“It now remains to be seen how Erdogan will reward Hamas for supporting his war on the Kurds”

GATESTONE
Why Hamas Supports Erdogan’s War
by Khaled Abu Toameh
October 22, 2019

Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated terror group ruling the Gaza Strip since 2007, is the only Palestinian party that has come out in support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s war on the Kurds in Syria. A statement issued by Hamas on October 14 said that the terror group “understands Turkey’s right to protect its border, defend itself and remove threats harmful to its national security against the tampering of the Zionist Mossad in the region, as part of [Israel’s] effort to undermine Arab and Islamic national security.” Hamas also praised Erdogan for his “support for the Palestinian cause and the rights of the Palestinian people” and expressed opposition to “the Zionist and US presence in the region.READ MORE

JNS Erdoğan, Putin reach ‘historic agreement’ on Syria ‘buffer zone’ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Tuesday that Turkey and Russia had reached a “historic” agreement that would remove all Syrian Kurdish fighters from the Syria-Turkey border region. The announcement came following six hours of talks between Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Russian city of Sochi, Russia. 

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“While it’s true Netanyahu failed to form a government twice this year, Gantz’s chances at success are not great”

JERUSALEM POST
Netanyahu lost, but Gantz didn’t win yet
by Lahav Harkov
October 22, 2019

Within minutes of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu notifying President Reuven Rivlin that he can’t form a government, Blue and White began to celebrate. “Blue and White’s time has come,” the party’s leader Benny Gantz tweeted. Their celebrations are premature. Just because Netanyahu lost, doesn’t mean that Gantz has won yet. READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL Netanyahu agrees to meet PM-designate Gantz; other right, Orthodox leaders wait 55-member bloc loyal to Likud leader will hold off on direct negotiations with Blue and White; leaders of Joint List, Meretz, Yisrael Beytenu, Labor-Gesher agree to meetings

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“Buttigieg is the third major Democratic presidential candidate to indicate a willingness to cut military aid to Israel”

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Buttigieg: US aid should be used as ‘leverage’ to change Israeli policies
by Eric Cortellessa
October 23, 2019

…[Repeating an Obama era talking point] he suggested that pressuring Israel to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution was in its long-term interest of remaining a Jewish democracy. “It is in the American interest, as well as the Palestinian and ultimately the Israeli Jewish interest, that Israel not reach the point where there will have to be a choice between either being a Jewish state or a democracy,” he said, “and there is a trajectory toward that going on right now.” READ MORE

JEWISH PRESS Elizabeth Warren: ‘Everything on the Table’ Over 2-State Solution Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, a US Senator from Massachusetts, told reporters on Saturday that she is open to withholding aid to Israel pending compliance with American demands to cease settlement activity.

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“The key question that has been endlessly discussed is whether or not AG Mandelblit will end Netanyahu’s political career by indicting him on corruption charges”

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
Netanyahu, the media and the fate of Israeli democracy
by Caroline Glick
October 20, 2019

For nearly a year, Israeli politics have been in a state of chaos because of the criminal probes. The probes played a central role in the April Knesset elections and arguably were the primary reason that Netanyahu failed to form a coalition despite his electoral victory. Today the probes and [Attorney General] Mandelblit’s deliberations are the primary reason that no one can form a government in the wake of last month’s repeat elections. If Israel holds a third election in the coming months, the probes will again be the central issue determining both the result and the ability of whoever wins to form a government. READ MORE

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“What is a candidate like Sanders, who is not only Jewish but describes himself as “100 percent pro-Israel,” doing surrounded by people like Omar, Sarsour and Zahr?”

JNS
When Israel’s enemies endorse a Jewish candidate
by Jonathan Tobin
October 17, 2019

At a time when his presidential campaign seemed about to go on life support, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was thrilled to get a boost from his party’s rock stars. Just days after returning to the campaign trail after suffering a heart attack, the 78-year-old avowed Socialist received a much-needed shot in the arm when he received the endorsement of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)….Sanders embodies a new definition of Jewish identify in which a sense of Jewish peoplehood and support for the rights of Jews is replaced by a universalist desire to embrace the Jewish state’s enemies. Along those lines, he is, as the author of a Jewish Telegraphic Agency column stated, “the future of American Jewry,” despite his advanced age. READ MORE

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“Senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official to make rare formal trip to Arab state for Monday meet on maritime and civil aviation security”

TIMES OF ISRAEL
In latest sign of thaw, Israel sending official to anti-Iran summit in Bahrain
by Raphael Ahren
October 20, 2019

A senior official is confirmed to attend a security conference in Bahrain on Monday, a source in the Gulf country told The Times of Israel, in the latest significant sign of warming ties between parts of the Arab world and Israel. A senior Foreign Ministry official working on regional security and counter-terrorism…will represent Israel at the Working Group on Maritime and Aviation Security…The two-day Bahrain conference will not be the first time Israeli and Arab officials sit together in the context of the Warsaw process. On October 8, an Israeli representative sat with colleagues from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and other Arab states at a conference on cybersecurity in Seoul. READ MORE

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Meghan Markle has dragged across the Atlantic a garbage truck full of the most emetic US wokeness

SPECTATOR
Please America, take Meghan Markle back
by Rod Liddle
October 2, 2019

…She lectures us Brits on poverty and how awful it is. Well, indeed. I say beware of being lectured on poverty by a woman whose engagement ring cost almost $370,000. Beware of being lectured on poverty by a woman whose house was refurbished by the taxpayers at a cost of $30 million so that she could have right-on organic paint on the walls and bring up her child in a ‘gender-neutral environment’, whatever the hell that is...The two of them then announced with ineffable sanctimony to the world that they would be having no more than two children, because that was the socially responsible thing to do… READ MORE

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“The announcement by Rafael of a first delivery of Trophy Active Protection Systems for M1 tanks is a dramatic development, in which the world’s most powerful military selects an Israeli defense system”

JNS
US Army chooses Israeli system to protect the lives of tank crews
by Yaakov Lappin
October 18, 2019

In recent days, Israeli defense corporation Rafael made a dramatic announcement, stating that it delivered on time the first batch of Trophy Active Protection System to the U.S. Army. Trophy, a system that was first deployed by the Israel Defense Forces in 2011 and which has intercepted many threats fired at Israeli armored vehicles, will be eventually be installed on-board four American M1 main battle tank brigades, for both the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. The fact that the world’s most powerful military chose an Israeli active protection system to protect the lives of its tank crews is historic. READ MORE

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Pompeo: “No one should interpret the withdrawal of US troops from Syria as a sign that America is no longer committed to its strategy to stop Iranian aggression and efforts to obtain a nuclear capability”

JERUSALEM POST
Pompeo to ‘Post’: Israel has right to act in Syria, U.S. will stop Iran
by Yaakov Katz
October 18, 2019

Despite the withdrawal of US troops from Syria, Israel retains operational freedom to defend itself and America remains committed to closely watching the Iraqi-Syrian border to help prevent the transfer of Iranian arms into the country, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told The Jerusalem Post on Friday in an exclusive interview. “Our administration’s been very clear,” he said. “Israel has the fundamental right to engage in activity that ensures the security of its people. It’s at the very core of what nation states not only have the right to do but an obligation to do.” READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL McConnell rips Syria withdrawal as ‘a strategic nightmare’ As scattered fighting flares, top Republican in Congress warns that Trump’s pullout of US forces will ’embolden our enemies, and weaken important alliances’…“No US ground forces will participate in the enforcement of this safe zone, however, we will remain in communication with both Turkey and the SDF,” [Pentagon chief Mark] Esper said. A senior Pentagon official said US forces would carry out aerial reconnaissance of the “safe zone” with the goal of watching over prisons holding Islamic State fighters.

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World Jewish Congress decision to honor German Chancellor Merkel with prestigious Theodor Herzl Award for Zionism “has sparked anger and bewilderment among Jewish leaders in US and Europe”

GATESTONE
Does Angela Merkel Deserve a Prize for Zionism?
by Soeren Kern
October 19, 2019

…Critics say that Merkel, because her domestic and foreign policies have in recent years made the world less safe for Jews, is uniquely undeserving of the award. These policies include: German government failure to combat rising anti-Semitism…German government support for mass migration from the Muslim world…German government support for anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations…German government support for anti-Israel boycotts…German government’s refusal to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel…German government support for Iran nuclear deal…READ MORE

ALGEMEINER Clear Majority of Germans Perceive Increase in Antisemitism Over Past Year, New Poll Reveals A clear majority of Germans believe that antisemitism is spreading in their country, according to a new poll conducted shortly after the attempted massacre on Yom Kippur at a synagogue in Halle in which two people were murdered by a neo-Nazi gunman. Published on Friday, the poll — conducted by broadcaster ARD one week after the Oct. 9 outrage in Halle –revealed that 59 percent of eligible German voters agreed that antisemitism in their society was rising.

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