“The persistence of the pro-Palestinian movement suggests it still has the capacity to do damage in swing states like Michigan, which has large populations of Arab American voters”

JERUSALEM POST
Neo-Nazism, Islamism: Who is Imam Asad Zaman, hosted by Tim Walz?
Mathilda Heller
August 12, 2024

Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’s new running mate in her presidential campaign, has hosted an extremist Islamist Imam Asad Zaman on several occasions, the Washington Examiner first reported over the weekend. Walz hosted Zaman three times in 2019, once in 2020, and again in 2023, among others, the Washington Examiner reported. The Washington Free Beacon found last week that Walz appeared alongside an antisemitic scholar at a conference called “Challenging Islamophobia,” hosted by CAIR in 2019. The Washington Examiner revealed Friday that Walz has also donated $100,000 to the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, a non-profit headed by Asad Zaman. According to court records, the Muslim American Society was once described as “the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States.” READ MORE

MONDOWEISS [AN ANTI-ISRAEL SITE] Minnesota activists criticize Tim Walz for refusing to meet with Palestinians Walz has never, not once, decided to sit down to meet with a Gazan family. He’s refused all attempts to sit down and talk to any of us, and he has refused to meet with a single mosque here in Minnesota about what’s happening in Gaza. But on the flip side, he rushed immediately after October 7 to go to the synagogues, to go to a stand with Israel rally, to order flags be flown at half-staff in honor of the Israeli victims.

POLITICO Harris faces an ‘uncommitted’ quandary of her own Vice President Kamala Harris won’t be able to escape the protesters demanding a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war that have dogged her and President Joe Biden for months. Harris faced off with a small group of protesters at her rally Wednesday in Dearborn, Michigan, a scene that made clear that critics of U.S. policy in the Middle East are only partially satisfied with the change at the top of the Democratic ticket…

DEFENSE NEWS US approves $20 billion weapons sale to Israel amid regional tensions The U.S. has approved $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, including scores of fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles, the State Department announced Tuesday. Congress was notified of the impending sale, which includes more than 50 F-15 fighter jets, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, 120mm tank ammunition, high explosive mortars and tactical vehicles…The contracts will cover not only the sale of 50 new aircraft to be produced by Boeing, but will also include upgrade kits — new engines and radars, among other upgrades — for Israel to modify its existing fleet of two dozen F-15 fighter jets.

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

Noting a need, these four medical professionals left their practices behind and took their ‘vacation’ to volunteer in Israel and help where they could

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Foreign doctors answer the call to help in Israel’s hospitals and rehab centers
Diana Bletter
August 10, 2024

Retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Robert Ezenauer had never been to Israel and it was on his bucket list. So, when the 70-year-old pediatric ophthalmologist heard through a friend that Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba was looking for an ophthalmologist to fill in for two weeks to replace doctors who had been called up for reserve duty, he volunteered. “I just thought, it’s a way I can support Israel and help out kids,” Ezenauer told The Times of Israel. He had been a battalion surgeon for the US Special Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and also operated on children during the wars in both countries. “Helping kids is what I like to do,” he said. READ MORE

Posted in Israel & Middle East | Leave a comment

Trudeau’s government “on a campaign to kill off pro-Israel and pro-Jewish charities”

TORONTO SUN
Trudeau government unfairly targets two Jewish charities
Warren Kinsella
August 12, 2024

In Trudeau’s Canada, some charities seem to be more equal than others…This week, the Trudeau Liberal government published notices revoking the charitable status of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the Ne’eman Foundation. The JNF has branches in the United States and the United Kingdom, and has been active in Canada for 123 years. Among other things, it plants trees in Israel, builds infrastructure like dams and reservoirs, and creates parks. Its Canadian chapter helped build a 1,700-acre park in Israel, for instance, one that is used by Jews and non-Jews alike. As parks are. READ MORE

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

Columbia University deans and president failed miserably, “showing contempt for the Jewish community”

JNS
Minouche Shafik resigns as Columbia president citing ‘period of turmoil,’ ‘toll on my family’
August 14, 2024

Citing a “period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community” that has taken a “considerable toll on my family,” Minouche Shafik announced on Wednesday that she is stepping down, immediately, as president of Columbia University. “I am making this announcement now so that new leadership can be in place before the new term begins,” she wrote. She added that at the request of the U.K. foreign secretary, he next job will be to chair “a review of the government’s approach to international development.” Under Shafik’s leadership, Columbia’s campus became a place that Jewish faculty and students have said is rife with Jew-hatred and unsafe for Jews. READ MORE

JNS Three Columbia deans who ‘touched on ancient antisemitic tropes’ resign Three deans at Columbia University, who the university’s president said exchanged  messages that “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes,” have resigned, The New York Times reported on Aug. 8, adding that a fourth, who participated “to a lesser extent,” remains in his job. “About time. Actions have consequences, and Columbia should have fired all four of these deans months ago,” stated Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee..

