“By moving America’s embassy to Jerusalem, the U.S. confronts the bigoted double standards of the international community” [VIDEO]

Posted on December 11, 2017 by ArchitectGuy

NATIONAL REVIEW
Donald Trump Strikes a Blow against International Anti-Semitism
by David French
December 6, 2017

President Trump’s decision to formally recognize that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and to announce plans to move America’s embassy to the seat of Israel’s government is one of the best, most moral, and important decisions of his young administration. On this issue, he is demonstrating greater resolve than Republican and Democratic presidents before him, and he is defying some of the worst people in the world. Think I’m overstating this? Think I’m too enthusiastic about an isolated diplomatic maneuver — especially when that maneuver, to quote the New York Times, “isolates the U.S.” and “has drawn a storm of criticism from Arab and European leaders”? Let’s consider some law, history, and context. READ MORE

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Trump’s first White House Hanukkah Party [VIDEO]

Posted on December 11, 2017 by ArchitectGuy

TIMES OF ISRAEL
At White House Hanukkah party, Trump celebrates his Jerusalem decision
by Eric Cortellessa
December 8, 2017

US President Donald Trump strode onto the stage at the White House Hanukkah Reception with a particular air of confidence on Thursday night. “Well, I know for a fact there are a lot of happy people in this room,” he told the gathered crowd. He then paused for effect — and applause — before saying what was on everyone’s mind: “Jerusalem.” This year’s annual soiree came one day after Trump delivered on a campaign promise made by several former presidents, but never before implemented, formally recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and directing the State Department to formulate a plan for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. READ MORE

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Iran to SaudiArabia: Drop your new pal Israel and nobody gets hurt

Posted on December 10, 2017 by ArchitectGuy

WASHINGTON POST
Iran says ‘good relations’ possible if Saudis change
by Associated Press
December 10, 2017

President Hassan Rouhani says Iran is ready to restore ties with Saudi Arabia if it stops bombing Yemen and cuts its alleged ties with Israel. In a speech broadcast Sunday, Rouhani said the regional rivals could have “good relations” if the Saudis end their “misguided friendship” with Israel and halt the “inhuman bombardment” of Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is battling Iranian-allied rebels known as Houthis…Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel, but the two countries have a shared interest in countering Iran. READ MORE

ARUTZ SHEVA Saudi Arabia to open first movie theaters next year: For the first time in 35 years, Saudi Arabia allows cinemas to operate

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“The Defense Department has famously never been audited, despite receiving hundreds of billions of dollars annually and having more than $2.2 trillion in assets”

Posted on December 10, 2017 by ArchitectGuy

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
Pentagon Announces First-Ever Audit Of The Department Of Defense
by Bill Chappell
December 8, 2017

“The Defense Department is starting the first agency-wide financial audit in its history,” the Pentagon’s news service says, announcing that it’s undertaking an immense task that has been sought, promised and delayed for years. Of the tally that is starting this week, chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White said, “It demonstrates our commitment to fiscal responsibility and maximizing the value of every taxpayer dollar that is entrusted to us.” “Beginning in 2018, our audits will occur annually, with reports issued Nov. 15,” the Defense Department’s comptroller, David L. Norquist, said. READ MORE

FORBES Has Our Government Spent $21 Trillion Of Our Money Without Telling Us?

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Birthright expands program to age 32

Posted on December 9, 2017 by ArchitectGuy

WALL STREET JOURNAL
Birthright Israel Raises Eligibility Age to 32
By Ian Lovett
December 6, 2017

Birthright Israel, the organization that sends young Jews on free trips to Israel, will raise the age of eligibility to 32 from 26, widening the pool of applicants for the program meant to bolster Jewish identity and connection with Israel. Birthright was founded in 1999 amid fears that the U.S. Jewish population would shrink as more young people married outside the faith. Since then, the organization has funded trips to Israel for Jews between the ages of 18 and 26. The program has grown rapidly, from just over 9,000 participants in 2000 to roughly 48,000 participants this year, most of them Americans. READ MORE

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“Even after President Trump’s Wednesday announcement, U.S. passports for citizens born in Jerusalem won’t say they were born in “Jerusalem, Israel,” but instead just “Jerusalem””

Posted on December 9, 2017 by ArchitectGuy

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
US passports won’t reflect Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
by Joel Gehrke
December 7, 2017

President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel won’t be reflected on State Department documents, including passports, officials confirmed Thursday. “There has been no change in our policy with respect to consular practice or passport issuance at this time,” David Satterfield, the acting assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, told reporters Thursday. That means for a U.S. citizen born in Jerusalem, their passport won’t say they were born in “Jerusalem, Israel,” and instead will continue to just say “Jerusalem.”READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL US Jerusalem Consulate: Americans told to avoid Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza amid fear US interests could be targeted for attacks

