Atlantic “Jewish peace camp” writer observes Bibi was right: “The Middle East is not democratizing. And this means any peace Israel makes will be made with strongmen, and must be guaranteed by them, in a region the West no longer controls”

Posted on December 22, 2018 by ArchitectGuy

THE ATLANTIC
Bibi Was Right: The arc of history has bent toward authoritarianism
by Ben Judah
December 18, 2018

…Taking my lead from the late David Landau, the former editor in chief of the newspaper Haaretz, I believed that unless Israel made painful, unilateral sacrifices, all would be lost. I even felt that it was the duty of the Jewish diaspora to wake Israel up to this inevitable tomorrow. Like Peter Beinart, I advocated boycotts of settler leaders and their produce. But Bibi took the opposite bet: that ethnic and cultural change would lead to an anti-liberal backlash making [Hungary’s Viktor] Orbán, not Obama, the model for European leaders…Only watching from Jerusalem, keeping a tab on his visits and his visitors, can you see just how successful Bibi has been. READ MORE

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“According to the terms of the understanding, Russia will continue to give Israel the freedom to strike Hezbollah and Iranian targets and weaponry that threaten the “balance of power” in Syria”

Posted on December 22, 2018 by ArchitectGuy

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia join forces against Iran
by Daniel Siryoti, Yoni Hersch, Ariel Kahana, Eldad Beck, Erez Linn and Israel Hayom Staff
December 21, 2018

The Russian forces currently in Syria will take action to restrain Hezbollah and Iranian activity there, according to understandings reached by Israel, the United States, Jordan and Saudi Arabia with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Jordanian official confirmed to Israel Hayom. The understandings are the product of behind-the-scenes diplomatic talks that were underway prior to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision this week to withdraw American forces from Syria.…According to the Jordanian official, it was these understandings between Trump and Putin that paved the way for the U.S. decision to pull its forces from Syria. READ MORE

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“On its face, Trump’s announcement that he is pulling US forces out of Syria seems like an unfriendly act toward Israel. But it isn’t”

Posted on December 21, 2018 by ArchitectGuy

JERUSALEM POST
Trump’s decision to pull forces out of Syria has upsides
by Caroline Glick
December 21, 2018

…By leaving Syria, the US is abandoning Obama’s pro-Iranian policy once and for all. Further indication that this is part of a far-reaching strategic shift rather than a dangerous move by an impulsive president came with a Hadashot News report Wednesday night that senior US officials told Israel this week that Washington will align its policy towards Lebanon and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) with Israel’s position if Hezbollah receives a larger role in the next Lebanese government than it enjoyed in the previous one…The advantage Israel gains from US abandonment of the Hezbollah-controlled Lebanese government and the LAF far outweighs the blow it takes from the withdrawal of US forces from Syria. READ MORE

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“Any Israeli woman of child-bearing age who is struggling to conceive, Arab or Jew, is eligible for nearly full state funding of in-vitro fertilization treatment”

Posted on December 21, 2018 by ArchitectGuy

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
Israel booms with babies as developed world’s birthrates plummet. Here’s why.
by Dina Kraft
December 14, 2018

…The importance of having children is a focus in Israel as it is in most parts of the world, but what makes the attitude distinctive in the country’s Jewish sector is a unique combination of societal messages and policies. Foremost is a lingering post-Holocaust imperative to replace the 6 million who were murdered, but the list also includes fears of Arab demographic dominance and of the next impending war, and economic incentives from the government that include bankrolling fertility treatments, even in-vitro fertilization. READ MORE

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“That one never reads media coverage of Palestinian polls suggests that its findings are reliably inconvenient”

Posted on December 21, 2018 by ArchitectGuy

FREE BEACON
If You Like the Peace Process, Please Don’t Read Polls of Palestinians
by Noah Pollak
December 20, 2018

There is one thing that Palestine obsessives never seem obsessed with: the opinions of Palestinians. There’s no mystery here—asking what Palestinians believe exposes a fundamental problem with the liberal approach to the peace process, which is based on the belief that Palestinians are willing to live peacefully beside Israel. If such a mentality prevailed, it would be easily revealed through polling. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research conducts a quarterly poll of Palestinians that is largely focused on internal political questions but also surveys views toward Israel and peace…The latest poll is out. What does it say? READ MORE

MEMRI Antisemitic Friday sermon on PA TV: Allah turned Jews into apes and pigs; Vile traits run in their genes; Humanity cannot coexist with them. Yep, looks like the Palestinians are all set to make peace with the Jews

