A new movement to register American expatriates in Israel to vote in the US elections aims to encourage them to cast their ballots for the good of Israel.
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States realize that “effective sanctions” is a contradiction-in-terms, since Russia and China, as well as India and Japan, and probably parts of Europe, do not cooperate with the US. Forty years of diplomacy and sanctions have paved the road to a nuclear North Korea and are paving the road to a nuclear Iran.
In an interview with Ha'aretz last Friday, Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya’alon made clear that for Israel the red line is Iran’s capability to produce a nuclear weapon and not Khamenei’s order to produce a bomb. He also said that Israel is not bluffing when it comes to decisive action to stop Iran and does not need an American ‘green light’ for a military strike .
23 students from America and Canada just graduated from the Technion American Medical School in Haifa.
The US Embassy in Tel Aviv announced Wednesday that it will be giving away tickets to an annual Independence Day party at the US ambassador’s residence in Herzliya.
By JTA
"We have confronted the Russians about stopping their continued arms shipments to Syria," Clinton said Tuesday. "We are concerned about the latest information we have that there are attack helicopters on the way from Russia to Syria."
On Wednesday, Shimon Peres will receive the Medal of Freedom. I urge him to thank President Obama and the United States and then, on Thursday, to go visit Jonathan Pollard and give the Medal of Freedom to him. Freedom is nothing if it is at the expense of others; justice for some is not enough. Israel cannot accept such an honor from the United States so long as the US continues to hold Jonathan Pollard in captivity.
By Barry Rubin
The Obama administration’s portrayal of the assassination of Osama bin Laden as some courageous decision shows more than anything how weak the President is. A normal U.S. government would have taken this choice for granted, and not felt the need to stress the president’s alleged machismo.
Independents – who are the most critical group for a November victory - voted for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in the recall election in higher-than-expected numbers. In 2008, they facilitated Obama’s victory by all-time-high turnout numbers.
By Ted Belman
Obama put a 'gun' to Bibi’s head to prevent Israel from annexing Area C in response to the unilateral move by the PA for recognition at the UN. The 'gun' was Obama’s threat not to veto the UNSC resolution recognizing Palestine.
A week of setbacks for President Obama has the GOP excited about Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's chances to emerge victorious in November. Rasmussen's most recent poll has Romney leading Obama by one percentage point, which represents a five point swing from May 20, when Obama led Romney, 47%-43%.
Given that Israel is on the frontline fighting terrorist threats, having been subjected to terrorism on an almost daily basis since its birth, one would expect that Israel would be among the founding members of the GCTF. Nope. Israel was not included among the membership, and is not even permitted to attend its meetings as a non-member.
US undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence David Cohen, visiting Israel to coordinate sanctions policy with senior Israeli security, discussed plans to impose additional sanctions on Iran in the summer. In an interview with Haaretz, Cohen said: “If we don't get a breakthrough in Moscow there is no question we will continue to ratchet up the pressure."
In an address marking the 23rd anniversary of the death of his predecessor Ayatollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also accused the West of cynically exaggerating the threat a nuclear Iran poses to divert attention: "What Americans and Westerners do is idiotic. They magnify the nuclear issue to cover up their own [economic] problems."
The states of the Arabian Peninsula feel increasingly dependent on the US and the West to safeguard their independence and their political and economic maneuverability, but the West seems tired and exhausted, and its leadership - especially the current resident in the White House, who is heavily influenced by the approaching elections - lacks backbone and has no ability to stop the Iranians from galloping towards regional hegemony.
Today, most of the anti-regime demonstrations throughout the kingdom are being initiated and led by Muslim Brotherhood supporters whose goal is to turn Jordan into an Islamic republic. Many Arabs feel that President Barack Obama's endorsement of the Muslim Brotherhood has emboldened the Islamists and increased their appetite to drive moderate and secular rulers out of the Arab world.
