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December 2019

BOOKS, ISRAEL Comments turned off

Dennis Ross, David Makovsky and Prof. Itamar Rabinovich criticize Yoram Ettinger for debunking demographic fatalism and torpedoing the Golan Heights giveaway

By on December 28th, 2019

Yoram Ettinger is one of the most perspicacious, most dependable, most honest diplomats cum Zionists I have ever known. His knowledge of the Jewish religion and the history of Israel from the founding in Hebron to the hillsides of Judea and Samaria, to the cafes of Tel Aviv is boundless.

The foregoing is everything that Dennis Ross, David Makovsky and Itamar Rabinovich are not.

As Ettinger states..”   Ross and Makovsky never bothered to discuss the issue with me, employing misrepresentation by members of Israel’s demographic establishment, which have been wrong, wronger and wrongest.   ”

Dennis Ross and David Makovsky (Be Strong and of Good Courage, September 2019, pp. 276-280); “For the last decade, one person has stood out among all others in challenging the analysis of those who say that demographic trends require Israel to separate from the Palestininians.  Yoram Ettinger, a former member of the Israel Foreign Ministry, has been the leading voice in seeking to debunk the demographic argument…. It is Ettinger who is the intellectual and political spearhead of the efforts to counter the demographic threat narrative.   

[Ettinger] has supported analytical work…to prove that the Jewish majority is not threatened by demographic trends.  In his words, ‘The Jewish state is not facing a potential Arab demograhic time bomb.  In fact, Israel benefits from a robust jewish demographic tailwind.’ 

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

‘Open Season on Jews in New York’: Assault on Young Mother Among Latest Antisemitic Attacks Reported in City

By on December 28th, 2019

https://www.algemeiner.com/2019/12/27/open-season-on-jews-in-new-york-assault-on-young-mother-among-latest-antisemitic-attacks-reported-in-city/?utm_content=news1&utm_medium=weekend_email&utm_campaign=email&utm_source=interna

Police in New York City have been dealing with rash of hate crimes targeting Jews during the 2019 holiday season.

A 34-year-old Jewish woman out walking with her young son became the latest victim of the spree of violent hate crimes against visibly-identifiable Jews in New York City during the holiday week.

The woman and child had been strolling through a quiet section of the Gravesend neighborhood in Brooklyn on Thursday when they were set upon by the assailant — a 42-year-old woman who was later apprehended by police.

The attacker reportedly had emerged from a Dunkin Donuts outlet in the neighborhood when she spotted the mother and son. She yelled an antisemitic slur and proceeded to beat the mother about the head with her shoulder bag.

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CHARLOTTE'S NEWS WEB, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

|ISIS VIDEO, VENEZUELA WORTHLESS CURRENCY

By on December 27th, 2019

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/isis-terrorists-mark-christmas-by-beheading-10-christians-on-video

ISIS terrorists mark Christmas by beheading 10 Christians on video by Spencer Neale

Ten Christians were beheaded and one other was shot dead by an ISIS-linked group in Nigeria in an act designed to coincide with Christmas.

A video recorded before the execution in the war-torn state of Borno shows a group of 12 men and a blurred-out woman pleading for help from Christian organizations and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.

“I appeal to the federal government to come to our aid,” said hostage Bitrus Zakka Bwala, a lecturer at the College of Education in Nigeria’s Yobe State. “As you can see, behind me are fellow Christians who were arrested at various points and brought to the base of the [Islamic State West Africa Province].”

Nigeria’s ISWAP, a break-off group of Boko Haram, released a 56-second video the day after Christmas that shows the 11 Christians being slain. After the first was shot, the other 10 were beheaded.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/venezuela-currency-paper-crafts

Venezuela’s currency so worthless it’s mostly being used for making crafts By Lucia I. Suarez Sang

Venezuela – once one of the more prosperous countries in Latin America – has been driven into such economic and political turmoil that its currency is no longer of any use.

However, that has not stopped Venezuelan bolivares from becoming a commodity elsewhere.

Across the border in Colombia, Hector Cordero uses the currency to make wallets and purses, which he sells to tourists in Colombia.

“These bolivares soberanos notes are worth nothing,” Cordero, who is from Caracas, told Al Jazeera. “These notes I use are not circulating any more since last year.”issi

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Why Are Academics Ignoring Iran’s Colonialism? By A. J. Caschetta

By on December 27th, 2019

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/12/academics-ignore-iranian-colonialism/

Behavior they decry when done by Europeans is overlooked when practiced by the Islamic Republic.

Academics today are obsessed with colonization, empire, and cultural hegemony, along with postcolonialism, ethnic studies, and intersectionality. Scholarship in many fields has come to be dominated by hegemony-fighting, indigenous-supporting anti-imperialists who attack anyone who disagrees with them. When a journal called Third World Quarterly published an article in 2017 about the benefits of colonialism, the uproar from the social-justice professors led to the article’s being withdrawn and 15 members of the editorial board resigning amid threats.

