“Among the most powerful ingredients of a Birthright experience is the six to eight young Israelis, including Israel Defense Forces’ soldiers, who come along on every trip”

JNS
Relevant, responsive, ready: Birthright at 19, still growing strong
by Deborah Fineblum
February 22, 2019

For Birthright Israel, 2018 was nothing short of a banner year—a year that accomplished something organizers could only have dreamed of back in 1999. That’s when a few key philanthropists linked arms with the government of Israel and North American Jewish federations to dispatch a busload of college students on the very first Birthright tour of Israel. Nearly two decades later, a record 48,000-plus young Jews from 67 countries (and an additional 8,300 Israelis who travel with them) left everything familiar to spend 10 days connecting with Israel, Israelis, their Jewish selves and each other. And that brings the Birthright total to a whopping 650,000, representing roughly half of all young Jewish Americans. READ MORE

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

Antisemitism, an ancient demon reemerges in Europe: “The rise in antisemitism is occurring in step with mass migration from Muslim-majority countries”

THE ATLANTIC
European Jews Don’t Need to Be Defined by Anti-Semitism
by Ben Judah
February 21, 2019

…Both Berger in Britain and Finkielkraut in France were telling the same story—the days that European Jews could lead public lives not defined by anti-Semitism were over. We were back, not to the days of Hitler, but to the days of Benjamin Disraeli and Pierre Mendès-France, when being a Jewish public figure was a constant struggle. Not deadly, not insurmountable, just exhausting. A process of endlessly navigating an ever-mutating conspiracy theory against you. This goes just as much for figures on the left as figures to their right or in the center. READ MORE

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

DNC wants return to Iran Deal

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Democratic Party passes resolution calling for US to re-enter Iran nuke deal
by Eric Cortellessa
February 21, 2019

The Democratic National Committee passed a resolution last week calling on the US to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal, a sign that the party’s 2020 presidential candidates will run on returning America to the landmark pact from which US President Donald Trump withdrew. At the February 16 meeting in Washington, DC, the DNC adopted a motion solidifying the party’s position that US should rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is formally known, according to a text of the resolution obtained by The Times of Israel…The DNC resolution says that the Iran deal was working as intended to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. READ MORE

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

“Minnesota Rep Omar’s 5th District terrorist recruitment capital of US”

CBN NEWS
Muslim Congresswoman’s District Reported to Be ‘Terrorist Recruitment Capital’ of US
by Emily Jones
February 18, 2019

FBI statistics reveal that Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, represented by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), is the terrorism recruitment capital of the United States. According to the FBI, more Somali American men and boys from this district have joined, or have attempted to join, a foreign terror organization in the last 12 years than any other community in the US.  “Forty-five Somalis left to join the ranks of either the Somalia-based Islamic insurgency al-Shabab, or the Iraq- and Syria-based ISIS combined,” Fox News reports….Ilhan’s district is a very insular ethnic and religious community that has not fully assimilated into American society. READ MORE

HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS Forget Ilhan Omar; pay attention to her Jewish support system …But there is another part to her story. Jews….Mostly on social-media platforms, but in mainstream media outlets as well, Jews have been trying to extend her support, justify her spew and ratchet up the anti-Semitic poison. That’s right. Jews. Their ideological political stance is one that plays on anti-Semitic tropes even more than Omar. Even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recognized it, tweeting that she’s: “inspired by Jewish leadership who brought her in, not push her out, to heal.”

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

Media ignore Farrakhan’s Chicago speech blaming Jews for society’s problems

With the exception of conservative media like Fox News, Free Beacon and National Review, this story has been ignored by mainstream media (google “Farrakan” and “Chicago”). If anyone else this famous had spoken such hateful words about Blacks, Hispanics or gays — in Chicago’s United Center with thousands in attendance no less — this would be a major story.

ADL
Anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan Teams Up With Notorious Holocaust Denier at Saviours’ Day 2019 Conference
February 17, 2019

Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam teamed up with a Holocaust denier and anti-Semitic ideologue to attack the Jewish religion and blame numerous ills of modern society on Jews, during the keynote event at the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours’ Day  conference in Chicago.  Speaking before a crowd of several thousand at the United Center and an unknown number on a livestream, Farrakhan was preceded by Michael A. Hoffman II, who suggested that ancient Jewish texts are equivalent to teachings “from the church of satan.” Hoffman is a well-known Holocaust denier who has denounced belief in the “fake homicidal gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau,” though he did not reiterate those beliefs at this event. READ MORE

THE FEDERALIST The Epidemic Of Anti-Jewish Hate Crimes In Brooklyn Is No Hoax While the nation was focused on a hoaxed hate crime, Brooklyn’s Jews have been repeatedly and actually attacked. Are we not discussing it because most of the perpetrators are black? In most of these cases there is no apparent motive beyond anti-Semitism. No robbery occurs, and often the attackers — generally black men — and their victims are complete strangers.

