Hebron: “Following Israel’s expulsion of TIPH observer force, Palestinian activists try filling the void by launching their own patrols to document alleged Israeli settler violence”

Posted on February 14, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
In Hebron, Palestinians patrol in place of ousted foreign monitors
by Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff
February 15, 2019

Following Israel’s expulsion of an international observer force from the West Bank city of Hebron, Palestinian activists are trying to fill the void by launching their own patrols to document alleged Israeli settler violence…”By expelling the international monitors, the Israeli government wanted to hide the Israeli settlers’ and soldiers’ violations, but we will not let them get away with that,” Issa Amro, an activist leader, told The Associated Press…Yishai Fleisher, a settler spokesman, said the Hebron Jewish community is “fully against violence and vigilantism” and doesn’t condone its members’ altercation with Amro and the other volunteers. At the same time, he accused Amro of being an “instigator,” and the main source of tension between Jews and Arabs in Hebron. READ MORE

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“In an age of conspiracy theories, what chance do we have against the oldest conspiracy theory of all?”

Posted on February 14, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

WALL STREET JOURNAL
Democrats and Anti-Semitism: The problem isn’t ‘tropes’ that are ‘hurtful.’ It’s policies that aim to wipe out the only Jewish nation.
by Abigail Shrier
February 13, 2019

….That Ms. Omar would slander Israel is disturbing not because of the feelings it tramples. Since her appointment to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, her statement raises alarm about how her enmity for the world’s only Jewish country—and the world’s largest Jewish population—might translate into policy aims. The issues for Israel’s supporters are security and survival, not hurt feelings, which are trivial in comparison. Assuming that all Jews love gefilte fish, play klezmer music, and suffer overbearing mothers? Those are stereotypes. Actively working to isolate Israel and accusing pro-Israel Jews of bribing Congress isn’t “insensitive.” It’s something far darker and more malevolent. READ MORE SUBSCRIPTION CONTENT

THE NATION The Maddening, Baffling, Exhausting Endurance of Anti-Semitism
…But fighting anti-Semitism is like boxing a hydra. The scholar Deborah Lipstadt defines anti-Semitism as in essence a conspiracy theory. This makes it a very different sort of prejudice than mere disdain or closing one’s country club to Jews. Anti-Semitism is a worldview, more or less detailed depending on the dedication of the anti-Semite. Distilled to its essence, it’s a postulation of nefarious, transnational control by Jews of institutions, inspired by malevolence and cunning unique to us as a people.

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“According to local Syrian reports, Israeli tanks shelled a number of Assad regime positions in Quneitra”

Posted on February 13, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

i24NEWS
Netanyahu confirms Israel artillery strikes in Quneitra, Syria
February 11, 2019

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday confirmed Israeli artillery strikes on military positions in Quneitra, an area along the Golan Heights border, on Monday. “We are working every day against Iran in Syria, including yesterday,” Netanyahu said before leaving for a US-led conference on Middle East peace and security in Warsaw. Monday’s strikes are the first on regime positions along the Golan Heights border since mid-2018.  READ MORE

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“Sharpton refers to himself as a “reverend,” but he never attended any seminary. He has attended a different cloistered institution: prison”

Posted on February 12, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Reform Jews and Al Sharpton: Strange bedfellows
by Chris Robbins
February 12, 2019

The Religious Action Center of the U.S.-based Union for Reform Judaism has announced that its upcoming “Consultation on Conscience” leadership event will include a controversial community activist who built his career inflaming racial and religious prejudices. Al Sharpton first came to my attention in August 1991, when he helped incite a three-day race riot in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. READ MORE

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“Iran’s Islamist regime, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary today, scores highest in the world when it comes to executing people per capita”

Posted on February 12, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

GATESTONE
The 40th Anniversary of the Islamic Republic of Iran
by Majid Rafizadeh
February 10, 2019

…It therefore came as a shock to those who had put their faith in Khomeini’s radical party, that soon after its rise to power, these guaranteed protections quickly changed…The head of the Jewish community, Habib Elghanian, a businessman and philanthropist, was  executed immediately. His granddaughter, Shahrzad Elghanayan, writes that the execution had taken place “after a 20-minute trial on trumped-up charges.” His murder sent a strong message that, under the new Sharia system, other religions would not be tolerated. Rule of law was out the window…READ MORE

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“Funny thing, that. Just last December, Cory committed himself to co-sponsoring anti-BDS legislation”

Posted on February 12, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

ALGEMEINER
Cory Booker’s Jewish Enablers
by Shmuley Boteach
February 11, 2019

…Upon his rise into the Senate, however, Cory’s support for Israel has cratered…This past Thursday — less than a week into his race — Cory removed all doubt as to just how firmly he would pander to anti-Israel extremists whose support he believes he needs to secure his party’s nomination. Cory voted against a critical federal anti-BDS bill, itself designed simply to protect Israel from being brought, economically, to its knees. Known as the Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act (S.1), the act provides legal cover to state governments that seek to stymie the BDS movement. READ MORE

