Tectonic Shifts in Attitudes Toward Israel By Daniel Pipes 1/1/2019

As Arabs and Muslims warm to Israel, the Left grows colder. These shifts imply one great imperative for the Jewish state.

     On the first shift: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently pointed out “a great change” in the Arab world which has a growing connection to Israeli companies because it needs Israeli “technology and innovation, … water, electricity, medical care, and high-tech.” Explaining this normalization as a result of Arab states “looking for links with the strong,” Netanyahu was too tactful of American liberals to add another factor: Barack Obama’s policy of appeasing Tehran jolted the Arab states to get serious about the real threats facing them.

     It is striking to note that full-scale Arab state warfare versus Israel lasted a mere 25 years (1948-73) and ended 45 long years ago; and that Turkey and Iran have since picked up the anti-Zionist torch.

     Nor is it just Israeli companies making inroads into Arab countries. The Israeli minister of sports broke into tears as HaTikvah, Israel’s anthem, was played in Abu Dhabi upon the victory of an Israeli athlete. Rumors are swirling about a handshake to come between Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) and Israel’s prime minister.

     That Arab and Muslim enmity has fractured, probably never to be reconstituted, amounts to one tectonic shift in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The second, no less important, involves the global Left’s growing hostility to Israel....

     Attitudes toward the Jewish state follow an almost linear progression of growing negativity as one goes from right to left. A 2012 Pew Research Center survey of American adults found 75 percent of conservative Republicans sympathize more with Israel than with the Palestinians, followed by 60 percent of moderate and liberal Republicans, 47 percent of Independents, 46 percent of conservative and moderate Democrats, and 33 percent of liberal Democrats.

     It was not always thus... Democrats Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy rank among the most pro-Israel of American presidents, but Republican Dwight Eisenhower was unquestionably the most antagonistic.

     Mohammad ben Salman versus Jeremy Corbyn symbolizes these two tectonic shifts, as does Israel now enjoying better relations with Egypt than with Sweden. The president of Chad turns up in Israel but a singer from New Zealand does not. Israel’s athletes compete in the United Arab Emirates but get banned in Spain. Muslims show increasing indifference to the breakdown in Palestinian-Israeli diplomacy, but Leftists express growing anger over it....

Palestinian-American Sentenced to Life in Prison by PA for Selling Property to Jews - Khaled Abu Toameh

A Palestinian court in Ramallah sentenced a Palestinian-American to life in prison with hard labor on Monday, after finding him guilty of selling a house in the Old City of Jerusalem to a Jewish Israeli organization. Issam Akel, 53, was arrested by Palestinian Authority security forces in October. As a resident of east Jerusalem, he holds an Israeli ID card that gives him immunity against being arrested or prosecuted in a PA court.
    In November, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman wrote on Twitter that Akel's incarceration was "antithetical to the values of the U.S. and all those who advocate the cause of peaceful coexistence." He called on the PA to immediately release Akel. (Jerusalem Post)

The painting is by Marc Chagall. He was born and raised in Liozna, Belarus in 1887, of which half of its 66,000 inhabitants were Jewish. He studied Hebrew and the Bible in the Jewish school there. He moved to France in 1907. He studied art in schools in both France and St. Petersburg, Russia, and returned to France after World War I. He fled France during the Nazi invasion, finding sanctuary in the USA.

     In 1948, he returned to France, continuing his prolific art work in the artist colonies of Paris. Marc Chagall's paintings often showed a close identification of the Jewish people with Yeshua, depicted as a suffering Jew. In the above painting, you see Jews escaping from a pogrom, with one house in the right background up in flames. We see Yeshua with a tallit wrapped around his body, as he is being crucified, suffering with the Jewish people. Chagall died in Paris in 1985.

Netanyahu Meets With Christian Friends Of Israel In Brazil:  PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Sara Netanyahu met with Christian Friends of Israel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 30 Dec. 2018. During the event the post office of the Brazilian state of Amazonas launched a stamp that had been prepared by Christian Friends of Israel in honor of 70 years of Israel's independence. Netanyahu and his wife were on a visit to Brazil to attend the inauguration of Brazilian president-elect Jair Bolsonaro. Netanyahu spoke at the event, "We have no better friends in the world than the Evangelical community, and the Evangelical community has no better friend in the world than the State of Israel. In other countries in the Middle East, Christians must either be very careful or leave the country, but not in Israel. You are our brothers and sisters, and we defend Christian rights just like we defend the rights of all religions. It is not solely a matter of justice or values, it is a matter of deep recognition of our common ancient customs and our common heritage.

     "Our histories, our beliefs and our values are intertwined. Every time we dig in our land we uncover ancient synagogues or ancient churches. When you come to Israel today, you see a country that accepts you as brothers and sisters, you see a country that values freedom of religion, you see a country that is proud of our past and carries our values into the future. We now have the opportunity to create the future in Brazil together. President Bolsonaro said we were brothers. We are brothers and we will grasp the future together. I invite all of you to come to Israel. We will welcome you with all the love and warmth reserved for family members. I look forward to seeing you in Jerusalem”. (J.Post/Arutz-7)

Israel Saw Record-Breaking 4 Million Tourists In 2018:  Israel welcomed over 4 million tourists over the course of 2018, breaking a new record, the Tourism Ministry reported. 2018 saw an increase in tourist arrivals of 13% over 2017, and 38% compared to 2016, according to the ministry. “This historical record, of more than 4 million tourists in a year, is the realization of a decades-old dream of all those involved in the Israel tourism industry,” said Tourism Minister Yariv Levin... Today tourism makes a huge contribution to Israel’s economy and employment and the many tourists who come here serve as ambassadors of good will.” The ministry said 40% of tourists who arrived in Israel were returning visitors, “proof that Israel is a desirable destination in the world.” UK-based market research firm EuroMonitor named Jerusalem as the fastest-growing tourism destination in the world, more than any other city globally. (Times of Israel) Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Isaiah 60:3

Increase in Aliyah in 2018:  The Jewish Agency for Israel on 30 Dec. 2018, published its official year-end data on Aliyah. According to the figures, more than 29,600 people immigrated to Israel from around the world last year, compared with 28,220 new immigrants in 2017, a 5% increase over the previous year. The country with the largest number of olim (immigrants to Israel) in 2018 was Russia, with more than 10,500 immigrants, representing a 45% increase from 2017. Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog said, “Every Jew who comes to Israel and establishes a home here completes another piece of the wonderful mosaic of the Jewish people in their historic homeland. After 70 years of the state’s independence and the tremendous number of olim who have already made it to Israel, the potential for even greater Aliyah remains significant, and The Jewish Agency will continue to work to achieve that goal.” (J.Post)

