“Not wishing to anger either Russian President Vladimir Putin or the Biden administration, the P.A. and Hamas have so far refrained from taking official positions on Ukraine”

Posted on March 4, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
The Palestinian stance on the Ukraine war
by Yoni Ben Menachem
March 6, 2022

…At the same time, the Palestinians are well aware that Ukrainian President Zelensky is a Jew. In their view, he is also a Zionist who backed the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s united capital, as well as Israel’s “Guardian of the Walls Operation” in Gaza in May 2021. There are also Palestinians in the territories who welcome the Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine in the hope that it will lead to a new world order in which U.S. power and hegemony will decline. They want to see the United States, Israel’s strong ally, weakened. According to their logic, that would inevitably lead to Israel’s weakening as well. READ MORE

ELDER OF ZIYON Jordanian/Palestinian columnist, former member of Parliament, openly rooting for Russia to win. Because Ukraine is “Zionist.” He wrote in Jordanian site Ad Dustour, copied elsewhere, that a Russian victory in Ukraine will be a defeat for Israel and the United States. We sympathize with the people of Ukraine for two reasons: first, because its president, Vladimir Zelensky, is a Jew-Zionist who has implicated his people in a battle serving the interests of the United States and against the interests of his neighbor Russia, and secondly, because the people of Ukraine will pay the price for these destructive adventures.

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

“Rashida Tlaib wants to smear Israel. And she is willing to stoop as low as necessary to do so—even lying about her own grandmother”

Posted on March 4, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
What the NYT Tlaib feature represents
by Gilead Ini
March 6, 2022

The latest New York Times hagiography of an anti-Israel activist has dropped. The weekend’s fawning feature is about Rep. Rashida Tlaib—or more specifically, about the righteousness of Tlaib’s anti-Israel dogmas. It follows just a few months after the paper printed another flattering story about an anti-Israel (and anti-Jewish) activist, Gaza poetry professor Refaat Alareer. The premise of the earlier piece was, commendably, retracted with an editors’ note acknowledging failures in reporting. (Alareer was feted as a bridge-builder, though he is a hatemonger.)…Tlaib seeks an end to Israel. Ali more or less admits it. Tlaib is unhappy about Israel’s life-saving anti-rocket system, the Iron Dome. READ MORE

ARUTZ SHEVA Rashida Tlaib plays the “Grandma Card,” again In a major New York Times feature this week, U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) once again falsely promoted the claim that her grandmother, Mrs. Muftia Tlaib, is persecuted by Israel—when, in reality, Grandma lives under the rule of the Palestinian Authority, not Israel.

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

The Biden administration is poised to surrender to Iran. Israel is on its own against a genocidal regime

Posted on March 4, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
Selling out to Iran is ghastlier than bowing to Putin
by David M. Weinberg
February 27, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine almost completely has overtaken the global news focus on President Joe Biden’s impending approval of the worst-ever-possible Western sell-out deal with Iran. Unfortunately…So, yes, Ukraine is a big story, and Putin is a menace to Western stability. But I will argue here that allowing Iran to march merrily forward with its nuclear bomb and ballistic missile programs and its hegemonic regional ambitions is an even worse threat to world security, and certainly to Israel’s security. READ MORE

MELANIE PHILLIPS SUBSTACK Ukraine first — Israel next? The invasion of Ukraine has sounded a red alert for Israel, and also presented it with an acute problem. Israel enjoys warm relations with Ukraine, identifying with it as a small state under attack simply because it exists. Yet it’s essential that Israel does nothing to provoke Russia. For Israel has flown hundreds of sorties against Iranian assets in Syria. Russia backs Iran in Syria. Russia has however looked the other way while Israel bombs Iranian targets. If Russia were to withdraw this tacit permission, Israel would be at the mercy of Iran on its doorstep.

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

WEBINAR EVENT Russia’s War on Ukraine and Why It Matters

Posted on March 4, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

StandWithUs and North Suburban Synagogue Beth El
present
Russia’s War on Ukraine and Why It Matters
An experts perspective on war, sanctions and their strategic effect on the US and Israel
Tuesday, March 15, 8:00 pm CDT featuring:

  • Yinam Cohen
  • Dr Charles Lipson
  • Dr Richard Schlosberg
  • Congressman Brad Schneider, IL-10
  • Moderated by Assaf Grumberg, StandWithUs

Click here to register

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

Ukraine President Zelensky: “It is very important that now millions of Jews around the world won’t be silent. Nazism is born in silence.”

Posted on March 3, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

UNPACKED
Zelensky to Jews of the world: Don’t remain silent right now
by John Kunza
March 3, 2022

In a speech Wednesday the Jewish president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, called upon the Jewish people to stand up for his country. In his speech Zelensky specifically called out deadly attacks by the Russians on two Jewish areas:  the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial and Uman, the spiritual birthplace of Hasidic Judaism. “Last night we were all bombed in Kyiv. And we all died again in Babyn Yar – from a missile attack … I am now addressing all the Jews of the world – can’t you see what is happening? Therefore, it is very important that now millions of Jews around the world won’t be silent. Nazism is born in silence. Therefore, shout about the killings of civilians. Shout about the killings of Ukrainians,” Zelensky said in a video address. READ MORE

UNPACKED Evacuations underway: How to help the Jews of Ukraine

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

“As the Ukrainian president captivates the world with his bravery, he offers a reminder of the inroads Eastern and Central European Jews have made in overcoming their status as perpetual outsiders”

Posted on February 25, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

THE ATLANTIC
How Zelensky Gave the World a Jewish Hero
by Gal Beckerman
February 27, 2022