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Miracles and Faith in the Face of Terrorism: Father and Grandfather Speaks

Posted on December 21, 2018 by ArchitectGuy

FACEBOOK
Words from Chaim Silberstein father of terror victim Shira Ish-Ran
December 18, 2018

I would like to share with you my reflections on the tremendously tumultuous period that my family and I experienced this past week. It was marked by the two extremes of the death of our three-day-old grandson at the hands of murderous Arab terrorists, and the absolutely miraculous survival of our daughter Shira from the same attack. Shira’s husband Amichai Ish-Ran was also wounded in the terrorist shooting onslaught – surviving three bullets to his leg. Paying no heed to his own condition, he began the process of saving Shira’s life by stopping her heavily bleeding wound with his hands. A Magen David Adom ambulance medic named Betzalel Ben-Hamu, with Shira’s cooperation even as she fought off unconsciousness, continued the miracle. READ MORE

To help support the couple financially, please click here Friends of Shira & Amichai Rehabilitation Fund

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“Trump’s Syria pullout was last straw for Mattis; others may quit Pentagon”

Posted on December 21, 2018 by ArchitectGuy

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Departing Mattis said to cancel Israel trip, as Israel feels ‘betrayed’ on Syria
by Staff
December 21, 2018

US Defense Secretary James Mattis has cancelled a trip to Israel planned for next week after submitting his resignation in the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to pull US forces out of Syria, Israeli television reported Friday…The TV report described the US move as “a slap in the face” for Israel, noting that the US presence in Syria was “the only bargaining chip” in Israel’s efforts to persuade Russia to prevent Iran deepening its entrenchment in Syria… Channel 10 news reported Wednesday that Netanyahu tried in vain to persuade Trump to change his mind, and that there was tremendous “disappointment” in Jerusalem over the pullout, which is regarded as a victory for Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL Trump’s Syria pullout was last straw for Mattis; others may quit Pentagon His departure was immediately lamented by foreign policy hands and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, who viewed the retired Marine general as a sober voice of experience in the ear of a president who had never held political office or served in the military. Even Trump allies expressed fear over Mattis’ decision to quit, believing him to be an important moderating force on the president.

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“Estimated net reduction in Illinois’ population this year is 45,116 residents. Every other state in the Midwest is growing”

Posted on December 20, 2018 by ArchitectGuy

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
How bad does the ‘Illinois Exodus’ have to get?
Editorial Board
December 19, 2018

When he takes office in January, Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker will have fewer constituents than he might have expected. Unfortunately he’ll also have fewer constituents working and paying taxes to support Illinois’ state and local governments. Every time a worker departs, the tax burden on those of us who remain grows. The release on Wednesday of new census data about Illinois was alarming: Not only has the flight of citizens continued for a fifth straight year, but the population loss is intensifying. This year’s estimated net reduction of 45,116 residents is the worst of these five losing years. READ MORE

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“The US didn’t have a massive troop presence, but it still managed to keep Tehran’s weapons from the Iraq-Syria border region; now even Netanyahu can’t hide his disappointment”

Posted on December 19, 2018 by ArchitectGuy

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Trump pullout from Syria leaves Israel alone to battle Iran’s likely resurgence
by Raphael Ahren
December 19, 2018

The US administration’s planned complete withdrawal from Syria is bad news for Israel both militarily and diplomatically, experts said Wednesday, since it will be leaving a vacuum in the war-torn country that will very likely be filled by Iran. While the US military had only some 2,000 troops in Syria, mostly in the eastern part of the country, and did not actively participate in Israel’s ongoing efforts to prevent the Islamic Republic from entrenching itself there, Iran, and its Russian allies, will likely interpret the American move as an admission of defeat and feel emboldened to act in Syria as they please. READ MORE

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Nikki Haley delivers remarks on Arab-Israeli conflict at her last UN Security Council meeting

Posted on December 19, 2018 by ArchitectGuy

THE NATIONAL
Nikki Haley says US peace plan will upset Israelis as well as Palestinians
by Arthur MacMillan
December 19, 2018

The long-talked-about but as yet unpublished White House plan for peace between Israelis and Palestinians contains unprecedented solutions that can end 50 years of diplomatic failure, US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday, calling on other countries to support it. In a cryptic last address to the UN Security Council’s monthly meeting on matters in the Middle East, Ms Haley spoke about the eagerly awaited proposals of Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, saying that she had read them. “Unlike previous attempts at addressing this conflict this plan is not just a few pages containing unspecific and unimaginative guidelines,” said Ms Haley…READ MORE

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