After 36 rockets fired into Israel, Netanyahu convenes with security officials at Kirya base; military says Kohavi delaying visit ‘in light of the events and expected developments’

Posted on April 22, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

TIMES OF ISRAEL
PM says to ‘prepare for any scenario’ in Gaza; IDF chief postpones US trip
by Staff
April 24, 2021

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said to “prepare for any scenario” vis-a-vis the Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon amid soaring tensions with the Hamas-run enclave following overnight barrages of rockets fired at Israel. The premier made the remark following an urgent security meeting earlier Saturday at the Israel Defense Forces’ Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv with IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Minister of Public Security Amir Ohana, the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, and other high-level officials. Following the meeting, Netanyahu also called for “calm on all sides” after several nights of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in Jerusalem and the West Bank, the worst violence seen in years. READ MORE

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Palestinian businessman Ashraf Jabari: “It was a subtle celebration of thoughtful conversation, mutual respect and heritage-enhanced relationships. These are the building blocks of the emergent Israeli-Palestinian market”

Posted on April 22, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Iftar gathering in Hebron shows commonalities between Israelis and Palestinians
by Josh Hasten
April 21, 2021

As the sun was setting over the ancient city of Hebron signifying the end of another day of fasting for devout Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, hungry Palestinians were shuttling their guests from a meeting point in the city to a private and beautiful home to prepare for an Iftar feast, the customary sunset meal Muslims have to break their fast just after the call for evening prayers. But at this particular gathering, the 75 or so guests weren’t only Muslims. Around half were Israeli Jews, primarily political and community leaders of the “settler” movement, Israelis who live and represent the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria, more commonly known as West Bank. READ MORE

The Yishai Fleisher Show  Open Iftar and Israel’s “Seldon Crisis”
Yishai and Malkah go to a Ramadan Iftar dinner in Hebron to break bread with pro-normalization Palestinians. Then, Rav Mike Feuer joins Rabbi Yishai to deal with Israel’s political crisis and to see how the Torah law of Parshat Kedoshim can help heal society.

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“Even cautious epidemiologists say that Israel can breathe easier and that the country is showing what other nations can expect if they can keep on vaccinating”

Posted on April 22, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

WASHINGTON POST
With most adults now vaccinated, Israelis are busting loose
by Steve Hendrix and Shira Rubin
April 21, 2021

Israel is partying like it’s 2019. With most adults now vaccinated against the coronavirus and restrictions falling away — including the lifting this week of outdoor mask requirements — Israelis are joyously resuming routines that were disrupted more than a year ago and providing a glimpse of what the future could hold for other countries. Restaurants are booming outside and in. Concerts, bars and hotels are open to those who can flash their vaccine certificates. Classrooms are back to pre-covid capacity. The rate of new infections has plummeted — from a peak of almost 10,000 a day to about 140 — and the number of serious coronavirus cases in many hospitals is down to single digits. READ MORE

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“Biden nominee Colin Kahl’s creepy insinuation was debunked last week. The question is why his Pentagon pick said it in the first place”

Posted on April 22, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

TABLET MAG
Does Israel Lie America Into Wars?
by Tony Badran
April 22, 2021

…[Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei advisor] Mohsen Rezaee’s statement marked the first time Iran has acknowledged that the nuclear archive lifted by the Israelis was real—a fact that was obvious to any sentient observer from the size, complexity, and interconnected nature of the materials, which would have taken many years and a very technologically advanced team of forgers to manufacture out of whole cloth. Yet the Iranians had previously been loath to admit that the archive was authentic, presumably because both its contents and its theft were embarrassing to the regime. Which leaves President Joe Biden’s former national security adviser and current nominee for undersecretary of defense for policy, Colin Kahl, in the ludicrous position of being the only Iranian nuclear archive denialist still standing. READ MORE

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At J Street conference, “Elizabeth Warren became the first American political leader to openly call for the overthrow of the leader of a sister democracy”

Posted on April 22, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
For Progressives, Netanyahu isn’t the problem
by Caroline Glick
April 23, 2021

…In her [J Street] speech, Warren called on – or rather demanded that – opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “join together to begin the difficult task of rooting out corruption and reinstating the rule of law,” by ousting Netanyahu from power. Warren claimed Trump was defeated only because all the forces from across America’s political spectrum that opposed him banded together. “Israel’s elected leaders,” she barked, “should do the same and give the Israeli people a new prime minister.” Undoubtedly, many Israelis would be hard pressed to feel shock at Warren’s exhortation. After all, the “NeverBibi” crowd of Netanyahu haters in Israel have been saying similar things for years. But there are two big differences between Netanyahu’s Israeli antagonists and Warren. READ MORE

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Upheaval: The Journey of Menachem Began