So if the profession is so adamant about the evils of colonialism, why is it ignoring Iran?

When strong countries exert their (unfair) advantages over weaker ones, imposing their values and cultures and manipulating indigenous economies, academics are among the loudest and most creative critics. Even the most benign influence of a powerful country over a weaker one is excoriated — hence the long obsession with something called “cocacolonization.” Legions of scholar-activists are busy enlisting history to shed light on the present, drawing parallels between a benighted European era of colonization and an ongoing American or Israeli one, looking under rocks for signs of Western, American, and Trumpian oppression and proclaiming a new American empire. Fair enough — but why ignore the Iranian attempts to do exactly to others what they accuse others of having done to Iran?

Journalists and analysts, such as Jonathan Spyer and Seth Frantzman, have been documenting Iran’s colonial expansion for many years. But most academics have been reluctant to turn their skills on Iran. Many prefer softer targets, such as Israel and the U.S. Earlier this month, the United Nations’ Decolonization Committee pushed eight anti-Israel measures through the General Assembly, showing where its priorities lie.

Even without its violations of other countries’ sovereignty, Iran itself is an empire, with ethnic Persians dominating the Arabs, Kurds, Balochis, Azeris, Turkmen, Lur, Gilakis, and Mazandaranis. Only a few, notably Daniel Pipes, Ilan Berman, and Shoshana Bryen, are interested in this fact.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Interminable impeachment By J.T. Young

By on December 27th, 2019

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/475894-interminable-impeachment

President Trump’s acquittal in the U.S. Senate is a foregone conclusion. But it will not be impeachment’s conclusion for Democrats. Democrats’ decision not to send House impeachment articles to the Senate clearly signals their strategy: Delegitimize any action short of removal. They will not let impeachment go, now or ever, because they must counter their sagging – and President Trump’s strengthening – political position.  

Democrats have been calling for President Trump’s removal forever, pursuing de facto impeachment since taking the House this year, and pursuing it in fact since September. This marathon became a sprint: One week in the House Judiciary Committee and one day on the House floor. Now, it has abruptly halted at what should be its climax.  

House leaders say they are not sending the impeachment articles to the Senate in order to leverage a fair trial there. How this gives them leverage, or how a trial there could be less fair than the House’s proceedings, is unclear. What is clear is that Democrats intend to maintain impeachment as an issue beyond its constitutional course. To rephrase Yogi Berra: “It ain’t over, even after the fat lady sings.”

To understand why, it is necessary to understand the myriad reasons behind Democrats’ singular obsession with impeachment.  

First, they have a weak case. This was evidenced by the bipartisan opposition to impeachment and the Democrats’ inability to convince even one Republican to support it.

Democrats therefore must blame someone else, and they are laying the foundation for claiming that someone else – additional witnesses – could have provided it.  

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HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

U.S. appeals court voids ‘shockingly low’ 17-year sentence in NY terrorism case Jonathan Stempel

By on December 27th, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-crime-terrorism/u-s-appeals-court-voids-shockingly-low-17-year-sentence-in-ny-terrorism-case-idUSKBN1YV1AL

A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday ordered the resentencing of a Staten Island, New York man for attempting to provide material support to Islamic State and kill an FBI agent, saying his 17-year prison term was “shockingly low.”

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Fareed Mumuni’s trial judge abused her discretion in imposing a term that was 80% below the 85 years recommended by federal guidelines, and even below the 18-year term for co-defendant Munther Omar Saleh, who was not accused of attempted murder.

In a 2-1 decision, the court said U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie improperly second-guessed whether Mumuni, 25, intended to kill FBI Special Agent Kevin Coughlin in June 2015 by stabbing him repeatedly with an 8-inch kitchen knife in Mumuni’s home.

It also said Brodie gave too much weight to mitigating factors such as Mumuni’s age, his lack of a prior criminal record and support from family and friends.

Such errors “caused the district court to render a sentence that is shockingly low and unsupportable as a matter of law,” Circuit Judge Jose Cabranes wrote for the majority.

Mumuni’s lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue in Brooklyn, whose office appealed the sentence, declined to comment.

Coughlin survived the attack.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

CAN TRUMP PUT THE USA BACK TOGETHER AGAIN? ROGER SIMON

By on December 27th, 2019

https://www.theepochtimes.com/can-trump-put-humpty-dumpty-the-usa-back-together-again_3186323.html

I’m no Nostradamus—indeed Nostradamus was no Nostradamus when it came to predictions, if you read the actual history. But I’m certain “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Donald Trump, despite the inevitable hiccups, will not be removed from office by the Senate and will win reelection next November.

But as much of a rough ride as the two hurdles might be, they are far from his most significant challenge. His real challenge, and it will be an extraordinarily difficult one, close to a 10 on the Richter Scale, will be to put Humpty-Dumpty—aka the United States of America—back together again.