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

The president of Germany — the country that brought us the Holocaust — has just congratulated the country that has a) denied the Holocaust and b) called for Israel’s destruction

JERUSALEM POST
German president lauds Iran on revolution that seeks Israel’s destruction
by Benjamin Weinthal
February 21, 2019

The president of Germany Frank Walter-Steinmeier sent a congratulatory telegram to Iran’s mullah regime in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in the name of federal republic’s citizens [sending] ‘Congratulations’ on the occasion of the national holiday, ‘also in the name of my compatriots.”‘ Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that the center “condemns German President’s congratulations to the most dangerous regime in the world, who are religious bigots, who hang Gays, and threaten genocide against Israel–home to the largest Jewish community in the world. When will he condemn their Holocaust denial?” READ MORE

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

“From Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Donald J. Trump, our political class is profoundly ignorant of basic economics”

THE AMERICAN INTEREST
A Failure of Pedagogy
by Irwin Stelzer
February 21, 2019

…We have Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announcing her pleasure at defeating “Amazon’s corporate greed”…The congresswoman is delighted that she and her progressive colleagues will now have $3 billion to spend on infrastructure. Where is this $3 billion? The bulk of it is the portion of the $27.5 billion in state and local revenue that Amazon would have generated over 25 years by creating 25,000 jobs over the next decade, with an average salary of $150,000 per year. No Amazon, no jobs, no $27.5 billion in taxes, no $3 billion rebate for Amazon, or for AOC. One bad mark for the Boston University economics department, unless AOC never darkened the classroom doors of its able professors to avail herself of this basic math. READ MORE

Posted in Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Australian Prime Minister steps up for Israel: “In the past, we had abstained on these UN resolutions. Not anymore. And not on my watch going forward”

J-WIRE
Prime Minister Scott Morrison tell parliament “Israel’s light is now a beacon of democracy in the Middle East”
February 19, 2019

The UN General Assembly is now the place where Israel is bullied and where anti-Semitism is cloaked in language about human rights. Think about it: a nation of immigrants; with a free press; parliamentary democracy; financially prosperous; the source of innovation in the world; and a refuge from persecution and genocide, is somehow now the centre of cruelty in the world, according to some in the UN. That is intellectual fraud…Last year, at my direction, Australia opposed six resolutions that attacked Israel in the UN General Assembly. In the past, we had abstained on these resolutions. Not anymore, and not on my watch. My Government will not turn a blind eye to an anti-Semitic agenda masquerading as defence of human rights in the UN. READ MORE

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

“Amid anger over murder of teen in Jerusalem, security cabinet backs implementation of law to deduct amount equal to PA payments to attackers and families”

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Ministers approve slashing $138 million from Palestinians over terror payments
by Staff
February 17, 2019

The security cabinet on Sunday approved the implementation of a law to cut over half a billion shekels in funds to the Palestinian Authority over its payments to terrorists and their families. Applying the law has faced opposition from the security establishment, who worry it could destabilize the situation in the West Bank…Senior Palestine Liberation Organization official Ahmed Majdalani accused Israel and the United States, which has cut hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian aid, of an attempt at blackmail. “The occupation government is seeking to destroy the national authority in partnership with the US administration of Donald Trump”… READ MORE

JNS Palestinian ‘pay-for-slay’ policy will go on, despite Israel’s new law With or without the funds to keep Palestinian Authority civil society afloat, the terrorists will continue to be in clover.

MIDDLE EAST MONITOR EU slams Israel’s deduction of $138m of PA tax revenues Speaking to the Voice of Palestine radio station, the EU Communication Officer Shadi Othman slammed the Israeli government’s decision and stressed that the EU emphasised the need for Israel to respect the agreements signed with the Palestinians and refrain from taking unilateral actions.

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

“Israel’s first trip to the Moon, bringing the country’s flag to Earth’s satellite, also the first private mission to the lunar surface”

THE VERGE
Israeli spacecraft poised to become first privately funded lander on the Moon
by Loren Grush
February 19, 2019

On Thursday evening, SpaceX is scheduled to launch another Falcon 9 rocket from Florida, but this time, the vehicle will be carrying a payload it’s never transported before: a spacecraft bound for the Moon. One of the three payloads on the rocket is an Israeli-made lander that will travel through space over the next two months and then try to land on the lunar surface. If the touchdown is a success, it’ll be the first time that a vehicle made with mostly private money has ever landed on the Moon or any other planetary body. The lander is called Beresheet, the Hebrew word for “Genesis,” and it’s the creation of an Israeli nonprofit called SpaceIL. READ MORE

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