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.
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
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
“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.
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-Semitism:
Republican 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 Holocaust: The "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 Operations: USA 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 Years: Former 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.