Israel will tax your U.S. municipal bonds, many of which are tax exempt.
By Anav Silverman, Tazpit News Agency
Utilizing social networking as its base, Jobsminer.com is the only job search engine that aggregates jobs in real time from social networks including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, and more.
If you were PM Netanyahu and were deciding whether you could entrust the West in general, and this US administration in particular, with the physical survival of your country, what would you do?
By J. E. Dyer
The holiday from history is over, although we may be the last ones to see it. Neither Russia nor Iran – nor China, North Korea, or Syria, for that matter – is very interested in signing anything with the West right now. Good deals based on the old assumptions aren’t as tempting when better ones seem to lie just over the horizon.
By Barry Rubin
In an interview on an Egyptian television station, "moderate" Egyptian Presidential candidate Abul Fotouh said he was against “terrorism” but then explained that Usama bin Ladin was not a terrorist, that the United States only called him one in order to “hit Muslim interests,” and that the killing of bin Ladin was an “act of state terrorism.” In other words, he’s saying September 11 wasn't an act of terrorism but that Obama’s policy is anti-Muslim and terrorist.
In anticipation of the historic Presidential elections being held today, the Egyptian Independent offered a survey of the foreign policy platforms of the candidates. Despite their differences, they speak in one voice about the need to restore Egypt to its rightful place of primacy in the Arab world and their hostility towards Israel.
The United States can survive without the international order, but it cannot survive the international order. If the United States is going to survive the century, it will have to do so as a rogue nation.
By Barry Rubin
If ever I've seen a single sentence that spells disaster in the Middle East, this is it:“`People say things in a campaign and then when they get elected they actually have to govern,’ [U.S. State Department] spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.”
The current round of negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran will not enhance Israel’s security. Rather, they will do the opposite. They represent a strategy of appeasement rather than the use of power. What should happen is that the West should deliver a credible ultimatum to fully dismantle the program or face sharply increased sanctions — or, ultimately, military action.
Frequent travelers to the US from Israel – and vice versa - will soon have a smoother time making the landing, thanks to Israel’s entry into the US Global Entry Program.
New sources of oil and gas found in the US, Canada and South America are expected to make the Western Hemisphere energy self-sufficient by 2030. Even Israel has new sources of natural gas. And the rest of the world’s energy supply will no longer be hostage to the Mideast-dominated OPEC cartel. So at long last we can say goodbye to the ‘oil weapon’ and to the use of surplus oil money to buy politicians and academics.
For many American Jewish students who want to study medicine, studying at the Technion American Medical School in Haifa is an attractive option.
By J. E. Dyer
For the United States, issuing attack threats in the manner of Hugo Chavez is not a convincing posture. I don’t know if the Israelis will find it reassuring; I suspect the Europeans and Iranians will find it annoying, and decide to ignore it.
The US Senate will consider a new sanctions package against Iran on Thursday, in which oil and economic embargos will be considered in order to force Iran to abandon its nuclear development program. In the meantime, the US and Israel prepare for the possibility of a military strike on Iran.
It’s official – over half of babies are being born to racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, according to a report in the Associated Press.
The family of Daniel Wultz, 16, a Florida resident who was killed in a Palestinian suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv won a $323 million judgment in a U.S. court against Iran and Syria. Attorney Darshan-Leitner said the Syrian government's aircraft, ships and corporations can be impounded to force Syria to comply with the court's ruling.
By Anav Silverman, Tazpit News Agency
Omar Epps, on his second visit to Israel with America's Voices in Israel, explained that it was the country's "rich history, culture, people and energies" that drew him back. "For me personally, the spiritual significance of this place hits me to the core. The fact that the world's three ancient religions meet in one place makes the holiness of this land so unique," said Epps. "I'm bringing my kids here next time to experience this land together with my wife."
By J. E. Dyer
When Romney speaks of the US auto industry recovering, he is speaking in the language of big, dirigiste government, accepting at face value the short-term effect of a bailout process that has served mainly to perpetuate unprofitable but politically entrenched conditions. It guarantees that more subsidies will be needed down the road.
The WSJ today reported that the bomber whose plot to blow up a jetliner was foiled was a double agent, providing "vital information" to U.S. and Arab intelligence agencies, this according to officials who celebrated a successful infiltration of al Qaeda's "most dangerous branch." The news came one day after the Central Intelligence Agency, working […]
By Sarah Stern
The Koby Mandell Act created the Office of Justice of Victims for Overseas Terrorism in the Department of Justice, to ensure that all American citizens, irrespective of where they were killed or maimed, would get the justice under American law they deserve. I naively thought that the 54 American citizens who had been killed by Palestinian terrorists and the 83 who had been wounded would finally get a crack at the American justice they so richly deserved.
By Lauren Schmidt, Israel Campus Beat
Oren stressed the importance of treating every question with respect, noting that there is only one question that he refuses to respect. “I won't respect any question that draws a comparison between Israel and the Nazis," he said. "I won't respond to that, at least not respectfully."
By Barry Rubin
People don’t want to be told to sacrifice, especially because they suspect that the elite isn’t doing so and that this same elite is responsible for the mess. So they can be—easily?—manipulated into voting for those who tell them to eat, drink and be merry, with a minimal tax on billionaires and millionaires paying off the caterer.
Coupled with the new political reality engendered by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's new and broad unity government, Congress' supplementary funding appears to advance Israel's preparation for the military option against Iran, as well as the potential international and military fallout.
The attempt to serve as an honest broker between Israel and the Palestinians has defied reality and U.S. interests. While Israel has been an unconditional ally of the U.S. and a role model for countering terrorism, the Palestinians have actively and ideologically sided with U.S. enemies and rivals: Nazi Germany, the Soviet Bloc, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, North Korea, Iran, China and Russia.
By J. E. Dyer
The whole world knows the peril Chen and his family are in. The right approach here is not to seek a “solution” that gets the governments of China and the US off the hook; it’s to stand by Chen and demand that he be treated with the respect for his rights as understood in the Helsinki Accords. While China is not a signatory to the Accords, their standard for freedom, travel and emigration, and reunification of families is the touchstone to be invoked in this instance.
By Rafi Harkham
Danny Goldstein, founder and chairman of 'Calcala' ('Finance'): “We are focused on making Israel a better place to live and a better place to invest by merging the best of Israel and America - representing Israelis, but with an eye on the American perspective.”
A major annual US gay conference will feature Israel and its gay community this year. The Equality Forum’s four-day event in Philadelphia, ending Sunday, featured Israeli gay performers, activists, and Israeli ambassador Michael Oren. Each year, the conference chooses another country as its theme. Gaycities.com rated Israel the top Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual travel […]
As far as most Palestinians are concerned, the "friend of my enemy is my enemy." Palestinians hate the US because of its continued support for Israel. The Palestinians want the US to endorse all their demands and force Israel to give them everything. As one of the leaders of a recent anti-US demonstration explained, "The US will remain our enemy for as long as it does not fully support the Palestinians."
Instead of going after top officials suspected of embezzling public funds and abusing their powers, the Palestinian Authority government has chosen to wage an unprecedented clampdown on those who dare to raise their voices in support of transparency and freedom of speech.
By Barry Rubin
As you know, just about everyone in the world outside of Israel has been claiming that an attack is imminent or that it is only being held back by the U.S. government. My argument has been that this is simply untrue. Most of the Israeli strategic and intelligence leadership oppose an attack, for the same reasons I do. Moreover, these people don’t believe it is going to happen in the near future.
By J. E. Dyer
President Obama recently unveiled the Atrocities Prevention Board, and appointed Samantha Power as its head; the same Samantha Power that has called Israel a "major human rights abuser." This is only one of the many troubling aspects of this new initiative.
