Speaking at Haaretz’s Judaism Conference, Trump’s ambassador to Israel says lack of ‘fluency’ in Judaism is the ‘greatest threat of all’

Posted on May 28, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

HAARETZ
‘Jewish Illiteracy’ Is the Biggest Threat to Diaspora Jews, U.S. Ambassador Friedman Says
by Danielle Ziri
May 27, 2020

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman believes that too many Diaspora Jews are “illiterate” about Judaism, which he says is the “greatest threat of all” to the continuity of Jewish life outside of Israel. The ambassador made the comment during Haaretz’s Judaism, Israel and Diaspora conference held virtually on Wednesday. “The Jewish state, while not without issues, is growing: both religious and secular institutions are thriving, basic Jewish education is available to all and there is little risk of assimilation,” he said. “The same cannot be said for the Diaspora,” Friedman said at the conference…READ MORE

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IfNotNow (an anti-Israel group) attacks Democratic ally Rep Betty McCollum (an anti-Israel congresswoman) over Minneapolis rioting

Posted on May 28, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

FREE BEACON
IfNotNow Founder Endorses Minneapolis Looting
by Adam Kredo
May 29, 2020

As violent protests rage in Minneapolis following the death of a man in police custody, the founder of a leading anti-Israel group lashed out at a Democratic ally who issued a call for calm. Yonah Lieberman, the founder of IfNotNow, a virulently anti-Israel group aligned with far-left Democrats, took aim at Rep. Betty McCollum (D., Minn.) after she issued an appeal for the protesters to end their violent siege of Minneapolis…”Betty is a progressive champion on so many issues, but really gets it wrong here, siding with multi-billion dollar corporations over the people of color that elected her,” Lieberman said. READ MORE

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“Israel is a strategic beachhead of the US in the Middle East. It is in effect the largest US aircraft carrier, yet it does not require a single American boot on the ground”

Posted on May 28, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

BEGIN SADAT CENTER
US Aid to Israel Is a High-Yield Investment
by Dr Frank Musmar
May 24, 2020

…Israel’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states has improved dramatically in the recent past, irrespective of the Palestinian issue. Because of this new warmth, the US does not have to choose between strategic cooperation with Jerusalem versus Riyadh. US-Israel and US-Arab relations complement one another, and that synergy works to Washington’s benefit. On the economic front, critical components of leading American high-tech products are invented and designed in Israel, making the American companies that manufacture those products more competitive and profitable. Cisco, Intel, Motorola, Applied Materials, and HP are just a few examples. READ MORE

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“Reclaiming ownership of indigenous lands – and governing those outside the process of history”

Posted on May 28, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

FRONT PAGE MAG
The Morality of Israel’s ‘Annexation’
by Professor Jason D. Hill
May 29, 2020

…In a previous essay, I have written about Israel’s moral right to annex Judea and Samaria. I want to now turn to the actual morality of annexation of Judea and Samaria as it relates to the so-called creation of a future Palestinian state. Annexation as it applies to Judea and Samaria is simply a preposterous term. Israel cannot annex land that is indigenously the land of the Jews that was repeatedly stolen from them over millennia. It properly re-captured those lands in a 1967 offensive war against it. The term is a non-concept here—a true misnomer. Nevertheless, for the sake of expediency we will use it since it has traction in the political world. The ethical upshot of annexation is two-fold. READ MORE

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Two governors, two approaches. Florida has proven that a measured, evidence-based response to reopening works

Posted on May 28, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

CITY JOURNAL
Let the Sun Shine In
by Michael Hendrix
May 27, 2020

For a moment in April, the Internet tried to cancel Florida. Photos showing crowds flocking to Jacksonville Beach amid the Covid-19 pandemic brought the hashtag #FloridaMorons to the top of Twitter. The media eagerly spun scenes of ignorant spring breakers endangering themselves and others. Nearly two months after America’s first case of coronavirus, here was Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, joining neighboring state Georgia’s “experiment in human sacrifice” by letting locals lift restrictions on their own. READ MORE

WASHINGTON EXAMINER Karol Markowicz: Andrew Cuomo’s deadly failures In late April, it came to light that the previous month, the state ordered long-term care facilities to readmit residents who had been treated for the coronavirus. New residents who were “medically stable” were to be admitted as well. Thus did Cuomo’s New York guarantee that the most vulnerable population would be widely exposed to COVID-19 in environments that enabled its quick and deadly spread.