ALGEMEINER At State Department Briefing, Taboo Words on Jerusalem Are Finally Said Aloud

TIMES OF ISRAEL Far fewer Palestinians turn out on second day of protests over Jerusalem

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“The UN Security Council that has failed so miserably in Syria, now sits in judgment against Israel, a country that has actually saved thousands of Syrians, ostensibly their enemies”

Posted on December 8, 2017 by ArchitectGuy

THE TOWER
If Israel Were a Normal Country
by David Gerstman
December 8, 2017

If Israel were a normal country, having the United States place its embassy in its capital city would not be newsworthy. If Israel were a normal country, that its negotiating partner regularly threatens violence would stir up outrage. If Israel were a normal country, the fact that its enemies hijack international organizations in order to deny its history would offend any fair-minded individual….But Israel is not a normal country. Today, the United Nations Security Council is meeting to discuss what the Palestinian Authority calls an “extremely dangerous situation, which constitutes a threat to international peace and security.”  READ MORE

JERUSALEM POST Melanie Phillips: A historic watershed shames Britain and Europe

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“Judge orders arrest of Cristina Kirchner for cover-up of Iranian involvement in bombing of Jewish center that killed 85 people”

Posted on December 7, 2017 by ArchitectGuy

ARUTZ SHEVA
Argentine ex-president to be arrested over Iran bombing coverup
by Staff and AFP
December 7, 2017

An Argentine judge on Thursday ordered the arrest of former president Cristina Kirchner for allegedly covering up Iranian involvement in a 1994 bombing at a Buenos Aires Jewish center that left 85 people dead, according to a judicial source. The order also removes the judicial immunity of Kirchner, who served as president from 2007-2015 and is now a senator. She has previously called the case an “absurdity.” Kirchner is facing accusations of treason and plotting a cover-up for signing a 2012 pact with Iran that would have allowed senior Iranian officials accused in the deadly attack to be investigated in their own country, rather than in Argentina. READ MORE

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Glick: “By asserting the real basis for Israel’s legitimacy, Trump made clear that the Jewish people is indigenous to the Land of Israel” [VIDEO]

Posted on December 7, 2017 by ArchitectGuy

JERUSALEM POST
Trump’s great gifts to Israel and America
by Caroline Glick
December 8, 2017

…In his speech in Cairo in 2009, Obama intimated that Israel’s legitimacy is rooted in the Holocaust, rather than in the Jewish nation’s millennial attachment to the Land of Israel. Whereas the Balfour Declaration and the League of Nations Mandate rooted the Jewish people’s sovereign rights to the Land of Israel in its 3,500-year relationship with it, Obama said that Israel is nothing more than a refugee camp located in an inconvenient area. In so doing, he gave credence to the anti-Israel slander that Israel is a colonialist power. READ MORE

NEW YORK TIMES Of Course Jerusalem Is Israel’s Capital

ASIA TIMES Humiliation – the only path to peace for the Middle East

WALL STREET JOURNAL Trump Recognizes That Humiliating Israel Didn’t Bring Peace

Statement On Jerusalem By Benjamin Anthony, Founder, Our Soldiers Speak

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“The Reform Movement–and 80 percent of American Jewry–has ceded sovereignty over Jerusalem to the Palestinians” [VIDEO]

Posted on December 7, 2017 by ArchitectGuy

COMMENTARY
Reform Movement Backs Palestinians against Israel on Jerusalem
by Evelyn Gordon
December 6, 2017 

That Arab and European leaders are protesting President Trump’s intent to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is no surprise. Nor is it any surprise that groups like J Street and Jewish Voice for Peace joined them. I was, however, genuinely shocked that the leader of America’s largest Jewish denomination also joined the denunciations. Until recently, any mainstream American Jewish leader would have been embarrassed to oppose U.S. recognition of Jerusalem publicly. And yet, it’s of a piece with recent decisions by non-Orthodox Hillel directors to bar mainstream Israelis from speaking on campus…READ MORE

NATIONAL REVIEW Who’s Playing Politics on Israel? “Liberals accused Trump of putting politics above diplomacy when he recognized Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s capital. Pot, meet kettle”

BLOOMBERG Trump’s Move Frees Palestinians to Focus on Peace, Not Jerusalem

THE HILL Ben Shapiro, a vocal Trump critic, continues to make the distinction between “Bad Trump” and “Good Trump”. Wednesday was a “Good Trump” day.

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