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The Warsaw Arab NATO: “Jared Kushner expected to reveal elements of Washington’s two-years-in-the-making Israeli-Palestinian peace plan”

Posted on February 12, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

JERUSALEM POST
Netanyahu: Israel and Arab states advancing common interest of combating Iran
by Tovah Lazaroff
February 13, 2019

Arab countries and Israel are talking about war with Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Warsaw, as he filmed a shot near a skating rink for his Facebook page. “From here I am going to a meeting with 60 foreign ministers and envoys of countries from around the world against Iran,” Netanyahu said. “What is important about this meeting – and this meeting is not in secret, because there are many of those – is that this is an open meeting with representatives of leading Arab countries, that are sitting down together with Israel in order to advance the common interest of war with Iran.” READ MORE

ASHARQ AL-AWSAT Kushner to Mobilize Support for US Peace Plan at Warsaw Conference While attention will be greatly focused on attitudes towards Iran’s behavior in the region, the US-Polish sponsored conference will also be a rare occasion for President Donald Trump’s administration to present some outlines of its peace plan between Palestinians and Israelis. The plan is expected to be announced after Israel’s April 9 elections. 

MEDIA LINE PM Netanyahu To Meet U.S. Vice President Pence At Middle East Summit In Poland Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will meet this week with United States Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the sidelines of a summit in Poland primarily focusing on Iran..Despite receiving a formal invitation, the Palestinian Authority will not be sending representatives to Warsaw amid an ongoing boycott of Trump administration officials…

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“Will Ilhan Omar make more anti-Semitic statements? Will the sun rise?”

Posted on February 11, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

BLOOMBERG
Omar Apologizes After Pelosi Blasts Her Use of ‘Anti-Semitic Tropes’
by Anna Edgerton
February 11, 2019

Freshman House Democrat Ilhan Omar, one of the few Muslims in Congress, said Monday she “unequivocally” apologizes for tweets that were condemned by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats as anti-Semitic…”Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes,” Omar of Minnesota wrote on Twitter. “At the same time, I reaffirm the problematic role of lobbyists in our politics, whether it be AIPAC, the NRA or the fossil fuel industry.” READ MORE

FRONT PAGE MAG Ilhan Omar’s Non-Apology for Her Anti-Semitism It isn’t hard to see how Ilhan Omar’s Congressional career will unfold: she will continue to repeat anti-Semitic tropes; she will blame jihad massacres on the US, Israel, and the victims; and she will continue to claim victim status when called out for her hatred. Omar is a far Leftist and a devout, Sharia-adherent Muslim; neither group is distinguished for mavericks or original thinkers. In fact, both are marked by an ideological lockstep that brooks no dissent, disagreement, or fair consideration of opposing ideas. That makes Omar’s future drearily predictable.

SIGN THIS PETITION  Remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee She blamed Jewish Money for America’s pro-Israeli foreign policy and invoked “Benjamin’s Baby” as an antisemitic trope aimed at Jared Kushner.  Enough is enough! It’s time for Rep. Ilhan Omar to be removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. 

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Why did US State Department lie about UNRWA textbooks to Congress?

Posted on February 10, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Declassified report on UNRWA accuses State Department of misleading Congress on Palestinian textbooks
by Jackson Richman
February 8, 2019

A new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office accuses the U.S. State Department of misleading Congress over recent couple years regarding actions by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, over the distribution of textbooks that promote Palestinian violence against Israel, evidence that has long been documented…According to the report, while the State Department submitted its required reports to Congress, in accordance with annual appropriations acts for fiscal years 2015 through 2017, it “included inaccurate information in all three reports.”...READ MORE

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“Chicago accounts for 82% of the corruption convictions in Illinois as a whole”

Posted on February 10, 2019 by ArchitectGuy

FORTUNE
Surprise, the Most Corrupt City in America Isn’t Washington, D.C.
by Emily Price
February 12, 2019

The most corrupt city in America isn’t where you might think. According to a new report from the University of Illinois at Chicago, the most corrupt city in the United States is Chicago. According to the report, Chicago and Los Angeles topped the list of cities with the most public corruption convictions in America. Looking at conviction numbers between 1976 and 2017, Chicago had the most at 1,731. The Central District of California was a relatively close second, with 1,534 convictions. Manhattan had 1,327, and Miami 1,165. For those who might have thought that Washington, D.C., would have taken top honors, the D.C. area actually trailed a bit behind. READ MORE

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