…But Trump did not lean on Turkey. Nor did he leave the field open to Iran. On the contrary: He let Russia contain Turkey’s ambitions in Syria by containing the Sunni jihadists backed by Ankara. That was a courageous thing to do in the midst of a witch-hunt against supposed “collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia, a charge concocted out of thin air by Trump’s political opponents. As Trump told a September 3 campaign rally, “If I get along with Russia, is that a good thing or a bad thing?” To get US troops out of the Middle East, there is no choice but to get along with Russia. One might mention China as well…READ WELL
Hey Palestinians: You keep whining about how the Abraham Accords ignore you. That’s wrong. It treats you exactly how you deserve – as an entity that has, through your own actions and rejectionism, made your cause irrelevant. You could have been the ones on the White House lawn signing a genuine warm peace with Israel, multiple times, since 2000. Instead, you chose to adhere to your “principles” of destroying the Jewish state – through terror, through alliances with the worst human rights abusing states, through demographics of “return.” Israel’s desire for peace with Palestinians is no less than its desire for peace with the rest of the Arab world. READ MORE
The Trump administration has opened an investigation into Princeton University over the school president’s recent statement that students there face “systematic racism” and that racism is “embedded” in the structures of the university. Education Department officials notified Princeton this week that they are examining whether the university’s “admitted racism” means that it made materially false statements when it for years assured the public and the federal government that it doesn’t discriminate based on race…The Education Department demanded that Princeton produce a range of records about its nondiscrimination policies, among other things, within 21 days and also agree to make university officials available for a transcribed interview. READ MORE
In a recent public letter permeated with distortions published in The New York Times, 600 Jewish signatory organizations identified themselves with Black Lives Matter (BLM). This decentralized movement was founded by Marxists and had in its original platform expressions of extreme anti-Israel incitement. BLM is a racist, anti-capitalist, anti-democratic movement that should be exposed as such and fought. It intends nothing good for Jews or Israel, regardless how many Jews proclaim their allegiance to it. READ MORE
Whether we call it peace or normalization isn’t very important: The agreements being signed today between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with US President Donald Trump’s guarantee, mark a historical transition that not only reflects the great changes underway within Arab societies, but also upends old dynamics and can change the world. It’s very difficult to recognize the deal for what it is, because Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu don’t enjoy the support of the international press. Moreover, the Palestinians received what was for them a totally surprising refusal from the Arab League to their request to condemn it.READ MORE
TIMES OF ISRAEL Peace agreements suggest UAE, Bahrain are now less pro-Palestinian than EuropeIt’s official: The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are now less pro-Palestinian than the Europeans. Officials and analysts familiar with Jerusalem’s clandestine relations with several Arab states have long argued that they don’t really care so much about the Palestinians anymore. In public statements, however, all Arab governments stuck to their dogma and reiterated the need for a Palestinian state based on the 1967-lines…Incredibly, the agreements the State of Israel signed Tuesday with the United Arab Emirates and with Bahrain do not echo such calls.
FORWARD I was set to vote for Biden. Then Trump made peace in the Middle EastIt was supposed to be a simple election. Deep into July, or “month four” on the new COVID-19 calendar, I thought the choice had become clear: This would be a referendum on President Trump’s atrocious handling of a devastating pandemic and a chance for Joe Biden to show that he can return the country to something resembling normal. As a college senior at Yeshiva University, I’m not a typical Democratic voter, but I stood with the 70% of my fellow millennials who wanted Trump out.
Arab diplomatic sources closely monitoring the situation in the Gulf said that the Sultanate of Oman’s welcoming attitude towards the Bahraini-Israeli peace agreement is an additional indication that it is next in line to fully normalising relations with Israel. These sources indicated that the Sultanate of Oman has all the characteristics that could make it the fifth Arab country, after Egypt, Jordan, the UAE and Bahrain, to make such a step. They pointed out that the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said had played a crucial role in paving the way for his successor, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, to take the step of signing a peace deal with Israel…READ MORE
…Rosh Hashanah represents a time of hope and renewal. But in 5781, as the pandemic continues to surge with no apparent end in sight, clergy are under intense pressure during the High Holidays to help congregants overcome their anxiety, pain, and grief, especially after months of loss and social isolation. And they’ll have to do it in a new way that doesn’t look like any High Holiday season they’ve seen before…For cantors, this sense of loss is especially profound. Music has always played an important role in setting the mood and tone for the High Holidays, but because of COVID-19, cantors must now sing in isolation. “We desperately want to sing and lead the service…” READ MORE
…Despite these concerns, Biden continues to ignore the BDS advocate on his staff. In June 2018, his liaison to the Muslim American community, Farooq Mitha, shared a Facebook postopposing federal legislation to prohibit U.S. businesses from joining foreign boycotts against Israel. Mitha is a founding board member of Emgage, an umbrella of civic engagement projects consumed with electing pro-Islamist political candidates. Emgage holds many of its political literacy programs at terror-tied mosques, such as Florida’s Darul Uloom Institute, former home to Al Qaeda “Dirty Bomber” Jose Padilla. READ MORE
JNS Jonathan Tobin: What does ‘dangerous for Israel’ and the Jews mean to Biden?It’s fortunate for Joe Biden that his ability to win the support of most Jewish voters doesn’t depend on his stance on Israel. As a new poll from the liberal Jewish Electorate Institute showed, Israel ranked at the bottom of a list of 11 issues that respondents cared about. With President Donald Trump hosting a White House ceremony this week that will commemorate the signing of normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates as well as Bahrain, it’s difficult for the Democrats to claim that Trump shouldn’t be trusted when it comes to safeguarding the alliance with the Jewish state.
Last week marked the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon that ushered in what has come to be known as the “global war on terror.” The occasion provides an opportune moment to take stock of the prevailing trends in America’s longstanding struggle against Islamic extremism. Unfortunately, the news is anything but encouraging. ISIS is resurgent.A year-and-a-half after the destruction of its physical caliphate in Iraq and Syria, the world’s most notorious terrorist group is showing alarming new signs of life. While the Coronavirus has dominated the news, this year has also seen a surge of Islamic State-directed violence in both Iraq and Syria…READ MORE
Avi Berkowitz’s elevation to a top negotiating position on President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace team was met with near-universal derision by so-called experts and the mainstream press. Martin Indyk, who served as ambassador to Israel under President Bill Clinton, mocked the appointment of Jared Kushner’s onetime “assistant.” The Brookings Institution’s Natan Sachs declared the then 29-year-old Berkowitz “young and inexperienced.” The media were less diplomatic: Politico derided Berkowitz as Kushner’s “mini-me”; Vanity Fair dubbed him a “coffee boy.” On Tuesday, Trump oversaw the signing of the Kushner- and Berkowitz-orchestrated Abraham Accords that officially normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, as well as an agreement between Israel and Bahrain—the first such deals in over four decades. Pretty good for a coffee boy. READ MORE
FLASHBACK: This is priceless seeing how wrong they were….Experts say moving U.S. embassy to Jerusalem kills Middle East peace
ArchitectGuy on Israel 