ASSOCIATED PRESS Judge dismisses antisemitism lawsuit against MIT, allows one against Harvard to move ahead A federal lawsuit accusing Massachusetts Institute of Technology of tolerating antisemitism after the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel has been dismissed while a similar one against Harvard University can continue.

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

“We should not forgive the leaders of the protest movement for politically exploiting the hostage families after October 7”

JPOST
The protest movement is weaponizing the hostage crisis
Benjamin Anthony
August 14, 2024

Internal Israeli discord was on full display before October 7. White hot rallies surrounded judicial reform. Sufficiently complacent about the security of their state, too many Israelis designated their fellow citizens as their mortal enemies – a luxury no Israeli has any right to indulge in. Hamas took the temperature of the Israeli street and struck a blow from which it will take Israel generations to recover. Israelis responded with a simple cris-de-coeur: unity! Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, both opposition members and former IDF chiefs of staff, joined the war cabinet as minister and observer, respectively. Reservists flooded bases in unprecedented numbers. Protests largely paused, and where they did take place, they focused on the urgent need to retrieve all of the 251 hostages kidnapped into Gaza. READ MORE

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | 1 Comment

Blacklisting Chicago therapists for being Zionist

FREE PRESS
Inside the Campaign to Blacklist ‘Zionist’ Therapists
Sally SateL
August 12, 2024

In March of this year, a therapist on a professional listserv in Chicago passed on a request by a potential patient seeking a therapist who was “a Zionist,” because the patient was dealing with feelings about the “current geopolitical climate.” Many mental health practitioners rely on such online groups to make and accept referrals for patients. It’s common for the request to indicate a preference for a therapist of a particular ethnicity, gender, religion, or age range. But what happened after this request was made on the Facebook group Chicago Anti-Racist Therapists was not at all common. When therapists responded by putting their names forward on the listserv, one member took action. She announced to the group: “I’ve put together a list of therapists/practices with Zionist affiliations that we should avoid referring clients to.” READ MORE

JTA A popular Belgian author wrote he wanted to ‘ram a sharp knife’ through every Jew he meets. He says it was satire. An influential Belgian author is being sued by the European Jewish Association after he wrote that Israel’s bombing of Gaza made him want to “ram a sharp knife through the throat of every Jew” he meets. Herman Brusselmans, a popular novelist and public intellectual who appears regularly on television, sparked turmoil in Europe’s Jewish community with his weekly column in the Belgian magazine Humo on Sunday.

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

Memo to America: “Major war would affect the life of every American in ways we can only begin to imagine.”

JERUSALEM STRATEGIC TRIBUNE
America the Unprepared
Michael Mandelbaum
August 2024

…The second source of danger is the rapid, ongoing change in militarily relevant technology, specifically the digital revolution and the remarkable recent progress in artificial intelligence. A country that lags behind in making use of these technologies in battle will lose to a country on the cutting edge. Because the pace of technological transformation is so rapid, even in areas where the United States has a lead over other countries – and the report suggests that in some of them China may already have overtaken America – that advantage is precarious. To make matters even more dangerous, modern technology in the hands of an enemy can have a devastating impact on the American homeland. According to the Commission, a cyberattack on critical infrastructure could affect “the availability of power, water, wastewater, and the systems that underpin economic, transportation, and financial systems. Access to critical minerals and goods needed to run the U.S. economy and build weapon systems would be completely cut off.  READ MORE

To read “Commission on the National Defense Strategy” issued last month by Congress, click here.

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

US Secretary of Defense speaks to Defense Minister Gallant, updates him on US F-22 Raptors that arrived in the Middle East amid tensions with Iran and Hezbollah

ARUTZ SHEVA
Austin updates Gallant on F-22 deployment
Elad Benari
August 9, 2024

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday and updated him on the F-22 fighter jets that the US had deployed to the Middle East. “I called Israeli Minister of Defense Gallant today to brief him on US force posture adjustments and reinforce my ironclad support for Israel’s defense,” wrote Austin in a post on social media site X. “The US F-22 Raptors that arrived in the region today represent one of many efforts to deter aggression, defend Israel and protect US forces in the region. I also stressed the importance of concluding a ceasefire deal in Gaza that releases the hostages,” he added. READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL Security cabinet convenes as Israel warns Hezbollah of ‘destruction’ if it attacks  The security cabinet convened Thursday night in Tel Aviv, as the country continued to brace for a potential attack by the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon. The cabinet met in the underground command room of the Kirya military headquarters, Hebrew media reported, the first time such a meeting has been held there since the night of April 13-14, when Iran launched some 300 missiles and drones at Israel, almost all of which were intercepted.

JNS Israel estimates Hezbollah will strike before Iran Israel remains on high alert for potential attacks by Iran and its regional terror proxies, with the security establishment assessing that Hezbollah will strike first. Both the Islamic Republic and its Lebanese terror army have vowed revenge for the targeted killings last week of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and senior Hezbollah official Fuad Shukr in Beirut…Meanwhile, Tehran is reportedly reconsidering its level of response against the backdrop of warnings that Israel will counter-attack strongly, Politico reported on Wednesday.

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

VP Harris indicates she’s open to discussing arms embargo against Israel

BREITBART
Kamala Harris ‘Open’ to Discussing Arms Embargo on Israel in Exchange for Michigan ‘Uncommitted’ Votes
Joel Pollak
August 7, 2024

Before her rally in Detroit, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke briefly with the co-founders of the Uncommitted National Movement, which mobilized tens of thousands of voters in Michigan to withhold their votes from President Biden in the primary earlier this year over his support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Abbas Alawieh and Layla Elabed said they were in the welcoming line for Harris and Governor Walz, and communicated to Harris that they wanted to support her but that voters wanted her to consider an arms embargo to immediately stop the carnage in the besieged enclave. The leaders asked to meet with her about the embargo request, and she indicated she was open to it, and introduced the two leaders to her staff. READ MORE

JERUSALEM POST Harris campaign denies support for Israeli arms embargo The Harris campaign said in a statement that Harris reaffirmed “that her campaign will continue to engage with those communities,” an aide said.

JNS Caroline Glick: Israelis accept the breach in relations with the Biden administration
They are becoming increasingly aware of the central role it is playing in the effort to demonize and criminalize the nation, its leaders and its soldiers. Last week’s poll shows definitively that after 300 days of war, the Israeli public maintains its unswerving resolve to see the war through to victory. It is willing to pay whatever price is required to defeat its enemies and understands that there is no diplomatic solution to military problems, only military solutions.

JEWISH INSIDER Pro-Israel group struggling to gain permit to rally at DNC — while pro-Palestinian groups got green light The City of Chicago has been sitting on a request from the Israeli American Council to hold a solidarity march during the Democratic National Convention. But with just under two weeks remaining until the convention, the IAC has yet to receive an answer from the city, despite following up via phone and email.

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

“Radical Democrats are energized by Harris’s progressive veep pick. That’s a problem for the party”

FREE PRESS
All the Wrong People Are Celebrating Tim Walz
Eli Lake
August 7, 2024

…On the surface, the snubbing of Shapiro, who looked like a lock for the vice president slot going into the weekend, is about Israel. A noisy fringe of the Democratic Party threatened to stay home altogether to protest President Biden’s policy on aiding Israel after it was attacked by Hamas on October 7. Last month, this same crowd mobilized to tar Shapiro as “genocide Josh,” creating a website and flooding social media with attacks on his record, which went as far back as a pro-Israel column he wrote for his college newspaper when he was 20 years old. (An op-ed that he sorta kinda apologized for when he said his views had evolved from his college days.) READ MORE

NEW YORK POST Van Jones says Kamala ‘caved in’ to ‘anti-Jewish bigots’ with Walz pick, claims antisemitism ‘marbled into’ Democratic Party CNN commentator Van Jones suggested Tuesday that antisemitism in the Democratic Party influenced Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision not to choose a Jewish running mate in Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

BABYLON BEE Democrats Worried Choosing Jewish Vice President May Cost Them The All-Important “Death To America” Vote After hearing Josh Shapiro might be Kamala Harris’s pick for Vice President, Democrats worry his name on the ticket might cost them the all-important “Death To America” vote. “I think Josh is very qualified to be Harris’s VP pick,” Chuck Schumer told the press over the weekend. “I do worry he might discourage those wishing to obliterate the U.S. and wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. We really need those votes.”

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