“Iranian authorities have sentenced Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer, to 148 lashes and 33 years in jail”

Posted on March 12, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

AL JAZEERA
Amnesty: Sentencing of Iran lawyer Sotoudeh ‘outrageous’
March 12, 2019

Amnesty International has condemned the sentencing of prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and women’s rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh, calling it “outrageous injustice”. Sotoudeh, who has been in Tehran’s Evin prison since last June, was sentenced to 148 lashes and 33 years in prison on Monday. In 2016, she was sentenced in absentia to five years in a separate trial. “It is absolutely shocking that Nasrin Sotoudeh is facing nearly four decades in jail and 148 lashes for her peaceful human rights work, including her defence of women protesting against Iran’s degrading forced hijab [headscarf] laws,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International…READ MORE

Posted in Islam, Israel & Middle East | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“AIPAC has finally realized that they cannot ignore half-a-million people living in Judea and Samaria”

Posted on March 11, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

JERUSALEM POST
AIPAC to host first settler leader at U.S. policy conference
by Tovah Lazaroff
March 11, 2019

In what settlers hold is a historic first and a sign of the settlement movement’s growing acceptance among US Jewry, AIPAC has invited a representative of the YESHA Council to speak at its annual foreign policy forum in Washington DC later this month. The bi-partisan American Israel Public Affairs Committee is flying YESHA Council foreign envoy and Efrat Council head Oded Revivi to Washington to participate in a side panel at the conference called “Catch 67: The Left, The Right, and the Legacy of the 6-Day War.” AIPAC downplayed Revivi’s invitation, explaining that “at every policy conference, we have scores of speakers from across the political spectrum – including those with diverse views on settlements – and this year is no different.” READ MORE

Curious about Judea and Samaria ? Coming to AIPAC ? Join us !
The YESHA Council invites you to the 4th Annual Judea & Samaria AIPAC Reception (not an AIPAC event). Join Lazer Lloyd, Eve Harow and Yishai Fleisher at the museum of the Bible 400 4th St SW, Washington, DC 20024, Sunday March 24, 2019 at 8:00pm

There is no cost to attend the reception. Kosher soup and sushi will be available.
Click here for more information and free registration

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“I don’t doubt that Alan Dershowitz, Mort Klein, and other prominent Jewish leaders believed they could influence #Qatar to stop funding terrorism and recognize Israel’s right to exist”

Posted on March 11, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR
Qatar’s Image Makeover Isn’t Kosher
by Paul Miller
March 1, 2019

Earlier this month in Washington, a conference on “Qatar: U.S. Ally or Global Menace?” was so secretive due to security concerns that the carefully selected attendees only learned of the event’s location 48 hours in advance. Arranged by the Philadelphia think tank Middle East Forum, the conference was co-sponsored by approximately twenty organizations, including the public policy group I serve as president, Haym Salomon Center….Back in June 2017, President Trump told White House reporters that Qatar has been funding terrorism at a “very high level.” The Wall Street Journal reports that Qatar spent $16.3 million on lobbying in 2017, up from $4.2 million the year before. READ MORE

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

“What appears to have been a woefully misguided attempt at humor turned into a national embarrassment for the Southern California city of Newport Beach”

Posted on March 10, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

NEW YORK POST
Anne Frank’s stepsister says teens in swastika photo apologized
by Associated Press
March 8, 2019

…On Thursday, the stepsister of Anne Frank visited privately with students who attended the party and described an emotional meeting in which she recounted her experiences at the Auschwitz death camp. When she was freed at 16, Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, now 89, was left with only her mother. The rest of her family perished. When the students saluted the swastika at the party last weekend, “they didn’t realize what it really meant,” she said. “They just thought it was a joke.” They apologized profusely during the meeting, which also included parents, community members and student leaders from Newport Harbor High School. READ MORE

Posted in Jewish | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“As Trump’s Deal of the Century looms, a Carter-era State Department legal opinion surfaces which gives an advantage to the Arab side”

Posted on March 10, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

ARTUZ SHEVA
US Zionists urge Trump to withdraw controversial legal opinion
by Orli Harari
March 10, 2019

With Trump’s Deal of the Century in the offing, an anti-Israel legal opinion in the State Department has surfaced, which outlaws all Israeli communities over the Green Line. CUFI, which speaks for 4 million Christians, as well as the RCA and ZOA, are urging the Administration to rescind the controversial document. The fear is that Israel will be in a disadvantageous position if the “Deal of the Century” is published and an official pro-Arab legal opinion, negating all settlements, remains intact. Pro-Israel organizations call for the opinion, also known as the Hansell memorandum, to be rescinded, while BDS organizations are relying on it. READ MORE

Posted in Israel & Middle East | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“Anti-Semitism currently comes from four groups: the left, the Islamic world, neo-Nazis and, in the United States, radicalized African-Americans”

Posted on March 10, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
How anti-Semitism became unleashed in the West
by Melanie Phillips
March 7, 2019

…Of these, the left are the most important, as they control the levers of our culture. And the left are currently both incubators and facilitators of anti-Semitism. This is why. First, many of them now subscribe to the Marxist view that life is a constant battle between the powerful and the powerless. Under this dogma, those with power can never be good; those without power can never be bad. Those who make money have power over those who don’t make money. Those who make money are bad; those without money are good. Jews make money. Therefore, Jews are powerful and bad. READ MORE

AMERICAN SPECTATOR Abraham H. Miller: Institutionalizing Anti-Semitism in the Halls of Congress And Jews will not absorb the reality that it is the Black Caucus in the Democrat Party that ran to Omar’s aid and defended her vile anti-Semitism. In the era of identity politics, at a time when Will Smith is too white to play a role, skin color is far and away more important than ideology or prior alliances. Tribalism and “minority” status are the most significant political considerations, not just in our universities but also in the halls of the Congress. This is the real consequence of identity politics and political correctness, which Jewish organizations have supported and will ultimately regret having done so.

NATIONAL REVIEW The Democratic Surrender on Anti-Semitism It turns out you can accuse Jews of controlling the world, buying Congress, and harboring dual loyalty to Israel and still be considered a heroine by much of the Democratic party. The reaction to the latest example of anti-Semitic invective from Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is a teaching moment for anyone previously unsure about how the toxic mix of identity politics, intersectional ideology, and naked partisanship could lead to a major American political party deciding that hate- mongering from one of its members wasn’t deserving even of a slap on the wrist.

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

“Illinois’ business tax climate would rank ahead of only California and New Jersey under a progressive tax. Hurt small businesses, and you hurt the jobs market”

Posted on March 10, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

ILLINOIS POLICY
Pritzker ‘fair tax’ would drop Illinois business climate to 48th in nation
by Joe Barnas
March 12, 2019

Under Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s progressive tax proposal, Illinois’ business tax climate ranking would plummet to 48th in the nation, beating out only California and New Jersey on the nonpartisan Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index. That index measures state tax competitiveness and structure. It is especially concerning for Illinoisans seeking work, given that small businesses create nearly two-thirds of the state’s new jobs. “Were Pritzker’s proposal adopted, Illinois would trail its peers in just about every aspect of its tax code,” the Tax Foundation wrote. Illinois ranks 36th for its business tax climate without the progressive tax. READ MORE

CHICAGO TRIBUNE How Pritzker’s tax proposal sets up a pricey cliff and penalizes marriage When it says that the top rate would be 7.95 percent on net income over $1 million, you would expect that rate to apply to just the extra dollars of income above the $1 million mark. But that’s not how this proposal would work. For example, if net income goes above the $1 million threshold by just one dollar, that dollar plus the entire $1 million of income that would have been in the lower brackets, all gets pushed into the top bracket, where all of it would be taxed at 7.95 percent.