For those inclined to see history as depressingly cyclical, the war in Ukraine offers fairly strong evidence. It all feels lifted from a familiar script in which only the actors have been switched—at anti-Russian protests, a popular placard even has the 20th century’s most evil mustache Photoshopped onto Putin’s face. But there is one protagonist who is an unusual fit for his role: Volodymyr Zelensky. The 44-year-old former comedian turned president has exhibited great patriotism and bravery, joining his fate with that of his countrymen on the streets of Kyiv, refusing to leave despite Western offers of an airlift. If he is now, as he put it, “the No. 1 target” for the Russians, it is because he is the No. 1 Ukrainian. And what is remarkable, truly mind-blowing in the long sweep of history, is that his Jewishness has not stood in the way of his being embraced as a symbol of the nation. READ MORE

NEW YORK POST Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky survives three assassination attempts in the last week

THE ATLANTIC A Prayer for Volodymyr Zelensky Franklin Foer: History has found the Ukrainian president, and his courage is remarkable to witness. His willingness to die is testimony to the new Ukraine, which its people are now rallying to protect.

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

“When we as Arab Israelis join the IDF, we do it to defend our country too”

Posted on February 25, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

VINNEWS
Yoseph Haddad’s Brilliant Defense Of Israel In The Irish Parliament
March 1, 2022

An amazing defense of Israel was presented last week at the Irish parliament, known as the Oireachtas, by Yoseph Haddad, a passionate defender of Israel in international forums. Despite the antisemitic nature of the parliament, which has invited anti-Israel personalities and numerous terrorists to speak against Israel and has condemned Israel for “de-facto annexation” the members were stunned by Haddad’s eloquency and rhetoric. “My name is Yoseph Haddad and I am an Israeli Arab. I was born in Haifa, which is the largest mixed city of Arabs and Jews in the country, and I was raised in Nazareth, the largest Arab city in the state of Israel. This may surprise some of you after what you’ve heard about Israel, but myself, my friends and all my community regularly interacted with Israelis from all sectors and a huge part of my childhood was playing football. I grew up playing football with Jewish, Christian and Muslim kids…”READ MORE

A portion of Yoseph Haddad’s comments at the Irish Parliament

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

“As the nation-state of the Jewish people, Israel must take into account the wellbeing of the nearly 800,000 Jews living in Russia, in addition to the 200,000 Jews living in Ukraine who could find themselves under Russian occupation”

Posted on February 25, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Israel is navigating perilous diplomatic terrain in Ukraine
by Michael Oren
February 27, 2022

Ever since biblical times, the people of Israel have had to navigate the harsh terrain between clashing global powers. Now, here we are again, in Ukraine, having to maneuver between Russia and the West. The terrain this time around is exceedingly difficult, with significant security and ethical pitfalls along the way. On one hand, our security situation requires us to keep all channels with Russia open. For the past seven years, ever since Russian forces entered the Syrian civil war, the IDF has managed to avoid any head-on collisions with Moscow, despite Israel’s intensive campaign to dislodge Iran from the war-torn country. READ MORE

JERUSALEM POST Editorial Board: The Ukraine crisis presents a moral dilemma for Israel On Friday, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alex Ben-Tzvi was summoned to the offices of Russia’s Foreign Ministry in Moscow where he was reprimanded for Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine a day earlier. In a meeting with Mikhail Bogdanov, the Deputy Foreign Minister and special representative of the president of Russia to the Middle East, Ben-Tzvi was asked why Israel “supports neo-nazis,” a reference to Ukraine. While the reprimand and its consequences will need to be analyzed in the days to come, the truth is that Israel did all it could to avoid condemning Russia.  

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

“Christian former resistance organizer has alarmed Detroit-area Jewish and pro-Israel groups with her plans to enter a crowded Democratic field ahead in the August 2022 primary”

Posted on February 25, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

JTA
For years she led Palestinian resistance efforts. Now Huwaida Arraf wants a seat in Congress
by Howard Lovy
February 23, 2022

Now running for Congress in Michigan: a Hebrew-speaking Palestinian Christian who is married to a Jew and spent time living on an Israeli kibbutz before rejecting coexistence efforts in favor of advocating for Palestinian resistance. The onetime organizer of the International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian group that recognizes the right to “legitimate armed struggle” against the Israeli occupation, Huwaida Arraf has alarmed Detroit-area Jewish and pro-Israel groups with her plans to enter a crowded Democratic field ahead in the August 2022 primary in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District. Rabbi Asher Lopatin, executive director of the Michigan-based Jewish Community Relations Council of the American Jewish Committee, called Arraf’s past statements about Israel “hateful, destructive and antisemitic.” READ MORE

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

“If and when the Biden administration signs a new deal with Iran, the sense of betrayal in the Arab world is extremely likely to broaden”

Posted on February 25, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

GATESTONE
Why Arabs Do Not Trust the Biden Administration
by Khaled Abu Toameh
February 23, 2022

As the Biden administration and other world powers continue to negotiate with the Iranians about reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), there is growing concern in the Arab world about the destructive actions and policies of Iran and its proxies, especially the Houthi militia in Yemen. Prominent Arab political analysts, commentators and journalists are continuing to express fear about Iran’s “expansionist” schemes in the Arab countries, especially Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. They say they are worried that a return to the JCPOA would further embolden the mullahs in Tehran and the Iranian-backed terrorist groups. The Arabs are saying that they cannot understand the Biden administration’s reluctance to re-designate the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization, particularly after the recent drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). READ MORE

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