“Despite coronavirus, we must take advantage of this US initiative to accept a plan that enables us to incorporate into Israeli boundaries the large settlement blocs and the Jordan Valley”

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
Don’t Forego an Historic Opportunity
by Isi Leibler
August 7, 2020

Despite the coronavirus, should Netanyahu proceed now with the Trump plan, the parameters of the national unity government would ensure his success. Even more importantly, subject to minor concessions, he would be able to obtain consensus with Blue and White, setting a long-term precedent of applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria with international recognition led by the US. The US administration has indicated that it will provide full support to annexation of major settlement blocs and the Jordan Valley if supported by the Israeli consensus and within the framework of the Trump plan. READ MORE

JERUSALEM POST Eric Mandel:What does pro-Israel mean in the age of Trump?
What should define pro-Israel in 2020 across the political spectrum? Here are a few suggestions.

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“An engaging spy series just bought by Apple TV does more than caricature Iran and the Mossad”

TABLET MAG
What’s So Great About the New Israeli Thriller ‘Tehran’?
by Raz Greenberg
August 6, 2020

The opening scenes of Tehran, the new thriller from the Israeli public broadcast corporation Kan 11, tell the story of two Israeli backpackers who decide to take a cheap flight from Jordan on their way to India, and find themselves in trouble when their plane must make an emergency stop in Iran. It is a tight and tense opening, yet it also carries a somewhat unintentional hilarious subtext…Even before its broadcast, the show made headlines when it was purchased in a multimillion-dollar deal for international broadcast by the Apple TV streaming service. Iranian media added to the hype, publishing angry responses to the show’s production—again, long before it even debuted. READ MORE

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The late Rabbi Steinsaltz, Israel Prize laureate and scholar “was credited with revolutionary translation and commentary of seminal Jewish texts”

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who made the Talmud accessible, dies at 83
by Marissa Newman
August 7, 2020

Rabbi Adin Even Yisrael Steinsaltz, whose translation and groundbreaking commentary of the entire Babylonian Talmud and Bible has been lauded for making the ancient Jewish texts approachable, died Friday at the age of 83. A longtime educator, prolific author of over 60 books and Israel Prize laureate, Steinsaltz (who years ago switched to a Hebraicized version of his surname, Even-Israel, but never shook off the original) was also a physicist and chemist, a biting social critic and a beloved public figure in Israel — revered for his encyclopedic mind, and admired for his down-to-earth and kindly bearing. His first name means “gentle” in Hebrew, and by all accounts, he was. READ MORE

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“His failure to acknowledge Israeli efforts at peace is coupled with a blindness toward the threats facing the Jewish state”

STANDWITHUS
CCA Concerned by UN’s New Envoy To Monitor Antisemitism Miguel Moratinos
August 4, 2020

The StandWithUs Center for Combating Antisemitism (CCA) was encouraged to learn that the United Nations has decided to appoint an envoy for the specific purpose of monitoring antisemitism. We were deeply disturbed, however, that the individual appointed to the position is Spanish diplomat Miguel Moratinos, a man with a clear history of antagonism and contempt toward Israel and a failure to rightly understand the many forms antisemitism can take. The person holding this position should be someone who is unbiased and objective, especially when it comes to the treatment of Jews and the Jewish State. Moratinos’ record demonstrates he is not such a man. READ MORE

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“Since you claim your parents hid the real history from you, I’ll be careful not to spoil for you which was which”

FORWARD
Dear American Jewish boys: Please find another outlet for your Oedipal rage. Signed, Israeli Jews
by Shany Mor
July 29, 2020

Dear American Jewish boys, Please, please, take your Oedipal rage and find another outlet for it. It’s not Israel’s fault you hate your parents. Leave us out of this. I understand, I get it. You were 12, you were at summer camp, and someone gave you a heroic version of Israel’s history, and now that you’re suddenly surrounded at university by theologians of the grand church of intersectionality, you feel the need to renounce, Fine. Renounce your summer camp. Renounce your parents. But leave us out. You’re not happy with the heroic version you heard at age 12? I feel for you. READ MORE

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“According to human rights reports, blacks in Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Sudan are captured, bought, sold, and raped as slaves by Muslims TODAY” Do those #BlackLivesMatter too ?