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“Ahead of his arraignment in the first-ever criminal trial of a sitting Israeli premier, #Bibi accuses the left of “stitching together” charges against him after having failed to remove him at the ballot box”

Posted on May 24, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Defiant Netanyahu dismisses charges against him at start of corruption trials
May 24, 2020

Moments before an arraignment on multiple corruption charges, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his innocence, saying he had been framed as part of an attempt to topple the country’s right-wing camp. “Citizens of Israel, what is going on trial today is an attempt to thwart the will of the nation. The attempt to topple me, and the right-wing camp,” said Netanyahu, who made his address while surrounded by members of his Likud Party. READ MORE

NEW YORK SUN Editorial Board: Prime Minister Netanyahu in the Dock One of the charges against Mr. Netanyahu is that he allegedly did things sought by a newspaper and, allegedly, in return for the newspaper giving Mr. Netanyahu favorable coverage. If that turns out to be illegal, jeopardy would lurk for every editorial writer in the Milky Way. Newspapers praising politicians who do what they want is as American as a pie made from apples. It’s as Israeli as a falafel.

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COVID-19 humanitarian aid to Palestinians from Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Ireland and Kuwait was diverted

Posted on May 24, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

I24NEWS
Millions of dollars earmarked for Palestinian coronavirus aid funneled to terrorist-linked groups
May 24, 2020

Millions of dollars earmarked for the Palestinian’s COVID-19 coronavirus response have been misappropriated for use by organizations with links to terrorism, a new NGO Monitor report has claimed. The research watchdog found that several of the groups in receipt of funds that the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) coordinated, are tied to the People’s Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), as cited in The Jerusalem Post. The PFLP is a proscribed terrorist organization in Israel, the EU, US and Canada. READ MORE

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Latest Israeli desalination plant will be the largest of its kind worldwide. But China won’t be building it.

Posted on May 24, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

JERUSALEM POST
Israel rejects Chinese bid to build Sorek 2 amid pressure from the US
by Lahav Harkov, Eytan Halon
May 26, 2020

Israel chose local company IDE technologies to construct the world’s largest desalination plant, the government announced on Tuesday, rather than a Chinese company, thus preventing another undesirable showdown with the Trump administration over Chinese participation in major infrastructure projects…The US has asked its allies, including Israel, in recent weeks to sever ties with China – Israel’s third-largest trading partner – in areas with security risks, a US official with knowledge of talks on the matter said last week. READ MORE

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“Senior officials in the moderate Arab countries made it clear that, despite the pan-Arab stance against the annexation plan, behind the scenes the move is not being challenged as forcibly as the Palestinians might hope”

Posted on May 24, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
‘Next few weeks will determine whether future decades will see peace or bloodshed’
by Daniel Siryoti
May 27, 2020

…Arab sources told Israel Hayom Tuesday that while Arab leaders were concerned that the unilateral annexation of areas in the West Bank the Palestinians seek for a future state, would see the region plunged into a violent conflict, behind the scenes, moderate Arab leaders are in no rush to prevent Israel from pursuing the territorial bid…A senior diplomat considered a confidant of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Israel Hayom that Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are coordinated in their unofficial position on Israel’s annexation plan. READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL Palestinian envoy: Biden isn’t taking strong enough stance against annexation PA ambassador to UK Husam Zomlot argues Democratic candidate has intimated to Netanyahu that there will be no consequences for West Bank annexation, no matter who wins US election

JNS Saudi Arabia opposes Palestinian statehood Riyadh is convinced based on the Palestinian track record that a Palestinian state would constitute another rogue anti-Saudi regime.

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Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduce S 3775 for a “U.S.-Israel operations-technology working group”

Posted on May 24, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

DEFENSE NEWS
Securing technological superiority requires a joint US-Israel effort
by Bradley Bowman
May 22, 2020

…This bipartisan legislation would require the establishment of a U.S.-Israel operations-technology working group. As the senators wrote in a February letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, the working group would help ensure U.S. “warfighters never encounter a more technologically advanced foe…” The working group would serve as a standing forum for the United States and Israel to “systematically share intelligence-informed military capability requirements,” with a goal of identifying capabilities that both militaries need. It would also provide a dedicated mechanism for U.S. and Israeli defense suppliers to “expeditiously gain government approval to conduct joint science, technology, research, development, test, evaluation, and production efforts.” READ MORE

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