UN Year In Review: 21 Condemnations For Israel, None For Hamas Or China:  Over the course of 2018, the United Nations has voted to adopt some 27. According to Hillel Neuer, executive director of United Nations Watch, 21 of the 27 condemnations were aimed at Israel. Iran, Syria, North Korea, Russia, Myanmar and the United States each received one. Even more striking is the fact that totalitarian China had none - and neither did the terrorist organization Hamas. A number of Trump administration officials -including the out-going Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley - have been harsh critics of the double standard the international body has regarding Israel. (Daily Caller)

Netanyahu: If Hezbollah Provokes Us – It Will Get Hit Hard:  PM Netanyahu on 30 Dec. 2018 gave an interview to Israel’s Russian-language Channel 9. On the issue of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorist group and its relations with Iran, Netanyahu said, "Iran is the biggest problem, Hezbollah is the second biggest problem. Iran wanted to arm itself with nuclear weapons, and I fought against them all over the world. We are conducting the campaign against Hezbollah so that when we are tested, we will ... be able to respond with a crushing response. Hezbollah will make a terrible mistake if it tries to attack us. Action against us on their part will cause us to hit them hard," the prime minister added. He also discussed the Trump administration’s peace plan for Israel and the Palestinian Arabs, which has been dubbed “the Deal of the Century”. "Only when I see the plan will I be able to respond to it. I am hearing all kinds of things, but I can say that Jerusalem will not be divided. I do not divide Jerusalem nor do I uproot communities,” stressed Netanyahu. (Arutz-7)

Daniel Pipes in Hungary

Daniel.Pipes@MEForum.org

No European head of government talks remotely like Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who seeks to build a "constitutional order based on national and Christian foundations," thereby avoiding a future in which "the whole of Europe has ... submitted to Islam."

     As I wrote after a visit to Hungary last year, in a striking reversal from the usual Western pattern, Jewish institutions in Budapest operate in the open while Amnesty International is "hidden behind an overbearing, protective metal door." Indeed, under Orbán, anti-Semitic incidents have declined and Hungary is the safest place in Europe in public for observant Jews. Orbán sensibly argues that allowing in large numbers of anti-Semitic Muslim migrants is the real threat to Jews, while he intensely attacks the anti-Zionist George Soros.

     If the UK is leaving the European Union, Orbán audaciously seeks to take it over. He has undermined a continent-wide consensus and encouraged voters in Poland, Austria, Italy, and Germany to resist further uncontrolled migration. As Hungary gains unprecedented centrality in Europe, Viktor Orbán is the continent's most important leader, representing a movement of global importance.

Leading Cause of Death

Worldwide is Abortion

Breitbart contrasted the abortion numbers to other causes of death, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, traffic accidents and suicide, and found that abortions far outnumbered every other cause. As of December 31, 2018, there have been some 41.9 million abortions performed in the course of the year, the report revealed. By contrast, 8.2 million people died from cancer in 2018, 5 million from smoking, and 1.7 million died of HIV/AIDS. Globally, 23% of all pregnancies were ended by abortion in 2018, and for every 33 live births, ten infants were aborted.

Iranian Mullahs Lock on Power is Shakier Than Ever:  Over a year ago, Iranians poured into their streets to denounce Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and call for an end to his brutal regime. Protests have continued unabated since, though these are smaller in number and less visible to foreign media. Still entrenched and viciously clinging to life, the Islamic Republic is nevertheless more vulnerable than it has ever been since the 1979 revolution. Today, unpaid factory workers, teachers, farmers and truck drivers are some of the most organized and motivated anti-regime forces. The southwestern city of Ahvaz experienced anti-regime labor protests last month.

Muslim Arab Woman Competing in Likud Party Primaries (Times of Israel)
    Dima Tayeh, from Kafr Manda in the Galilee, made headlines on Tuesday when she told Hadashot TV she was running in the Likud party's primaries. "There is no other country in the Middle East that respects its citizens and gives them as much equality as possible and democracy for all," she said.

    Israeli Arab activist Dima Tayeh, who participated in an Israeli anti-BDS delegation to the U.S., told Arab-Israeli Musawa TV that Israel was a democracy and not an apartheid state. "I wish that all the Arab communities could live in a democracy like Israel," she said.

Western Media Ignore Palestinian Tragedy in Syria -

Khaled Abu Toameh (Gatestone Institute)

The latest reports from Syria reveal that 82 Palestinians died as a result of brutal torture in prisons run by the Syrian government in 2018. Some 556 Palestinians have been tortured to death in Syrian prisons in the past few years.

    According to the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria (AGPS), the real number could be higher; those are just the ones they know about. The families of the victims are afraid to announce the deaths of their sons and daughters for fear of being targeted by the Syrian authorities.

    AGPS says that there are at least 1,711 Palestinians being held in Syrian prisons. Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria 8 years ago, 3,911 Palestinians have been killed. Where are the international media when those Palestinians are being brutalized?

U.S. Mideast Envoy: Palestinians Need to Accept Reality - Erez Linn

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman were given a guided tour of the Western Wall and the adjacent tunnels in Jerusalem, drawing condemnation from PA officials. In response, U.S. Special Representative Jason Greenblatt tweeted: " Will these officials ever realize that peace can only be built on truth and reality? You cannot wipe away truth or history. Time to get serious!"  (Israel Hayom)

Saudi Journalist: Time to Relinquish the Belligerent Discourse Against Israel:  On Nov. 2, 2018, in the Saudi government daily 'Okaz, journalist and legal expert Osama Yamani wrote: "A friend said to me: 'Why don't the Arabs [adopt] a new way of thinking instead of the one they constantly repeat in such a loathsome and impractical manner?....We fight Israel and try to eliminate it, when it is an existing fact, a tangible entity with international relations and friendly ties with most of the world's countries. We strive to eliminate a country that has power and the ability to defeat anyone who attacks it or threatens its existence.'"

