“85 percent of South Africa’s population is Christian, and they strongly believe that a positive relationship with Israel can only be beneficial for this country and its people”

ALGEMEINER
Thousands Rally in South Africa’s Capital to Demand Full Resumption of Ties With Israel
by Ben Cohen
July 26, 2018

Thousands of South African supporters of Israel marched through the streets of Pretoria, the capital, on Wednesday, demanding the reinstatement of South Africa’s envoy to Israel, along with an end to the efforts of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to further downgrade diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. Rallying on Wednesday outside Union Buildings — the seat of the South African government — the predominantly Christian marchers, totaling around 5,000 in number, carried placards reading “SA Bless Israel” and “No Cutting Ties With Israel.” READ MORE

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Europe and its Jews

THE JC
Three Jewish papers take the unprecedented step of publishing the same page on Labour antisemitism
July 25, 2018

Today, Britain’s three leading Jewish newspapers — Jewish Chronicle, Jewish News and Jewish Telegraph — take the unprecedented step of speaking as one by publishing the same front page. We do so because of the existential threat to Jewish life in this country that would be posed by a Jeremy Corbyn-led government. We do so because the party that was, until recently, the natural home for our community has seen its values and integrity eroded by Corbynite contempt for Jews and Israel. READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL Mike Pence condemns anti-Jewish attacks in Europe Addressing religious freedom conference, US vice president bemoans French and German Jews being warned not to display their religion in public

THE TELEGRAPH ‘We no longer feel safe in Britain. Anti-Semitism is forcing us to leave our home’ Over the past four years, something has begun to happen in London. You bump into a couple who you haven’t seen for a while in the supermarket, or find yourself at a dinner party sitting next to an old acquaintance, and the conversation quickly turns to one topic: leaving. Quietly, without fuss or fanfare, Jewish people…are packing up their homes, selling up and moving abroad. And I am one of them.

NEW YORK TIMES ‘They Spit When I Walked in the Street’: The ‘New Anti-Semitism’ in France

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“The Anti-Defamation League loses sight of its mission and turns toward Democratic partisanship”

WALL STREET JOURNAL
Is Brett Kavanaugh Bad for the Jews?
by Liel Leibovitz
July 23, 2018

…Which is why it was so dismaying to see the ADL release a statement denouncing Judge Brett Kavanaugh minutes after President Trump announced his nomination to the Supreme Court….Why would a group dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism engage in this sort of partisan warfare? The answer lies with the group’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, who succeeded Abe Foxman in 2015. A former junior aide in the Clinton White House and special assistant to President Obama, Mr. Greenblatt has frequently steered the ADL into the murky waters of party politics. READ MORE SUBSCRIPTION CONTENT

FREE BEACON Anti-Defamation League Criticized for Entering Partisan Kavanaugh Confirmation Fight

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EVENT Last Call for #StandWithUs Chicago First Ever Campus Crash Course next Sunday

StandWithUs Chicago
Campus Crash Course
Sunday August 5, 2018, 10am – 1 pm
North Shore Congregation Israel
1185 Sheridan Road, Glencoe, IL

This an opportunity to strengthen your knowledge of Israel, develop the skills and confidence you seek when discussing difficult issues, and learn about students’ rights when supporting Israel on college campuses and in high schools. For the first in Chicagoland StandWithUs is offering a half day of training featuring its top experts from across the country. This program is presented on two tracks, one for students, one for adults !

$18 in Advance Only including printed materials, swag, t-shirt and a kosher lunch
Click here to register Sponsored by North Shore Congregation Israel, Moriah Congregation, Temple Chai, Northbrook Community Synagogue, Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, Temple Jeremiah, Congregation BJBE

For additional information, email Assaf Grumberg assafg@standwithus.com

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Israeli Patriot missiles bring down Syrian fighter jet

TIMES OF ISRAEL
IDF shoots down Syrian fighter jet that entered Israeli airspace
by Judah Ari Gross
July 24, 2018

The Israeli Air Force shot down a Syrian fighter jet that traveled two kilometers into Israeli airspace on Tuesday afternoon, the military said. Syrian state-run media confirmed the jet was shot down but said it was inside its own airspace. “Two Patriot missiles were fired at a Syrian Sukhoi-model fighter jet,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement…  According to Sky News Arabia, the plane crashed inside southwest Syria, in the Yarmouk Basin, an area still under the control of the Islamic State terrorist group. One of the pilots, identified as Col. Amran Mara’e, was killed when the plane was shot down. READ MORE

i24 NEWS Islamic State publishes photos said showing Syrian jet shot down by Israel The photos, published by the group’s Amaq propaganda arm and circulated over social media networks, show the charred wreckage of what the jihadists claim to be the Syrian “Sukhoi” fighter shot down by two Israeli Patriot missiles on Tuesday afternoon.