Posted in Politics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“In recent weeks, signs are growing of an imminent explosion in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as the Israeli elections in April draw near”

Posted on March 8, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

JERUSALEM CENTER FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Jordan and the Palestinian Authority Seek to Sabotage the Trump Peace Plan
by Yoni Ben Menachem
March 6, 2019

…Meanwhile, at the Gaza border and in the West Bank there are worrisome signs of escalation, and an outbreak on the Temple Mount could ignite these on a wide scale. Therefore, the order of the day is to calm the furies on the Temple Mount, which is of a sensitive religious nature for every Muslim. On the Gaza border, the “night confusion” units have been active again, attacking IDF soldiers along the border fence in the nighttime hours. Explosive-balloon and arson-balloon attacks on the Israeli communities along the border have resumed as well READ MORE

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Leave a comment

Thomas Friedman and Ilhan Omar agree: We both don’t like AIPAC

Posted on March 8, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

JEWISH JOURNAL
Thomas Friedman Gets AIPAC Wrong
by David Suissa
March 8, 2019

…Apparently, in [Thomas] Friedman’s fantasy world, there’s no end to Aipac’s power. If only Aipac had taken on Netanyahu, if only they had attacked his right-wing policies that have resulted in “tens of thousands of Israeli settlers now ensconced in the heart of the West Bank,” maybe the Palestinian leaders would have come to their senses and a two-state solution would have been more likely. Never mind that there were already “tens of thousands of Israeli settlers” well before Netanyahu took office, and it was the Labor party not the Likud party that started the settlement enterprise in the first place. READ MORE

JEWISH INSIDER Responses to NYT’s “Is AIPAC Too Powerful?” Several questioned why the article retold well-reported tales from AIPAC’s past while all but ignoring the history of dual loyalty accusations and why they are problematic. Others were upset that the article featured an image of the South Florida activist donning phylacteries, something they contend was a ‘cheap ploy’ intended to portray him as something of a religious fanatic. One Twitter user also took the opportunity to complain that the ‘paper of record’ should refer to the group by its uppercase acronym AIPAC, not Aipac. But more troubling was that the story further exposed Stolberg’s eagerness to play sympathetic defender to the Democratic freshmen whom she’s supposed to be covering objectively.

JERUSALEM POST Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says AIPAC is coming after her Not only is it not official, it’s not true.

TABLET MAG Armin Rosen: How Influential Is AIPAC? Less Than Beer Sellers, Public Accountants, and Toyota A list of lobbies and their spending may surprise Congresswoman Omar and her supporters. It turns out those pro-Israel dollars are minuscule by comparison to other lobby groups…One could be forgiven for thinking that the organization under discussion was one of the biggest political spenders in America. In reality, AIPAC is a public affairs committee and not a political action committee; as a result, the group itself donates nothing to candidates or campaigns. By far the largest pro-Israel donor to political candidates last election cycle was JStreetAC, which gave entirely to Democrats.

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

“Everyone knows the name David Ben-Gurion. Why don’t we know about the spy Jamil Cohen?”

Posted on March 7, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

NEW YORK TIMES
Israel’s Secret Founding Fathers
by Matti Friedman
March 1, 2019

…Understanding that the Jews in Palestine would shortly face a war for survival against the combined might of the Arab world, a few officers in the Jewish military underground were running an ad hoc intelligence unit called the “Arab Section.” Its members were tasked with collecting information in Arab areas: How big was the local militia? What were the imams saying in the mosques? They needed people who could pass. The people who could do this did not want to be called “spies” or “agents,” names which were seen as dishonorable. Another term was needed to describe their service, and one was found in the long history of the Jews of the Arab world. READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL How Israel welcomed Jews from Arab lands — as spies A new book tells the story of Palmach’s Arab Section, and its young Mizrahi Jewish agents who gained society’s respect through their ability to cross borders undetected. “Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel,” which tells the captivating tale of Israel’s first spies, young Jewish men originally from Arab countries who could slip across borders undetected. They were part of the “Arab Section” of the Palmach, Israel’s prestate force that would turn into the Israel Defense Forces.

Posted in Israel & Middle East | Leave a comment