Ronald Lauder on the many Israelis being slaughtered: “For much of the media, when Jews are killed by terrorists, it’s not really terrorism”

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

“Britain, instead of lecturing Israel, ought to be taking notes from her about how to become a better country”

SAPA JOURNAL
What Britain Can Learn from Israel
Andrew Roberts
September 2022

Great Britain loves nothing more than to lecture Israel on her supposed failings, adopting an unfailingly patronizing de haut en bas attitude. Whether the Foreign Office is constantly calling into question Israel’s commitment to a two-state solution because of West Bank settlements; or Sir Alan Duncan, the former Foreign Office minister, is accusing pro-Israel lobbyists of “the most disgusting interference” in British politics, negatively influencing foreign policy in the Middle East; or Britain is providing official Covid travel guidance that depicts Jerusalem as politically separate from Israel — few opportunities are missed to criticize and belittle Israel. READ MORE

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Biden’s new press secretary: “AIPAC’s policies are not progressive policies”

JTA
Karine Jean-Pierre, who endorsed AIPAC boycott, to be next White House press secretary
Ron Kampeas
May 5, 2022

President Joe Biden named as his next press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, a former official of the activist MoveOn group who endorsed its call on Democratic presidential candidates to boycott the annual AIPAC conference. Jean-Pierre will be the first Black woman in the job and succeeds Jen Psaki, who has reportedly accepted an offer from MSNBC as a commentator, as the lead voice for the Biden administration with the media…Jean-Pierre has drawn fire from some in the pro-Israel community for a 2019 op-ed in which she endorsed pressure by MoveOn on Democratic Party presidential candidates to boycott the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. READ MORE

ZOA ZOA Condemns Biden’s Appointment of Another Israel-Basher Karine Jean-Pierre as Press Secretary In an era of a frightening surge in irrational hatred and attacks against Jews and Israel, Biden’s horrific appointment will inspire more antisemitism, Israel-bashing and violence against Jews. Why are the other Jewish leaders and groups displaying a deafening silence on this frightening antisemitic appointment, as they have on Biden’s endless group of appointments hostile to Israel?

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

“I once asked her why she married him [her first husband], and she said, quite succinctly and enigmatically, “because he made me feel like shit”

COMMENTARY
A Son’s Eulogy for Midge Decter (1927-2022)
John Podhoretz
May 12, 2022

Where did she come from? That’s what we were asking ourselves, my sister and my father and I, after she left us and this world on the morning of May 9, 2022. Of course, we know where she came from in the strictest sense. She was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on July 25, 1927. Her mother had also been born, amazingly enough for a Jew, in the Twin Cities in the year 1894, the youngest of ten whose parents had immigrated from Lithuania quite a while earlier. And her father? His mother bore him at 14 in Poland after marrying a much older man over her own parents’s objections. He was a widower with children of his own who turned out to be a drunk. He beat her one night when she was newly pregnant. READ MORE

This eulogy was delivered at the funeral of Midge Podhoretz, which took place on May 11 at Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York City. She died on May 9, 2022, at the age of 94.

Posted in Jewish, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“A Kremlin readout of the phone call made no mention of an apology, rather stressing that Russia and Israel shared the same commitment to preserving the memory of the Holocaust’

ALGEMEINER
Putin Apologizes for Lavrov’s Holocaust Comments, Israeli PM’s Office Says
Ben Cohen
May 5, 2022

Israel said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had apologized to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for the widely-panned comments of his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, about the Nazi Holocaust in the context of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office noted that the two leaders had “discussed Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s remarks” during a phone call. “The Prime Minister accepted President Putin’s apology for Lavrov’s remarks and thanked him for clarifying his attitude towards the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust,” the statement said. READ MORE

JNS Melanie Phillips: Why Russia has once again turned on the Jews Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, caused outrage earlier this week after he was asked on Italian TV how Russia could claim to be “de-Nazifying” Ukraine when its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish. Lavrov replied: “I could be wrong, but Hitler also had Jewish blood. That [Zelensky is Jewish] means absolutely nothing. Wise Jewish people say that the most rabid anti-Semites are usually Jews.”

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“This is a massacre and bloodbath that is reminiscent of dark days in the history of Israel”

JPOST
3 dead, 4 injured in terror attack in Elad in central Israel
Anna Ahronheim and Tzvi Joffre
May 5, 2022

At least three people were killed and four others injured in a terrorist attack in the Israeli city of Elad near Petah Tikva towards the end of Independence Day. All three victims were men in their 40s….”Unfortunately, this incident will be deeply etched in my heart,” said MDA volunteer Moti Tsinvert. “In all my years as an emergency medicine paramedic, I have not encountered such a severe scene of multiple casualties with significant penetrating injuries, residents who went out just to breathe fresh air in the park, and their lives were ended so harshly.” READ MORE

JPOST From grief to joy: Why Israel marks Remembrance Day the day before Independence Day The sudden transition from mourning to celebration is tied to events that marred the birth of the state, historians reveal. To date, some 24,068 soldiers have died due to their service since 1860; this figure also includes members of underground militias that existed before the state was formed. At the same time, 4,217 civilians have been killed in terrorist acts since 1881.

