#Palestinians neglected by UNRWA which “hasn’t resettled a single refugee in its 70 years of existence”

Posted on September 16, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Palestinians are tired of being the only refugees denied the right to resettlement
by Evelyn Gordon
September 11, 2019

…All other refugees worldwide are handled by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which resettles tens of thousands of refugees in third countries every year. But Palestinian refugees aren’t allowed to apply to UNHCR; they are handled by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, an agency created exclusively for them. And UNRWA hasn’t resettled a single refugee in its 70 years of existence. The only option it offers the refugees and their descendants is eternal limbo: awaiting a “return” to Israel that will never happen. Thus it’s unsurprising that the protesters also assailed UNRWA for depriving them of “their most basic rights.” READ MORE

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“The timing of Trump’s tweet, just days before Israel’s election on Tuesday, appeared aimed at buttressing Netanyahu’s bid to remain in power by showcasing his close ties to Trump”

Posted on September 15, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

REUTERS
Trump floats possible defense treaty days ahead of Israeli elections
September 14, 2019

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a possible mutual defense treaty between the two nations, a move that could bolster Netanyahu’s re-election bid just days before Israelis go to the polls. “I had a call today with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the possibility of moving forward with a Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Israel, that would further anchor the tremendous alliance between our two countries,” Trump said on Twitter. READ MORE

ALGEMEINER Former IDF Intelligence Chief on US-Israel Defense Treaty: Security Establishment Has Always Decided ‘Disadvantages Outweigh Advantages’ The most important misgiving, said [Amos] Yadlin, is that Israel “could lose its freedom of action and be unable to decide alone on certain activities. If we wanted to go to war or a major operation, we would have to do it in consultation with the US.”

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“The only option for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the city council is restructuring the city’s massive debts. In other words: bankruptcy”

Posted on September 15, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

PJ MEDIA
Will Chicago Be the Largest U.S. City to Declare Bankruptcy?
by Rick Moran
September 14, 2019

The city of Chicago is in dire fiscal and financial straits with an almost billion dollar budget deficit, bonds rated at junk status or below, numerous extremely costly legal judgments, a shrinking tax base, and unfunded public pension liabilities to the tune of an astonishing $42 billion. Other than that, it’s a great place to live. The state of Illinois has its own financial troubles, so the city can expect little or no help there. And good luck getting a federal bailout through the GOP Senate and signed by a president who’s been called a “racist” by the mayor. READ MORE

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“John Bolton’s departure from the White House has been the source of considerable concern in Israel”

Posted on September 13, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
Israel and John Bolton’s departure
by Caroline B. Glick
September 13, 2019

…Israelis would have greeted the departure of their strong ally and friend with concern regardless of the circumstances. But the fact that he was fired (or, by Bolton’s telling, felt compelled to resign) just days after Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s envoy for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, announced his departure and as reports proliferated that Trump was seriously considering reducing economic sanctions on Iran in the hopes of scoring a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the UN General Assembly later this month, intensified the concern. READ MORE

JNS ‪Melanie Phillips: Boltonism must not be allowed to disappear The curious fact, however, is that the left hate Bolton for reasons very similar to Trump’s own inability to see eye-to-eye with him. For the left have more in common with Trump than they would ever care to acknowledge. On foreign policy, both are isolationists, although for different reasons. The left never support the west fighting wars in its own interests, viewing it as innately bad and oppressive while its enemies are inescapably its victims and therefore morally above reproach.

BLOOMBERG Editorial Board: If Trump Wants New Iran Talks, He Needs New Goals Too In calling for longer “sunset” provisions, the president is about to repeat his predecessor’s biggest mistake.

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The Jewish “extremists” of Yitzhar. How many “extremists” do you know donating their kidneys to total strangers?

Posted on September 13, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

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Reform Movement “condemnation of Trump and the implication that all people of faith are bound to oppose him creates a toxic mix of partisanship and religion”

Posted on September 12, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Reform launches a political war in time for the High Holidays
by Jonathan Tobin
September 12, 2019

It turns out that the Jewish community didn’t need to wait until the synagogues were packed for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in order to gauge the amount of political rhetoric that American rabbis were going to deploy in their High Holiday sermons. The Reform movement of Judaism has already stolen a march on the rest of the Jewish world with a statement issued earlier this month condemning President Donald Trump. In a blog post on the website of the Union of Reform Judaism signed by the leaders of all 12 institutions associated with the denomination, the movement made it clear that it considers Trump beyond the pale in ways that even transcend the sort of liberal partisanship that is normally associated with Reform Jews. READ MORE

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“Given Linda Sarsour’s record, her claim that she supports Bernie Sanders because of rising anti-Semitism in America is irony thick enough to cut with a chainsaw”

Posted on September 12, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

FEDERALIST
Warren Mimics Bernie’s Promotion Of Anti-Semite Linda Sarsour To Campaign Surrogate
by Warren Henry
September 11, 2019

Personnel is policy, or so the saying goes. So it is troubling that the two leading left-wing presidential candidates—Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren—are empowering people who at best hate Israel and support the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement intended to destroy the Jewish state. Over the weekend, Sanders tweeted a video identifying Linda Sarsour as a campaign surrogate...More broadly, Sarsour has asserted anti-Semitism is “different than anti-black racism or Islamophobia because it’s not systemic.” This is news to anyone who has spent more than a moment studying the subject. READ MORE

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“Over the past year, more than a dozen Jewish-American professional ballplayers have obtained Israeli citizenship under the nation’s Law of Return”

Posted on September 12, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

WALL STREET JOURNAL
Israel’s Baseball Team: Now Starring Actual Israelis
by Jared Diamond
September 10, 2019

…Buoyed by that unexpected success, Israel now hopes to earn a spot in the Tokyo Olympics next year, with baseball returning to the program for the first time since 2008. Unlike the WBC, the Olympic Charter requires all athletes to be a national of the country they represent—a problem, since only about 1,000 people play baseball in Israel. So Israel found a solution: Over the past year, more than a dozen Jewish-American professional ballplayers have obtained Israeli citizenship under the nation’s Law of Return, a process known as making aliyah—Hebrew for “ascent.” READ MORE SUBSCRIPTION CONTENT

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Is Pakistan Preparing to Recognize Israel?

Posted on September 12, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

HAARETZ
Israel Would Welcome Ties With Pakistan. Should India Worry?
by Efraim Inbar
September 10, 2019

According to an op-ed in Haaretz this week, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his military supporters are allowing a highly-censored media unprecedented freedom to discuss the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. Such a public debate is not new. The highest-ranking Pakistani politician who advocated open diplomatic ties with Israel was the military dictator Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 2003. Over the past two decades he has urged his country to initiate such a diplomatic move. Nowadays, it seems the once-taboo subject of reassessing the position on the Jewish state is more than ever part of mainstream discourse. READ MORE

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“The 30-year old Avi Berkowitz plainly lacks the heft Jason Greenblatt – though an international affairs novice, he was a veteran, seasoned attorney and negotiator – brought to the table”

Posted on September 12, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

JEWISH PRESS
Enter Avi Berkowitz
Editorial Board
September 11, 2019

…It is no secret that while the Trump Administration is ready to go, the Palestinians have rejected the plan out of hand by virtue of the plan’s reputed abandonment of a two-state solution with a divided Jerusalem and an overarching emphasis on Palestinian economic development. So, unless there is to be a fundamental rethinking of Trump’s core thinking, of which there is nary a sign, it is hard to believe that there is any real substantive role for Kushner and Berkowitz to play.  READ MORE

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