Israel’s women warriors: “Operating in all conditions and any terrain, armed with the most sophisticated tools at the IDF’s disposal, the soldiers of Unit 8200’s combat intelligence unit go behind enemy lines to do what can’t be done from afar”

Posted on March 25, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Flying under the radar: The women warriors of Israel’s elite combat intelligence unit
by Yoav Limor and Hila Timor Ashur
March 23, 2021

…8200’s combat unit is young and anonymous. To overcome this hurdle, the decision was made eight years ago to reveal its existence. At the time there were no female fighters in the unit, which was created as a result of the lessons learned from the Second Intifada and operations in Gaza, and the need to surmount the obstacles Israel’s enemies pose to the IDF in general and to 8200 in particular. The increasing need for high-caliber manpower led to the second decision, made in 2017, to recruit women into the unit. This path was paved, first and foremost, by the success of women in other combat units in the IDF…READ MORE

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

“Muslim converts who manage to escape execution face a range of repercussions from losing their jobs to being shunned by friends to being disowned by relatives”

Posted on March 25, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

MIDDLE EAST FORUM
Nonie Darwish on Muslim Converts to Christianity: “I Could Be Killed”
by Marilyn Stern
March 26, 2021

…Although Christians face oppression throughout the Islamic world, Muslim converts to the faith face an even harsher climate because Islamic doctrine condemns apostasy and conversion away from the Islamic faith is deeply taboo. Islam “was created 600 years after Christ as a rebellion against biblical values,” said Darwish, and therefore “to choose the Bible over Islam … Jesus over Muhammad, is the ultimate insult to Islam.”…Islamic law sanctions the killing of apostates. Although civil laws in some countries may nominally protect converts, in most countries “the percentage of Muslims who believe in killing apostates is huge” and authorities often turn a blind eye to it, so the threat of “vigilante justice against apostates” is ever-present. READ MORE

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

“Biden was not challenged, but caressed and fondled by the morally bankrupt media”

Posted on March 25, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

AMERICAN GREATNESS
The Self-Parody of Pres. Biden’s First Press Conference: A “transcript” of the press conference
by Charles Lipson
March 26, 2021

There is absolutely no crisis at the southern border, and Trump caused it. Also Trump wanted small children to die at the border. I don’t. That’s just another reason people say I’m such a good person. This surge of immigrants, which isn’t happening at all, is certainly not due to anything I said as a candidate, like telling the world I would suspend deportations for 100 days and stop construction of the border wall. No, it’s just springtime, plus bad conditions in Central America. Common on, man, nobody can do anything about springtime. But we can do something about Central America. We can fix it. My suggestion is street lamps. I thought of that myself. Trump didn’t. READ MORE

THE FEDERALIST Sleepy Joe Biden Hosts The Most Awkward Press Conference Of All Time The president did not call on any conservative reporters. Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy—who frequently questions Psaki—was not provided the opportunity to probe. Reporters from Associated Press, PBS, The Washington Post, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, and Univision all got their turn to pander.

Posted in Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

“Some 500,000 ballots have yet to have been counted as of Wednesday night. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party expected to hold on to 30-seat plurality, but right-wing bloc’s path to victory is as complicated as ever”

Posted on March 21, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
Newly discovered counting errors, delays could lead to last-minute drama
by Staff
March 24, 2021

Despite the rapid pace of counting the nationwide vote from Election Day, officials at the Central Elections Committee say unintentional counting errors mean some results would not be factored into the final tally for a while, potentially complicating even further the inconclusive outcome from Tuesday’s march to the polls…Following a dramatic Tuesday night and after some 87% of the votes had been counted as of Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party appeared close to victory – although his fate still depends on Yamina leader Naftali Bennett…Voter turnout on Tuesday was particularly low – only 66.9% – marking the lowest turnout in the past four elections. READ MORE

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR Israeli election: Arab Islamist party could become kingmaker Parliamentary elections have left Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without a clear path to leadership. The United Arab List, predicted to have won five seats in the Knesset, is still deciding which parliamentary bloc to support.

JPOST Gil Hoffman: Coalition conundrum: What could Israel’s next government look like? Here are several possible options…Ahead of Tuesday’s election, all the party leaders, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on down, spoke to reporters and analysts constantly, in order to try to get out the vote. But once the polls closed Tuesday night, most of the politicians suddenly became completely silent. The quiet was not because they were tired.

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

“Four years of having Kahl in a decision-making position could finally end the nature of bipartisan support for Israel and allow for the Iranians to be closer to a nuclear bomb”

Posted on March 21, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

THE HILL
Colin Kahl’s nomination will be a disaster for Israel and the region
by Gregg Roman
March 23, 2021

For many years, American and Israeli leaders were rightly proud of repeating the mantra that excellent relations between the two nations was a bipartisan issue in Washington. Obviously, for a variety of reasons, that truism has faltered in recent years even while remaining broadly accurate. However, the nomination of Colin Kahl for undersecretary of defense for policy could change that. Kahl’s resume is impressive on paper…Nonetheless, with so much experience comes little to no achievement, only unmitigated disaster. On his major remit in the Middle East, every policy issue has been shown to be a failure. READ MORE

JNS Biden nominee Colin Kahl, opposed by some pro-Israel groups, moves to Senate vote Christians United for Israel and the Zionist Organization of America urged the Senate to reject the nomination.

