Thursday, April 16, 2015
Dear Family & Friends,
This seems to be really good news for a change about the prospects of a Nuclear-Free Iran. The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted unanimously to give Congress the right to view any concessions, agreements with Iran regarding Iran’s Nuclear Weaponization. I hope that means Iran won’t become Nuclearized.
We shall see. As I commented within: “TRUST & VERIFY”. I see Bibi’s speech to Congress on March 3rd influencing these top influentials of America – who are on our side! Along with the American people!
Of course, I’m not just such an optimist but, I am a realist. Some days we win.
This week, this night & tomorrow here in Israel we commemorate Holocaust Day, Yom HaShoah. Tomorrow morning at 10 am the sirens will ring out all over Israel – but not with a Code Red as they did for incoming missiles during the Gaza War for more than 50 days last summer. These sirens will alert every Israeli citizen to stop whatever he or she is doing, even to stop their cars, get out and stand for the moments of silence to remember our great losses 70 years ago…And at other times in our Jewish history when Amalek, the tyrants of the passing world, come to attack us & try to annihilate us.
70 years ago marked the end of those terrible years when they succeeded in annihilating 6 million of us, 1 ½ million of whom were only children. Today’s survivors are the surviving children of that horror. Now they are elderly. The six torch lighters at today’s ceremony each had a small film about their lives & how they survived against all odds.
Go see the exhibits at Yad Vashem to try to get your arms & minds & hearts around that terrible devastating loss…especially the Children’s exhibit & the naming of the dead & the lost Jewish communities from all over Europe.
If you have the opportunity, go on one of the “March of the Living” tours that view the remains of the concentration & death camps. Or at least send your teen & twenty-something children to learn what our people suffered 70 years ago before it (the Death Camp infrastructure) all disintegrates.
Also, I think we need a prompt recognition of the pogroms against the Jews across the Arab & Muslim countries where Jews had lived for thousands of years under oppression, slavery & tyranny. We have embraced those of our people who lived as “Dhimmis” (second class citizens – sometimes slaves) in Muslim & Arab countries. Most of them were expelled from their countries of origin & 850,000 came here to Israel with nothing. We were poor in Israel then, in food, housing, jobs but, we absorbed them all & they have grown into our best communities, doing themselves, their history & us, proud! Should Yad Vashem also honor them? Maybe we need to find a wonderful way to so honor them.
Tonight I watched the Yom HaShoah commemoration. I’ve been there a few times while in Israel for certain Zionist & Media International Conferences. It is always incredibly moving & terribly sad. That sounds so inadequate for this monumental horror with which we shall forever hold in our memories – not to treasure, oh No! But, to remember. We must always remember. How shall we remember when those who were children during the horror, are now elder statesmen & women whose books of life will close in the next 10-20 years. They shall pass their stories on for us to remember – always.
Light a Yahrzeit candle (or 6) for the 6 million martyrs who died “Kiddush HaShem”.
But, don’t forget to have a memorable night & day. Hug your families & love you children.
All the very best, Gail/Geula/Savta/Savta Raba x 2/Mom
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1.’A key step in preventing a bad Iran nuclear deal’ by Senate
2.Senate Foreign Relations Com. unanimously approves congressional review of any deal with Iran
3.Congress Prevails: Iran Nuke Deal Oversight Veto-Proof After Compromises
4.U.S. CITIES ‘SECRETLY SELECTED’ FOR IMPORTING MUSLIMS
5.Possible White House contender Walker off to Europe, Israel
6.Israeli officials: “Iran is dramatically arming Hezb’Allah”
7.Muhammad’s Last Will and Testament by Citizen Warrior
8. “Iran will not acquire a nuclear bomb” with Ben Rhodes
9.Arlene Kushner: “Illegal EU Assistance to Bedouins in Area C”
10.US Ignores Linking ‘Deal’ with Russian Sale of S-300s to Iran
11.How Can Israel Occupy a “Country” that has Never Ever Existed?
12.Hamas: We bring our kids up “on love of Jihad & Martyrdom-death”
13.Arab ‘Refugees’ in Samaria Clash with PA Forces & Shut Down Highway
1.’A key step in preventing a bad Iran nuclear deal’ |
Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously backs bill giving Congress the right to reject any nuclear deal with Iran • Sen. Bob Corker: Israelis should view Congress as a friend who will do anything to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. [Try to see the 2 min. You-Tube. If you cannot, go to the Web at Israel Hayom.com]
Boaz Bismuth, Eli Leon, Israel Hayom Staff and The Associated Press
Photo credit: AP |
Republican Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tuesday
U.S. President Barack Obama bowed to pressure on Tuesday and agreed to sign legislation giving Congress the right to reject any nuclear agreement with Iran.
The White House conveyed the president’s decision shortly before Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved the bill with a 19-0 vote. It was a sign that Congress would not back down on its insistence that lawmakers must have a say if any final deal with Iran involves the eventual lifting of economic sanctions that Congress levied on Iran.
The bill is now likely to clear both houses in the Republican-controlled Congress.
Obama had threatened to veto the bill, but the White House abruptly changed course on Tuesday.
“Maybe they saw the handwriting on the wall,” the Republican leader of the House, Speaker John Boehner, said about the White House decision to drop its opposition.
International negotiators are trying to reach a deal that would prevent Iran from being able to develop nuclear weapons. In exchange, Iran would get relief from economic sanctions.
“The administration … has been fighting strongly against this,” said Sen. Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. “I know they’ve relented because of what they believe will be the outcome here. I believe this is going to be an important role, especially the compliance pieces that come afterward.”
Obama has been in a standoff for months with lawmakers who say Congress should have a chance to weigh in and remain skeptical that Iran will honor any agreement.
An earlier version of the bill sought to put any plan by Obama to lift sanctions on Iran on hold for up to 60 days while Congress reviewed the deal. The bill approved by the committee on Tuesday shortened the review period to 30 days. During that time, Obama would be able to lift sanctions imposed through presidential action, but would be blocked from easing sanctions levied by Congress.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the White House would withhold final judgment on the bill while it works its way through Congress, wary that potential changes could be made in committee that would render it unpalatable. But he said the White House could support the bill in its current form.
“Despite the things about it that we don’t like, enough substantial changes have been made that the president would be willing to sign it,” Earnest said.
Under the terms of the bill, if a nuclear deal is submitted after July 9 — a short time after the final agreement is to be reached on June 30 — the review period would revert to 60 days. The president would be required to certify to Congress every 90 days that Iran is complying with terms of any final agreement.
A Senate source with knowledge of the matter told Israel Hayom on Tuesday, “There were no negotiations between the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the White House. The White House wanted to save face when it saw it was going to lose and chose to present [the bill passed on Tuesday] as a sort of compromise. This was a major achievement for the Senate and a major failure for the White House, which exerted great effort to prevent Democrats from supporting the bill.”
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a 2016 presidential candidate, expressed disappointment that the bill did not include a clause demanding Iranian recognition of Israel, but praised the bill’s emphasis on ensuring Israel’s security.
Corker, who co-sponsored the bill with Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, told Israel Hayom that the bill would make it impossible for the White House to lift sanctions on Iran without Senate approval.
“There was no compromise with the White House,” Corker said, noting that the version of the bill passed on Tuesday was in the “exact same spirit” of the original bill.
“Congress wanted a role in the approval process for an agreement and did not want sanctions to be lifted immediately and in one go [after the signing of a deal],” Corker said.
“[Israel] should be satisfied today. You in Israel should view Congress as a friend who will do everything to not allow Iran to turn into a nuclear power.” [‘Trust but Verify’ sez Gail Winston]
Corker said the winners on Tuesday were “the American people and anyone who does not want to see a nuclear Iran.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told Israel Hayom, “The passage of the bill was a tough blow to Tehran. This is a good day for anyone who was worried about a bad deal. The final word [on a deal] has gone to Congress, and Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu’s speech to Congress was very effective.”
On Wednesday, International Relations, Intelligence and Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said, “We are definitely happy this morning. This was a diplomatic achievement for Israel thanks to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress in early March.”
Steinitz called the bill “a very important element in the effort to prevent world powers from reaching a very bad deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program. Even if the bill does not prevent a bad deal, it will at least lead to positive changed in the emerging deal.”
Meanwhile, Obama held two separate meetings in Washington on Monday with American Jewish leaders in a bid to convince them about his Iran policy and his commitment to Israel’s security. The Washington Post quoted one participant in the first meeting as calling it “positive.”
The participant said Obama was “heartfelt about his connection to Israel. [It was] very moving.”
‘A key step in preventing a bad Iran nuclear deal’ |
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| April 14, 2015 |
- 2.Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approves congressional review of any deal with Iran
- Experts: Decisive Congressional Role in Evaluating Nuke Deal Strengthens U.S. Foreign Policy
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| | In a show of bipartisanship, on Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously passed the Iran Nuclear Amendment Review Act of 2015, ensuring that the President will have to submit any final agreement with Iran for congressional review. The bill, sponsored by Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker (R-TN), and former Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-NJ), gives Congress up to a 30-day period to review any final agreement reached with Iran. During this period in which Congress decides to approve, disapprove the agreement, or take no action, the President is prohibited from waiving statutory sanctions against Iran. Just a few hours before the legislation was passed in committee, the White House reversed its position and indicated that they would sign the bill. Previously the administration insisted that they would veto it. During the hearing, Senator Corker stated “I think the reason the administration in the last two hours has chosen the path that they’re now taking, is the number of Senators that they realized were going to support this legislation.” The unanimous vote on the legislation reflects widespread public opinion: 72% of respondents in a USA Today poll released today stated that Congress should have a role in any final deal with Iran. The vote in favor of the bill is largely a rebuke of the Obama administration’s handling of the negotiations with Iran. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as well as nuclear experts have been concerned about the extent of the concessions the Obama administration has made to Iran in negotiations in the past few weeks and months including allowing the underground enrichment facility Fordow to remain open, permitting Iran to continue centrifuge R&D, and enabling the Iranian regime to continue putting off full disclosure of its weaponization efforts until after sanctions are lifted. Leading scientists including former Deputy Director-General of the IAEA Olli Heinonen and founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) David Albright have critiqued weaknesses of the framework deal and asserted that it may not achieve a one year breakout, the Obama administration’s stated goal of the negotiations. Furthermore, the understandings that were agreed to earlier this month between the P5+1 and Iran were called into question when the Iranian regime issued inflammatory statements and a fact sheet that stand in stark contradiction to the parameters released by the White House. During the hearing today, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) noted that the stakes in reaching a strong nuclear agreement are high: it determines whether there will be a “dramatic escalation of nuclear weapons proliferation in the Middle East.” Markey’s comments echo those of former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Shultz who warned that the emerging deal may have detrimental consequences because “the passions of the region allied with weapons of mass destruction may impel deepening American involvement.” The Iran Task Force, a “group of former government officials and nuclear, legal, and sanctions experts” issued a statement today supporting a “decisive” role for Congress in affirming any nuclear deal with Iran agreed to by the White House. We support bipartisan efforts to give Congress a decisive role in the evaluation of any nuclear deal with Iran. Any nuclear deal between the P5+1 and Iran is destined to affect regional stability and global non-proliferation norms for decades to come, for good or ill. It would be of tremendous importance to U.S. national security. Congress played a critical role in developing the sanctions that made the negotiations possible, and it should have a decisive say on any deal and sanctions relief to follow. Congress should have adequate time to review any nuclear deal with Iran. During a 60-day review period, the Executive Branch should be required to refrain from suspending, waiving, or otherwise reducing statutory sanctions on Iran. U.S. foreign policy is strengthened when backed by broad consensus including both the Executive Branch and Congress. Congressional consent would strengthen, not weaken, the durability of a deal with Iran. However, if Congress finds a proposed deal inadequate, it should have the opportunity to prevent any action that would undermine the sanctions architecture that it has worked to establish. To read the whole post, go to The Tower Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approves congressional review of any deal with Iran: from The TIP | |
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3.Congress to Prevail: Iran Nuke Deal Oversight Veto-Proof Following Compromises With latest compromises, Congressional oversight of Iran deal believed to be solidly veto-proof. TheJewishPress.com Published: April 14th, 2015
Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) iPhoto Credit: YouTube screen capture
Are there teeth left in the legislation guaranteeing Congressional oversight of the Iran Deal, after compromises were struck to attain overwhelming bipartisan support? That’s the question as news begins to leak out regarding back room deals to make the legislation more palatable to Democrats and thereby ensure sufficient supporters to override President Barack Obama’s veto.
There will be a final vote on the measure this afternoon, U.S. east coast time. But early morning on Tuesday the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman and a lead co-sponsor of the Iranian Nuclear Agreement Review Act, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), sounded confident that the marked-up measure would be voted out of committee by a wide margin and that it would have the necessary number of votes for the override.
Dozens of amendments were offered by Senators on both sides of the aisle, including ones intended to address the issue of Iranian funding of global terrorism and Iran’s threats to annihilate the Jewish State.
Going into the day the careful nose counters were predicting that Corker’s bill remained at least one solid vote short of the 67 necessary to override President Obama’s veto. But by early morning, Corker was jubilant.
“We have reached a bipartisan agreement that keeps the congressional review process absolutely intact, full of integrity,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
The final language will not be made available until the vote is taken at the conclusion of the SFR Committee meeting, but leaked information suggested that language which would require the President to guarantee that Iran was not supporting or carrying out acts of terrorism against Americans or the United States was amended, and that the time period allotted to Congress for review may have been shortened from the 60 days in the original bill.
“We believe the American people want Congress to understand the details on their behalf,” Corker said during a CNN interview. When asked why Congress was not giving the President’s negotiating team the time that, for example, Secretary of State John Kerry asked for to allow the team to conclude their negotiations, Corker responded that perhaps there was a misunderstanding.
“We aren’t going to be involved while they are negotiating, but when they’re finished, we want this deal presented to Congress.” Corker said it should be put before Congress prior to any lifting of Congressional sanctions being lifted. While the CNN host attempted to pushback on Congress, suggesting it was overstepping its jurisdiction, but Corker insisted that Congress’s role was essential before anything happened which affected a Congressionally-mandated sate of sanctions.
“Iran is the biggest exporter of terrorism in the world,” Corker said, “and Corker also mentioned that he believes there is language in the latest version of the bill that “addresses concerns over whether Iran should recognize the state of Israel as part of the agreement,” according to the Politico news site. The specific language Corker claimed addressed this issue was not specified.
The other language people will be inspecting with a magnifying glass deals with with when international sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear activity will be lifted. Initial reports about the framework agreed to by the U.S. and its other P5+1 partners and Iran were flatly inconsistent on when sanctions would be lifted, with Iran claiming (and demanding) that as soon as a deal was reached sanctions had to be lifted. The Americans, in contrast, said that the parties had agreed that sanctions would only be lifted once Iran was shown to have fulfilled its obligations under the terms of the deal.
In anticipation of the committee session, Corker was working closely with the ranking Democrat on the committee, Maryland’s junior senator, Ben Cardin (D-MD).
I believe this is fallout from the ring Obama has been wearing most his adult life on the marriage finger, left hand before marriage; ‘god is allah achbar; (spell.?). This ring is responsible for: ‘No boots on ground, no islamic war,1st time millions Muslim refugees immigrated to U.S.A. was in 2009 soon after 1st presidential inaugural”; Gerald Katz.
http://www.wnd.com/2015/04/u-s-cities-secretly-selected-for-muslim-immigration/
WND WHISTLEBLOWER / WND WEEKLY Bottom of Form
WND EXCLUSIVE Mon. April 13, 2015
4.U.S. CITIES ‘SECRETLY SELECTED’ FOR IMPORTING MUSLIMS
Requests for information often ignored, stymied Published: 5 days ago image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2014/06/lhohmann_avatar.jpg
LEO HOHMANN image: http://www.wnd.com/wp-content/themes/worldnet-theme/images/feed.png
Syrian refugees displaced by civil war.
image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2013/06/syrian_refugees.jpg
With Muslim immigrants streaming into the United States at a rate of 100,000 per year, some of the communities targeted for new arrivals are seeking information on their new neighbors, only to be frustrated by federal bureaucrats and their hired contractors.
How does a city get on the U.S. State Department’s list of 190 communities selected for refugee resettlement? How can cities find out who will be coming and when? What services will they use, and what will be the cost to taxpayers?
And, the granddaddy of all questions: Can the communities be assured that foreign nationals with ties to ISIS, al-Shabab and other Islamic terrorist groups won’t slip through the government’s porous screening process posing as “refugees”?
The answers to these questions are simple. Very little information is available. And there are no guarantees that some very bad apples won’t arrive in your town, says a leading expert on the refugee resettlement program.
image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/03/muslim-immigration.jpg
One community that is trying to get information right now is Spartanburg, South Carolina.
On March 16, Ann Corcoran, author of the Refugee Resettlement Watch blog, spoke at a national security summit in Columbia, South Carolina, hosted by former Defense Department analyst Frank Gaffney. A few days before that conference, on March 9, a story broke in the local Spartanburg newspaper that World Relief, one of the nine resettlement agencies that works under contract with the federal government, was planning to open an office in Spartanburg.
When an agency like World Relief opens an office in a city, it means refugees will be arriving soon. There are no public hearings or announcements in local media, Corcoran said. Typically a story will appear in the local newspaper just before or after the first arrivals appear in town.
Corcoran met some activists at Gaffney’s conference who wanted to find out more about the plans for resettling United Nations-certified refugees in their city.
“It is like pulling teeth to get any information,” Corcoran said. “And these are long-term grassroots activists who know how to get information.”
One of the activists is Christina Jeffrey, a political science professor and former U.S. House of Representatives historian who ran against Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., in last year’s Republican primary. Gowdy is now chairman of the House subcommittee on immigration and refugees.
“He is chair of this committee, and so they want to set up a refugee office in his home district, and we still can’t get any information,” Corcoran said.
Jeffrey has asked the federal government to prepare a comprehensive impact statement, detailing the impact the refugees will have on Spartanburg’s public services. Schools, health facilities, housing, the job market and public welfare programs will all be affected, but so far nobody is saying to what extent.
The mayor of Athens, Georgia, who asked for the same type of report last year, encountered the same blackout of information.
St. Cloud, Minnesota, residents have also inquired about how many more Somali refugees will be arriving in light of recent problems with Somali student protests at a local community college. Dozens of other Somalis have either left the country to fight for al-Shabab or ISIS while others have been charged and convicted with sending material support to overseas terrorist organizations.
“They’re trying to get information because residents have heard the rumor that there are 1,500 more Somalis getting ready to be resettled there in St. Cloud,” Corcoran said.
The resettlement agencies hold lots of meetings and place lots of phone calls with “stakeholders” in the targeted communities, but these collaborative efforts almost always occur outside of the public spotlight.
“The term ‘stakeholders’ does not apply to you, the taxpayer footing the bill for all of this,” Corcoran said.
According to a March 8 article in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, “a partnership of faith leaders” called Come Closer Spartanburg issued an invitation more than a year ago to World Relief to open a refugee office in Spartanburg. The March 8 article was the first public revelation of this effort even though World Relief had been working behind the scenes with “stakeholders” for a year. An initial group of 65 refugees will arrive this year, starting in April or May, from Congo, Bhutan and Syria.
Jeffrey, in a March 30 op-ed in the local newspaper, shed more light on the group, Come Closer Spartanburg, and its goals:
“On its website, Come Closer Spartanburg describes the city of Spartanburg as ‘home to what has been identified as the fifth most dangerous neighborhood in the United States. We have extremely high rates of unemployment, poverty and domestic violence. Overall, we were recently listed as the fourth most ‘miserable’ city to live in our country. It does not take long to realize that we are a city in need of transformation.”
Jeffrey discovered that the objective is to plant a “seed community” in Spartanburg that will eventually blossom and transform the city. The federal government is creating communities within communities often pitted against each other economically and culturally.
It’s the same tactic that has been used for decades in Europe.
“Looking at other U.S. cities with new refugee communities, it appears that contractors often keep sending refugees to the same place until there is a community within a community. Unassimilated communities have created problems in Europe, and we are beginning to have similar problems here in the United States (witness Milwaukee, Wis., and Lewiston, Maine),” Jeffrey writes.
Corcoran said the word “assimilation” is no longer used by the resettlement agencies and their friends in the federal government. Rather, the new buzzword is “integration.” The goal of integration is to have a multitude of diverse cultures living side by side in “coexistence” but never assimilating.
President Obama issued an executive memorandum dated Nov. 21, 2014, to all federal agencies directing them on “Creating Welcoming Communities and Fully Integrated Immigrants and Refugees.”
This sort of backroom dealing between the federal government, its hired resettlement contractors and local officials is not designed to provide information to the people who live and work in the targeted refugee cities, Corcoran said.
“They don’t like this whole idea that their town is being secretly selected,” she said. “This has been going on for over a year now in Spartanburg, and the refugees are now due to start arriving in a month or so. And these people have no information until it’s actually upon them.”
The mayor of Athens, Nancy Denson, requested a plan. The city of Spartanburg is asking for the same consideration.
“That’s what these people in Spartanburg are asking for, and they are asking that when you have a plan that you present it publicly at a public hearing,” Corcoran said. “They don’t want to have to show any of that to the public. They’re saying it’s only 65; well, it’s only 65 for the first year. It will continue to be more every year afterward once you become a seed community.”
Of the more than 500 Syrian refugees brought to the U.S. so far this past year, 90 percent of them have been Muslim, Corcoran said.
Corcoran is pushing for reform of the refugee system in America.
She believes communities targeted for resettlement should be entitled to an economic and social impact study.
“And they should put it out for review at multiple public hearings, because once the public hears this, what we find is they don’t want it,” she said. “Because they say, ‘We are struggling with our own homeless, our own mentally ill and poorly educated. Why do we need to take in other countries’ problems?”
Outside of the financial hurdles and the drain on social services, the security issue is perhaps the most troublesome for cities on the receiving end of these seedling communities.
WND reported in February that a senior FBI counter-terrorism official, Michael Steinbach, testified before the House homeland security committee and admitted that the U.S. lacks the capability to properly screen out terrorists and terrorist sympathizers from the ranks of the U.N. refugee program.
Another issue is school overcrowding and the need to pay for interpreters and tutors who can speak obscure tribal languages. A Spartanburg activist was scheduled to meet with Gowdy Wednesday to discuss the impact of refugees on the local education system.
Corcoran said World Relief has been withholding basic information on its resettlement plans, such as how many refugees will be coming from what countries over what time frame and their religious affiliations.
“They’re saying Syrians, Bhutanese and/or Congolese. These World Relief lackeys our activists are dealing with on the local level are saying it’s only going to be Syrian Christians, which is BS,” Corcoran said. “Ninety percent of the Syrians coming into the country right now are Muslim. But they lie to them and tell them it’s going to be Christians. That is just not so; they don’t get to pick like that. They’re going to get the whole mix (as assigned by the United Nations), and they’re probably going to get Somalis, too.
“The bottom line here, though, is that they’re trying to get the information pulled out from everyone who is looking into this.”
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/04/u-s-cities-secretly-selected-for-muslim-immigration/#RSjL0qDzKbsbEwWR.99
U.S. CITIES ‘SECRETLY SELECTED’ FOR IMPORTING MUSLIMS
5.Possible White House contender Walker off to Europe, Israel |
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a favorite among many conservative Republicans, to visit Israel in May as he seek to bolster foreign policy credentials • Walker to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidaPhoto credit: AP Wisconsin’s Republican Governor Scott Walker |
Wisconsin’s Republican Governor Scott Walker is becoming something of a globe-trotter as world affairs loom large in the 2016 presidential contest and attention has been drawn to his foreign policy stumbles as he considers entering the race.
He’s off Friday on a weeklong visit to Germany, France and Spain, and in May plans to go to Israel, a touchstone for many U.S. politicians with presidential aspirations. Meanwhile, his political group, Our American Revival, has bulked up on staffers to coach Walker on foreign policy, a gap in his résumé.
The governor, a favorite among more conservative Republicans because of his willingness to take on labor unions in his state, has had less experience abroad than many of his potential 2016 rivals. He didn’t travel overseas at all the first two years he was governor, or in 2014 when running for re-election. In 2013, he went to China and Japan.
If he enters the race, Walker would be considered a serious contender for the Republican nomination but the field of potential candidates is crowded. Among his potential rivals are former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the son and brother of two former presidents, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is expected to launch his candidacy Monday and make foreign policy a central theme of his campaign.
On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the overwhelming favorite for the Democratic nomination, is expected to launch her campaign Sunday.
Walker faltered during a London trip in February, refusing to answer questions about foreign policy during an appearance at an international affairs think tank and dodging questions about evolution. Back at home, in an otherwise well-received speech to conservative activists, he drew ridicule when he suggested that his political fight with labor union protesters in Wisconsin helped prepare him to combat global terrorism as president.
When Walker said this week he would revoke a nuclear deal with Iran on his first day in the White House, President Barack Obama said the governor should “bone up on foreign policy.”
Walker called that remark “unbelievable.”
Walker’s trip to Europe is a trade mission, with two public events planned in Germany and the rest of his meetings behind closed doors.
“To me, if you’re doing your job well, obviously there’s a political advantage,” he told The Associated Press. “Talking about anything other than trade issues related to the state is not appropriate.
“Beyond that, if I was just on a political trip overseas, I still wouldn’t talk about that. I’m old school. I believe in that tradition when you’re on foreign soil you shouldn’t be talking about foreign affairs,” he said.
That tradition is commonly understood to mean that U.S. politicians, while abroad, do not criticize U.S. foreign policy or the president, not that they decline to discuss international affairs.
Walker met British Prime Minister David Cameron in his London trip. Walker said the focus of his first visit to Israel will be to get a better understanding of the issues facing the Middle East by meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials.
Netanyahu, who has repeatedly criticized the emerging U.S. deal with Iran to curb that nation’s nuclear program, has become a favorite of many Republican politicians.
Possible White House contender Walker off to Europe, Israel
6.Israeli officials: “Iran is dramatically arming Hezb’Allah”
Senior officials say that according to new information, Iran is operating restlessly in recent weeks, to arm the Shiite organization at the Golan forefront. The objective: A large-scale military confrontation with Israel. US: Disapprove of Russia’s decision to sell Iran S-300 missiles.
Apr 13, 2015, 08:45PM | Ateret Horowitz
“Iran is dramatically arming Hezb’Allah.” Reuters/Channel 2 news
The nuclear deal: A beginning of an arms race in the Middle East? Israeli officials have warned tonight (Monday) that Iran has increased their efforts to arm Hezb’allah, during the past few weeks. According to the officials, the objective of the massive arming is a potential large-scale military confrontation with Israel.
Furthermore, new intelligence information reveals that Teheran is gearing up against Israel on all fronts – Iranian delegations have arrived at the Gaza Strip, additional battleground have been establishment in the Golan Heights and attempt are being made to arm Hamas members in the West Bank.
The officials addressed the issue as a result of Vladimir Putin’s decision to lift the embargo on selling the S-300 advanced missile system to Iran. The S-300 is the most advanced anti-aircraft system, which is perceived by Israel as a tie-braking weapon that would make it very difficult to attack Iran, if such a decision would be made.
“The S-300 is a system designed exclusively for the purpose of defense,” stated earlier today (Monday) the Russian Foreign Minister, Lavrov. “It is not intended in any way to attack and is therefore not jeopardizing any of the countries in the region, including Israel.”
Despite Lavrov’s claims, the US has expressed its disapproval of Moscow’s intentions to sell the advanced missile system to the Islamic Republic. The White House said in response that the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, has expressed the American disapproval in a conversation with Lavrov.
Sources in Israel claim that by lifting the economic sanctions on Iran, it will be able to allocate billions of dollars that will be used to finance terrorist organizations that are operating against Israel, among others, such as Hezbollah and Hamas. An Israeli official said that the supply of missiles to Iran is a byproduct of the nuclear deal.
Israeli officials: “Iran is dramatically arming Hezb’Allah”
8. “Iran will not acquire a nuclear bomb” with Ben Rhodes by Ateret Horowitz JerusalemOnLine.com published Apr 06, 2015
Obama’s advisor, Ben Rhodes, told Channel 2 news this evening that if the Islamic Republic were to breach the final nuclear agreement – “all options are on the table, including a military one.” Regarding the tension between Obama and Netanyahu: “I estimate they will meet after the formation of the government.”
After Obama’s efforts last week to send pacifying messages regarding the framework agreement between Iran and world powers, his deputy national security adviser for strategic communications promised that Iran will not acquire a nuclear bomb. “Iran will not have a bomb even in 15 years,” Rhodes promised in an exclusive interview he gave tonight (Monday) to Channel 2 News.
According to Rhodes, the United States does not trust Iran, but the current deal will be able to ensure strict supervision over their nuclear activity. “The agreement encompasses strict supervision, more than in any other arms agreement in history,” says Rhodes. “Iran will not have the option to acquire a nuclear weapon.”
Along with the promise that the strict supervision over Iran’s nuclear program will deny them the ability to attain a nuclear weapon, Rhodes moreover claims that the details of the agreement will lead to significant modifications in Iran’s nuclear program. “The Arak reactor will not be allowed to produce plutonium and the remaining fuel will be sent outside of the country,” explained Rhodes.
“The Fordo reactor will not be allowed to continue enriching uranium,” he added. “They will give up two-thirds of their centrifuges, and the remains will be under the supervision of the IAEA. If they violate the deal, we will be able to know quickly and then make decisions accordingly.”
According to the senior advisor, the sanctions on Iran will be lifted gradually, and in the event that Iran was to breach the agreement, the United States will hold the option to re-impose sanctions. “The American sanctions would be removed following an executive order which could be quickly overturned if Iran breaches the deal, Rhodes stated.”
“All options are on the table – including a military one”
Rhodes added that some of the sanctions would be replaced with Security Council resolutions
that will specify which sanctions will remain, for example sanctions on acquisition of sensitive technology and sanctions on Iran’s missile program.
The senior advisor made it clear that in the event that Iran were to breach the final nuclear agreement – “all options are on the table, including a military one. If the agreement is violated, the sanctions will be immediately re imposed. If we see that Iran is violating the agreement and is seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon, we will have a year to decide how to respond – either with sanctions or through a military options.”
Will they meet in Washington? Channel 2 News
Rhodes also addressed the tense relations between the Obama administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and did not did not dismiss the possibility that the two will meet soon. “We certainly expect that once the government is formed, the two will have the opportunity to meet in Washington,” he says. “There are opinion differences between them, and when they talk on the phone it sounds just like a conversation between two individuals who disagree.”
“Iran will not acquire a nuclear bomb”
9.Arlene Kushner: “Illegal EU Assistance to Bedouins in Area C” April 14, 2015
Some months ago, I shared with my readers news about a scrupulously researched report, done by Regavim, on the issue of EU facilitation of building of illegal Bedouin settlements in Area C of Judea and Samaria.
(Area C is the region of Judea and Samaria designated by the Oslo Accords as being fully under Israeli control, with regard to both civil and security administration. All Jewish communities beyond the Green Line are in Area C. Area A is fully under PA control, and Area B is under PA civil control and Israeli security control.)
That full report can be found here: http://regavim.org.il/en/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Position-Paper-European-Building-in-Area-C-US.pdf
Last Wednesday, Regavim ran a tour – in which I participated – to the Mt. Scopus area of eastern Jerusalem and from there into Area C beyond so that participants might see the situation for themselves.
This posting is devoted to the critical situation explored in that tour.
In 2009, Salam Fayyad, who was then prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, conceived a plan for establishing a Palestinian state without having to negotiate with Israel.
Part of this plan involves establishing facts on the ground in Area C, and into the eastern perimeter of the Jerusalem municipality, without Israel’s permission.
If this PA effort – which has been ongoing – were to continue unabated, the result would be to:
[] create Arab contiguity with existing Arab neighborhoods such as Beit Hanina and Issawiya;
[] establish a wide corridor running from Bethlehem and the Hevron Hills, south of Jerusalem, to Ramallah, north of Jerusalem;
Credit: cuttingedge
[] generate a disconnect between the Center of Israel and the Jordan Valley (along the Jordan River between the Kinneret and the Dead Sea); the Valley provides an effective security barrier against threats from the east;
[] interfere with the traffic on Route 1, a key transverse artery vital for the transport of equipment in an emergency.
The goal is to co-opt areas that belong to Israel a little at a time, via de facto annexation of parts of Area C. In the process, contiguous Israeli areas would be isolated; most notably, Jerusalem would be cut off from areas to her east.
Area E1 is a region between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim, to the east.
Credit: JewishVirtualLibrary
For years, plans have been in place for Jewish construction in E1. The building hasn’t happened, however, because of international pressure; the only thing there is a police station. Today the entire Adumim region has become a major focus of the campaign originally initiated by Fayyad.
What the PA decided to do for this major undertaking was utilize (literally, make use of) Bedouin – moving them into Area C from Area A.
I was going to say the PA was doing this surreptitiously, but that is not the case. Perhaps in the beginning it was surreptitious, but now it is very “in your face.”
Traditionally, the Bedouin are nomadic herders, living in temporarily constructed tents and moving about to search for water and grazing for their animals.
Credit: Maannews Credit: Neverendingvoyage
But the Bedouin who were moved into Area C were provided first with water tanks, and then subsequently with permanent housing, solar panels and more. The water tanks represented the first step in eliminating the necessity of moving about. Once there was permanent housing, the situation of the Bedouin became just that: permanent.
The pictures below, from Regavim, show permanent structures for the Bedouin in Area C, including a water tank and an outhouse. (Apparently, outhouses were among the first structures to go up).
Two years ago, the European Union (the EU) became directly involved in this illegal process. It is hardly a secret that the EU and its constituent nation-members lean politically towards the Palestinian Arabs, and establish policies favorable to them. But the jump from calling Israel an occupier and claiming that “settlements” are illegal to actually supporting this building is qualitative, and significant.
In September 2012, the EU announced a decision to allocate 100 million Euros (roughly equivalent to the same amount in dollars) to the advancement of projects for Arabs in Area C. Seven million Euros were earmarked for “development of land and basic infrastructures in Area C.” Some of the remainder of the money is used for advocacy – defense in the courts, etc.
Similar sums have been forthcoming in the years since. And, it should be noted, NGOs that receive funds from the EU are also involved, as are some individual European nations who are members of the EU – primarily Britain and Germany.
This is very clearly not about helping poor Bedouins. The EU is not similarly assisting Bedouin in Area A. Or in the Negev, or Jordan. This is blatantly political. According to an EU document cited by Regavim:
“The European Union and Palestinian Authority are actively promoting planning and construction in Area C, which, if successful, will pave the way for development and
expansion of the Palestinian Authority’s control over Area C.”
There is a great deal that is wrong with this alarming situation.
First, it contravenes the Oslo Accords – Oslo II, the Interim Agreement, that established the areas of Judea and Samaria – to which the EU had formally served as witness.
That would be enough, but it goes beyond this.
The EU, as noted above, identifies Israel as the “occupier” of Judea and Samaria. In point of fact, Israel is NOT an occupier (a subject I visit often and will come back to again soon). Regavim notes in its report that the Levy Report determined that according to international law Israel cannot be an occupier.
But even if the EU position is accepted, there is a problem. As Regavim explains (emphasis added):
“International law clearly states that the occupying power has lawful administrative authority within the occupied areas, while preserving, as far as possible, the laws in force in those areas.
“…all entities in the area are obligated to obey the laws in force there. Violation of that law is clearly a violation of international law. Thus, violation of the planning and construction laws in Judea and Samaria by the European Union is a gross violation of international law.”
The hypocrisy of the EU in this regard is breathtaking. It is quick to point a finger at Israel, to charge her with violating international law, at the same time that it is in flagrant violation.
Area C is administered by the Civil Administration, which is an arm of the Ministry of Defense. A number of regulations regarding building in Area C are in place, involving permits and more. It is certainly not acceptable to simply come along and put up a building without official sanction.
And there is still more, for a good many of the structures that the EU has paid for have been erected on nature reserve land, which means even if permits had been applied for, they would never have been granted. Water that was intended for the wildlife in these areas is being co-opted by the Bedouin.
Add to this environmental abuse, as raw sewage flows from structures the EU has built.
One of the things the EU has done when paying for Bedouin structures, is to have stickers placed on them announcing the EU involvement. You can see such a sticker clearly on this water tank – the blue field with a circle of stars:
If you look again at the pictures above, you will be able to identify the stickers on each structure. The fact that the EU is doing this – publicly announcing their participation in an illegal action – seems counter-intuitive at first. But the EU assumption has been that identifying the structures this way provides diplomatic immunity – rendering Israel more reluctant to take them down. After all, Israel wants trade agreements and more with the EU. Why tangle with it on this issue?
In the last two years, 700 EU structures have been built in Area C; 500 have stickers.
Any one of us – Israeli or tourist – who has traveled in the Judean desert over the years, has seen small enclaves of Bedouin tents. They seemed rather harmless and pathetic. But what is astounding is how these enclaves – now comprised of permanent buildings – have multiplied recently. There are now 200 such enclaves – such as the one below – in Area C, most constructed since the EU became involved. At one point in the tour, we sat on the bus and passed by one after the other. There’s one, and then maybe 600 meters away, around a curve in the road, appears another. And then another, and another.
The video below, shot by Regavim via a drone, offers a glimpse of this situation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xEOjBOoGH0&feature=youtu.be
How did this complex and horrendous situation evolve? And how can it be remedied?
As Meir Deutsch, a Regavim official, said on the tour, The system is broken.
When it comes to demolition of buildings in Judea and Samaria, or eviction of its residents, Begatz, the High Court, must hand down an order. However, the Court relies upon the government to provide information on the situation and make recommendations. In this respect, the government has been remiss.
In 2012, the Court, with government consent, said that the Bedouin cannot be evicted from their homes until alternative homes are provided. And indeed there are plans in place for the establishment of a new Bedouin town north of Jericho – Ramat Nueimah. But those plans are not yet actualized. What is more, the Bedouin – provided with whatever inducements or facing whatever threats – are declaring they do not want to move. The longer they remain where they are, the more they become “facts on the ground.”
This situation must be publicized, and pressure must be brought to bear upon the government, so that it begins to establish tougher policies, and make stringent recommendations to the Court. If that alternative housing is provided, and the Ministry of Defense acts, on orders from the government, then the illegal housing can and should be demolished.
Regavim – an NGO advocacy organization comprised primarily of lawyers – plans to be involved in petitions to the Court. There are two potential factors here: Regavim can petition the Court to demand that the government be pushed to act appropriately, and it can make the case against the illegal housing in order to strengthen the government position. It will do PR to promote this matter, as well.
Ari Briggs, a spokesman for Regavim and Director of its International Department, is hopeful that the situation can ultimately be turned around.
I do not defend the government in this regard. Not at all. For it has not acted properly on behalf of Israel.
However, I want to note what I see as generating some of the reluctance to act. It is not just the matter of taking a stand against the EU. It is, also, I believe, a fear of negative publicity against Israel, at a time when Israel is so often delegitimized: “Look at these poor Bedouin,” the left wing will inevitably cry. “All they want are pathetically simple homes. But Israel will not even permit this.” Then we’ll hear that we are doing “ethnic cleansing.” This is the pattern.
It is time to move beyond what is said about us, and to be strong enough to do what we need to do. Lest we lose our land.
The act of preventing the construction of new homes is easier to achieve, especially now that Regavim is on the scene monitoring the situation. If illegal building materials are seen being brought in, or construction is sighted, the Civil Administration can and often does act, if notified.
Regavim believes that many citizens of Europe – totally unaware of what is going on in Area C – might be exceedingly unhappy to learn how their tax money is being used. This is especially the case as what the EU is doing contravenes its own charter.
And so Regavim hopes to do publicity in Europe, as well as in Israel. Additionally Regavim wants to see the Foreign Ministry file complaints against the EU.
Lastly, this summer Regavim will attend a meeting with the EU in Brussels, and hopes to bring the foreign minister along, as this will provide greater impact.
It is encouraging that Ari Briggs is communicating an optimistic perspective.
Regavim, however, does not operate in a vacuum: Please, do your part by sharing this posting and publicizing this information broadly wherever you can!
© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner, functioning as an independent journalist. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution. If it is reproduced and emphasis is added, the fact that it has been added must be noted.See my website at www.arlenefromisrael.info Contact Arlene at akushner18@gmail.com
Arlene Kushner: “Illegal EU Assistance to Bedouins in Area C”.
10.US Ignores Linking the ‘Deal’ with Russian Sale of S-300s to Iran: Kerry clinched the deal, expresses “concern” over sale of S-300 missiles but says it won’t affect a final agreement. by Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu The Jewish Press.com Published: April 14th, 2015
John Kerry & Moshe Ya’alon. Photo Credit: US Embassy
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon Tuesday charged that Russia’s lifting a five-year ban on the sale of critical S-300 anti-missile systems is a “direct result of the framework agreement reached in Lausanne, but the United States is ignoring any connection.
Ya’alon’s “analysis” was overly obvious. Anyone who can add 1 and 1 and come up with 2 already has connected the dots between the temporary agreement with Iran on its nuclear program and Russia’s announcement Monday to allow the sale of one of the most advance anti-missile systems in the world.
Iran’s deployment of the S-300 systems would make an aerial attack on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites very improbable.
Voice of America quoted Jane’s Terrorism and Security Monitor editor Jeremy Binnie as saying:
The Iranians desperately want a new long-range [surface-to-air missile] system to form the centerpiece of an integrated air defense network that will deter anyone who might want to enter its airspace. I think it would be fair to say it [the S-300] would complicate a strike against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Ya’alon raised the obvious point that if Russia lifted the ban on the sale of the S-300 two weeks after the temporary deal was reached between P5+1 and Iran, what will happen when the United States lifts sanctions?
He said: [Iran] continues to arm itself, and arm others, which we have been warning about even before the details [of the deal] were concluded. It was clear, even then, that sanctions will be lifted, and that of course this will influence and strengthen the Iranian economy.
The outgoing defense minister also pointed out that the deal did not even mention Hezb’Allah, Iran’s military proxy in Lebanon and which military sources lately have warned is over-loaded with heavy-duty missiles for an attack on Israel.
The reaction of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to the Russian sale to Iran is most curious.
His spokeswoman Marie Harf said, “We think given Iran’s destabilizing actions in the region, in places like Yemen or Syria or Lebanon, that this isn’t the time to be selling these kinds of systems to them.”
She offered an amazing analysis that disconnects Ya’alon’s dots:
We think given Iran’s destabilizing actions in the region, in places like Yemen or Syria or Lebanon, that this isn’t the time to be selling these kinds of systems to them, [but] we don’t think this will have an impact on unity in terms of inside the negotiating room.
Harf’s incredible denial continues the Obama administration’s policy that makes a deal with Iran an end it itself and not a means to stop Tehran for acquiring a nuclear bomb.
Adding 1 and 1 and getting 2 is simple, but adding another 1 and getting 3 may be too complicated for the White House, which only said it is “concerned” over the sale of the S-300 anti-missile systems.
The first “1” is that Iran can retain its nuclear infrastructure and continue to enrich low-grade uranium while simply promising it will open its sites for inspections. There are no provisions in the deal against Iran’s operating a secret nuclear site outside the country, such as in North Korea. Even if Iran balks at open inspections, it would take months before the West can get its act together and agree to clamp sanctions on Iran, especially since Russia is one of the P5+1 countries.
The second “1” is Hezb’Allah’s huge army and missile stockpile, along with Iran’s filling up the money pipeline to Hamas in Gaza, where the terrorist organization is busy re-building terror tunnels.
The third “1” is the S-300 systems.
Once Israel cannot penetrate Iran’s air defense systems, Tehran has nothing to fear when it comes to making a nuclear weapon.
In other words, 1+1+1=3, but the State Dept. mathematicians think otherwise.
About the Author: Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu is a graduate in journalism and economics from The George Washington University. He has worked as a cub reporter in rural Virginia and as senior copy editor for major Canadian metropolitan dailies. Tzvi wrote for Arutz Sheva for several years before joining the Jewish Press.
11.How Can Israel Occupy a “Country” that has Never Ever Existed?
The Jewish Press.com Published: April 13th, 2015
Abbas sits behind “Palestine” sign at the United Nations.
· There never ever was an independent country called Palestine!
· There never ever has been a Palestinian people!
Check your history books! Check/google online for a list of kings, presidents, emperors, prime ministers of such a country. You won’t even find a tribal leader, not in the twentieth century nor a thousand years ago.
It would be even harder to find references for “Arab Palestinian culture.” I dare you to find a source more than a century old. The term is very new, and that’s because it was invented as a tool to supplant, replace Jewish nationalism aka Zionism in the very well documented Jewish Homeland, the Land of Israel.
This whole Arab Palestinian myth was concocted to prevent a viable Jewish state.
“There is no such country as Palestine. ‘Palestine’ is a term the Zionists invented. There is no Palestine in the Bible. Our country was for centuries part of Syria. ‘Palestine’ is alien to us. It is the Zionists who introduced it.” – Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi, Syrian Arab leader
“There is no such thing as a Palestinian people, there is no Palestinian entity, there is only Syria. You are an integral part of the Syrian people, Palestine is an integral part of Syria. Therefore it is we, the Syrian authorities, who are the true representatives of the Palestinian people.” – Syrian dictator Hafez Assad to the PLO leader Yassir Arafat
“There is no such thing as Palestine in history, absolutely not.” – Professor Philip Hitti, Arab historian
“It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but Southern Syria.” – Representative of Saudi Arabia at the United Nations (Cherson and Molschky)
Before the advent of political Zionism, the Land of Israel was virtually deserted. There have always been Jews and Jewish communities here in Jerusalem, Tzfat, Hebron, Gaza and other historic Jewish cities. But there hasn’t been an independent vibrant country since the Jewish Kingdom was conquered by Rome over two thousand years ago. Ever since then, this Holy Land has been ruled/occupied by foreigners until May, 1948 with the Jewish Declaration of Independence. The State of Israel is the resumption of Jewish rule here.
Islam was invented after Christianity which was very long after Judaism emerged as a religion/people/culture.
The Jewish Calendar is a brilliant synthesis of the solar and lunar cycles to guarantee that our Jewish Holidays will always fall in the correct season according to the seasons in the Land of Israel. This gives a very tangible proof of our inalienable rights and connections to this precious Land.
In contrast, the Muslims have a strictly lunar calendar in which their holidays wander around the seasons in their very nomadic way. They are opportunists without roots, just like their calendar.
May G-d give us, the Jewish People leaders with the wisdom and strength necessary to accept the gifts and miracles G-d has bestowed upon us, so that we will have true peace.
How Can Israel be Occupying a “Country” that has Never Ever Existed
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12.Hamas Interior Ministry: We bring our kids up “on love of Jihad and Martyrdom-death” http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=14529 by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik Hamas does not intend to foster peaceful relations with Israel. Hamas’ Ministry of Interior posted a photo on its Facebook page of a little boy, no more than five years old, posing in military uniform and holding an automatic rifle. The text beside the photo explained that children under Hamas rule grow up learning “the love of Jihad” – religious war for Islam – and aspire to die as Martyrs for Allah: “These are our lion cubs. We have brought them up on the love of Jihad and Shahada (Martyrdom-death)” [Facebook page of Hamas’ Ministry of Interior, April 10, 2015] Hamas’ Ministry of Interior is part of the unity government formed between the PA and Hamas last year. However, in practice, the PA and Hamas have been acting independently in the last few months. Palestinian Media Watch has shown that similar to Hamas, both Fatah and Fatah’s youth movement this year have released statements supporting Martyrdom-death: The [Fatah] Culture and Information Commission: “We believe that Martyrdom-death (Istish’had) for Palestine is a destiny we assume willingly and serenely, for a free and dignified life for our people in the paradise of the eternal homeland.” [WAFA (the official Palestinian news agency), Jan. 7, 2015] Hamas Interior Ministry: We bring our kids up “on love of Jihad and Martyrdom-death” |
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13.Arab ‘Refugees’ in Samaria Clash with PA Forces & Shut Down Highway If the Palestinian Authority cannot control security for its own people. how can it protect Israel from terrorists? The JewishPress.com Published: April 14th, 2015
European Union money at work: The Fatah party’s Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Balata. Photo Credit: Flash 90
Arabs from the UNRWA-run village of Balata closed down a main highway to Shechem on Monday in retaliation for the detention in jail of 17 men arrested by the Palestinian Authority.
Balata is the largest of 19 “refugee camps” in Judea and Samaria. The protesters closed down a road called, of all things, “Jerusalem Street.”
Their problem is that the Palestinian Authority is trying to crack down on criminals, according to the Ma’an News Agency, based in Bethlehem. Even worse, Balata residents suspect that the PA arrests terrorists who are wanted by Israel.
Balata also has been the scene of clashes between IDF troops who often encounter violence when trying to arrest terrorists.
The situation in Balata is a classic case of hopelessness, paranoia and hatred, all of which are aggravated by the eternal status of “refugee” that UNRWA classifies every generation in the villages it operates.
The Palestinian Authority cooperates with Israel to weed out terrorists, especially those who are dangerous to the Abbas regime as well as to Israelis. The PA, despite all its threats of breaking security cooperation with Israel, would be at the mercy of criminals and terrorists if it did so.
The UNRWA village residents are hostages of a long-time Arab world dream of being moved to Israel under a peace agreement that would leave the Palestinian Authority with all of Judea and Samaria and most of Jerusalem, including the Old City,.
The chances for such an accord are zero, although some say it is a bit more than zero and others say less than zero.
The refugees hate Israel. They also hate the Palestinian Authority. They hate everyone and everything.
It is conveniently symbolic that they closed Jerusalem Street. If they could, they would close all of the city of Jerusalem and Ramallah, especially Mahmoud Abbas’ offices.
by Yifat Erlich The majority of the Israeli public voted against a Palestinian state. So what? A few whines in the media, a bit of admonition from US President Barack Obama – and Netanyahu gives in. The pressure always works through two channels, an internal one and an external one. The more moderate left, which is still ashamed to openly disregard democratic decisions, tries to promote its agenda through internal pressure in the media. The more radical left, unfortunately, has never honoured the Israeli voter’s decision. The combined pressure from the inside and outside could lead Israel ‘s citizens to a reality they didn’t vote for. We have already been there: I remember myself running around the streets, driving people to polling stations to cast the ballot with the caption reading, “Ariel Sharon for prime minister.” In return for the effort and sweat, we got the destruction of Gush Katif. Now that the election chaos is behind us, it’s time for the media, legal and political opposition to show more national responsibility So what am I asking for? Some space, some respect for the Israeli voter’s decision, a bit less patronization… The right still has a lot to fix and improve, but it mostly needs to finally learn how to govern. (and be true to the Jewish national aspiration – creation of the Jewish homeland, Eretz-Israel, on our ancestral land!) Obama’s Double Standard (by Aaron Goldstein) Why is the Obama Administration less upset with Russia for hacking into the White House and State Department computers than it is with Israel for spying into its negotiations with Iran ? Then again this is the same administration which is less angry with Iran for chanting “Death to America” than with Netanyahu for saying there would be no Palestinian state under his watch. This is the same administration that is less upset with ISIS for beheading Americans than it is with Israel for having the nerve to re-elect Netanyahu. Avoid Coalition with Labor at any Cost Dozens of Likud branch chairmen and members of Likud’s Central Committee published a petition this week demanding that party chairman, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, add the Jewish Home to his coalition and avoid a ‘unity’ government with Labor at any cost. (So-called Zionist Union party isn’t better – just another anti-Zionist political chameleon!) Israel Should Strike Iran Leading defense expert, Professor Efraim Inbar who heads the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, said framework deal over Iran’s nuclear program leaves Israel with little choice, should have struck “two years ago.” Israel should “seriously consider” a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the aftermath of the “framework deal” announced between Tehran and western powers. The Islamic Republic’s nuclear program has been granted “legitimacy” by the agreement, which still allowed it to continue enriching uranium and to maintain a reactor capable of producing enriched plutonium, he said. “And that’s what worries Israel, that they (Iran) will be able within a short time frame to reach a nuclear bomb.” “As long as there was no deal it was easier for Israel to strike. They should have carried out a strike two years ago,” he said. “This is not an easy decision but it’s what needed to be done.” Despite that fact, many countries – most notably Israel’s immediate neighbors – would be supportive of such a strike, and were waiting for Israel to neutralize the threat posed to them by a nuclear-capable Iranian regime. “In practice no one wants to see a nuclear Iran; all of them are playing the game so that Israel can pull the chestnuts out of the fire.” The deal will allow the Islamic regime to continue enriching uranium. Israel has noted that there are 17 states which have peaceful nuclear programs, and none of them enrich uranium as Iran will be allowed to continue doing. No Deal Already – Why Wait? Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has stopped short of giving his endorsement to the framework nuclear deal struck last week between Tehran and world powers, while the country’s elected leader warned separately that his country would not sign a final deal unless economic sanctions were lifted immediately. Food for Thought by Steven Shamrak I have communicated with many Catholics, Baptists, Anglicans, Noahites, Russian and Greek Orthodox people on my mail list. Some of them wrote that only “fake Christians”, there too many of them, are anti-Semites and do not support the Jewish state. Although, it is hard to find good Christians who are supporting Israel without a hidden agenda – conversion of Jews is one of them! There is definitely no decent Christian leadership in the Vatican, London etc… There is no love or even respect for the sovereign Jewish state among the Western, ‘Christian’, governments and by member states of the UN – ‘Ugly Nazi’! (I meant no offence to good Christians, but I do not care what bad ones think!) PLO does not Care about fake Refugees in Syria The PLO issued a statement that it would not be drawn into military action in in Syria, contradicting comments made earlier by the PA envoy to Damascus, Ahmad Majdalani, that Palestinian groups are ready to join forces with the Syrian government to expel ISIL fighters from the Yarmouk camp in the Syrian capital. US has the Way – Why not the Will? The Pentagon has been upgrading the biggest bunker-buster bomb in its arsenal as talks with Iran continued over Tehran’s nuclear program, readying a weapon that could destroy Iran’s facilities. The Pentagon has been upgrading the biggest bunker-buster bomb in its arsenal as talks with Iran continued over Tehran’s nuclear program. Work to improve the design, guidance systems and anti-jamming capabilities on the so-called Massive Ordnance Penetrator began before the latest round of negotiations with Iran started. (Just give some of them to Israel for ‘testing’!) Only Israel Needs this APP The IDF and Home Front Command are expected to invest about $25 million into “Code Red” and civilian warning systems against incoming rockets in 2015 in the event of another war with Hezb’Allah. US expediting weapon supplies to Saudis The United States is speeding up arms supplies to the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi fighters. Warplanes from Sunni-ruled Gulf states have been striking the Shi’ite Muslim rebels, in an attempt by the regional heavyweight to check Iranian influence in its backyard. (When Israel did it in Gaza against Hamas, Obama threatened to cut off arms supply to Israel.) Jewish Contributions to the World The Tel Aviv-based company StoreDot says it has technology that can charge a mobile phone battery in seconds. The battery can also be used to power electric cars and laptops in minutes rather than hours . “These are new materials; they have never been developed before,” said Doron Myersdorf, the founder and chief executive. The first battery will be available in 2016. The company is partly funded by Jewish Russian billionaire and Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich. The Arab World does not Care about Yarmouk MK Ahmed Tibi (Joint Arab List) harshly condemned the Arab world and the international community for allowing the Islamic State takeover of the Yarmouk so-called refugee camp in Syria : “I feel anger and great sadness about what is happening in what is left of the camp. There is a moral double standard. If other people were the victims, not Palestinians it would be different.” (International anti-Semites only ‘care’ when they can blame Israel!) No Outrage over Mass Graves near Tikrit Iraqi forensic teams have begun excavating 12 suspected mass grave sites thought to hold the corpses of as many as 1,700 Shia soldiers from Camp Speicher massacred last year by ISIS fighters as they swept across northern Iraq. (How many hundreds of thousand victims of ISIS and Al Qaida does the world need to become truly outraged at Islamic terror?) A Sinister New Partnership Obama’s detente with Iran and recognition of Bashar Assad’s key role in Syria has produced an incredibly sinister new twist in the Syrian war. The Yarmouk refugee camp and its 16,000 occupants face not one enemy, but two: the Islamic State and Assad’s army, which opened the way for the ISIS attack. (It just proves again that Arabs and Muslims do not really care about fake Palestinians; they just use them in their political game against Israel !) ‘Ugly Nothing’ Finances Russian Aggression In the 14 months since Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea and sent proxy fighters to invade eastern Ukraine, Russian companies have won more than $212 million in United Nations contracts to ferry troops, supplies and equipment — on peacekeeping missions. Quotes of the Week: “The establishment of a buffer zone on the border is of absolute necessity to preserve Egyptian national security, particularly with the growing plans to export the Palestinian cause to Egyptian territory, away from its natural context. Thus, we cannot be emotional while thinking of the (population) displacement issue.” – Justification given by Egypt for the internationally forbidden “population transfer”, destruction of homes and for building the security barrier. President Mohammed Morsi passed a December 2012 decision, Decree No. 203, prohibiting the right to own, rent or build property located within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the border with Gaza sector – Israel has bigger problems with Gaza than Egypt – and must impose the similar restrictions on Gaza! Only Israel receives endless international condemnations and is dragged through the anti-Semitic idiocy in the UN and the ICC! Don’t Blame Israel – PA does not Want Peace by Charles Krauthammer Of all the idiocies uttered in reaction to Benjamin Netanyahu’s stunning election victory, none is more ubiquitous than the idea that peace prospects are now dead because Netanyahu has declared that there will be no Palestinian state while he is Israel ‘s Prime Minister. I have news for the lowing herds: There would be no peace and no Palestinian state if Isaac Herzog were Prime Minister of Israel, or Ehud Barak or Ehud Olmert for that matter. This is not ancient history. This is 2000, 2001 and 2008 – three astonishingly concessionary peace offers within the last 15 years. Every one rejected (by the PA leadership, and followed by violence and terror attacks unleashed on Israel!). The fundamental reality remains: This generation of Palestinian leadership – from Yasser Arafat to Mahmoud Abbas – has never and will never sign its name to a final peace settlement dividing the land with a Jewish state. And without that, no Israeli government of any kind will agree to a Palestinian state. There is a second reason a peace agreement is impossible: the supreme instability of the entire Middle East (including current developments). For half a century, it was run by dictators no one liked but with whom you could do business. Dear Friends, this is independent weekly editorial . The aim is to present Jewish point of view on Arab-Israel conflict, propagates and motivates Jewish people and our true friends to uphold ideals and inspirations of true Zionism – Jewish National independence movement. The editorial is not sponsored by or affiliated with any government or political party. - Support Shamrak Report - Netanyahu adopts position of defense minister, who says no need to evacuate Mitzpe Kramim By Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel. View of the Jewish of Mitzpe Kramim outpost, June 05, 2012. (photo credit: Noam Moskowitz/FLASH90) The government told the High Court on Tuesday that it would not evacuate the residents of a West Bank outpost and demolish their homes. It was an indication that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted the view of the defense minister and rejected that of the attorney-general, who recommended clearing away the Mitzpe Kramim community. Although the state’s position enables the residents of the outpost, in the northern West Bank, to remain, it does not yet fully affirm their right to the land, Army Radio reported. According to the report, at a meeting held in recent weeks, Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein recommended that the outpost be demolished within two years, a suggestion strongly opposed by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who claims the site was established legally during his tenure as the IDF’s commander of the central region. The legal proceedings follow a 2011 Palestinian claim to ownership of the land on which the outpost stands, on the outskirts of the Kochav Hashahar settlement. Mitzpe Kramim was originally set up in 1999 but a year later moved to its current location under the auspices of the government. Ya’alon, due to his IDF position, was involved in the proceedings and maintains that the outpost received all the legal permits required at the time, the Hebrew-language NRG website reported. Ya’alon, who has cast doubt on the authenticity of the Palestinian claim of private ownership of the land, has suggested that if it is proved true, the owners should be compensated rather than the Jewish residents removed. The land ownership petition is being handled by Jerusalem District Court. West Bank communities set up by Jewish settlers without government authorization, some of them on land claimed by Palestinians, have faced harsh criticism from the international community and from local rights groups. The government has in the past acted to remove the outposts, some of which have been home to dozens of families. In December 2014, Supreme Court President Asher Grunis ordered the government to evacuate Amona, the largest outpost in the West Bank. The verdict was given in response to an appeal submitted by the Palestinians, who said they owned the land seized by settlers to build the outpost PM leaves W. Bank outpost in place, defying attorney-general |