Posted in Israel & Middle East | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Bipartisan Senate measure calls for addressing a wider range of Iranian activity and opposes removing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ terror designation

JEWISH INSIDER
62 senators, including 16 Democrats, vote to oppose nuclear-only Iran deal
Marc Rod
May 4, 2022

A majority of senators, including 16 Democrats, voted on Wednesday night in favor of a non-binding Senate measure that opposes entering into an Iran deal addressing only the regime’s nuclear program as well as the removal of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ terrorism designation. The final vote on the measure was 62 to 33…The motion instructs the senators negotiating the final bill with the House to “insist” that the legislation include language requiring any nuclear weapons agreement with Iran to include provisions “addressing the full range of Iran’s destabilizing activities,” including missiles, terrorism and sanctions evasion; does not lift any sanctions on the IRGC; and does not revoke the IRGC’s terror designation. READ MORE

Posted in Islam, Israel & Middle East, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage bans the Florida governor to promote ‘its message of inclusivity.’

WALL STREET JOURNAL
Ron DeSantis Is Persona Non Grata at a Holocaust Memorial
Elliott Abrams and Eric Cohen
May 5, 2022

…A few years ago, we helped launch the Jewish Leadership Conference, an annual gathering to consider the challenges facing the Jewish people and Israel. It is hosted by Tikvah, a 20-year old Jewish educational and cultural institution whose main activity in America is teaching young Jews about Jewish history and civilization. We thought it would be interesting to invite Gov. Ron DeSantis to discuss how the “Florida model” has contributed to the growth and vitality of Jewish life in his state. The event was to be held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. Until, as the saying goes, we got canceled. READ MORE

The Jewish Leadership Conference has moved to a new venue (with Governor DeSantis).

Posted in Israel & Middle East | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“But integral as The Crimson has been, I am first and foremost a Jew; and in light of the role Israel plays in my people’s history as our homeland and haven from persecution, I am a Zionist, and I stand with Israel”

HARVARD CRIMSON
I Am a Crimson Editor and I Stand with Israel
Natalie L. Kahn
May 3, 2022

On April 29, I woke up to a flurry of messages from students, alumni, and journalists regarding a new piece published by The Crimson’s Editorial Board declaring it was “proud to finally lend our support to both Palestinian liberation and [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions]” and now would “call on everyone to do the same.” As both president of Harvard Hillel and Associate News Editor for The Crimson, many of the questions I received pertained to my dual affiliation with these two organizations, now seemingly at odds with one another. I have worked for The Crimson since freshman year, and it has been an integral part of my time at Harvard — some nights I am there until 2 or 3 a.m. as an executive, after four semesters of reporting. READ MORE

ALGEMEINER Ronn Torossian: More Antisemitism at Harvard Last month, in a report sent to the United Nations, a clinic at Harvard Law School deemed Israel to be an “an apartheid regime.” Now, the editorial board of the Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper at Harvard, has endorsed the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. They also expressed support for Harvard’s Palestine Solidarity Committee, a student group that annually hosts an “Israeli Apartheid Week” on campus. The editorial says, “We are proud to finally lend our support to both Palestinian liberation and BDS — and we call on everyone to do the same.”

HARVARD CRIMSON To the Editor: In Response to ‘In Support of Boycott, Divest, Sanctions and a Free Palestine’ In general I think the content of the Crimson should be up to undergraduates not alumni, and in the almost 30 years since I was president this is the first time I can remember that I am furious enough to write with a complaint. That is an indicator of how disgusted I was with the staff editorial, published the morning after Holocaust Remembrance Day, singling out Israel, among all other nations, for boycott, divestment, and sanctions.

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas warned Saturday of attacks on synagogues if Israeli forces carry out another raid on the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque in annexed east Jerusalem.

FRANCE 24
Hamas warns of synagogue attacks in case of new Al-Aqsa raid
April 30, 2022

“Whoever takes the decision to repeat this scene (of a deployment inside the mosque) will be taking the decision to destroy thousands of synagogues across the world,” Yahya Sinwar, Hamas chief in the Gaza Strip, said in a speech. Israeli police have over the past two weeks clashed repeatedly with Palestinian protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, with footage showing them firing tear gas inside the mosque, sparking condemnation from across the Muslim world. “You should be ready for a great battle if the (Israeli) occupation does not stop attacking Al-Aqsa mosque,” said Sinwar. READ MORE

Posted in Islam, Israel & Middle East, Politics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment