…The French officials act and speak as if the Iranian regime was totally honorable, and as if they did not discern the obvious: that the Iranian regime has destructive goals. The nuclear deal did not divert the regime from its goal of building nuclear weapons. The deal, in fact, floated the regime toward precisely that end. The American strategy of applying maximum pressure through economic sanctions seems the only non-military way to pressure this regime to change course.In light of France’s history of appeasing hostile regimes, France’s attitude toward the Iranian regime is not really surprising. READ MORE
In July, we wrote about the city of Champaign, Illinois, where Mayor Deb Feinen decided to appoint a violently-minded antisemitic Islamist activist to the city’s Human Relations Commission, which advises on minority rights and serves as “a hearing board for complaints” about minority rights…Ahmed Taha has promoted calls for the killing of Jews, republishing text that stated: “There is a Jew behind me, come kill him.” He also spreads antisemitic conspiracy theories about Egypt’s President Sisi, and even Joe Biden. He is a prominent advocate for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most dangerous theocratic Islamist movements in the Middle East. READ MORE
I am told that the revealed blackface photos of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are “shocking.” I can think of several different words to describe them — “hilarious” certainly being one — but I would not personally call them shocking. Anyone who has been paying attention cannot be shocked that the wokest white boy this side of the Atlantic has this sort of thing in his past…Consider what happened to Megyn Kelly when she merely talked about blackface on her NBC show. All she did was argue that sometimes blackface isn’t racist — sometimes it’s meant as a tribute, not an insult — and for that, she was pilloried, attacked, and eventually fired. READ MORE
Municipal leaders across Illinois need to demand the following if they want their cities to survive Illinois’ collective crisis: 1) An amendment to the constitution’s pension protection clause so pensions can be reformed and workers’ retirement security saved; 2) The ability to convert pensions to defined contribution plans for workers going forward; 3)A freeze on retirees’ cost-of-living adjustments until pension plans return to health; 4) Public sector collective bargaining reforms so officials can hold the line on new labor contracts,..The troubles brewing in Illinois are all happening during one of the longest economic expansions ever. When the economy and the stock markets inevitably correct, things will only get worse. READ MORE
In a down and dirty campaign, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannibalized the Right, declared that Israeli-Arabs are the enemy of the state – and came up short at the ballot box. In 2015 he had a bloc of 48 right-wing politicians that, combined with 13 seats from the ultra-Orthodox parties, gave Netanyahu the required majority. That bloc fell to 44 right-wing politicians, plus 16 ultra-Orthodox parties in April – just one seat short of a majority in the 120-member Knesset. Now that many of the ballots have been counted, it seems as if he has fared even worse, with a right-wing bloc of 39 right-wing politicians and 17 ultra-Orthodox, for a bloc of 56.READ MORE
AMERICAN SPECTATOR Dov Fischer: Israeli Election Makes As Much Sense As the Prior and NextSo Gantz’s only play would be to get Likud to agree to join in a “national unity” Government under his leadership. But Gantz, Ashkenazi, Ya’alon, and Lapid have one thing in common that led them to create their party: They all hate Netanyahu. So they never would sit with Bibi; rather, they would have to convince the other leaders of Bibi’s Likud Party to stab Netanyahu in the back and to dump him.
John Bolton’s sudden departure from the White House last week cheered progressives who believe America has no enemies, just friends whose grievances we’ve failed to address, as well as those conservatives who believe if we leave our enemies alone, they’ll return the favor. And you thought there was no common ground between left and right! Count me among those not cheered. READ MORE
The New York Times architecture critic seems to have a problem with Jerusalem, the holiest city in Judaism. In a Sept. 13 article, the Times critic, Michael Kimmelman, took aim at a planned line of cable cars that the Jerusalem municipality hopes will soon shuttle visitors toward the Old City’s archaeological and touristic center. But the cable car, which some worry will be an eyesore in the ancient city, isn’t the real problem in Kimmelman’s article. It’s just the hook. The deeper problem relates to Jews, and the value they place on their rich history…[The author] relays criticism about efforts “to inculcate a Jewish narrative of occupied Jerusalem.” READ MORE
…Halprin, who was serving a 30-year sentence for injury to a child before fleeing with the “Texas 7” gang of prison escapees, was found guilty days after his testimony, and it did not take long for Dallas County District Judge Vickers “Vic” Cunningham to give him the death penalty. But as Halprin was sentenced to die, the judge who sent him to death row referred to him by an anti-Semitic slur and as “that f—in’ Jew,” while adding that Jews “needed to be shut down because they controlled all the money,” according to attorneys for Halprin.READ MORE
HAARETZ U.S. Jewish Groups Call to Halt Execution of Inmate Who Says His Judge Was anti-Semitic“Mr. Halprin’s trial judge, who presided over the death-penalty trial, made critical decisions about what evidence the jury would hear, and sentenced Mr. Halprin to die, was biased against Mr. Halprin, referring to him as a “f****n’ Jew” and a “G*****n k**e”
The Women’s March has cut ties with three founding board members, including Linda Sarsour, who have been dogged by accusations of anti-Semitism, the organization announced on Monday. Sarsour and fellow co-chairs Tamika Mallory and Mari Lynn “Bob” Bland “will transition off of the Women’s March Board and onto other projects focused on advocacy within their respective organizations,” the group said in a press release. The trio’s tenure atop the organization was marred by charges of anti-Semitism, with Sarsour tailed by her reputation as a controversial Palestinian nationalist with ties to Nation of Islam firebrand Louis Farrakhan from day one.READ MORE
Council president Kathy McBride is being called on to apologize after she allegedly made an anti-Semitic remark when the legislative body met last week behind closed doors to discuss settling a personal injury lawsuit brought against the city. During the discussions, McBride allegedly said an attorney from the city’s law department was “able to wait her out and Jew her down” for a lesser settlement, according to an email obtained by The Trentonian. Mayor Reed Gusciora recounted McBride’s alleged remark in an email Friday, marked in all-capital letters as “personal and confidential communication.” READ MORE
ArchitectGuy on Israel 