva University to officially recognize an LGBTQ student group. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the court’s three liberal justices on Wednesday in a 5-4 decision that lifted a temporary hold on the state court order and denied the university an emergency request for relief. The majority wrote that the Orthodox Jewish university first needed to pursue all options available in the state courts…Yeshiva had brought the case to SCOTUS saying officials had exhausted all options to pause recognizing the group while the case is heard in higher state courts, in time for student clubs resuming this fall. READ MORE

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“No Israeli I know wants that soldier prosecuted, and here’s why”

Posted on September 9, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

DANIEL GORDIS SUBSTACK
An Israeli soldier probably killed Shireen Abu Akleh — what should happen to him now?
September 12, 2022

…Why not prosecute the soldier in this new case? Because what we parents know is that too often, while our kids have someone in the crosshairs of their sights, someone else has our kids in their crosshairs. And when that happens, who will emerge alive will depend solely on who shoots best … and first. Hesitate for even a fraction of a second, and that other person can get you first. We have to demand the very best of our kids, the best precision, the best discipline, the best intentions. But if after all that, a horrible mistake gets made, they need to know that the country that sent them into the hell of those streets is a country that will believe them, that will trust them, that will have their back. READ MORE

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“While the West appeases Iran, Israel is now battling Tehran’s efforts to engulf the Jewish state in a ‘ring of fire’ – a strategy the theocracy adopted from its longstanding partner-in-intimidation, North Korea”

Posted on September 9, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

HAARETZ
How North Korea Taught Iran to Entrap and Threaten Israel
Mark Dubowitz and David Maxwell
September 7, 2022

As its technology has advanced, Tehran has armed its proxies on Israel’s borders with precision-guided missiles, saturation-fire rockets, and explosives-laden unmanned aerial vehicles. The ultimate, complementary weapon – the nuclear bomb – will be added to this intimidating arsenal. This strategy, which gives the theocracy the conventional tools to regularly harass the Jewish state, while giving the theocracy a nuclear tripwire that might well prevent Jerusalem from bringing real pain to Iran, is similar to what the Kim regime has deployed on the Korean Peninsula. READ MORE

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ADL: “There is content among our curricular materials that is misaligned with ADL’s values and strategy”

Posted on September 9, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

NEWSWEEK
The ADL’s Critical Race Theory Curricula Is No Accident
Jonathan Tobin
September 9, 2022

The last thing that you’d expect from a group whose historic mission is to monitor and fight anti-Semitism would be to discover that the group is helping to spread woke ideological indoctrination that grants a permission slip for Jew-hatred…This is shocking not merely because it is one more piece of evidence that the liberal gaslighting that CRT in the schools is a figment of the conservative imagination is an obvious lie. It’s also important because due to its adherence to intersectional myths about Israelis being “white” oppressors of the “brown” Palestinians who want to destroy the one Jewish state on the planet and American Jews possessing “white privilege,” CRT legitimizes anti-Semitism—something the ADL purports to oppose. READ MORE

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New #Pritzker-backed State of Illinois 800-page bill taking effect Jan 1 will release thousands arrested for violent crimes. It carries the #Orwellian name #SafeTAct

Posted on September 9, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

BREITBART
Illinois Democrats’ Bail Abolishment to Free Suspects Charged with Murder, Kidnapping, Burglary: ‘Gates are Open’
John Binder
September 10, 2022

A new law abolishing bail across the state of Illinois, passed by Democrats and signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D), will free from jail thousands of suspects accused of second-degree murder, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, and other violent crimes. Beginning January 1, 2023, Illinois will become the first state in the nation to have eliminated cash bail — even for some of the most violent crimes. As a result, local district attorneys say they will be forced to free thousands of suspects accused of crimes like murder and kidnapping. In Winnebago County, Illinois, alone the district attorney estimates that about 400 charged criminals will be freed from jail despite their being accused of violent crimes. Likewise, in Will County, Illinois, about 640 charged criminals will be freed from jail, including 60 accused of murder. READ MORE

SIGN PETITION TO REPEAL THE SAFE-T ACT

PJ MEDIA Gangsta’s Paradise: Illinois Democrats Pass New Law to Spread Chicago Crime to the Rest of the State Many of the thug-loving laws that have made Chicago an outhouse are spreading to the entire state of Illinois beginning Jan. 1, 2023. The Illinois State legislature passed the almost 800-page, laughably named “SAFE-T Act” in the middle of the night, with only 40 minutes of public review.

SOUTHLAND JOURNAL Orland Park Village Board Speaks Out Against SAFE-T Act “We must not allow this law to stand as passed,” said Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau. “I can’t even begin to tell you how dangerous this act is.” The mayor listed a handful of provisions that will go into effect on January 1, 2023: Officers will no longer be able to remove trespassers from your residence or place of business.

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“Of course it was inevitable. Yet we allowed ourselves the fantasy that the Queen would never die”

Posted on September 8, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

MELANIE PHILLIPS BLOG
A devastating loss
September 7, 2022

The death of Her Majesty the Queen, announced a short time ago, is a seismic event for the United Kingdom and a profound emotional shock that will be felt by millions. It was, of course, always an inevitability, as it is for all of us. And in recent months the Queen had obviously become increasingly frail. Nevertheless, it felt unthinkable that one day she would no longer be with us. We allowed ourselves to imagine that she would go on for ever. For so many of us this evening, this feels like a personal bereavement. Something of priceless value has been torn from us, and we feel devastated. READ MORE

AISH Queen Elizabeth II and the Jews Six facts about the monarch’s tumultuous relationship with Jews, on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee…Her Mother-in-Law Saved Jews During the Holocaust…Queen Elizabeth II Hired Jewish Mohel to Circumcise Prince Charles

TIMES OF ISRAEL Queen Elizabeth’s long, complex relationship with the British Jewish community She inspired loyalty among UK Jews throughout her reign, hosted Jewish and Israeli leaders, but it irked members of the community that she never visited Israel…In fact, no member of the royal family ever visited Israel in an official capacity until 2018, when Prince William arrived in the Jewish state on an unprecedented official visit, lifting the unofficial boycott.

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