    "'In the Gaza Strip Hamas grants no human rights, and in the West Bank there is no progress and conditions are constantly deteriorating. All this is in the name of steadfastness and confronting [Israel], which have yielded only disappointment and division....The late [Egyptian President] Sadat rejected the baseless slogans and restored Sinai to his country through negotiations, instead of with slogans, bluster, heroics and songs of glory.'"

    "At this point...I asked my friend: 'How do you think the [Palestinian] issue can be solved?' He smiled and said: 'You still think there is an issue? The issue vanished with the emergence of two states [in the West Bank and Gaza] and a diaspora that mostly does not wish to return.'"  (MEMRI)

Helping Vision For Israel To Assist Israel’s Poor: Your donations help us to feed hundreds of children each month and over 1,350 families to receive financial aid. You also enable us to provide 7,000 children living under the poverty line with brand new school packs. There is an ongoing need to help individuals and families who suffer from lack of food and basic living essentials in Israel. Please continue to enable us to assist terror victims, children at risk, the elderly, entire households suffering from poverty and others suffering hardship in Israel. Your generous donations are vital and appreciated at www.visionforisrael.com. Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done.” Prov. 19:17

USA Jewish Groups Denounce Palestinian-American Congresswoman:  Leading Jewish groups in the USA denounced a tweet by Palestinian-American Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) on legislation against boycotts of Israel. Tlaib wrote that the senators who are promoting the legislation "forgot what country they represent". The Jewish Democratic Council responded: "We oppose your charge of dual loyalty. It's wrong, dangerous, and hurts the cause of peace”. The American Jewish Committee tweeted a picture of Tlaib hugging a person wrapped in a Palestinian flag and wrote, "Tell us more about dual loyalty. It's particularly ironic for freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib to make the charge of dual loyalty, since she has vowed to 'be a voice' for her relatives in Judea & Samaria and declared that her 'passion for justice is rooted in my beautiful Palestine.'" (NY Post)

A Mathematical Biologist Reconstructs the Grotesque Efficiency of the Nazis' Killing Machine

Gary Stix (Scientific American)

·       This month Science Advances published a study titled "Quantifying the Holocaust: Hyperintense Kill Rates During the Nazi Genocide," by mathematical biologist Lewi Stone.

·       Stone's analysis of deportation train records indicates about a quarter of Holocaust deaths was concentrated in a single period, from August through October 1942, at three camps in Poland. And the largest Holocaust murder campaign only abated because so few Jews were left in German-occupied Poland.

·       Stone said in an interview: "My work investigates a period in 1942, referred to as Operation Reinhard, when the Nazis efficiently shuttled about 1.7 million victims - often whole Jewish communities - across the European railway network in train carriages to Treblinka, Belzec and Sobibor. Almost all of those who arrived at these death camps were murdered, usually within hours in the gas chambers."

·       "My study...reveals a sudden massive slaughter after Hitler 'ordered all action speeded up,' as one SS officer put it, on July 23, 1942. Approximately 1.5 million Jews were murdered in only 100 days, including shootings outside the death camps. On average, 450,000 victims were killed each month during August, September and October of that year. That's approximately 15,000 murders every day."

·       "The minimal time in which the operation took place indicates the enormous coordination involved by a state machinery responsive to the Fuhrer's murderous will to eradicate a people. The train records show how zones were emptied of Jewish communities one by one in an organized manner, and how intense kill rates were achieved in targeted areas that only slowed as victims ran out."

·       "As Raul Hilberg, author of The Destruction of the European Jews,remarked, 'Never before in history had people been killed on an assembly-line basis.'"

Amazon describes this book, which was

recommended to me (paperback £6.99):

     The Strange Death of Europe  by Douglas Murray is a highly personal account of a continent and culture caught in the act of suicide. Declining birth rates, mass immigration, and cultivated self-distrust and self-hatred have come together to make Europeans unable to argue for themselves and incapable of resisting their own comprehensive alteration as a society.

     This is not just an analysis of demographic and political realities; it is also an eyewitness account of a continent in self-destruct mode. It includes accounts based on travels across the entire continent, from the places where migrants land to the places they end up, from the people who pretend they want them, to the places which cannot accept them.

Editor's Note:  The above "book report" neglects to mention that most of the mass immigration is Islamic, many of whom are opposed to Western civilization, even as they are escaping their Islamic countries. Many are carrying with them a hatred of Christianity and are also anti-Semitic. They often prefer Islamic Sharia law to the laws of their adopted countries in Europe. Last, but not least, we are now witnessing a rapid increase in Islamic terrorism in Europe.

What Real Border Security Looks Like - Bret Stephens (New York Times)
At an Israeli military base on the Golan Heights, I visited a bunker-like structure where 20 women soldiers, some of them still teenagers, sat at screens patiently watching every inch of Israel's border with Syria, noticing patterns, prioritizing potential threats, and relaying information to operators in the field. Why an all-female unit? Because the Israeli military has determined that women have longer attention spans than men.

     Last August, the unit spotted seven Islamic State fighters, wearing suicide belts and carrying grenades, as they were infiltrating a no-man's land on their way to Israel. An air strike was called in. The men never reached the border.

Enough with the Hysterics, Anti-BDS Laws Are Perfectly Constitutional -

Ron Machol (Forward)

u The constitutionality of laws penalizing the boycott of Israel is being called into question as the Senate considers the Combating BDS Act. The act is designed to assist states and the federal government as they enforce anti-discrimination laws that focus on combating the spread of BDS.

u These laws are similar to other anti-discrimination laws that protect women, racial minorities and LGBTQ individuals. All of these laws balance the right to free speech with the government's obligation to protect vulnerable classes of people from discrimination.

u More than 40 years ago, in response to the Arab League boycott of Israel, laws were passed to prevent entities from imposing foreign policy in the U.S., prohibiting unauthorized boycotts against foreign nations. These laws have survived challenges in federal courts.

u In response to the spread of discrimination against Israel perpetrated by BDS, U.S. states began enacting laws that prohibit the state from spending taxpayers' money to contract with or invest in those who engage in BDS discrimination. These state anti-BDS laws do not infringe upon the First Amendment.

u There is a long line of Supreme Court decisions that allow states to choose who they do business with and to exclude discriminatory actions from First Amendment protection.
The writer is the COO of Zachor Legal Institute, which oppose discrimination in all forms, including discrimination targeting Israel under the banner of BDS.

Georges Loinger: French Hero Who Saved Jews in World War II Dies

(1910 - 2018)  www.bbc.com

French resistance fighter Georges Loinger, whose bravery and invention saved hundreds of Jewish children in World War Two, died aged 108 in December 2018. His death was announced by France's Holocaust Memorial Foundation.

     Born in Strasbourg to a Jewish family, he was captured by the Nazis in 1940 but escaped. One of the methods he used to save children was to take them to the Swiss border, then kick a football over the frontier and get them to chase it.

     "I spotted a football pitch that was on the border. It was made up of fences two-and-a-half metres high. I saw that there was nobody," he said. "I made the children play, I told some of them to lift up the fences and I passed the ball."

     Loinger was serving in the French army when he was caught in 1940 but his blond hair and blue eyes apparently concealed the fact he was Jewish from his German captors and this enabled his escape from a prisoner of war camp.

     Returning to France during the war he joined an aid agency trying to help Jewish children whose parents had been killed or sent to concentration camps.

     Another method he used involved dressing children as mourners and taking them to a cemetery on the French-Swiss border, where they would climb up a gravedigger's ladder to neutral territory. He is thought to have saved more than 350 children. Loinger's cousin was another French resistance fighter, the mime artist Marcel Marceau.

World Council of Churches Trained 1,800 Anti-Israel Activists, Funded by UNICEF (NGO Monitor)


The Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) is the World Council of Churches' (WCC) "flagship project" on the Arab-Israeli conflict. In the past 15 years, EAPPI has brought 1,800 volunteers to the West Bank for "training for advocacy upon returning to home country."
    When volunteers return home, they engage in anti-Israel advocacy, such as BDS campaigns and comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa and Nazi Germany. WCC does not run similar activities in other conflict zones. Since 2013, UNICEF has channeled extensive donor-government funds to EAPPI.

New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Wins ‘Jewish Nobel’:  New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is the winner of the $1 million Genesis Prize, the so-called Jewish Nobel. Kraft, 77, will be giving the money “to initiatives combating anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice as well as attempts to de-legitimize the State of Israel,” according to a statement.  Genesis Prize co-founder Stan Polovets called the Jewish-American NFL owner and businessman “one of the world’s most generous philanthropists.”  Over decades, the Kraft family has given more than half a billion dollars to causes including health care, education, the Jewish community, Christian organizations, and local needs. “This award amplifies my ability to raise both awareness and additional funds to fight anti-Semitism, attempts to de-legitimize Israel and other forms of prejudices,” said Kraft. He will receive the award at a gala in June 2019 in Jerusalem. (INN)     Reprint from:

Barry & Batya Segal, Vision for Israel

PO Box 7743, Charlotte NC 28241

U.S. Army Eyes Purchase of Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System

The U.S. army has asked Congress to approve $373 million to purchase two of Israel's Iron Dome missile interception batteries, the American defense website Inside Defense reported Wednesday. The army is seeking to acquire the two batteries with 240 interception missiles by 2020 to provide U.S. ground forces interim protection against unmanned air vehicles, mortars, rockets, artillery and cruise missiles in conflict zones around the world.

     While the U.S. has attempted to develop interceptor systems of its own, only Iron Dome could meet the mandated goal of implementing an interim cruise missile defense capability by 2020. A U.S. Army document submitted to Congress on Oct. 26, 2018, said that based on cost analysis and recent simulation results, the Iron Dome system was the best option to fulfill immediate needs and requirements. "The Iron Dome system provides the best value to the Army based on its schedule, cost per kill, magazine depth, and capability against specified threats," the document said. (i24News)

Palestinian Conspiratorial Thinking as an Obstacle to Peace - Adam Levick


We know from polling that conspiratorial thinking is quite common among Palestinians. 88% believe that Jews have too much control over global affairs and the global media. 78% think Jews are responsible for most of the world's wars. Other conspiracy theories widely accepted in Palestinian society involve the claim that Israel is trying to destroy al-Aqsa Mosque, and that it steals Palestinian body organs.

Pro-Hezbollah Activist Posts Photos With Rashida Tlaib at Swearing-In Ceremony: Representative Rashida Tlaib, Michigan Democrat, was called out 14 Jan. 2019 after Palestinian activist Abbas Hamideh, a staunch defender of the terrorist group Hezbollah, posted photos of the two of them posing at her swearing-in ceremony in Detroit. Mr. Hami-deh tweeted a photo of himself with Ms. Tlaib along with the caption, “I was honored to be at Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib's swearing-in ceremony in Detroit and private dinner afterward with the entire family, friends and activists across the country.” Critics were quick to point out that Mr. Hamideh has a history of praising Hezbollah leaders such as Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and declaring that Israel has no right to exist.

     In Dec. 2015, Mr. Hamideh called convicted terrorist Samir Kuntar a “legendary Hezbollah martyr,” days after he was killed in an explosion in Damascus. Kuntar was convicted of murder and terrorism for his role in a 1979 attempted kidnapping that resulted in the deaths of four Israelis but was released in a 2008 Israeli-Hezbollah prisoner exchange. Max Samarov, executive director of the pro-Israel group Stand With Us, said that Mr. Hamideh has a “long record” of incendiary rhetoric. “Just one example: He called Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah ‘the most honorable man on earth,’” Mr. Samarov said, referring to a Feb. 2016 social media post. “Hassan Nasrallah has made genocidal threats against Jews, he has actively aided the dictator Bashar al-Assad in the mass murder of the Syrian people.” (Washington Times)

Marcel Marceau, Master Mime,

Rescuer of Jewish Children During Holocaust        www.imdb.com

Marcel Marceau was the legendary mime, who survived the Nazi occupation, and saved many children in WWII. He was regarded for his peerless style pantomime, moving audiences without uttering a single word, and was known to the World as a "master of silence."

He was born Marcel Mangel on March 22, 1923, in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, and was brought up in Strasbourg and Lille. There he was introduced to music and theatre by his father, Charles Mangel, a kosher butcher, who also sang baritone and was a supporter of arts and music. His mother, Anne Mangel (née Werzberg), was a native Alsatian, and the family was bilingual. At the age of 5, his mother took Marcel to a Charlie Chaplin's movie, and he was entranced and decided to become a mime. Young Marcel was also fond of literature, he studied English in addition to his French and German, and became trilingual.
     At the beginning of the Second World War, he had to hide his Jewish origin and changed his name to Marceau, when his Jewish family was forced to flee their home. His father was deported to Auschwitz, where he was killed in 1944. Both Marceau and his brother, Alain, were in the French underground, helping children to escape to safety in neutral Switzerland. Then Marceau served as interpreter for the Free French Forces under General Charles de Gaulle, acting as liaison officer with the allied armies.