AMERICANS FOR PEACE & TOLERANCE
CAIR must atone for its selective observance of the sanctity of black lives
August 6, 2020

As the Black Lives Matter movement has swept the country, many non-black groups have joined its coalition. One such group should be of grave concern, especially to the black Americans whom it claims to support. As the terrorist-linked group CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) trumpets its support of the BLM movement, it has remained mum on the issue of the hundreds of thousands of blacks owned as slaves today by its fellow Muslims throughout North Africa. READ MORE

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“These days, Axelrod is taking his nostalgia for Manny’s public, trying to drum up support and customers for an institution hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic”

FORWARD
David Axelrod wants to save Manny’s Deli
by Rebecca Gold
August 6, 2020

…Across the country, more than 12,000 restaurants have permanently closed due to mounting costs, lack of revenue, and an uncertain future that has frightened off investors. The website Eater Chicago keeps a running list of permanent restaurant closures in the city. No place is immune. So, when Manny’s Deli recently launched a social media campaign to drum up customer orders amidst their coronavirus-induced financial downturn, [David] Axelrod was quick to publicly express his support on Twitter. READ MORE

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Likely cause of Lebanon explosion: “Explosive fertilizer confiscated after seizure of vessel reportedly owned by Cyprus-based Russian businessman”

I24NEWS
Ammonium nitrate behind Beirut blast seized in 2014, never properly disposed of
by Reuters
August 5, 2020

The ammonium nitrate load that blew up the port of Beirut, resulting in a powerful blast that ripped through the city Tuesday, was seized in 2014 and is thought to be linked with a Cyprus-based Russian businessman, international media report. According to Lebanon’s LBCI channel citing the country’s Supreme Defence Council as saying the explosive fertilizer was confiscated from a vessel called Rhosus back in 2014…[The vessel’s] owner, Cyprus-based Russian businessman Igor Grechuskin, chose to take no action in regards to the ship and its crew, according to Russian media, with its cargo relocated into a warehouse on a court order. READ MORE

JERUSALEM POST Israel offers medical aid to Lebanon, response is silence The heads of several Israeli hospitals have reached out to Lebanese officials and the United Nations offering medical support to the country’s wounded.

ELDER OF ZIYON Lebanon asks for help from “friendly countries”–meaning everyone but Israel Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab Tuesday urged “friendly countries” to send help after two massive blasts flattened Beirut’s port, killing dozens and wounding thousands. “I am sending an urgent appeal to all countries that are friends and brothers and love Lebanon, to stand by its side and help us treat these deep wounds,” he said in a televised address.

TIMES OF ISRAEL After blast, Tel Aviv city hall lights up as Lebanese flag in solidarity

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Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Adviser, sanctioned by Iran

JNS
Iran sanctions former official on National Security Council for ‘economic terrorism’
August 3, 2020

Iran sanctioned on Sunday the former director for countering Iran’s weapons of mass destruction at the White House National Security Council, Richard Goldberg, for what the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called “economic terrorism.” Goldberg, currently a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which was sanctioned by Iran last year, called the Iranian move a “badge of honor.” An Iran hawk, Goldberg played a key role in the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran that has included sanctions and military force, and earlier this year, the elimination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. READ MORE

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Nick Cannon says Bari Weiss book “was ‘an insightful and powerful read’

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES
After Tisha B’Av fast, Nick Cannon Reviews Bari Weiss’ Anti-Semitism Book
by Philissa Cramer
August 3, 2020

Nick Cannon and Bari Weiss exploded into the news within a day of each other this month. So perhaps it is only fitting that the entertainer, who found himself in hot water after making anti-Semitic comments on his podcast, ended the month by reviewing the former New York Times writer’s 2019 book, “How to Fight Anti-Semitism.” Cannon apologized after his remarks came to light and promised to educate himself about Judaism and anti-Semitism. In addition to meeting with a rabbi whose focus is on combating anti-Semitism, he also committed to reading Weiss’ book. READ MORE

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