Our society is riven as it hasn’t been since the Civil War. Families, friendships, work places are all fractured. Although we are rich as never before and at peace (cf. Matt Ridley and Michael Barone), we are, days before Jan. 1, 2020, effectively two countries at each others’ throats.

Some say this is Trump’s fault. His extreme rhetoric has driven us apart. To some degree this is true, but the yet more substantial causes were and are his opposition in the Democratic Party, the FBI, the CIA, and the media—not necessarily in that order but all working in tandem. (Entertainment and the academy helped too.)

Reading the inspector general’s report and the many intimations of what is going on with John Durham’s investigation, it is clear that Trump was ganged up upon in an unprecedented, and quite likely illegal, way even before he was nominated, let alone elected.

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Fends Off Rival in Primary Battle Leader touted his security credentials and high international profile to stave off a serious internal challenge By Dov Lieber

By on December 27th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/israeli-prime-minister-netanyahu-defeats-rival-in-primary-battle-11577399968

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won an overwhelming victory in a primary contest for control of his Likud party, despite corruption charges against him and months of political deadlock, to lead the party into Israel’s third national vote in a year.

His challenger, Gideon Saar, a 53-year-old former interior and education minister long regarded as his only serious rival for leadership of the Likud in Thursday’s party ballot, conceded defeat.

“A huge win! With God’s and your help, I will lead the Likud to a big victory in the coming elections and we’ll continue to lead the State of Israel to unprecedented achievements,” Mr. Netanyahu tweeted Friday morning.

Mr. Netanyahu won 72.5% of the vote, according to final results released by Likud. Nearly half of the 116,000 eligible voters cast their ballots in Thursday’s vote, the spokesman said.

Mr. Netanyahu’s victory, which followed a series of rallies up and down the length of the country, shows his enduring popularity within his party, preparing the way for his campaign for new elections set for March 2.

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ISRAEL, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Why Palestinian Leaders Fear Opinion Polls by Khaled Abu Toameh

By on December 27th, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15334/palestinians-corruption-opinion-polls

The Palestinian Authority leadership was far from pleased about AMAN’s exposure of the Palestinians public’s discontent with corruption.

Palestinian leaders fear that reports about corruption could contribute to a drying up of international funding of the PA. If donor countries got whiff of the fact that their taxpayers’ money is being squandered and stolen by senior PA officials, the cash cow might just kick over the PA bucket.

The statement by Transparency International is a clear indication of the campaign of threats and intimidation its representatives have been facing since the release of the corruption survey. The statement implies that AMAN was forced to withdraw its public opinion poll after its staff received threats from the PA leadership.

Mahmoud Abbas also apparently wants to make sure that donor countries continue to channel funds to his government without noticing that a majority of Palestinians are complaining about corruption.

Palestinian Authority leaders are upset: a survey published on December 11 by Transparency International, a global organization that “gives voice to the victims and witnesses of corruption,” found that corruption is increasing in the PA and in five Arab countries.

Transparency International said that its survey, called “Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) – Middle East and North Africa,” revealed that “almost two-thirds of all people (65%) in six countries surveyed think that corruption is getting worse in their country, and that their governments are not doing enough to end corruption.”

The GCB report, one of the largest, most detailed surveys of citizens’ views on corruption and experiences of bribery, incorporates the views of more than 6,600 citizens from Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan and Tunisia, according to Transparency International.

“For the first time, the GCB also measures the prevalence of wasta, or the use of personal connections, to access public services, in three countries: Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine,” it said in a statement. “Despite the relatively low bribery rates in countries like Jordan and Palestine, citizens often resort to wasta in order to get public services they need.”

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Democrats Just Betrayed Working-Class Americans To Appease Environmentalists Donald Bryson

By on December 27th, 2019

https://issuesinsights.com/2019/12/27/democrats-just-betrayed-working-class-americans-to-appease-environmentalists/

Congressional Democrats just betrayed America’s working class.

The House recently passed a series of bills banning offshore energy development, a significant source of employment for blue-collar Americans. Fueled by environmental fervor, these lawmakers are willing to sacrifice opportunities for their most important constituents.

There could be up to 90 billion barrels of oil and 328 trillion cubic feet of gas buried beneath federally owned sections of the ocean floor. That’s enough oil and natural gas to power the United States for over a decade. Ideally, energy companies would lease these underwater lands from the government and extract this bounty.

Unfortunately, the Obama administration outlawed energy development in over 90% of federal offshore territories. This policy prevents companies from accessing energy riches in the Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans — as well as the Gulf of Mexico.

Soon after taking office, President Trump vowed to lift this ban and revamp offshore energy production. But House Democrats are doing their best to stop him. The bills they passed last month would ban energy development off of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Alaskan coasts.

These policies deny working-class Americans prime employment opportunities.

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