How Netanyahu lost focus, and his coalition lost control, in fight against COVID  

PM has always sought to sideline competing ministers and make all the decisions himself; that strategy served him well in the first wave of the virus, but then he got distracted

By HAVIV RETTIG GUR, TOI 19 July 2020,

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wears a face mask to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus as he chairs the weekly cabinet meeting, at the foreign ministry, in Jerusalem, July 5, 2020. (Gali Tibbon/Pool via AP)

The coronavirus pandemic arrived in Israel in mid-February. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed up to the task.

He led regular televised briefings announcing each new stage of social-distancing restrictions. At his side, each time, were top officials of the state bureaucracy, especially the directors of the Health and Finance ministries, Moshe Bar Siman-Tov and Shai Babad respectively.
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July 20, 2020 | 11:00 am | 2 Comments »

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The Stone Commute Highlighted Democrats’ Hypocrisy––But Now They’re Waking Up  

“Two-thirds of battleground state voters who chose Trump in 2016 but selected Democrats in the midterms say they will return to the president”

By Joan Swirsky, CFP

image.png

Roger Stone celebrates his commutation outside his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., July 10, 2020. (Joe Skipper/Reuters)

“Trump Spares Stone from Imprisonment, Sparking Howls of Amnesiac Democrats” was the colorful headline of a recent Wall St. Journal piece by journalist, author and former Asst. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY, Andrew C. McCarthy.

The “Stone” in the headline referred to Roger Stone, a longtime associate of President Trump who was sentenced to 40 months in prison two years ago for lying to Congress, among other counts, during the failed fiasco of the Mueller investigation into the non-existent collusion of then-candidate Trump with Russian operatives to rig the 2016 election in his favor.

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July 20, 2020 | 9:37 am | Comments »

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Doctors attack the Health Ministry’s coronavirus combating policy  

As an alternative, the group of doctors offered to keep the older population safer and to allow more freedom to Israel’s youth.

By Tobias Seigal, JPOST JULY 19, 2020 20:26

A woman reacts as a doctor wearing a protective glove takes a swab to test for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a residential area in Srinagar (photo credit: REUTERS/DANISH ISMAIL)
A woman reacts as a doctor wearing a protective glove takes a swab to test for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a residential area in Srinagar (photo credit: REUTERS/DANISH ISMAIL)

Dozens of Israeli doctors have signed a petition claiming that the current policy implemented by the Health Ministry will lead Israel to an economic collapse, according to N12.

The doctors also claimed that the policy has no chance of succeeding in any way and actually causes an increase in morbidity and death rates. As an alternative, the group of doctors offered to keep the older population safer and to allow more freedom to Israel’s youth.

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July 20, 2020 | 2:54 am | 1 Comment »

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The BDS-BLM alignment: Implications for Israel and Diaspora Jewry     

The increasingly mainstreamed BDS-BLM narrative poses a grave danger to the U.S. and European progressive and liberal Jewish communities.

By Dan Diker, JCPA

 The murder of George Floyd, a black American who was killed on May 25 while in police custody in Minneapolis triggered the most widespread racially charged protests in the United States and Europe since the 1960s. International protests over Floyd’s death, led by the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM), have generated expressions of sympathy and support from Western prime ministers, legislators, law-enforcement officials and local government. Prominent members of the U.S. House of Representatives “took a knee” in a historically unprecedented public display of solidarity for any civil- or human-rights protest movement.
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July 20, 2020 | 2:24 am | Comments »

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Senior Likud officials planning rebellion against Netanyahu  

The officials say Netanyahu’s continued tenure as PM could destroy Likud, whose agenda is being dictated by his personal affairs.

By Hezki Baruch, INN 19/07/20 13:59

Likud

Current and former senior Likud officials, some of whom are current Knesset members, are currently coming together in an effort to bring about the replacement of the party’s chairman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Arutz Sheva has learned.

According to those senior officials, Prime Minister Netanyahu has abandoned the goals of the party and the right-wing agenda, in favor of dealing with his personal affairs, and therefore it is necessary to bring the Likud back to its true path.
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July 20, 2020 | 1:05 am | 8 Comments »

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Our Worship of Power Over Truth  

Orwell intended Nineteen Eighty-Four as a warning, an admonition. Our woke social justice warriors, supposing they are even aware of Orwell’s work, would seem to regard it as a plan of action, a how-to manual.

By Roger Kimball, AM GREATNESS

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column about “purity spirals.” That’s what the journalist Gavin Haynes calls the familiar “moral feeding frenzy” that occurs whenever ideology triumphs over truth. The French Revolution provides vivid historical examples, as did Mao’s cultural revolution in the 1960s. Those caught in a purity spiral, I observed, invariably find themselves embarked on an endless search for enemies, “a concerted effort to divide the world between the tiny coterie of the blessed and the madding crowd of the damned. The game, Haynes notes, ‘is always one of purer-than-thou.’”

It is also, not incidentally, a contest to subordinate truth to the accumulation of power.

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July 19, 2020 | 2:10 pm | 3 Comments »

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Very Good News Israel  

By Michael Ordman, VGNI

Ten years ago I read a copy of a new book containing the reasons for Israel’s transformation into a nation of entrepreneurs.  “Start-Up Nation” by Dan Senor and Saul Singer inspired me to start compiling a weekly newsletter of positive news about Israel.  The photo is of some of the many inspiring books about Israel published in the last 10 years. They reinforce the thousands of articles in these positive newsletters.