By Barry Rubin
Egypt will hold its presidential election May 23-24 with a possible run-off June 16-17. It is impossible at this point to predict what’s going to happen but I can make a good guess. Eight weeks from now Egypt will be led by either a radical anti-American Islamist who wants to wipe Israel off the map or by a radical anti-American nationalist who just hates Israel passionately.
Iran has started manufacturing models of its captured US spy plane, the commander of the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps announced on Saturday, Meher reported.
These people are in effect combatants in the Arab war against Israel, albeit without guns. They do their best to disrupt operations and protect terrorist fighters, who do have guns and explosives.
By Tibbi Singer
Back in 1998, Lord Nazir Ahmed, 53, became the first Muslim life peer. Now he is reported to have said: "'If the US can announce a reward of $10 million for the (capture) of Hafiz Saeed, I can announce a bounty of £10 million (for the capture of) President Obama and his predecessor, George Bush."
By Tibbi Singer
JP Morgan acquired a $100 million stake in Conduit from investor Yozma fund at a $1.4 billion valuation. Conduit’s cash cow is its toolbar, which the company says has been used by more than 200,000 sites, including MLB.com and Miniclip, to reach 250 million users.
By Tibbi Singer
Democratic candidates vying for Connecticut’s US Senate, which is being vacated by Joseph I. Lieberman, are not sure their colleague Lee Whitnum should be allowed to participate in future live televised debates, after calling US Rep. Chris Murphy a “whore” for his support of Israel, during an NBC debate. Whitnum is suing the US over its support for Israel, saying it should send $600 million of it to Connecticut.
When asked how he felt about the warm reception, the governor responded “it’s a little disorienting. I just got here 9 am this morning and did not expect to meet Americans from Tennessee, Minnesota, California, and New Jersey.” Chants of “2016” could be heard among the crowd, referring to the governor’s potential bid for the next presidential election in four years time.
Last week, a Foreign Policy article by Mark Perry shows American military intelligence officials and diplomats being snide, cutting, and condescending – both toward Israel and toward Azerbaijan, a country that sits on Iran's border and has its own serious problems with the Iranian style of radicalism exported to it.
In 1620 and 1630, William Bradford and John Winthrop delivered sermons on the Mayflower and Arbella, referring to the deliverance from “modern day Egypt and Pharaoh,” to “the crossing of the modern day Red Sea” and to New Zion/Canaan as the destination of the Pilgrims on board.
By Barry Rubin
To view government as a form of deity or an inevitable friend of the poor and downtrodden is an illusion. Government is not a magic box, but a can of worms. To see it as a player, with its own interests, that should be as distrusted as any bank or corporation is the purest form of common sense, the very triumph of common sense over ideology and dogma that made America great, its people free, and real democracy possible.
The actual question has almost nothing to do with the Palestinian Arabs and whether they have a state. It has to do with whether the Jews can continue to have one. There is a huge amount of human energy and financial resources that are being wasted in support of the Palestinians. It wouldn’t be necessary if the world could simply get used to the idea of a Jewish state.
By The United Nations Relief and Works Agency
The Commissioner-General of UNRWA expressed his gratitude for the crucial support extended by the United States: "The United States remains UNRWA's largest bilateral donor and this latest contribution again demonstrates America's strong support to the Agency and its activities, of which improving the lives of Palestinian refugee youth, and the opportunities open to them, is such an important part."
By Barry Rubin
As the Turkish PM continues to undermine Turkish democracy, throw hundreds of moderates into jail, destroy the nation’s institutions, support Iran, throw hysterical tantrums about how much he hates Israel, promote Islamism in the region, and is fresh from yet another meeting with Hamas leaders, Obama continues to use Erdogan as his guru.
By Rafi Harkham
Deputy FM Danny Ayalon said Israel would not be cooperating with the Council in the wake of its passage of a resolution ordering a 'fact-finding mission' into Israel's conduct in Judea and Samaria: "We have no reason to continue cooperating with a hypocritical organization which specializes in double-speak and has a mission to smear us."