     Marcel Marceau gave his first big public performance to 3000 troops after liberation of Paris in August of 1944. After the war, in 1946, he enrolled as a student in Charles Dullin's School of Dramatic Art at the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre in Paris. There his teacher was Etienne Decroux, whose other apprentice Jean-Louis Barrault hired Marcel Marceau, and cast him in the role as Arlequin. His biggest inspirations were Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Marx Brothers. In 1947, blending the 19th century harlequin with the gestures of Chaplin and Keaton, Marceau created his most famous mime character, Bip, a white-faced clown with a tall, battered hat and a red flower. In 1949 he created his own company and toured around the world.

     Marcel Marceau shone in a range of characters, from an innocent child, to a peevish waiter, to a lion tamer, to an old woman, and became acknowledged as one of the world's finest mimes. He died in 2007.

UNWRA is a Racist Obscenity: Through UNWRA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency), the Palestinian Arabs have received 25 times more aid per capita than did the whole of Europe to rebuild their shattered countries after World War II. And yet, many decades later, Palestinians still use the victimhood card of poverty and statelessness, even though massive funding flows through the hands of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.  UNWRA is the only UN refugee agency dedicated to a single group of people. They do not solve the refugee problem. They inflate it. One needs to ask why.

     Palestinians do not absorb their refugees. Instead, with cooperation from UNWRA, they increase their refugee numbers with each generation. Compare this to Israel that absorbed more refugees from Arab and Muslim countries than the number of Arabs fleeing the Arab-inflicted wars against the Jewish State. On top of this, Israel absorbed millions of immigrants from around the world as citizens. As for the Palestinians, 90% of their so-called refugees were never displaced, therefore should not carry the status of refugees. Another obscenity is that 40% of the 'refugee' recipients are not refugees at all, having been given citizenship in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Yet their numbers still appear in the UNWRA and Palestinian Authority ledgers.

     International funding to UNWRA in 2016 was in excess of $1.2 Billion to an agency that deals exclusively with the Palestinians, and ignores the 50 million genuine refugees elsewhere in the world. UNWRA is an anti-Semitic obscenity because it perpetuates the Palestinian conflict against the Jewish State and has no intention of reforming itself to operate as other refugee agencies do, to reduce their number of refugees, and to address the fraud of Palestinian refugee status. (INN)        Barry & Batya Segal

                   Vision for Israel, PO Box 7743

                        Charlotte NC 28241

Israel, Hungary, 
to Retrieve
Victims' Remains
From Danube

by Kate Norman BridgesForPeace.com

PO Box 1093,

Jerusalem, Israel

16 January 2019 | Sometime between the autumn and winter of 1944–1945, a teenage Jewish girl in Hun-gary huddled under a window near the Danube as she listened to what she described as “popping sounds.”

     “What I saw was worse than anything I had ever seen before, worse than the most frightening accounts I had ever witnessed,” Zsuzsanna Ozsváth described in her Holocaust Memorial testimony. “Two Arrow Cross men were standing on the embankment of the river, aiming at and shooting at a group of men, women and children into the Danube—one after the other, on their coats the Yellow Star.

A memorial for Jewish victims

shot during the Holocaust.

“I looked at the Danube,” she continued. “It was neither blue nor gray but red. With a throbbing heart, I ran back to the room in the middle of the apartment and sat on the floor, gasping for air.” The bloody picture Ozsváth painted was all too common in Hungary at that time as the pro-Nazi, violently anti-Semitic Arrow Cross party took over the nation with the help of Germany and began a grisly reign of terror against the Jewish people.

     According to the Shoah (Holocaust) Resource Foundation, under the violent reign of the Arrow Cross, “nearly 80,000 Jews were expelled from Hungary in a death march to the Austrian border. Many died on the way. At the same time, thousands of Jews were murdered in Budapest.”

     Seventy-four years after these horrific massacres, a team of Israeli search and rescue divers are plunging into the Danube to retrieve remains of the victims murdered along the riverbank and give them a proper Jewish burial.

     Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri announced Monday that his counterpart in Budapest, Sandor Pinter, gave permission for ZAKA, a volunteer recovery and rescue organization (often for remains of terror victims), to search the river for what is left of the Jewish victims.

     “I’m pleased that the Hungarian Interior Minister has promised assistance, support, and technological equipment for the benefit of this project,” Deri said. “I hope the ZAKA divers will be able to bring these holy martyrs to full Jewish burial.”

     There is no specific number or estimate, other than “thousands,” of Jewish people who were murdered along the banks of the Danube as Arrow Cross members indiscriminately lined up men, women and children along the bank of the river, often forcing them to step out of their shoes, and shot them into the icy water. The frigid river carried the bodies away, earning the Danube its nickname, “the Jewish cemetery.”

     A Yad Vashem (Israel’s Holocaust Memorial) article further describes the horrifying scene of the mass murders. “In some cases the Arrow Cross men tied together the hands of two or three Jews—adults or children. Then they would shoot only one of the people who were tied together,” the article said.

     “When they did their work properly and positioned their victims at the edge of the water, all three would fall into the Danube, the dead body pulling the still-living victims with it,” the account continued. “All the bodies, tied together, would either sink or float away down the river.

     “If the militiamen noticed that Jews were still alive, they used them for target practice. However, most of the Jews—especially the children—died almost immediately because the water was freezing cold.”

     Today, people walking along the Danube might stumble across what looks like preserved vintage shoes lying haphazardly along the river bank. Three signs placed strategically among the shoes explain their purpose: “To the memory of victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944–1945.”

     It is “The Shoes on the Danube Promenade” memorial that honors the thousands of Jewish men, women and children who were murdered on the riverbank.

Jan Karski: Righteous Gentile

Jan Karski was born Jan Kozielewski to a Roman Catholic family in Lodz in 1914. After completing his university studies, Karski joined the Polish diplomatic service.

     At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, he joined the Polish army but was taken prisoner by the Soviets and sent to a detention camp in what is now Ukraine. Karski escaped and joined the Polish underground movement.

     With his knowledge of geography and foreign languages and a remarkable memory, Karski became a resourceful courier. He conveyed secret information between the resistance and the Polish government-in-exile. In late 1940, while on a mission, Karski was captured by the Gestapo and brutally tortured. Fearing that under duress he might reveal secrets, Karski slashed his wrists, but was sent to a hospital from which the underground helped him escape.

     In late 1942 Karski was smuggled in and out of the Warsaw ghetto and a transit camp at Izbica, where he saw for himself the horrors suffered by Jews under Nazi occupation, including mass starvation and transports of Jews en route to the Belzec killing center. Karski then traveled to London where he delivered a report to the Polish government-in-exile and to senior British authorities including Foreign Minister Anthony Eden. He described what he had seen and warned of Nazi Germany’s plans to murder all European Jews. In July 1943 Karski journeyed to Washington and met with American President Franklin D. Roosevelt to give the same warning and plead for action.

     Allied governments were focused on the military defeat of Germany, and Karski’s message was greeted with disbelief or indifference. Disheartened, Karski remained in the United States where he earned a PhD from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Karski refused to return to Communist Poland. Instead, he remained in Washington promoting Polish freedom and serving for many decades as a professor at Georgetown.

     Spurred by the memory of the Holocaust, for the rest of his life Karski worked tirelessly for Polish-Jewish understanding and to honor the memory of all victims of Nazism. In addition to receiving the highest Polish civic and military decorations, Karski was made an honorary citizen of Israel and was awarded the distinction “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem. Karski died in Washington, DC, in July 2000.

Amazing Testimony of Hezbollah Terrorist Who Became a Rabbi

by Pini Dunner

A former Hezbollah member known as Ibrahim once fought against the Jewish State from Lebanon. The last thing you would expect to find out when you meet this unique man.  He was born and raised in Lebanon, but underwent a radical transformation. In the first Lebanon war, Ibrahim met an Israeli soldier who helped his wife deliver a baby.  That was the beginning of a relationship that he had with the IDF. In Lebanon, some Arabs hated other Arab terrorists in the area.  Ibrahim was a Shiite who was deep in the Arab Civil War in Lebanon. He had to endure torture and all kinds of horrible things. He was both hated by the Hezbollah, but then served as one of them. But, he held a deep secret of revenge and turned into a spy for the State of Israel within Hezbollah. Ultimately, Ibrahim escaped and found refuge in the State of Israel. And all of this is just the beginning of the story. The next part of the story is the story of Ibrahim deciding to become a Jew.  Within a few years, he had studied enough and became an ordained Rabbi. Today, known as Rabbi Avraham Sinai, he lives a life like an ordinary Orthodox Rabbi. But his fascinating story is one in a million and is almost beyond comprehension.

The Subbotniks of Russia

by Pini Dunner    www.algemeiner.com

The Subbotnik sect — also known as Shaposhniki (“hat wearers”) — first appeared prior to the Russian Empire’s annexation of the areas in Poland later referred to as “the Pale of Settlement,” which was home to a significant Jewish population. Before that time Jews were not permitted to live in Imperial Russia — and although Subbotniks were eager to claim Jewish descent, it would appear that their Jewish-inspired belief system was entirely self-generated, evident from the absence of any Hebrew in their liturgy, and also from the non-existence, at least initially, of any laws or customs originating in the Talmud.

     Unsurprisingly, the Subbotniks were viciously persecuted, despised both by the state and by the devoutly Christian population. By the end of the 1830s most of them had been exiled from European Russia to Siberia or the Caucasus. Additionally, Subbotnik children were forcibly taken from their parents and given to Christian families for adoption.

     In the late 1800s, a large contingent of Subbotniks who had formally converted to Judaism joined the first wave of aliyah to Eretz Yisrael, and a number of Israel’s most prominent public figures were descended from these Subbotnik immigrants, including Ariel Sharon, whose mother Vera Schneirov-Scheinermann was of Subbotnik descent, and former Chief of Staff and Cabinet Minister Raful Eitan.

     Today, there are approximately 20,000 Subbotniks scattered across the former Soviet Union, mainly in tiny communities that are shrinking and disappearing at a rapid rate. Some efforts have been made to bring them to Israel, but this is complicated by the lack of certainty as to their Jewish identity and their consequent exclusion from the Law of Return.

     Although the Subbotniks denied the divinity of Jesus, and rejected the notion of a Second Coming, it was not their heresy that defined them for the Russian authorities. It was their observance of Shabbat. And indeed, it was this aspect of their religious sectarianism that gave them their name. Not the fact that they gathered in their houses of worship on Saturdays and prayed, but because they refused to work on Saturdays, and took upon themselves, to the best of their knowledge, all the restrictions of Shabbat observance.

     Ahad Ha'am famously quipped: “More than Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews” – an astounding observation from someone who had himself abandoned Shabbat observance in favor of cultural Judaism. But notwithstanding his own drift away from Shabbat observance, on this point, he hit the nail squarely on its head.

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

First of all, the good. Unlike his predecessor, President Trump has shown himself to be pro-Israel. Other presidents promised to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but never did it. Trump did it. Thank you, Donald Trump! He also recognized that there is such a thing as Islamic terrorism. Trump was warned that this would lead to the Islamic world turning against the USA. He went to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, denouncing Radical Islamists. They loved it, because the Arab nations of the Middle East also recognize Radical Islam as being a threat.

     He also recognizes the threat of liberal federal judges that legislate from the bench, such as the Roe v. Wade decision, and the Supreme Court decision that the entire nation must recognize same-sex marriage as a Constitutional right. Federal justices should rule on the basis of what the US Constitution actually says, not on what they wish it said. President Trump is now installing strict constructionists into the federal courts. Previously, the courts were also discriminating against people of faith, such as the baker Jack Phillips, an earnest Christian, who refused to make wedding cakes for same-sex marriages.  The very first amendment to the Constitution is freedom of religion. Trump recognizes this.

     Trump also stopped all federal aid going to UNRWA, an evil organization which is hostile to Israel and to the USA, and which is perpetuating a refugee crisis which should have ended in 1950. He also has drastically reduced aid to the Palestinian Authority because of their "pay to slay" policy of rewarding those who commit acts of terrorism and murder against Jews.

     Now for the bad & ugly. Gary Bauer, former president of the Family Research Council, said this about Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky in 1998: "Character counts - in a people, in the institutions of our society, and in our national leadership." Amen!! But apparently it only counts when it is a Democrat in the White House. In early 2016, Trump was bragging about his "affairs with so-called happily married women."

     Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr. were both pretty good presidents. But they were also the first to have federal budget deficits of hundreds of billions of dollars. Along came Bill Clinton. Although Clinton reduced the budget deficits, House Leader Newt Gingrich caused a government shutdown, demanding a balanced budget. Clinton delivered, and was the only president in the past half-century to balance the budget. However, in 2019, the budget deficit will be over a trillion dollars! But this is apparently okay, because it is a Republican in the White House.

     Don't get me wrong. I am happy that the legacy of Obama/Hillary has been reversed. But we should hold both Democrats and Republicans accountable for their shortcomings.

A Thought to Help Us

Think About HaShem

Dr. Yishayahu Rubinstein

of Machon Vetsman

When studying DNA in a microscope, they look like two springs spiraling around and attached to each other. As long as the connection continues, the cell is alive.

     He found that along the whole DNA sequence, there are "bridges" that keep the spirals from detaching, thereby keeping the cells alive. He saw a pattern in these bridges:

10 acids, then a bridge

5 acids, then a bridge

6 acids, then a bridge

5 acids, then a bridge.

Then the pattern repeats itself. He tried to figure out what this pattern meant, and was in awe:

10 = i

5 = d

6 = e

5 = d

Each Hebrew letter has a numeric value. In this case, the numeric pattern spells out God's name in Hebrew:  dedi [YHWH].

     Just as an artist signs his name on his creation, the great artist of all creation, HaShem leaves His signature on each cell of our bodies.

 BDS Supporting Rep. Ilhan Omar Appointed to House Foreign Affairs CommitteeMinnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar was named last week to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In a Tweet on Thur. 17 Jan. 2019, Omar announced her excitement at being appointed to the committee that “oversees all foreign, national security affecting the country’s foreign policy, treaties, peacekeeping and war powers.” I finally have committee assignments and I am excited.” Omar, who supports the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, in 2012 accused Israel of “hypnotizing the world” and of evil doings. “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel,” she tweeted in reaction to Israel’s November 2012 “Operation Pillar of Defense” in Gaza, in response to rockets launched by Hamas into Israel. (Arutz-7)

Islamist Militants Kill More than 100 Soldiers in Nigeria


An Islamic State-allied faction of Boko Haram killed more than 100 soldiers and seized a huge stock of weapons in clashes in northeast Nigeria since Dec. 26, forcing thousands of people to flee to safer areas in Nigeria and over the border to neighboring Chad. (Reuters)


Chad Restores Diplomatic Relations With Israel During Netanyahu Visit
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chad President Idriss Deby announced the resumption of diplomatic relations on Sunday during Netanyahu's visit to Chad. Ties had been severed in 1972. The prime minister said, "We have a partnership in trying to forge a prosperous and secure future for our countries and in a larger sense for Africa and beyond....We discussed how to deepen our cooperation in every field beginning with security, but also agriculture, food, water, energy, health and many more."

    "It's significant for us that Chad is a country with a Muslim majority that seeks the friendship of Israel. There are many such countries, but in Africa this is particularly significant. And we seek the friendship of other countries in Africa....We believe in the future of Chad and the future of Africa. This is my fourth visit to Africa in two years."  (Prime Minister's Office)

At $110 Billion, Israeli Exports Worldwide Mark Record Performance In 2018: Exports to Asia grew by 20 percent in 2018, reaching $10 billion, exports to the EU held steady at $16 billion, and exports to the United States amounted to $11 billion. Economy and Industry Minister Eli Cohen said the government’s exports goals are to cross the $120 billion mark by 2020. According to a report by the Economy and Industry Ministry and the Israel Export Institute, the increase in Israeli exports exceeds the growth seen in global trade. The data shows that the goods and services sector was the strongest performer in 2018: the export of high-tech services noted a 14% increase and a record $51 billion, while the export of electronic and chemical goods were $60 million.  

      Cohen noted that “the international arena poses complex and difficult challenges for Israeli exporters, and I am pleased that the ministry’s various aid programs are helping exporters to cope with international markets.” (Jewish News Syndicate) 

     “Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.” Deut. 8:18

Barry & Batya Segal, Vision for Israel,

PO Box 7743, Charlotte NC 28241

Natural Gas Fields Gives Israel a Regional Political Boost: A decade after discovering natural gas fields off its Mediterranean coast, Israel is feeling a geopolitical boost, building bridges with its neighbors even without significant progress being made toward peace with the Palestinians. Last week's inclusion of Israel into the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum in Cairo marked the first time Arab countries accepted Israel into such a regional alliance. "I think this is the most significant economic cooperation between Egypt and Israel since the signing of the peace treaty 40 years ago," said Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz. "The discovery of significant gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean has also political value because it brings all of us together to cooperate with each other." Israel already delivers gas to the Palestinians and to Jordan, and will begin exporting gas to Egypt in 2019. (NY Times)

Republican Reps. Introduce Resolution Condemning Anti-SemitismRepublican Reps. Lee Zeldin, Elise Stefanik and Ted Budd introduced a resolution on 23 Jan. 2019 to condemn the rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment in politics. The resolution specifically called out Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, the leaders of the Women’s March, as well as Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar who have expressed their support for the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement. The BDS movement calls for companies and groups to protest and penalize the state of Israel over its [so-called poor] treatment of the Palestinian people.

     Many of those who are in opposition to the movement label it as anti-Semitic because they are only targeting one country to be penalized and not any other. Congresswoman Tlaib was also asked in the resolution to explain her relationship with Abbas Hamideh, a man who was at her swearing-in ceremony and has previously expressed his belief that Israel does not have the right to exist. “From using the oldest anti-Semitic tricks in the book to rejecting Israel’s very right to exist, blatant anti-Jewish, anti-Israel hate is growing and normalizing the discrimination against the Jewish people this world vowed it would never accept again,” Zeldin stated in a press release. “Congress must immediately and unequivocally denounce this hatred in the United States and around the world, standing in solidarity against racism and discrimination in any form.” (Daily Caller)

Israel Named Fifth Most Innovative Economy In The World:  Israel has been named as the fifth most innovative economy in the world, according to the 2019 Bloomberg Innovation Index.  Last year, Israel was ranked in 10th place but this year jumped to fifth place as a result of better patent registration. The Start-Up Nation came just ahead of Singapore, which ranked in sixth place, while the USA only made it to eighth place after falling to 11th place last year. Japan fell to ninth place after being pushed out of sixth place by Singapore. Bloomberg placed South Korea in first place for the sixth year running since the inception of the index in 2012, due to new investments in key technologies and a regulatory plan for encouraging startups.  Germany advanced to second place due to investment in production and research by many of its industrial giants, such as Volkswagen, Daimler and Bosch. Third and fourth places were taken by Finland and Switzerland, respectively. The world's second largest economy, China, only reached 16th place on the listing, while the UK lost to China for the first time, falling to 18th place. Among 2019’s lowest ranked economies were Tunisia, South Africa, and Ukraine, which fell out of the top 50. Following the publication of the rankings, PM Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted his elation.  "Israel is number five on the new list – five places higher than we were ranked last year," he said. "Israel is a rising global power." (J.Post)

Barry & Batya Segal, Vision for Israel,

PO Box 7743, Charlotte NC 28241

The Netherlands and the Jews in World War II - Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld
The Dutch government remains the only one in Western Europe that consistently refuses to admit, let alone apologize for, the massive failures of its predecessors towards the Jews during WWII. In May 1940, the Netherlands was occupied by the invading Germans. In the years to follow, more than 70% of its 140,000-strong Jewish population were murdered after having been sent to German camps, mainly in Poland.
    In the preparatory activities for what would lead to genocide, the Dutch authorities followed Nazi orders. Dutch police arrested Jews, including babies, simply for being Jews. Dutch railways transported Jews to the Dutch transit camp Westerbork, and from there to the German border. Dutch police guarded the Jews in the camp.

While authorities in the occupied Netherlands assisted the Nazis, a small minority of good Dutchmen helped 24,000 Jews to hide. A third of these were ultimately betrayed. The Netherlands was the only occupied country in which a group of volunteers and a special police unit were paid to hunt down Jews in hiding.

The HolocaustThe "Holocaust" refers to the period from 30 January 1933,[1] when Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, to 8 May 1945, the end of the war in Europe. Millions of Jewish men, women and children were murdered by Hitler and his brutal cohorts during this time. While it is impossible to ascertain the exact number of Jewish victims six million is the round figure. Auschwitz concentration camp was a network of concentration and death camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II... It was in holes such as these that Jewish victims were starved, tortured, subjected to slave labor, beatings, inhumane medical experiments, and murdered in gas chambers by the millions.

     Elderly Holocaust survivors suffer mental and physical torments to this day. Their children in many cases bear traumatic scars as a result of being raised by such emotionally and physically shattered parents. (JNN)  Pray for provision, healing and the peace of God to be with the now elderly and often impoverished victims of the Holocaust, and their children.


Soaring Indicators Show Israel's Economy Is Strong - Matthew A. Winkler
Israel's gross domestic product has been rising at an average annual rate of 3.69% since 2000, inflation has been 1.57%, and unemployment has fallen to 3.6%. The nation of 8.4 million people has outperformed European stalwarts since 2009. Israel's GDP growth of 69% since then is more than 17 times what Austria managed and almost three times what Switzerland mustered.

    Among the 36 developed economies that make up the OECD, Israel will be the 4th fastest growing (tied with Chile) this year with 3.6%, behind Slovakia, Poland and Slovenia.

Prominent Democrats Form Pro-Israel Group - Jonathan Martin (New York Times)
 Several prominent veteran Democrats, alarmed by the party's drift from its longstanding alignment with Israel, are starting a new political group - the Democratic Majority for Israel - that will support candidates in 2020 who stand unwaveringly with the country.  "Most Democrats are strongly pro-Israel and we want to keep it that way," said Mark Mellman, the group's president and a longtime Democratic pollster.

Intel to Invest an ‘Unprecedented’ $11 Billion in Israel OperationsUSA technology giant Intel Corp is to invest an "unprecedented" $10.9 billion in the company's Israel-based operations, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon announced, significantly expanding its multi-billion dollar presence in the country.  "This is huge news for everyone who cares about the State of Israel, the Israeli economy and Israeli citizens," Kahlon said, adding that the "unprecedented decision" following a year of government efforts would create thousands of jobs for residents of the South. Israeli media reported that it is planning to use its largest investment in Israel to date to construct a vast production facility in the southern city of Kiryat Gat.

     "Our continued confidence in Intel’s future and excellent partnership with the State of Israel is at the foundation of the business plan we will submit," said Yaniv Garty, Intel VP and Intel Israel General Manager. The new factory is expected to span some 370,000 square meters, and the land will be allocated by the government without having to go through a tender process. "Intel's choice to continue to significantly invest in Israel is an important expression of confidence in the Jewish state and the Israeli economy," said Economy Minister Eli Cohen. (J.Post)

Top Saudi Official: Barack Obama Lied, Set Middle East Back 20 YearsFormer USA president Barack Obama lied to Saudi Arabia when violating the redlines he famously declared regarding Syria’s use of chemical weapons and then not acting when they were used, a former senior Saudi official said in a media interview.  Bandar bin Sultan served for years as head of Saudi intelligence as well as the Saudi ambassador to the United States. In the interview, he recalled a last phone call between the late Saudi King Abdullah and Obama, during which the Saudi leader told the USA president: “I did not expect that after this long life, I would see the day when an American president lied to me.”  

     Obama, bin Sultan said, “would promise something and do the opposite.” He said that the president took the Middle East back 20 years and also spoke critically of the Iran nuclear deal and how the former president spoke publicly about curbing Iran’s activities, but then went behind Saudi Arabia’s back and negotiated the nuclear deal. These policies by Obama, he said, emboldened Russia and Iran and paved the way for them to enter Syria and interfere in the civil war that has raged there since 2011... Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, bin Sultan said that the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat committed a “crime” against his people by rejecting the peace plan proposed by former President Bill Clinton. (J.Post)



[1] Anti-Semitic persecution began as soon as Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. However, many experts date the beginning of the Holocaust to Kristallnacht, the violent, nationwide pogrom against the Jews of Germany in November 1938.