Posted on April 22, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

VARIETY
Abramorama Buys Menachem Begin Documentary ‘Upheaval’
by Brent Lang
April 6, 2021

Abramorama has acquired worldwide theatrical and digital distribution rights to “Upheaval,” a documentary about former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The indie studio plans to premiere the film in early June 2021. Directed by Jonathan Gruber (“Follow Me”), the film follows Begin, a proud yet scarred leader haunted by the Holocaust and decades of war, who struggles to balance history and heroism as he attempts to make peace with his greatest enemy and cement a legacy…Begin was a controversial leader. He was alternately hailed as a peacemaker and honored with the Nobel Peace prize along with Anwar Sadat for signing a treaty with Egypt in 1979. READ MORE

View the trailer

Ways to view this film

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“J Street has tried to take advantage of the Jewish community’s desire to have a big tent”

Posted on April 22, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

ALGEMEINER
J Street Embraces Mahmoud Abbas; How Will US Jews Respond?
by Moshe Phillips
April 22, 2021

J Street’s decision to feature Mahmoud Abbas at its “first-ever virtual national conference” earlier this week, demonstrates just how far J Street is from it being the firmly pro-Israel, Zionist group it wants American Jews to believe it is…If less than three years ago, Abbas was — according to J Street — an antisemite, how is he now acceptable as a featured speaker at their national conference? Does antisemitism have a shelf life and an expiration date? Or does J Street simply think it is now acceptable to partner with Abbas to advance his radical, antisemitic agenda? And is J Street simply hoping that the rest of us will not notice that under Abbas, antisemitism still fills both the Palestinian Authority-controlled media and its school textbooks? READ MORE

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“According to information received by Israel, the six world powers will not require Iran to destroy the new advanced centrifuges it has built, rather just disconnect them”

Posted on April 18, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
Israeli officials decry ‘complete American capitulation’ in nuclear talks with Iran
by Ariel Kahana , Shahar Klaiman and Neta Bar
April 18, 2021

Unnamed Israeli diplomats over the weekend unofficially expressed disappointment over what they called “complete American capitulation” in nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna. Learning the lessons from the Obama administration’s clashes with Israel in 2015, the Biden administration is trying to avoid any surprises and is keeping Israel abreast of developments. With that, the two allies remain at considerable odds over Iran and its nuclear ambitions. According to information received by Israel, the six world powers – the United States, China, Russia, Great Britain, France and Germany – and Iran are indeed close to signing an agreement stipulating that the sides are returning to the original nuclear deal from 2015, from which former US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. READ MORE

BREITBART Biden Admin Demands Israel Stop ‘Bragging’ About Disabling Iran’s Nuclear Facility The Biden administration has delivered a “sharp rebuke” to Israel for undermining its position in talks with Iran by its “embarrassing chatter and bragging” about the bomb at the Natanz nuclear enrichment plant, Israel’s Channel 12 reported Friday. Biden officials “sent a message to Israel that chatting and bragging about actions Israel is doing is dangerous, embarrassing and endangers the Americans in negotiations with Iran,” the Hebrew-language report said.

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Republican Jewish Committee lash out at Elizabeth Warren’s J Street remarks, calling them “disgusting”

Posted on April 18, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Sens. Sanders, Warren call for ‘restricting’ US aid to Israel at J Street confab
by Jacob Magid
April 20, 2021

Prominent progressive senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren both used their Monday addresses at the J Street lobby’s national conference to call for regulating US aid to Israel, asserting that such assistance should not be allowed to bankroll Israeli policies in the West Bank that damage prospects for a two-state solution….RJC: “To advocate, as Sen. Warren does, that the US pressure Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians while the Palestinian Authority condemns Israel’s existence, incites violence against Israel and Jews everywhere, and continues its ‘Pay for Slay’ salaries to terrorists and their families, is disgusting,” said RJC executive director Matt Brooks. READ MORE

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“Recent attacks suggest that Israel has a clandestine network inside Iran and that Iranian security services have been powerless to break it”

Posted on April 18, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

NEW YORK TIMES
Iran Rattled as Israel Repeatedly Strikes Key Targets
by Ben Hubbard, Farnaz Fassihi and Ronen Bergman
April 20, 2021

In less than nine months, an assassin on a motorbike fatally shot an Al Qaeda commander given refuge in Tehran, Iran’s chief nuclear scientist was machine-gunned on a country road, and two separate, mysterious explosions rocked a key Iranian nuclear facility in the desert, striking the heart of the country’s efforts to enrich uranium. The steady drumbeat of attacks, which intelligence officials said were carried out by Israel, highlighted the seeming ease with which Israeli intelligence was able to reach deep inside Iran’s borders and repeatedly strike its most heavily guarded targets, often with the help of turncoat Iranians. READ MORE

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