It would appear to be ironic that when it comes to Iran, so-called "doves" favor a mutually assured destruction policy that threatens the deaths of millions over a preventive policy that targets military nuclear facilities. But it is not at all ironic, since such doves would be against actually carrying out the threat that is central to any credible policy of deterrence. For them, deterrence is a bluff—a hollow threat and the Iranians would see right through it.
By Barry Rubin
In 2012-2013, the vultures in the Middle East are coming home to roost. Of course, the main cause of developments in the region is the long, failed legacy of radical Arab nationalism which is now being replaced by what we’ll be calling in 20 or 30 years the long, failed legacy of revolutionary Islamism. But the secondary cause is the mistaken policy of President Barack Obama.
Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Dean of Yeshiva Torah Ore in Kiryat Mattersdorf, Jerusalem, and Yeshivas Derech Chaim in Brooklyn, passed away Tuesday at age 101. Rabbi Scheinberg was born in Poland, in 1910, and raised in the US. He moved to Israel in 1965. He was a renowned halachic posek, and was considered by many […]
Netanyahu was speaking at a special Knesset session, called after 40 MKs signed a bill requiring the prime minister to give an accounting to the legislature.
By J. E. Dyer
A solution in which the Syrian people are empowered to operate more freely in a true multi-party government, under the aegis of multinational protection against both Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, would be the most desirable, achievable outcome. It is not possible to broker this outcome while ignoring Russia.
Russian diplomat: 'The invasion will happen before year’s end. The Israelis are in effect blackmailing Obama. They’ve put him in this interesting position - either he supports the war or loses the support of the Jewish lobby.'
In response to the question of whether they would back US military action if it meant an increase in gasoline prices, a majority -53%- still expressed support for military action, while 42% said they would not.
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin announced that he has canceled a Knesset delegation's trip to the US after MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) was denied a US visa due to his past membership in Meir Kahane's political party Kach. MKs Tzipi Hotovely (Likud), Einat Wilf (Independence), and Zehava Gal-On (Meretz) were scheduled to attend a women's empowerment […]
Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger said on Sunday that the US should premise its policy on Iran on the assumption that it is actively seeking to produce nuclear weapons. "I am very uneasy with the so-called intelligence report that say we don't know whether they are actually working on nuclear weapons," Kissinger said […]
A survey released two weeks ago, titled “The American Mosque 2011,” revealed a tremendous growth in the number of mosques across the US since 9/11, and claims that Islamic radicalism in the US is on the wane. But Islam expert David Yerushalmi says that many of the numbers presented in the survey don't add up, and in fact contradict similar surveys conducted in recent years.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told the National Journal on Thursday: "If they (Israel) decided to do it, there's no question that it would have an impact, but I think it's also clear that if the United States did it, we would have a hell of a bigger impact." President Obama and US officials have been […]
By Rafi Harkham
The Israel Export Research Institute reported that from October 2011 to January 2012, the US share of Israeli exports had drastically declined as compared to the same period the year before. In contrast, Israel's exports to the Asian market have seen healthy growth, with an increase of 9% over the same period, totaling $3.1 billion.
Occupy AIPAC is a weekend long series of events to coincide with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual Policy Conference, going through March 6. The Occupy AIPAC website says the group is gathering in Washington DC for a policy-style summit on the issues of Iran, the Arab Uprising and Palestine and "the affects of AIPAC in determining US foreign policy around those topics."
By Ted Belman
The Obama administration needs to lead the world in providing direct aid to the Syrian people to stop the genocide in Syria
Refraining from preemption would gravely destabilize the Mid-East and beyond. The only effective way to prevent Iran’s nuclearization and its devastating cost is to preempt!
According to FOCUS Information Agency, the United States said Wednesday that Israel's settlement activity was not "constructive" for Middle East peace after a committee approved a plan for at least 500 new homes in Judea and Samaria, and legalized the outpost of Shvut Rachel, which had been unauthorized. Officials said the committee gave legal status […]
By J. E. Dyer
Did Iran's warships actually visit Syria this past week as was widely reported, or did was that Iranian disinformation?
By Soeren Kern
The explicit aim of the Istanbul Process -- currently backed by the Obama administration -- is to make it an international crime to criticize Islam.
According to a Gallup poll released Monday, Americans rank Iran as the US' top enemy. The poll, which was conducted February 2-5, asked: "What one country anywhere in the world do you consider to be the United States' greatest enemy today?" 32% of respondents said Iran, while 23% said China. North Korea was the only […]
By J. E. Dyer
The only way to secure a positive outcome in Syria is to use US power, under US strategic direction, to do it. This has never necessarily meant military intervention, but it does necessarily mean acting with purpose and determination, rather than throwing random reconnaissance assets into the fray while handing the political problem over lock, stock, and barrel to the Arab League and the UN.
By Rafi Harkham
The intensified cooperation between Iran and Syria reflects their understanding that Iran's nuclear ambitions and the unrest in Syria are linked: Western nations' arming of the Syrian Opposition would cause a serious rift with Russia and China at a time when their consensus is crucial to constraining Iran's nuclear program.
By J. E. Dyer
Robert Mackey at New York Times’ The Lede has a Friday post entitled “Crisis in Syria Looks Very Different on Satellite Channels Owned by Russia and Iran.” Well, no kidding. It’s nice to see NYT catching up with the rest of the infosphere. But it’s not just in Russian and Iranian media that the crisis […]
Newsweek magazine quoted Pentagon officials this week saying the US will “look the other way” regarding an impending Israeli airstrike on Iranian nuclear facilities and the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists. This is despite Washington’s interest in preventing warfare in the region, according to the report. The article alleges that Mossad Director Tamir Pardo's was […]
Egypt's prosecution of pro-democracy NGOs reflects unresolved suspicions and hostilities towards the West and democracy.
The arrest comes as tensions between the US and Egypt have increased due to Egypt's prosecution of pro-democracy NGO organizations.
By Jenna Citron
The Florida Loves Israel conference fulfills the dream of young, passionate Jews in Florida to create a unified voice in support of Israel.
By JTA
Israeli Defense Ministry: The test of a joint Israeli-American Arrow missile defense system "provides confidence in operational Israeli capabilities to defeat the developing ballistic missile threat."
US officials say the string of assassinations of nuclear scientists in Iran is the work of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran and that the group receives funding, training and arms from the Mossad.
US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey will visit Egypt amid rising tensions between the US and Egypt over the prosecution of NGO workers in Egypt.
Kamal al-Ganzouri: Egypt "will not back down because of aid or other reasons."
The fact that the aid is conditioned on Egypt's compliance with its peace treaty with Israel is unpopular in Egypt.
State Department spokeswoman reiterates that any Palestinian government must abide by the international agreements and norms that the Quartet had laid out.
By Rafi Harkham
Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Mashaal came to an agreement on an interim unity government on Sunday. Mashaal: We are seeking unity "to resist the enemy and achieve our national goal."
Syrian embassies around the world bore the brunt of the outrage over the Syria regime's brutal 11-month crackdown.
Obama describes the cooperation between the US and Israel as unprecedented
News of an increased threat on Jewish and Israeli targets across North America comes at the same time as predictions of an imminent and detailed Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities arise.
Demonstration at US mission to the UN and Israeli consulate led by a banner reading "No war, no sanctions, no intervention, no assassinations."
Proposal comes as Assad's forces intensify their assault on Syrian opposition strongholds.
Senator Diane Feinstein and CIA Director David Petraeus both mentioned that they met with Tamir Pardo earlier in the week.