JERUSALEM POST Second David’s Sling missile fell in Syria without hitting target A second David’s Sling interceptor missile landed in Syria without hitting its target, a SS-21 Tochka tactical ballistic missile, it was cleared for release on Tuesday. Two of the half-ton surface-to-surface missiles were launched by the Syrian Arab Army Monday as part of its offensive against rebels along the border with Israel’s strategic Golan Heights.

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“#CNN reversed order of deaths in #Hamas attack, ‘manipulating’ news item to make it appear that #Israel struck first, says Foreign Ministry”

ARUTZ SHEVA
Israel blasts CNN’s coverage: ‘Stop your manipulation’
by David Rosenberg
July 22, 2018

The Israeli Foreign Ministry chastised the Cable News Network (CNN) over the weekend, after the network released a news brief which appeared to reverse the order of events in the latest clashes between Israel and the Hamas terror organizationOn Friday, terrorists operating out of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip opened fire on Israeli soldiers stationed on the border, killing 20-year-old Givati Brigade Staff Sergeant Aviv Levi. In response to the terror attack, Israeli fighter jets pounded Hamas positions inside the Gaza Strip, hitting roughly 60 different terror targets in the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave. READ MORE

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“Putin has made considerable efforts to reach out to Russian Jewish communities, both within his state’s borders and in Israel”

JERUSALEM POST
Helsinki Summit Proved Russia to be ally of Israel
by JTA
July 23, 2018

While American politicians and pundits fumed at President Donald Trump’s performance at his much-anticipated meeting this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin, lost in the clamor was one small but crucial moment: Israel emerged from Helsinki a winnerTrump’s unflinching support for Israel…is well documented. But Putin’s continuing support for the Jewish state is unexpected, especially since he backs Syria’s Bashar Assad, a war criminal whose prosaic regional interests often defy Israel’s. READ MORE

TABLET MAG Putin’s New Rules for the Golan Heights At his joint press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump following the summit in Helsinki last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a revealing comment about his intentions towards Israel’s future on the Golan Heights. “The south of Syria should be brought to the full compliance with the treaty of 1974 about the separation of forces of Israel and Syria,” Putin said.

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#ZOA: Those attacking the Nation-State Law “are attacking the very idea of the Jewish State”

ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA
ZOA Praises Israel for Passing Law Declaring Israel is a Jewish State
by Morton A. Klein and Elizabeth Berney, Esq.
July 20, 2018

…There have already been nonsensical, frightened left-wing, even anti-Semitic complaints. ZOA is compelled to point out that 83 countries have official established or preferred religions; 136 nations incorporate a religion into their national anthems; and 64 nations incorporate religious symbols into their national flags. This is historically how numerous nations operate and identify. Yet no one complains about any of these Muslim or Christian or other religion identifying countries’ establishment laws, anthems or flags. READ MORE

ABU YEHUDA Why They hate the Nation-State Law The Europeans and American Reform Jews have always been uncomfortable with the idea of a Jewish state. They dislike nationalism and conflate it with racism. But Zionism was born as a reaction to European racist Jew-hatred, and is the only answer to it (and, it turns out, to Muslim Jew-hatred as well).

THE HILL J Street can’t stand that Israel is a Jewish and democratic state On the day of its passage, J Street tweeted that the bill “was born in sin.” The so-called “progressive” lobbying group would go on to claim that “its only purpose is to send a message to the Arab community, the LGBT community and other minorities in Israel, that they are not and never will be equal citizens.”

PEW RESEARCH FORUM Many Countries Favor Specific Religions, Officially or UnofficiallyMore than 80 countries favor a specific religion, either as an official, government-endorsed religion or by affording one religion preferential treatment over other faiths, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data…Islam is the most common government-endorsed faith, with 27 countries (including most in the Middle East-North Africa region) officially enshrining Islam as their state religion.

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“After Netanyahu meets Moscow’s FM, senior official says Jerusalem insisting Iranian forces leave Syria entirely”

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Israel rejects Russian offer to keep Iran 100 km from Syrian border
by Raphael Ahren
July 23, 2018

Israel has rejected a Russian proposal to keep Iranian forces in Syria 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from Israel’s northern border, a senior Israeli official said Monday, moments after a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concluded in Jerusalem. Israel is sticking to its demand that Iran not be allowed any military foothold in Syria, the official stressed. Israel is furthermore demanding that all long-range missiles be removed from the war-torn country and that any factories producing precision-guided missiles there be shut, the official said. READ MORE

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FDA blesses The Impossible [Cheese] Burger

TABLET MAG
World’s Greatest Kosher Cheeseburger Finally Gets FDA Approval
by Liel Leibovitz
July 25, 2018

Having already sung the praises of the Impossible Burger, that magical plant-based patty that tastes and looks and even bleeds just like the real thing, I was following its travails with the Food and Drug Administration with some trepidation. For a newcomer to kashrut like myself, walking into a White Castle, say, and ordering a gooey cheeseburger that is blessed by the Orthodox Union is no small pleasure. But the patty, I knew, was still under inspection, and each lovely bite brought with it an aftertaste of anxiety about the possibility of this treat being deemed kosher but unsafe. READ MORE

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