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

Biden administration turns its back on peace between Israel and Arab states in order to pursue deal with Iran

Posted on March 21, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

TABLET MAG
Biden Torpedoes Abraham Accords Summit
by Lee Smith
March 21, 2021

Media reports on March 18 revealed that the United Arab Emirates has suspended its plans for an Abraham Accords summit in Abu Dhabi with Israel, the United States, and other Arab signatories to the historic peace agreements brokered by the Donald Trump administration. Supposedly, the Emiratis are angry with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for using the UAE’s de facto leader Mohammed bin Zayed as a “prop in his election campaign.” In fact, as the theme of “election interference” should make clear (the UAE doesn’t have elections), and as has been substantiated by Israeli reporting, the source of the upset isn’t in Abu Dhabi but in Washington. In other words, the Biden administration is interfering in Israel’s upcoming election by strong-arming the Emiratis into publicly distancing themselves from Bibi. READ MORE

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

CAMERA “pointed to three different parts of former President Donald Trump’s comments with a spliced-together quote that contradicts the statements and overall focus of his remarks”

Posted on March 21, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

ALGEMEINER
Did a Documentary Skewering Evangelical Support for Israel Manipulate a Presidential Speech?
by Dexter Van Zile
March 24, 2021

On March 29, the second day of Passover and the first Monday of Holy Week for many Christians, PBS stations throughout the United States will showcase a well-received documentary produced and directed by Israeli filmmaker Maya Zinshtein. The documentary clearly appears to include a false quote attributed to former President Donald Trump. The right thing for PBS to do would be, at the very least, to postpone the documentary, insist on the removal of the quote, and vet the rest of the film to make sure it does not include any other fabrications. But will PBS do the right thing? The film skewers Israel, settlers in the West Bank, and Evangelical Protestants in the US — popular targets for the documentary’s supporters. READ MORE

JNS Watchdog group says PBS documentary ‘Til Kingdom Come’ contains factual errors
It pointed to three different parts of former President Donald Trump’s comments with a spliced-together quote that contradicts the statements and overall focus of his remarks.

‘Til Kingdom Come (2021) Trailer on Vimeo

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

Quinoa for Passover “can easily be spruced up, transforming it from a ho-hum, side dish, into one that is more savory or sweet”

Posted on March 21, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

JEWISH VOICE AND OPINION
Thinking outside the Box for Pesach with Quinoa
by Chef David
March 21, 2021

Too many people associate Pesach with the need for chametz substitutes, which often fall flat and just don’t taste good. For example, why should those of us who do not eat kitniyot use something to emulate pasta or rice? Why bother preparing heavy potato-based, eggy, or matzoh-filled side-dishes, loaded with carbohydrates, when there is an easy, healthier alternative that is good all-year-round and not just the one-week of Pesach? My recommendation is to think out-of-the-box and consider quinoa. A grain-like seed grown in South America, quinoa is not only non-kitniyot and kosher-for-Passover (as well as all-year-round), it is also surprisingly tasty and easy to prepare. It is an alternative source of protein that is also gluten-free and high in fiber, magnesium, vitamins B and E, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and antioxidants. READ MORE

ORTHODOX UNION OU Kosher is pleased to announce that, for the first time, it is recommending quinoa for Passover, when processed with special OU Passover supervision and bearing the OU-P symbol. See the Passover product search for Passover approved brands.

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

Da’ye’noo Passover hymn and the US-Israel bond

Posted on March 21, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

THE ETTINGER REPORT
Passover and the Mutually-Beneficial US-Israel Bond
by Yoram Ettinger
March 24, 2021,

According to Heinrich Heine, the 19th century German poet, “Since the Exodus, freedom has always spoken with a Hebrew accent.” Prof. Yehudah Elitzur, one of Israel’s pioneers of Biblical research, maintained that the Exodus occurred in the second half of the 15th century BCE, during the reign of Egypt’s Amenhotep II…Passover is a Jewish national liberation holiday, highlighting faith, humility and solidarity. It emphasizes patriotism, optimism, defiance of the odds, liberty, gratitude and education; the historic legacy which is the foundation for an enhanced future, and the ancient Jewish roots in the Land of Israel.  READ MORE

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

“The UN recently reported the same political leaders who publicly signed the Paris Climate Agreement committing them to restrict emission from their countries, have enacted domestic policies that actually increase emissions”

Posted on March 21, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

RED STATE
Nations Aren’t Acting as If Climate Change Poses Existential Crisis
by The Heartland Institute
March 17, 2021

Despite what is reported almost daily by the mainstream media, data from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) show no increase in extreme weather events as the earth has modestly warmed over the past 150 years. Indeed, IPCC and NOAA data show the number of extreme cold spells, drought,  floods, heatwaves, hurricanes,  tornadoes and wildfires have all either declined modestly or remained relatively stable since the late 1870s. Despite these irrefutable facts, leaders from nations around the world have signed multiple international agreements, the latest being the 2015 Paris climate agreement, intended to avert a supposed pending climate disaster. READ MORE

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment