Dear Family & Friends,

This is “Honor Gush Katif” week/month/year/decade. For whatever reason it seemed necessary to cause so much destruction of Jews by Jews – of 1800 families, homes, businesses, agricultural innovations, schools, synagogues & cemeteries – the people & place must be honored.

This striking photo is of Manny, z’l, & my very good friend, Col. (res.) Moshe Leshem, while he’s standing on top of the Kfar Darom Synagogue all day long, waving a huge Israeli flag, during the horrific day of Destruction. My family & I saw this ‘shanda’ [Yiddush for ‘shame’] at home in Israel on television. We heard the news reporter of Fox News say that: “The boys were pouring acid down on the soldiers.” And “We don’t know who that man is with the huge Israeli flag”. We got the phone number in New York City, got through, & corrected Fox that: “The boys were pouring olive oil from huge 10 liter rectangular cans down, to make the climb up to capture them too slippery…And, that the man with the huge Israeli flag was Col. (res.) Moshe Leshem who was actually protecting the boys & the soldiers below from either side getting hurt.” Fox changed their story!

It was a great day for my long-hewn skills of “media-monitoring” all the way from 1976!

OUR FRIEND, MOSHE LESHEM, COL. (res.) IS THE PROUD BALD-HEADED MAN HOLDING A HUGE ISRAELI FLAG.

Sleep well, have a productive day, if you’re in New York City, please go the Rally (#4)

All the very best, Gail/Geula/Savta/Savta Raba x 2/Mom

1.Obama’s age of nuclear chaos By Caroline Glick

2.UN Security Council Endorses Iran Deal

3.Bennett tours Gaza settler museum to mark 10 years since disengagement

4.”STOP IRAN” PROTEST IN TIMES SQUARE JULY 22

5.Netanyahu Answers Obama with Khamenei’s Words

6.AIPAC Mulling ‘Nuclear Option’ Lobbying Against Iran Deal

7.ObamaDeal: US to Protect Iranian Nuke Sites from Israeli Attack

8.SHAMRAKREPORT FROM STEVEN SHAMRAK

9.ISIS Sign Displayed in Arab-Israel City East of Netanya

10. Saving Israel From The Economic Storm By: Moshe Feiglin

11.Open Letter to the President of the United States By Cantor David Montefiore

13.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the weekly government cabinet meeting

14.’Ancient Arab Susiya’ – The Town That Never Was

15.Michael Oren’s Assault on the Liberal Narrative on Israel

17.Iran Deal: Obama Just Sold Out an Ally, and It’s Not Israel

2015

1. Obama’s age of nuclear chaos By Caroline Glick, JPOST

On Tuesday, we moved into a new nuclear age.

In the old nuclear age, the US-led West had a system for preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. It had three components: sanctions, deterrence and military force. In recent years we have witnessed the successful deployment of all three.

In the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, the UN Security Council imposed a harsh sanctions regime on Iraq. One of its purposes was to prevent Iraq from developing nuclear weapons. After the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, we learned that the sanctions had been successful. Saddam largely abandoned his nuclear program due to sanctions pressure.

The US-led invasion of Iraq terrified several rogue regimes in the region. In the two to three years immediately following the invasion, America’s deterrent strength soared to unprecedented heights.

No one was more deterred by the Americans in those years than then-Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. In 2004, Gaddafi divulged all the details of his secret nuclear program and handed all his nuclear materials over to the Americans.

As for military force, the nuclear installation that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad built in Deir a-Zour with Iranian money and North Korean technicians wasn’t destroyed through sanctions or deterrence. According to foreign media reports, in September 2007, Israel concluded that these paths to preventing nuclear proliferation to Syria would be unsuccessful.

So then-prime minister Ehud Olmert ordered the IDF to destroy it. The outbreak of the Syrian civil war three years later has prevented Assad and his Iranian bosses from reinstating the program, to date.

The old nuclear nonproliferation regime was highly flawed.

Pakistan and North Korea exploited the post-Cold War weaknesses of its sanctions and deterrence components to develop and proliferate nuclear weapons and technologies.

Due to American weakness, neither paid a serious price for its actions.

Yet, for all its flaws and leaks, the damage caused to the nonproliferation system by American weakness toward Pakistan and North Korea is small potatoes in comparison to the destruction that Tuesday’s deal with Iran has wrought.

That deal doesn’t merely show that the US is unwilling to exact a price from states that illicitly develop nuclear weapons. The US and its allies just concluded a deal that requires them to facilitate Iran’s nuclear efforts.

Not only will the US and its allies remove the sanctions imposed on Iran over the past decade and so start the flow of some $150 billion to the ayatollahs’ treasury. They will help Iran develop advanced centrifuges.

They even committed themselves to protecting Iran’s nuclear facilities from attack and sabotage.

Under the deal, in five years, Iran will have unlimited access to the international conventional arms market. In eight years, Iran will be able to purchase and develop whatever missile systems it desires.

In 10 years, most of the limitations on its nuclear program will be removed.

Because the deal permits Iran to develop advanced centrifuges, when the agreement ends in 10 years, Iran will be positioned to develop nuclear weapons immediately.

In other words, if Iran abides by the agreement, or isn’t punished for cheating on it, in 10 years, the greatest state sponsor of terrorism in the world will be rich, in possession of a modernized military, a ballistic missile arsenal capable of carrying nuclear warheads to any spot on earth, and the nuclear warheads themselves.

Facing this new nuclear reality, the states of the region, including Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and perhaps the emirates, will likely begin to develop nuclear arsenals. ISIS will likely use the remnants of the Iraqi and Syrian programs to build its own nuclear program.

Right now, chances are small that Congress will torpedo Barack Obama’s deal. Obama and his backers plan to spend huge sums to block Republican efforts to convince 13 Democratic senators and 43 Democratic congressmen to vote against the deal and so achieve the requisite two-thirds majority to cancel American participation in the deal.

Despite the slim chances, opponents of the deal, including Israel, must do everything they can to convince the Democrats to vote against it in September. If Congress votes down the deal, the nuclear chaos Obama unleashed on Tuesday can be more easily reduced by his successor in the White House.

If Congress rejects the deal, then US sanctions against Iran will remain in force. Although most of the money that will flow to Iran as a result of the deal is now frozen due to multilateral sanctions, and so will be transferred to Iran regardless of congressional action, retaining US sanctions will make it easier politically and bureaucratically for Obama’s replacement to take the necessary steps to dismantle the deal.

Just as the money will flow to Iran regardless of Congress’s vote, so Iran’s path to the bomb is paved regardless of what Congress does.

Under one scenario, if Congress rejects the deal, Iran will walk away from it and intensify its nuclear activities in order to become a nuclear threshold state as quickly as possible. Since the deal has destroyed any potential international coalition against Iran’s illegal program, no one will bat a lash.

Obama will be deeply bitter if Congress rejects his “historic achievement.” He can be expected to do as little as possible to enforce the US sanctions regime against his Iranian comrades. Certainly he will take no military action against Iran’s nuclear program.

As a consequence, regardless of congressional action, Iran knows that it has a free hand to develop nuclear weapons at least until the next president is inaugurated on January 20, 2017.

The other possible outcome of a congressional rejection of the deal is that Iran will stay in the deal and the US will be the odd man out.

In a bid to tie the hands of her boss’s successor and render Congress powerless to curb his actions, the day before the deal was concluded, Obama’s UN Ambassador Samantha Power circulated a binding draft resolution to Security Council members that would prohibit member nations from taking action to harm the agreement.

If the resolution passes [Gail Sez: IT DID PASS UNANIMOUSLY 7/20 9:00 am EST (4:00 pm IST) in New York] – and it is impossible to imagine it failing to pass – then Iran can stay in the deal, develop the bomb with international support and the US will be found in breach of a binding UN Security Council resolution.

Given that under all scenarios, Tuesday’s deal ensures that Iran will become a threshold nuclear power, it must be assumed that Iran’s neighbors will now seek their own nuclear options.

Moreover, in light of Obama’s end-run around the Congress, it is clear that regardless of congressional action, the deal has already ruined the 70-year old nonproliferation system that prevented nuclear chaos and war.

After all, now that the US has capitulated to Iran, its avowed foe and the greatest state sponsor of terrorism, who will take future American calls for sanctions against nuclear proliferators seriously? Who will be deterred by American threats that “all options are on the table” when the US has agreed to protect Iran’s nuclear installations and develop advanced centrifuges for the same ayatollahs who daily chant, “Death to America”?

For Israel, the destruction of the West’s nonproliferation regime means that from here on out, we will be living in a region buzzing with nuclear activity.

Until Tuesday, Israel relied on the West to deter most of its neighbors from developing nuclear weapons. And when the West failed, Israel dealt with the situation by sending in the air force. Now, on the one hand Israel has no West to rely on for sanctions or deterrence, and on the other hand, it has limited or no military options of its own against many of the actors that will now seek to develop nuclear arsenals.

Consider Israel’s situation. How could Israel take action against an Egyptian or Jordanian nuclear reactor, for instance? Both neighboring states are working with Israel to defeat jihadist forces threatening them all. And that cooperation extends to other common threats. Given these close and constructive ties, it’s hard to see how Israel could contemplate attacking them.

But on the other hand, the regimes in Amman and Cairo are under unprecedented threat.

In theory they can be toppled at any moment by jihadist forces, from the Muslim Brotherhood to ISIS. It’s already happened once in Egypt.

The same considerations apply to Saudi Arabia.

As for Turkey, its NATO membership means that if Israel were to attack Turkish nuclear sites, it would run the risk of placing itself at war not only with Turkey, but with NATO.

Given Israel’s limited military options, we will soon find ourselves living under constant nuclear threat. Under these new circumstances, Israel must invest every possible effort in developing and deploying active nuclear defenses.

One key aspect to this is missile defense systems, which Israel is already developing. But nuclear bombs can be launched in any number of ways. Old fashioned bombs dropped from airplanes are one option. Artillery is another. Even suicide trucks are good for the job.

Israel needs to develop the means to defend itself against all of these delivery mechanisms. At the same time, we will need to operate in hostile countries such as Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere to destroy deliveries of nuclear materiel whether transferred by air, sea or land.

Here is the place to mention that Israel still may have the ability to attack Iran’s nuclear sites. If it does, then it should attack them as quickly and effectively as possible.

No, a successful Israeli attack cannot turn back the clock. Israel cannot replace the US as a regional superpower, dictating policy to our neighbors. But a successful attack on Iran’s nuclear program along with the adoption of a vigilantly upheld strategy of active nuclear defense can form the basis of a successful Israeli nuclear defense system.

And no, Israel shouldn’t be overly concerned with how Obama will respond to such actions!

2.UN Security Council Endorses Iran Deal Highly-anticipated vote over implementing the Iranian nuclear deal passes 15-0; Iran accuses Israel, US of spreading ‘Iranophobia.’ By Tova Dvorin First Publish: 7/20/2015, 3:54 PM

The UN Security Council held the critical vote on the Iranian nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and the West on Monday afternoon, at 9:00 am EST (4:00 pm IST) in New York.

Anticipation is high ahead of the vote, after New Zealand announced Friday that the vote would be held “under silence.”

In an “under silence” adoption procedure, instead of the UNSC holding a normal positive vote, the motion that is set for adoption “under silence” is deemed automatically adopted unless a party specifically objects to the motion.

This “under silence” procedure would put the onus on Israel to be the first, and possibly the only, objector to the UNSC’s adoption of the Iran deal.

The draft resolution, deemed 2231-2015 was adopted unanimously by 15 votes in favor very soon after the meeting began.

“Lessons learned”

US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power spoke praising the deal shortly thereafter, explaining that, in her view, the terms of the deal will significantly delay Iran’s nuclear development to the point of preventing them from developing a nuclear weapon.

The JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) will take effect within 90 days, she said, and sanctions will be lifted only after it is determined that Iran is compliant with the deal.

She added that the deal proves lessons “about enforcing global norms” and “the unity of this council [i.e. the UNSC],” as well as praising the deal for “achieving objectives peacefully” vis-a-vis the Middle East without resorting to war.

Power also said that the US will continue to invest in the security of its regional allies and enact its own sanctions against Iran, over protest over its human rights violations and targeting of the US and Israel. She called on Iran to release American captives.

“Implementation is everything,” Power added, and called on the UN and other international organizations to be strict about ensuring that Iran complies with the deal, explaining that it is critical for world security.

Power concluded by urging the UN to apply similar global measures and “the same political will” to other world conflicts, specifically Syria.

International community praises deal

The French, Spanish, European Union (EU), German, Lithuanian, Chadian, Malaysian, Nigerian, Angolan, Jordanian, Chilean, Venezuelan and Chinese ambassadors to the UN welcomed the resolution as well, with Chinese ambassador Liu Jieyi stressing the importance of “comprehensive implementation” of the deal.

Russia also praised the deal highly; Russian ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin spoke of the ‘”inalienable rights” for the Iranian people to develop a nuclear program, while also maintaining the international community’s approval. Churkin also said that the deal will, hopefully, prevent another Middle East arms race and create a zone in the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, in his words.

The United Kingdom (UK)’s ambassador to the UN Matthew Ryecroft went further, praising the deal as a “good deal” which allows Iran to take its “true responsibility” as a Middle Eastern power.

Jordan’s ambassador to the UN, Dina Kawar, noted that the agreement will hopefully “have a positive effect on all states in the regions,” both in terms of foreign policy and in terms of various internal conflicts in the Middle East. She stressed the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in implementing the agreement.

Venezuela’s ambassador to the UN urged the council to apply similar resolutions to enforce solutions to the “Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Iran takes the floor

Iran’s ambassador to the UN Gholam Ali Khoshrou praised the deal for “providing a way out” of the economic crisis from “unjustifiable” sanctions placed on Iran, which stemmed from “baseless speculations and hearsay.”

He added that there is “no proof” the nuclear program would be used for a weapon and protested that only Japan has had the number of the IAEA inspections surpassing Iran.

“We cannot accept or forget previous treatment of Iran,” he added.

“Iran is both in a position and willing to comply with the deal,” he said, citing a fatwa of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, allegedly declaring nuclear weapons haram, or forbidden under Islamic law.

He accused other members of the international community of “Iranophobia,” particularly Israel, and accused Israel of stockpiling nuclear warheads and providing a “true threat” to the region.

He also threw accusations against the US for destabilizing the Middle East and accused it of unjustly blaming Iran for doing the same.

3.Bennett tours Gaza settler museum to mark 10 years since disengagement

By HAYAH GOLDLIST-EICHLER 6/30/2015 22:48

Bayit Yehudi MK to Gaza border residents: You support the disengagement. You blew it.

Netanyahu gaffe on Gaza disengagement causes uproar

In his meeting with students, Bennett spoke about the impact the disengagement has had on Israel and its standing in the world.

OUR FRIEND, MOSHE LESHEM, LT. COL. (ret.) IS THE PROUD BALD-HEADED MAN HOLDING A HUGE ISRAELI FLAG.

OPPONENTS OF the disengagement plan from Gaza confront Border Police at the synagogue in the settlement of Kfar Darom in August 2005. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Marking a decade since the withdrawal from Gaza, Education Minister Naftali Bennett visited the Gush Katif and Northern Samaria Commemoration Center (Katif Center), located in the caravan park in Nitzan, on Tuesday.
Bennett toured the facility, north of Ashkelon, and viewed the poster exhibit, marking the anniversary. He also met with students from abroad, visiting the country on an Israel Experience trip.
Bennett spoke with the students about the impact the disengagement has had on Israel.
“Those who seek to understand why Israel’s position in the world has been damaged: Come to the town of Gush Katif evacuees and remember. This is the reason and this week saw the results. The terrorist flotilla [the most recent Gaza protest flotilla], that is the result of the disengagement, the UN [Human Rights Council] report, that is the result of the disengagement, and that Palestinians think that by killing and murdering they will expel us from here – that is the result and that is the price we pay every day.”
He added, “Whoever runs from terrorism, terrorism pursues him. Today terrorists live in the homes of Gush Katif residents, in their greenhouses sit rockets. There is no country in the world that would agree to do such an injustice to its citizens, and we will never let it happen again.”
The Katif Center was established to tell the story of the 25 communities of Gush Katif and northern Samaria that were evacuated in 2005 and to present their national and educational values for future generations.
The visitor center tells the story of Gush Katif, including its establishment, coping with terrorism, and the displacement.

Thousands of Americans Rally to Demand Congress Vote Down Iran Nuke Deal

July 22, 2015 – New York City – The “STOP IRAN RALLY,” the largest, grassroots bipartisan American protest against the deal granting Iran a fast track to a nuclear bomb, will be held in Times Square on Wednesday, July 22, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thousands of Americans from all faith traditions, political interests and communities, including Christians, Muslims, Jews, registered Democrats and Republicans, Iranian-Americans, and others will demand that Congress vote down the Iran deal.

Under the umbrella of the STOP IRAN RALLY COALITION, more than 100 organizations spanning the nation’s political, religious and social spectrum will participate. A roster of preeminent experts from senior levels of the military, government, academic, and media establishments will speak at the rally.

“Strip away the administration’s rhetoric and it’s clear this deal gives the Mullahs – the world’s foremost sponsors of terrorism, $150 billion in return for effectively nothing: no dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program; no anytime or anywhere inspections; no eradication of Iran’s ballistic missile program; no maintenance of the arms embargo; and no halt to Iran’s sponsorship of terror,” said Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, STOP IRAN RALLY’s co-organizer.

Wiesenfeld added, “Washington is prepared to give Iran virtually all that it needs to get to the bomb. To release $150 billion to Iran will result in the expansion of worldwide terror. New York Senator Charles Schumer has the votes as presumptive leader to override this deal if he wants. To do anything less is cynical and disgraceful, and the public will not be fooled this time. Americans will not stand for another North Korea. If this deal is not stopped, New York voters will know whom to blame.”

“The Administration uses scare tactics in falsely claiming that the alternative to this deal is war,” said Steve Emerson, Executive Director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism and a speaker at the STOP IRAN RALLY. “This deal would actually lead to more war, many more deaths of Americans and our allies and much more international terrorism.”

“This is a bipartisan issue, not a political one,” said Richard Allen, a local activist leading the STOP IRAN RALLY volunteers. “Now, Congress must rise to the occasion and expose evisceration of U.S. national security and pass a resolution of disapproval. Congress must also override President Obama’s threatened veto, and return America’s Iran policy to dealing from a position of strength rather than appeasement. We are mobilizing nationwide to let our lawmakers know we will hold each and every one of them to account for the consequences of this dangerous deal being foisted on the American people.”

SPEAKERS AT THE “STOP IRAN” RALLY WILL INCLUDE:

• James Woolsey, Former Director of the CIA and Chairman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
• Gov. George Pataki, Former Three-Term Governor of New York
• Robert Morgenthau, Manhattan District Atty from 1975 to 2009, & of counsel, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
• Allen West, Former Congressman and retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel
• Prof. Alan Dershowitz, Attorney and Professor at the Harvard School of Law
• Pete Hoekstra, Former U.S. Congressman and Chair of the House Intelligence Committee
• U.S. Navy Admiral James A. “Ace” Lyons, Former Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Senior U.S. Military Representative to the United Nations
• General Paul E. Vallely, Former U.S. Army Major General and Chairman of Stand Up America
• Mortimer Zuckerman, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News & World Report and the publisher of the New York Daily News and former Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
• John Batchelor, Radio Talk Host, WABC-AM
• Steven Emerson, Executive Director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism
• David Brog, Executive Director, Christians United for Israel
• Frank Gaffney, Founder of the Center for Security Policy
• Caroline Glick, Deputy Managing Editor of The Jerusalem Post
• Kasim Hafeez, Founder of “The Israel Campaign” and Christians United for Israel’s Outreach Coordinator
• Tony LoBianco, Actor and Activist
• Clare M. Lopez, Former CIA officer, Terrorism and Iran Expert at Center for Security Policy
• Herbert I. London, President Emeritus of Hudson Institute and former Dean of New York University
• Colonel Richard Kemp, Former Commander of the British Forces in Afghanistan
• Genevieve Wood, Senior Fellow, The Heritage Foundation

SUPPORTING QUOTES:

“Whatever happened to the President’s claim that ‘No (Iran) deal is better than a bad deal?’ Well, this is a bad deal. Now is the time for the American Congress to stand up and protect the security of the American people and our future generations. This is a pivotal moment in American history. Will our leaders rise above politics and demonstrate the courage to do what is right for our country?” – Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, co-organizer of the STOP IRAN RALLY

“The President publicly asserts that the U. S. ‘will maintain our own sanctions related to Iran’s support for terrorism, its ballistic missile program, and its human rights violations.’ In reality, this deal removes the most severe terrorist sanctions in place against Iran for years; it removes the embargo on weapons sales to Iran against the explicit warnings of our own Secretary of Defense and head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; it allows for Iran to continue developing its intercontinental ballistic missile program that can only have one mission – attaching nuclear warheads; it provides Iran with billions of unfrozen assets that Iran will surely pour into worldwide terrorism as it has done for 30 years; and it shamefully decouples any linkage to Iran’s continuing imprisonment of an American Marine and four other American civilians not to mention its brutal suppression and execution of its own dissidents.

This deal would enable Iran to spend tens of billions of new dollars on its vast state supported terrorist apparatus: from its Iranian Revolutionary Guards who have been responsible for killing hundreds of Americans to supplying their Hezbollah terrorist proxies with vast amounts of sophisticated weapons to threaten American interest and allies throughout the Middle East, Persian Gulf and Latin America.” – Steve Emerson, Executive Director, Investigative Project on Terrorism, Speaker at Stop Iran Rally

“This is a good deal for Iran. Not the American people. This deal abandons every red line the administration said was essential for any acceptable deal to block all pathways to an Iranian bomb. If Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, wants to be treated with ‘respect,’ let them earn it by agreeing to robust spot inspections, ending their missile programs and proving to us that they mean no harm.” – Richard Allen, Co-organizer, STOP IRAN RALLY

ABOUT STOP IRAN RALLY ORGANIZERS: The STOP IRAN RALLY is coordinated by the STOP IRAN RALLY COALITION, a grassroots movement of volunteer citizens, in partnership with more than 100 organizations spanning the entire political, religious and social spectrum. More information can be found at http://lists.israpundit.org/lists/lt.php?id=KkwFH1AGVQVEBgYAUAg. Follow updates about the rally on Twitter @stopiranrally and #stopiranrally.

LOCATION AND TIME: Wednesday, July 22, 2015 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Times Square, at 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue

MEDIA INQUIRIES AND INTERVIEWS CONTACT: Eve Epstein, 516-343-0543516-343-0543; [email protected] Sakura Amend, 917-355-3531917-355-3531; [email protected]

5.Netanyahu Answers Obama with Khamenei’s Words

How can it be a “good deal” if Khamenei is encouraging calls of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”? By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu JewishPress.com Published: July 19th, 2015

Democrats siding with Republicans despite Obama’s threat to veto bill challenging deal with Iran.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu used the Iranian leader’s own words Sunday morning to answer President Barack Obama’s claim that the nuclear agreement with Iran is the best option available.

The Prime Minister used the weekly Cabinet meeting as a platform for another offensive in the long-distance verbal battle with President Obama, who is trying to sell “ObamaDeal.’

One of the most directly opposite claims by both leaders concerns other options.

President Obama, joined on Friday by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, argue that no one has suggested a better alternative, while Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated Sunday:

“The alternative to this failed agreement, which we proposed repeatedly, is the continuation and strengthening of the sanctions on Iran and conditioning the lifting of the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, and the lifting of the pressure on Iran, only if it changes its policy. As long as the Iranian leadership is encouraging calls of ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’, there is no reason to make any concessions to them.”

Obama has claimed that sanctions will be dropped by major countries even if an agreement were not reached. Kerry told PBS on Friday that “no alternative” has been offered and that Iran won’t be “crushed” by continuing sanctions “because we will lose the other people who are helping to provide those sanctions’

He added, “So, there is a lot of fantasy out there about this quote ‘better deal.’”

The Obama administration’s assumption that sanctions cannot continue is speculative, and no substantive claims have been made to support or deny the theory.

Netanyahu raised another objection to the deal, one that is proving much harder for President Obama to defend. Lifting sanctions will pump more than $150 billion into Iran’s bank accounts, and even President Obama admitted that “some” of the money will be used to fund Hezbollah and other terrorist fronts that are a direct threat to Israel.

Netanyahu said Sunday: “If someone thought that the extraordinary concessions to Iran would lead to a change in its policy, they received an unequivocal answer over the weekend in Iranian ruler Khamenei’s aggressive and contrary speech.

“The Iranians aren’t even trying to hide the fact that they will use the hundreds of billions that they will receive under this agreement in order to arm their terror machine and they are clearly saying that they will continue their struggle against the US and its allies, first among them being Israel, of course.

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.

6.AIPAC Mulling ‘Nuclear Option’ in Lobbying Against Iran Deal By: JNi.Media

AIPAC officials have been debating using their doomsday weapon, namely to campaign to unseat congressional Democrats who vote in favor of the Iran deal.

Published: July 20th, 2015

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at the AIPAC policy conference in Washington DC in 2014.
Photo Credit: Avi Ohayon/GPO/FLASH90

(JNi.media) The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is staunchly opposed to the Iran nuclear deal and is lobbying Congress hard to reject it. Should it appear that Congress is unable to override a presidential veto on a resolution to reject the Iran deal, some AIPAC officials are contemplating a “nuclear option,” threatening to punish lawmakers who will side with the president on this issue.

“I think it is going to be an epic fight,” said J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami. “The foreign policy fight of a generation.”

According to reports, J-Street is prepared to invest $2 million in a campaign to support the Iran deal.

AIPAC will convene a special conference on Tuesday, July 28 and Wednesday, July 29, in DC, to discuss lobbying Capitol Hill, according to an invitation obtained by JPUpdates.

In an email to top donors and members, AIPAC announced on Sunday that its Board of Directors and National Council will meet in Washington “for important meetings and lobbying appointments on Capitol Hill.”

“At such a pivotal moment for the United States, Israel and our allies around the world, your leadership has never been more vital,” the email stated. “In the coming weeks, AIPAC will mobilize the entirety of our institutional resources in order to articulate our concerns about the agreement and secure a broad bipartisan vote in Congress to oppose the deal.”

Alongside these measures, AIPAC officials have been debating using their doomsday weapon, namely to campaign to unseat congressional Democrats who will vote in favor of the Iran deal, according to Walla, citing an anonymous AIPAC source.

In the past, the pro-Israel lobby did not hesitate to take action against anti-Israel members of Congress, supporting candidates to compete against them come next election. A few members of Congress have learned the hard way a decade or so ago that AIPAC can be an unforgiving foe (Earl F. Hilliard, from Alabama, comes to mind).

Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry are briefing lawmakers and are trying to prevent Democrats from voting with Republicans who generally oppose the deal.

Israeli Ambassador to Ron Dermer is making his rounds, and Senator Chris Coons (D-Del) says he talked to Dermer three times. “He is a very informed and persuasive advocate for the Israeli perspective, and he is a persistent and thorough critic of the context of these negotiations, and made some very strong points,” Coons said.

In addition to AIPAC, Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran has placed some hard-hitting ads in the media. Its spokesman, Patrick Dorton, said, “Democrats should be especially concerned, because the deal increases the chance of war, will spur a nuclear arms race, & rewards Iran, with its horrific human rights record.”

As most Republicans are expected to vote against, the deal, the struggle is over the hearts and minds of the Democrats on Capitol Hill. A number of Democratic votes will be needed to override the veto promised by President Obama if the Republican majority rejects the bill.

In addition, how Democrats vote on the Iran deal will likely have far reaching consequences into the next election cycle, particularly for legislators like New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who has shown strong support for Israel in the past and represents a large Jewish population. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi’s agreement with the deal and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s support is likely to put some leftward pressure on Schumer, who is about to become the Democratic leader in the Senate.

A major bone of contention among legislators is that the UN Security Council is set to vote on whether to lift sanctions against Iran before Congress has had its 60 days to debate the agreement.

Secretary of State Kerry balked at this when the deal was being hammered out, but was forced to concede on the insistence of Iran, Russia and European allies.

7.ObamaDeal: US to Protect Iranian Nuke Sites from Israeli Attack

The agreement states: Co-operation…to strengthen Iran’s ability to prevent, protect and respond to nuclear security threats to nuclear facilities and to protect against… sabotage.

By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu JewishPress.com Published: July 20th, 2015

9.ISIS Sign Displayed in Arab-Israel City East of Netanya: Arabs retain “freedom of expression” while Jews trying to pray on the Temple Mount are considered guilty of “incitement.” By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu Jewish,Press.com 7/19/15

A Facebook photo on Sunday shows the Islamic State (ISIS) symbol displayed outside a building in the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm, headquarters of the northern branch of the radical Islamic Movement.

The city, with a city of approximately 50,000 Arabs, is located several miles northeast of Hadera and southwest of Haifa and on the main highway connecting the Mediterranean Sea with Afula and Beit Shean.

No Jews live in Umm al-Fahm. When right-wing activists wanted to stage a rally there two years ago and in previous years, complete with Israel flags, their numbers were limited as a security measure, and they were escorted and protects by dozens of police.

Umm al-Fahm, which borders smaller Jewish communities and is located next to northern Samaria towns, is a hotbed of radical Islam.

Arabs are Israeli citizens but risk their lives if they say anything in favor of the country.

MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) posted last week a sermon by an Umm al-Fahm and shown on the Internet, supporting ISIS and calling Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu a “Jewish dog.”

Elsewhere in Israel Sunday, police continue to prohibit Jews from “inciting” Muslims by praying on the Temple Mount.

Below is video of a Jewish rally in Umm al-Fahm, with explanations of Iran’s PRESS TV, which referred to the city as being “Palestinian” and located in the “occupied” territories.

About the Author: Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu is a graduate in journalism

10. Saving Israel From The Economic Storm By: Moshe Feiglin JewishPress.com 7/19/15

It looks like Europe blinked first this time. The Greeks have defaulted, but will remain in the EU nonetheless.

Strange… Greece owes 300 billion euros and is not willing to pay a fraction of it, but German Chancellor Angela Markel – instead of wishing Greece all the best with its drachma – has convened a summit to arrange for a new program for it to pay off its debt. Why? Why don’t the Europeans just tell the Greeks they’ve had enough?

The answer is that the euro – and the dollar – are inflated balloons. Nobody knows when the balloon will burst, but Western leaders choose to keep inflating it instead of dealing with the Greek thorn. The balloon will surely burst, but preferably not on their watch…

The rampage on the banks in Spain and Portugal revealed just how fragile the system really is. A default on a debt of 300 billion euros can start the domino effect that even the German economy (which is also in trouble) will not be able to survive.

The method for creating money using interest-bearing debt (the banks produce most of the money today via loans) combined with a consumer culture (that also stems from this method: Why save money when the printing presses rob me of my income?) has enslaved humanity to the business tycoons (and production methods) and governments.

The method promises that, paradoxically, the more that productivity rises (and it is rising), the more hours of work one needs to put in just to make ends meet. Industrious nations, focused on success, manage to hang on for longer. But the gaping hole that first swallows the lazy will reach them as well. It is already coming.

I have no doubt that, sooner or later, we will witness Greece-style bank closures almost everywhere in the world. Israel will be less hurt because it is not part of the European bloc and because, in the meantime, its economy (largely thanks to Netanyahu) is keeping pace with developments.

For the past twenty years, Israel has paid a sum about equal to the Greek debt (approximately one trillion NIS) for the Oslo Accords. And it continues to pay. Every family in Israel has paid approximately 600,000 NIS for the infamous handshakes of Rabin and Netanyahu with Arafat.

In order to safely navigate the approaching economic storm, Israel must do the following:

· Immediately nullify the Oslo Accords, stop transferring truckloads of cash to Gaza, stop free electricity to Gaza, and stop all the other insane concessions that Israel still unilaterally makes to Gaza while the other side has long ago stopped fulfilling its end of the Accords.

· Throw the keys to the Israel Land Authority into the sea and divide the entire Land of Israel by lottery to its children. Allow Jews to build homes on their land.

· Drastically reduce the security budget (most of it is necessitated by the Oslo Accords).

· Allow Israelis to choose between paying social security and private insurance. Today, more than half of Israelis’ social security payments are paid out to another nation whose leaders were on the flotilla to Gaza and whose payments into the Social Security fund are miniscule. This is another weight that Rabin added to the shoulders of the Jews in Israel when he nullified the Army Veterans payments.

· Cease the budget-funded pensions and truly drain the swamps of corruption, such as the Sarel Medical Company.

· Understand that the future is not in the markets of the West and energetically pursue commerce with the Eastern market. This is already taking place and must continue and expand.

· Rid ourselves of the billions of dollars that current Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve and former Governor of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer, bought “for us.” The American Titanic is sinking, and it is a mistake to tie ourselves to it.

· Repeal the VAT on gold (a unique Israeli patent) and make it a legal currency. Every Greek would prefer to have gold over cash, which is now locked up behind closed doors, anyway. Allow for competition between the convenience of using the shekel and the security in the true shekel, which in Hebrew means the weight of silver or gold. This will safeguard the printing presses of the Bank of Israel from the insidious robbery euphemistically called the “inflation target.” It will provide a safe anchor in the face of the false security of the printing presses of the world.

· The Zohar tells us that in the days of Mashiach, all the gold in the world will flow to the Land of Israel. Let us allow that process to begin now.

“As a professor of economics, I do not have the right to express my opinion any more than any person on the street.” That brave comment was made by Israel Prize recipient Professor Ariel Rubinstein. This is my answer to all those who will ask what I understand about economics. Economics is not an exact science. It is a number of fundamental principles mixed with a healthy portion of psychology, history, culture, values – and a bit of healthy logic, as well.

About the Author: Moshe Feiglin is the former Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. He is the founder of Manhigut Yehudit and Zo Artzeinu and the author of two books: “Where There Are No Men” and “War of Dreams.” Feiglin served in the IDF as an officer in Combat Engineering and is a veteran of the Lebanon War. He lives in Ginot Shomron with his family.

11.An Open Letter to the President of the United States By Cantor David Montefiore JewishPress.com Published: July 19th, 2015 Latest update: July 14th, 2015

Dear Mr. President:

My name is David Montefiore. My friends will probably say, well we’ve known for many years that Montefiore has been staunchly pro-Israel and thinks of Israel as his homeland. They’re right but only in part because in reality I’m staunchly American and staunchly pro – the American Dream. I think it is fair to say that those who have criticism for Israel also have criticism for the United States. No, Israel’s not perfect – neither are we Americans. But what is most important is that what protrudes from all the media hype is that Israel was, is and will be our staunchest ally.

Why should I be telling my fellow Americans and especially my fellow Jewish Americans what I think. Well then – let me tell you about myself Mr. President.

I was born in worn-torn England. My father maintained his position of First Cantor of the United Kingdom in London during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz while his entire family was being wiped out by the Nazis only a few kilometers away across the English Channel in Belgium. Like so many Jews, I grew up knowing the warmth of family but also the fear and shadow of war and discrimination. That discrimination did not disappear when I came to the U S but followed me throughout school and a stint in the US Air Force and service in Vietnam. For the main, I became a well treated young American citizen just like many other émigrés to this wonderful country.

I have had a wonderful and arduous career as a cantor and opera singer which took me all over the world from New York to Buenos Aires from Los Angeles to Jerusalem and back, many times over. I eventually became president of the American Vietnam Veterans for the Arts Foundation, the American Opera Repertory Company, The Jewish Ministers Cantors Association of America and Canada, The Cantors Conservatory and Team leader for Don Goldwater’s bid for the governorship of Arizona. Finally, I am voting member of the Grammys the National Academy of Radio Arts and Sciences. Living through these experiences has made me even prouder of my Jewish Heritage and the mantel of Americanism that I have adopted. Understanding the freedoms afforded to me and other Jews; the United States has given me great pride. Because of the United States government’s stance towards Israel, vis a vis solidifying its alliance with an ancient people practicing modern day democracy in a part of the world where democracy has had little or no success or chance for survival – the Middle East – I have fought to keep this union steadfast.

The thought of a diminished American-Israeli friendship and alliance is an anathema to me and most Americans Jews and Americans who share a kinship with the Civilized Western World’s genesis of all of our beginnings.

Therefore, I feel it is time to caution those who lead us and those who pretend to speak for us. For the multitudes are neither Democrat nor Republican; they seek only to live in a world of freedom and especially religious freedom.

It is not only important to live in a world free of Bin Ladens, free of ISIS – but free of any of their doctrines and beliefs. Free to live an overt life of tolerance and not in a clandestine world of hate and discrimination. We must be free of it all. We cannot remain silent when our leaders buckle to pressure from jihadi extremists and offer parts of a sovereign state in exchange for peace. Peace garnered by appeasement cannot last because the lion will again become hungry for more. Once the beast is satiated he will come again to the table – most often there will be nothing to offer and so the lamb will be devoured – for no other reason but for the lust and taste of it

Unfortunately the enemy, the jihadi extremists, have tasted American blood and the blood of Israelis, Christians and most of all innocent Muslims.

In order to scatter a den of wolves one must first kill the leader of the pack but most important is not to invite him to dine with you at dinner. If Hamas has sworn to destroy Israel then it cannot come to dinner – it cannot come to the bargaining table.

Iran has sworn to destroy Israel then it may not come to the table [unless it disarms unilaterally]. If Egypt evolves with the Moslem Brotherhood at the helm it may not sit under the date palms and consider its treaty with Israel because the Brotherhood was responsible for the death of Anwar Sadat – the chief peacemaker in the region. Having a degree at the Wharton School of business will not guarantee one’s success in Wall Street neither will a degree at Harvard guarantee one’s success with middle-Eastern politics.

Even if one were to immerse oneself in mid-eastern politics 365 days of the year; one could not fully grasp the current situation because this conflict has gone on for thousands of years. One cannot reach into the desert and re-arrange the sands of time.

Mr. President, you have a unique opportunity and that is to change hats for a moment in time. Change your professorial hat so that as a student wanting to learn about what it is like as an archeologist sifting through the sands of Memphis.

As a proud American Jew, I say to you Mr. President please revisit the history of Judea circa the Temple of Solomon and reassess Israel’s Sovereignty and its rights and forbearance in that region.

The Congress of the United States of America, the ultimate representative of the American People, has listened with great enthusiasm to Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu & will soon consider the recent accord with Iran. If their decision is not to support the treaty, do not fight them. You have a chance to be thought of in the history books to come as an F D R rather than a Neville Chamberlain. The choice is yours.

With very best wishes to you and your family.

May God Bless the United States of America.

Respectfully, Cantor David Montefiore, O. S. J., Past President

The Jewish Ministers Cantors Association of America and Canada

13.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) leads the weekly government cabinet meeting. (Emil Salman/POOL/Flash90)

Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned the world for ignoring Iranian belligerence and chest-thumping after the signing of the Iran nuclear deal, saying, “as long as the Iranian leadership is encouraging calls of ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’, there is no reason to make any concessions to them.”

At Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “If someone thought that the extraordinary concessions to Iran would lead to a change in its policy, they received an unequivocal answer over the weekend in Iranian ruler Khamenei’s aggressive speech. The Iranians aren’t even trying to hide the fact that they will use the hundreds of billions that they will receive under this agreement in order to arm their terror machine and they are clearly saying that they will continue their struggle against the US and its allies, first among them being Israel, of course.

“Today Iran is arming terrorist organizations with missiles – tomorrow they will have the ability to arm them and themselves with much deadlier weapons. The agreement that was signed paves Iran’s way to arm itself with nuclear weapons within a decade, if Iran decides to honor the agreement, and before then if it decides to violate it, as it is usually does.

“The alternative to this failed agreement, which we proposed repeatedly, is the continuation and strengthening of the sanctions on Iran and conditioning the lifting of the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, and the lifting of the pressure on Iran, only if it changes its policy. As long as the Iranian leadership is encouraging calls of ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’, there is no reason to make any concessions to them.”

Netanyahu Takes His Message to American Public

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was interviewed on Sunday on ABC and CBS and told the latter, “The ruler of Iran, the Ayatollah Khamenei, says after this agreement is concluded that he’s going to continue the battle against the United States. He’s going to continue supporting terrorists in the Middle East and in the world. He’s committed to Israel’s destruction.”

Netanyahu added, “This regime has just received a dream deal,” and noted, “It’s getting, it may get a deal that may block or delay Iran’s path to one or two bombs for the next few years, assuming they don’t cheat, but paves their way to many, many bombs after a decade or so, because they become a threshold state with full international legitimacy, unrestricted number of centrifuges within ten to 15 years in which they can build, breakout to many, many bombs, a nuclear arsenal in a very short time. And to boot, they also get a cash bonanza to fund their terrorists and aggression against us, against the region, against America and the world. So I think this is a very bad deal with a very bad regime. It’s not good for anyone’s security – not ours, not yours.”

By: United with Israel Staff

Sign the Petition to Oppose the Nuclear Deal with Iran

The US Congress must reject the dangerous deal with Iran and ensure that sanctions remain in force until the nuclear threat is completely eliminated.

I strongly oppose any deal with Iran that allows for easing sanctions before the nuclear threat has been completely eliminated. Allowing Iran to enrich uranium without being subject to ‘anytime, anywhere’ inspections is extremely dangerous and unacceptable. This bad deal with Iran is far worse than no deal and must be rejected.

14.’Ancient Arab Susiya’ – The Town That Never Was

BY Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu]

The latest chapter in the Palestinian Authority’s re-invention of history is taking place in Susiya (pronounced “Soos-eeya“) located two miles from the old borders of Israel, on the western edge of the Judean Desert that leads to the Dead Sea, and less than half an hour from Be’er Sheva, the capital of the Negev.

The Arab strategy: An Arab family erects a tent, illegally, near the archaeological site of the ancient town of Susiya. As time passes, the tent becomes a makeshift structure, which expands into several structures. With the support of extreme left-wing activists, the ‘ancient’ town of ‘Palestinian Susiya’ is invented, reported the Tazpit News Agency.

“This makes for a great human interest story, but for one setback — the ‘ancient Palestinian Susiya’ never existed. It shows up on no records,” Tazpit wrote.

Yigal Dilmoni, deputy director-general of the Yesha Council, told Tazpit, “Fifteen-year-old [i.e., 1998—ed] aerial photos clearly show that there was no Arab village at this site … The Arabs have come for the village of Yatta, and … repeatedly disseminate lies.”

[Back in June 2013], the Civil Lands Authority issued approximately 40 stop-work orders against projects funded by the European Union and intended to firm up Palestinian Authority claims to land where they never lived until Jews came to the area in 1983.

In 1983, for the first time in 1,500 years, Jews began living in the southern Hevron Hills, setting up a community in nearby Beit Yatir, two miles to the south, and in Susiya, where the old Jewish town existed until approximately the 6th century.

Until 1983, the area experienced zero growth. Hot summers, cold winters, with occasional snow, and the lack of roads and water resources kept people away. Any land that was farmed by Arabs was done during the spring and summer and abandoned after harvest time, until the following year.

None of the land was ever registered as owned by anyone. During the Ottoman Empire, and under the British Mandate, the rulers of Hevron would sit in their living rooms and parcel out lands arbitrarily. That was the extent of “ownership.”

When Jews came to Beit Yatir, the Arabs followed. Three families from Yatta, a city adjacent to Hevron, fled because of family crimes, such as rape, and set up camp on a hill adjacent to Yatir, Their village quickly became known as the “Thieves’ Village,” for obvious reasons. They claim, of course, that they have been living there from time immemorial.

As a resident of Beit Yatir, and a security officer at the time, I and my colleague reported theft after theft to the police — laundry on the clothes lines, tricycles, shoes left outside and anything else that was not nailed to the ground. Further down the road, our moshav’s tractors often were stolen and tracks always led to the Thieves’ Village.

The police, of course, did nothing.

Susiya was established in the same year. No Arab lived there. Nor did they live in the ruins of the old city of Susiya.

But when the Civil Lands Authority issued the stop-work orders, the first step towards demolition orders, the left-wing movements and the Palestinian Authority reinvented history. “The Palestinian village of Khirbet [ruins of] Susiya has existed in the South Hebron Hills at least since the 1830s.”

The International Solidarity Movement [ISM] wrote last week, “The residents of Susiya include more than 30 families, who were all evacuated from their homes in the old Susiya village and forced to relocate 200 meters to the southeast, in 1986,”

It is a lie. They never lived there, not in 1830 and not in 1986 and not in 1996. A handful of Arabs sowed the land in the spring, harvest the crop in the late summer and went back to Yatta. Period.

“Susiya has been the site of creative non-violent resistance for years, resistance that is continually met with brutality,” according to the ISM.

Part of the “non-violent resistance was the cold-blooded murder of my friend Yair Har Sinai in 2001. He was shot dead in the head and the back by terrorists while, unarmed, he was tending his flock of sheep.

The police and army, of course did nothing for five years, even though his murderers were known.

The same pattern has repeated itself over the past 15 years [i.e., since 1998—ed].

Rabbis for Human Rights has helped the Palestinian Authority destroy Jewish farms.

Across the street from our home on Yatir, the Talya family, converts from South Africa, planted and cared for dozens of acres of land for a decade. The leftists moved in one day, ripped everything out, helped the Arabs plant, and won support from the IDF [Israel Defense Force].

Several years, our community’s children along with hundreds of other school students, celebrated Tu B’Shvat by planting planted more than 1,500 saplings on land adjacent to the our regional headquarters. A “rabbi” from the Human Rights group marched in, and announced that the children were illegal occupiers. The next day, the saplings mysteriously disappeared.

Why? Politics.

There is no law in the southern Hevron Hills. There is politics. There are IDF officers who want to advance in the ranks and have to adopt the government policy, which is “malign neglect” of Jews.

As security officer at the time, I was called by the Talya family to come to their farm because five Arabs had trespassed. When I arrived, I saw them surveying the land, well within the fence of the Talya farm which is legally zoned for Yatir agriculture.

I called the authorities, and an officer asked me, “What are they doing?”

“They are surveying the land.” I answered. “Today, they survey. Tomorrow, they claim it is theirs, and the next day they plant and build.”

His reply was, “What do you care? They are not bothering you.”

The government looks the other way, preferring to set its red lines around Efrat and Maaleh Adumim.

Losing control of the southern Hevron Hills is a free pass to terrorists who use the back trails to smuggle weapons from Bedouins in the Negev, as far away as the Dead Sea and south of Arab. Terrorists also take explosives from the area and use the same route to travel freely and wait for the right moment to blow up Jews in urban centers, from Be’er Sheva to Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem.

The gradual erosion of Israel control over what is supposed to be Israeli-controlled “Area C” has endangered the entire area. Thousands of Arabs have moved in, set up tents and built homes with the funding of hundreds of millions of dollars by the European Union.

Lacking any history of the area, most media swallow up the Arab story, hook, line and sinker.

Related Reports

The Tower Magazine

15.Michael Oren’s Assault on the Liberal Narrative on Israel by Shany Mor

~ Also in this issue ~

· The Central Pillar Supporting the Iran Deal Has a Big Crack In It by Emanuele Ottolenghi

· Alberto Nisman’s Secret Recordings, Revealed by Eamonn MacDonagh

· The Vienna Talks: An Expert’s Guide by Rafael Ofek

· Michael Oren’s Assault on the Liberal Narrative on Israel by Shany Mor

· When the White City Goes Dark, the Night Sky Fills with Flight by Benjamin Kerstein

~ Also by Shany Mor ~

· Michael Oren’s Assault on the Liberal Narrative on Israelby Shany Mor

· The Mendacious Maps of Palestinian “Loss”by Shany Mor

From the Blog

· – 07.19.15 –

Historian: Timing of UN Nuke Deal Vote Diminishes Congress’ Constitutional Power over Treaties

· – 07.17.15 –

Watchdog: Sudan is Campaigning for Hamas-Linked NGO to Join UN Group

· – 07.17.15 –

UAE Official: Nuke Deal Leaves Fate of Middle East in Iran’s Hands

· – 07.17.15 –

Leading Senators Urge Obama To Allow Congressional Review Of Nuclear Deal Before UN Vote

· – 07.17.15 –

Former Saudi Ambassador to US: Iran Nuke Agreement Will “Wreak Havoc” Across Middle East

For people who hold Israel to blame for the deterioration of ties with the U.S., the former ambassador’s firsthand account poses a serious challenge.

The last six years of Israeli-American relations have been characterized by both a deepening security partnership and—at the same time—acrimonious, occasionally personal, and often public disagreements on political issues.

A prevailing orthodoxy has emerged to explain this, one that creates very little dissonance for Americans whose views are basically liberal and not explicitly anti-Israel. The orthodoxy holds that the tensions between Washington and Jerusalem are the fault of an Israeli government that prioritizes settlements over peace and interferes in domestic American politics in an attempt to sabotage a diplomatic opening with Iran. The explanation for this is found in Israel’s “increasing rightward shift” and the personality of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is an orthodoxy championed by the likes of New Yorker editor David Remnick and assumed implicitly by The New York Times.

This orthodoxy is easy for American liberals to accept, particularly the bulk of American Jewish liberals. It also has a veneer of credibility, as Israel’s government has at times appeared to prefer policies that privilege the settlement enterprise over Israel’s more pressing security needs. At other times, its prime minister has publicly acted in ways that make him seem a bit too close to some of President Obama’s nuttier domestic opponents.

But this is not the entire story or even most of it, and the memoirs of Michael Oren, who was Israel’s ambassador to Washington during the crucial years of 2009-2013, will force a complete rethink of this “orthodox” narrative.

Readers of Oren’s previous historical writing, most notably Six Days of War and Power, Faith, and Fantasy, will not be surprised by his new book, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide. The reader encounters the same trademark historical method, with its focus on the dilemmas and information deficits of key decision-makers. Oren’s historical writing is never about defending an all-encompassing thesis or—as in much writing on Israel—drawing up an indictment. His histories are fundamentally human; but in this history, one of the humans involved is Oren himself.

And what a story it is. In a manner unsurprising to anyone who has followed the life arc of any Israeli male, Michael Oren in his mid-20s evinces a maturity far beyond his years, whether he is fighting in Lebanon or enduring a KGB interrogation while trying to reach out to Soviet Jews. At the same time, Michael Oren in his early 40s lives in a suspended adolescence, squeaking by in a tiny apartment and trying to figure out what he will do when he grows up. His tales of aliyah, career, marriage, fatherhood, and far more rushed trips to the emergency room than anyone should have to endure over a lifetime are related in an endearing, revelatory, and often poignantly self-aware manner.

It’s not the Michael Oren bildungsroman that will or should concern most readers of this book, however, but rather the deft challenge his book poses to the aforementioned orthodoxy regarding the crisis in U.S.-Israel relations that began in that long-gone winter of 2009 when Barack Obama stepped into the White House and Benjamin Netanyahu returned to the Prime Minister’s Office for his second term.

Oren dispatches the easy targets without much effort or energy. Radical Left anti-Zionists are a constant irritant, though the ambassador seems remarkably tolerant of them. Right-wing Republicans who want to use the issue of Israel as a means of attacking President Obama, even when they are doing long-term damage to Israel’s standing, are even more of a nuisance; but they also don’t merit more than a few short, explicit condemnations.

Oren’s real target is a broad, Center-Left liberal consensus; one that is largely sympathetic to President Obama and views itself as mostly pro-Israel. But Oren doesn’t explicitly attack this consensus the way he does the polemicists from Right and Left who occasionally made his job difficult. For the most part, he leaves judgments aside and presents a long narrative that ultimately paints a damning picture of an American administration that is—at times because of ideology and at other times because of incompetence—unable to process events in the Middle East. Yet it is very keen on expressing its impotent rage in well-publicized and self-defeating confrontations with its only dependable ally in the region—Israel.

This is more than just effective rhetoric; it is also quite clearly autobiographical. Oren begins the Obama era as a private citizen freezing on the Washington Mall, choked with emotion at the sight of America’s first black president being inaugurated. But then he watches the collection of mini-crises, manufactured eruptions of outrage, and tendentious and personal leaks against the Israeli prime minister that have no parallel even with America’s enemies, much less its friends. Oren reacts first with bewilderment and ultimately acceptance—a reaction that all but the most partisan readers will have as the book progresses.

Oren chronicles how the administration slights Israel over its efforts at foreign aid, indulges the provocations of the openly anti-Semitic leader of Turkey, insults Israel’s historic rights before the Arab world, and mocks Israel’s security fears with its allies in Europe. It violates a decades-old understanding between the U.S. and Israel that there will be “no surprises” between them by ironing out fastidiously diplomatic “terms of reference” that take both Israeli and Palestinian demands into account, but then announces the Palestinian position—the 1967 lines as a basis for negotiations—as U.S. policy.

In the first months of the Obama administration, the president endeavored to kick-start Arab-Israeli peacemaking by demanding three parallel gestures from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the pro-American Arab states. All three requests were refused, but only the Israeli “no” erupted into a full-blown public crisis—though, ironically, it was the only one that eventually turned into a “yes.”

Once this early crisis became the template for all future such crises, it’s worth recalling some of the details. In his first meeting with newly-elected Prime Minister Netanyahu in 2009, newly-elected President Obama demanded a total freeze on all settlement construction. Tactically, this had the effect of denying Israel a potential concession that could have been used to advance the peace process. Even worse, it placed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a position in which any future negotiations without a total settlement freeze could be read as a Palestinian concession, and thus much harder to sell to his people.

Beyond the tactical flaws however, lay a bigger problem: The blanket settlement freeze was a violation of understandings already reached between the previous Israeli government and the Bush administration. Here, I quibble slightly with Oren’s account, which follows the standard narrative in the Israeli media at the time. Oren describes the Obama demand as a violation of the Bush-Sharon letters from 2004, which spelled out American policy for a long-term vision of two states, in which the 1949 armistice lines (routinely referred to as the “1967 lines”) are explicitly ruled out as a future border.

The Bush letter, however, did not endorse or accept Israeli settlement construction in the blocs that are likely to be annexed by Israel; nor does it identify the blocs or even refer to them as such. Understandings about permissible or tolerable settlement construction were a separate, more discreet endeavor between the Bush administration and the Israeli government that was only partially successful. By failing to distinguish between understandings on construction in the near term and a firm American commitment to a political settlement in the long term, Oren is granting broad allowances to both sides.

First, he is letting Netanyahu off easy. In his zeal to protect his settler constituency, the prime minister was willing to be dragged into a public fight over an issue that was not a vital national interest.

Second, Oren is letting the president off very easy for a dramatic departure in American foreign policy. The Bush letter didn’t come out of nowhere. It was an American reward for a very dramatic and painful Israeli concession—the complete withdrawal from Gaza and the dismantling of four Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank without any reciprocal Palestinian concession of any kind and with no promise or even suggestion of peace in return.

Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren speaks about his book Power, Faith, and Fantasy in Tel Aviv, December 16, 2013. Photo: Gideon Markowitz / Flash90

Thus, Israel in 2004 was embarking on a very risky withdrawal and getting nothing in return but an American commitment that the new administration pretended did not exist. Obama is often unfairly blamed for bungling American policy in places where he inherited a genuinely difficult situation from his predecessor. This, however, was the one situation in which this was not the case; yet it was this inheritance that he was most determined to abjure immediately upon assuming command.

The resulting dispute played out in a tone that was uniquely poisoned and personal in comparison to others, including much bigger and more principled disputes with leaders much less friendly to Obama or the United States. But it was eventually resolved, with Israel agreeing to a ten-month freeze on settlement construction and the United States sponsoring peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Except that, for nine months, the Palestinians didn’t show up. And when they did, talks collapsed almost immediately. Oren’s play-by-play of what happens next is riveting. The administration makes Israel a far-reaching offer in exchange for a new settlement freeze, then leaks the American offer to the press as an Israeli demand, then rescinds the offer, then blames Israel for the collapse of the talks.

This was a pattern that repeated itself in the next round of negotiations. Israel’s concessions on statehood and territory were far-reaching, and its attempts to find a workable formula for mutual recognition went far beyond what the Israeli public was aware of; yet the Palestinian side was unable to agree to a meaningful peace. Nonetheless, in the aftermath of the process’ collapse, the Obama administration led a coordinated campaign to place the blame on Israel and settlement construction.

It then took a back seat while American allies ganged up on Israel and the Palestinians pursued a course of unilateral action at the UN and the ICC, as well as forming a unity government with Hamas. “The Palestinians,” Oren writes about both rounds of talks, “pocketed Israeli and American concessions and then left the table.”

The story of the final collapse—the canceled prisoner release, the almost-deal to revive talks, the ceremonious Palestinian signing of treaties in violation of their commitments, the reconciliation with Hamas, Kerry’s poof moment, and Martin Indyk’s barely anonymous interview pinning all the blame on Bibi—is well known.

Oren, of course, was no longer ambassador by the time the 2013-2014 talks fell apart last April, having left his post six months earlier. He was still ambassador, however, when the negotiations began and Israel agreed to the conditions governing them in July 2013.

The administration’s playbook this time around was nearly identical to the previous round: Squeeze concessions from Israel before negotiations begin, allow the Palestinians to pocket more concessions during the negotiations as a baseline for unilateral action, watch as the Palestinians refuse any agreement that involves actual reconciliation with the presence and legitimacy of a Jewish state, condemn Israel when the talks fail, and sit back as Europeans and others seek to make Israel “pay” for its “intransigence,” all while pursuing a parallel diplomatic initiative with Iran that an isolated Israel was powerless to block.

Yet Oren’s book leaves the reader wondering what his assessment of all this was. Oren refers constantly to his role as both an explainer of Israel to the Americans and an explainer of America to the Israelis. But reading his memoir, it remains unclear if he understood in real time what the administration’s strategy was and if he succeeded in “explaining” it to his government back home.

For example, by agreement with the U.S. and the Palestinian Authority, Israel was to agree to one out of three suggested preconditions: A new settlement freeze that would include East Jerusalem, a broad release of convicted Palestinian terrorists, or an a priori Israeli acceptance of the 1967 lines as the basis for negotiations. Between the lines, it is clear that Oren believed the best option was the settlement freeze, but it’s not clear how strongly he urged it on the prime minister or if he understood that either of the other two options was a trap.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren as Netanyahu arrives in Washington, D.C., March 5, 2012. Photo: Amos Ben Gershom / Flash90

The trap should have been obvious enough: A Palestinian agreement—on any borders and in any international framework—that would recognize a Jewish state and declare an end to the conflict was never possible to reach in nine months. Even if it were possible, it could never have been implemented by a Palestinian government that barely controlled the West Bank and didn’t control the Gaza Strip. Any concession Israel made would simply become the baseline for either future negotiations or an internationally-imposed settlement that would not include Palestinian acceptance of Israel’s presence and legitimacy.

More importantly, anyone who had lived through the previous round of talks should have known, must have known, that the administration would blame Israel for the failure and would use settlement construction as an excuse. Netanyahu might have thought he was picking only one precondition out of three, but the settlement precondition was always going to be used against him. I couldn’t glean from Oren’s book whether anyone on the Israeli side took this into consideration, much less thought about what to do when negotiations inevitably failed.

For Michael Oren, this is a particularly glaring lacuna, since once out of office, he more than any other public figure in Israel has made a lonely cause of planning affirmative Israeli action in the absence of diplomatic progress. Oren has done so much over the years to get an uninterested Israeli public to wake up to the importance of having a “Plan B” that it’s thanks to him that the Hebrew language now has a term for it (it’s plan-B) said even by Oren himself with a strong sabra accent). Yet it’s not clear from reading his memoirs if he or anyone else doubted that the second round of negotiations would lead to an actual agreement. This is a bit shocking given Abbas’ well-known positions, to say nothing of the chaos that gripped the Arab world in 2013 and the easily ignored fact that the Abbas regime was ruling only half of the Palestinian territories at the time. If there were pessimists on the Israeli team, did any of them formulate a Plan B?

Oren doesn’t say. Instead, he describes how shocked the Israeli team is by the way the American administration lets Israel take all the blame for the talks’ failure, then lies low while Israel’s enemies take action in international forums and America’s friends formulate punitive measures. The administration’s behavior in May-June 2014 was certainly shocking, but it should not have been surprising, least of all to Oren himself.

There is no room for surprise anymore as this administration moves forward with its opening to Iran and its risky gamble on the Iranian nuclear program. Pro-Obama, pro-Israel liberals have lived in a dissonance-free zone as long as they embraced the prevailing orthodoxy of Netanyahu’s malfeasance.

Oren’s book does not in any way exonerate Netanyahu from responsibility for allowing the settlement issue to limit Israel’s policy options or from misunderstanding a changing American domestic political landscape. But no serious reader from the camp that Oren is trying to address can close this book and still be free of that dissonance.

If that dissonance sparks a more robust and honest conversation about U.S.-Israel relations, and in particular about the problems of the last six years, this book will have made an enormous contribution. If it is mistakenly received as an anti-Obama Right-wing screed, embraced by the President’s conservative foes and caricatured, dismissed by everyone else, we will all be poorer for it.

Michael Oren’s Assault on the Liberal Narrative on Israel

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17.Iran Deal: Obama Just Sold Out an Ally, and It’s Not Israel by Vijeta Uniyal http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6186/iran-deal-sold-out-ally July 20, 2015 at 4:00 am

India’s Foreign Ministry and media welcomed the Iran deal, much as their counterparts in Western capitals did. But country’s defence establishment and business community are raising their concerns about the newly negotiated deal with Iran.

Recent defence procurements show that India is preparing for a destabilizing Middle East. In the run-up to the Iran deal, India has been ramping up its missile defence capabilities, including building a comprehensive missile defence shield capable of intercepting a ballistic missile fired from a range of 5,000 km — effectively covering the South China Sea and the Persian Gulf region.

India has good reason to be concerned about an Iranian windfall from its oil trade financing Shia militancy across the Muslim world. The Iranian ascendancy could intensify the Shia-Sunni fight for the control of political Islam and spill over into India’s Kashmir region and beyond.

India’s primary concern, however, remains neighbouring Pakistan.

As this nuclear deal sets a Shiite Iran on the highway to a nuclear bomb, rival Sunni-Arab nations are getting jittery about the prospect of living in an Iranian-dominated Middle East.

Pakistan would be the preferred one-stop shop from Sunni-Arab nations to acquire a “turnkey” nuclear bomb. Saudi Arabia has apparently financed Pakistan’s clandestine nuclear program for decades and hopes get an “off the shelf” nuclear bomb in return. U.S. President Barack Obama might be right about not allowing a nuclear Iran “on his watch,” but after he leaves the White House — and because of him — the nuclear landscape of the Middle East might be “radiating” like a pinball machine.

The multi-billion dollar nuclear deals between Pakistan and Sunni-Arab nations will be brokered by the Pakistani Army, and the money will largely go to fund Islamist infrastructure and jihadist insurgencies in Kashmir and beyond.

The Iran deal also ends India’s hopes of oil exploration in Iran. Major Western powers such as Germany and France, which pushed for an agreement, will be lining up to secure trade concessions from Iran in return for removing sanctions and watering down restrictions.

Indians will not be playing in that club of Oil Majors — it will be forced to take a back seat. Political commentators in India who may have hoped for unrestricted access to Iranian cheap oil after the lifting of sanctions, have not factored in that the French and the Germans are eying the same oil reserves.

Both Islamic State (ISIS) and Al Qaeda have repeated their calls for jihad on India. With ISIS in Syria having paraded a captured Scud missile that is capable of carrying a tactical nuclear warhead, it doesn’t take much imagination to picture a nuclear-armed Arab state falling to Islamic State or its affiliates.

The best India can do is to hedge its bets, secure its borders and strengthen its defences.

Like Israel, India too must realize that it is on its own. The Western powers that negotiated the Iran deal have demonstrated that they lack the conviction and resolve to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons — or prevent Arab countries from acquiring nuclear weapons of their own.

And with President Obama shrinking America’s “footprint” in the world, this time the cavalry might not be coming.

18. Hamas TV claim that tunnel runs from West Bank to Temple Mount debunked

Jpost.com 7/21/15

IDF destroys last remnants of Hamas tunnel near Gaza border fence.

Analysis: Hamas attack tunnels remain the greatest threat to Israel.

WATCH: Gaza Jihadi group reveals new terror tunnels in underground report.

“Due to the occupation, youth are forced to reach Al-Aksa to pray even if it means risking their lives,” Palestinian journalist says of supposed tunnel.

The Temple Mount complex in Jerusalem . (photo credit:MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Palestinians in the West Bank have been caught in the past on video using ropes and ladders to climb over the security barrier around Jerusalem to enter Israel. Now Hamas’ Al Quds TV station claims that the organization has managed to dig Gaza-style tunnels from beyond the security barrier to Al-Aksa Mosque in the heart of the Old City.
But according to Israel’s Channel 10, the tunnel featured in the report is fake and was a Hamas propaganda stunt to raise Palestinian morale and to mock Israel.
The Al-Quds video shows Palestinians trying to squeeze past a narrow space that is blocked by a large cement cube. The result of the effort of squirming through the underground area is shown at the end of the video which shows the Palestinian man praying at Al-Aksa.
All of the branches of the Israeli security forces told Channel 10 that the cement cube seen in the video is a blocking obstacle placed in an underground water passage.
Channel 10 noted that the journalist in the video does not herself attempt to bypass the supposed tunnel, though she does provide the reason for its construction.
“Due to the occupation, youth are forced to reach Al-Aksa to pray even if it means risking their lives,” she said. “Smugglers built this tunnel to bring people into Jerusalem by way of this dark, smelly and scary place that is hewn through stone,” she added.
During last year’s Operation Protective Edge, Israel tried to destroy Hamas’ tunnel network from Gaza into Israel that was built to launch terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.