Please celebrate this anniversary by making a donation to help me publicize Israel’s achievements to a wider audience. Many thanks
https://israelactive.com/donate-to-israel-active/

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

In the 19th July 20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

  • Israeli scientists have used fat-reducing medication to starve coronavirus.
  • An Israeli trial has greatly improved cognitive function for healthy seniors.
  • Israeli drones rescue Europeans plus help Florida prepare for hurricanes.
  • Intel’s new superfast USB connectivity was developed in Israel.
  • Huge new investments in joint US-Israeli projects.
  • Israeli-German partnership promises to transform food production.
  • The 10th anniversary of the very first VeryGoodNewsIsrael newsletter.

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July 19, 2020 | 1:52 pm | Comments »

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Curse Him, Then Copy Him  

ByAmir Taheri, GATESTONE INSTITUTE  •  July 19, 2020

US President Donald Trump has tried to rebalance globalization to halt the long-term de-industrialization of the United States. Prior to the coronavirus crisis, his administration had one of the best records in job creation and the reduction of poverty among black Americans. So far, he is also the first American president in a century not to have led his country into a new war. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

  • In elite circles, notably in Europe, Trump-bashing is regarded as a sign of intelligence and cursing him a duty of progressive humanists.
  • In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson campaigned and won on a Trumpian platform of national identity and industrial revival. Even Germany’s Angela Merkel, a sneaky critic of Trump, now talks of the need for a bigger defense budget, curbs on globalization and Russia as a threat.

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July 19, 2020 | 1:35 pm | 2 Comments »

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The Institutional Racism of The United Nations  

By Judith Bergman, GATESTONE INSTITUTE  •  July 19, 2020


The systematic discrimination of the United Nations is too obvious to ignore. There is simply a whopping international double-standard here on what passes as institutional racism and what does not — and it needs to be acknowledged. Pictured: The Secretariat Building at United Nations headquarters in New York. (Image source: UN)

  • There is simply a whopping international double-standard here on what passes as institutional racism and what does not — and it needs to be acknowledged.
  • At the very least, people might question whether an organization that has made discrimination against one country in the world one of its operating principles… is worth the exorbitant cost. The United States, for instance, as the organization’s single largest donor, in 2018 funded the UN to the tune of $10 billion.

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July 19, 2020 | 1:18 pm | 1 Comment »

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Deferred disease disaster dawning on Democrats  

By Douglas Herz, AMERICAN THINKER

A huge problem is coming soon.  Authoritarian blue-state governors and mayors thought they could conduct lockdowns without dire consequences.  But all that these fools have done is deferred disaster.  That disaster is the reduction in city and state taxes due to the business shutdowns that they ordered.

State and local government officials are starting to hear about this lack of income from their finance teams, and they are mighty concerned.  As a result, all across the country, panicked conference calls have been conducted and are probably still going on this weekend.

Specifically, the problem is balancing state and local budgets.  Sales taxes from closed businesses are way down, and expenses due to precautions for the coronavirus are way up.  There is no way to make these numbers balance.  As a result, governments are burning through their reserves, safety funds, slush funds, and rainy day set-asides that they had managed to squirrel away in better times.  But within weeks, if not months, the situation will become dire.

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July 19, 2020 | 12:51 pm | 6 Comments »

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A Jewish State Beats Peter Beinart’s Bi-Nationalism  

By Yishai Fleisher, NEWSWEEK 

Donald Trump Unveils Middle East Peace Plan: ‘No Palestinians Or Israelis Will Be Uprooted From Their Homes’

The good news is that even Peter Beinart understands that the two-state solution is dead. The progressive public intellectual recently penned a New York Times op-ed in which he admitted that the Left’s old dream of creating an independent Palestine in the historic Israeli heartland is never going to happen.

The land in question—Judea and Samaria, or the “West Bank”—is the ancient cradle of Jewish civilization. In modern times, the Jews lost this land to the Arab onslaught during the 1948 War of Independence, but liberated it from Jordanian occupation in 1967 and began to resettle. Now, 50 years later, over half a million Jews live here under Israeli protection, and it seems that the realization that Israel is going to be sovereign in Judea and Samaria/the West Bank is finally trickling down.
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July 19, 2020 | 7:28 am | 12 Comments »

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Complete US decoupling from China  

The pandemic revealed dangerous US dependence on China, including for medical supplies, and must spur a return to Made in USA.

By Dr. Joe Tuzara, INN

loading of the first cargo aircraft in China

loading of the first cargo aircraft in China

SARS-COV-2, more commonly called coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China is certainly a curse, but is in one way a blessing in disguise which will bring much-needed changes on how the U.S. deals with its hitherto unchecked dependence on that Communist country.

China’s has shown a desire to become the world’s dominant power, revealing its hand when it allowed the virus to spread in 189 countries.

And the highly pathogenic virus also exposed our nation’s troubling weaknesses and vulnerability in the pharmaceuticals and medical equipment global supply-chain in more ways than can be imagined.

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July 19, 2020 | 7:09 am | 3 Comments »

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Coronavirus Study Confirms Overall Mortality Not Much Different Than a Bad Flu Season  

With Exception of New York and New Jersey,

By Joe Hoft, GATEWAY PUNDIT July 15, 2020

On March 17, 2020, we were the first to identify that the WHO and the WHO’s Director General Tedros were pushing fraudulent numbers regarding the expected mortality of the coronavirus. The WHO over-stated the mortality rate of the virus by at least 30 times.

We then followed up with multiple posts on the subject. We reported on June 7, 2020, a study showed that when looking at the mortality rates for all causes this flu season, things aren’t much worse than a bad flu.

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July 19, 2020 | 3:36 am | 6 Comments »

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‘Building Power for Muslims in Politics’  

The push to place Muslims in elective offices.

By Robert Spencer, FPM

Editor’s note: In this monograph, Robert Spencer reveals the disquieting agenda and goals of those who are working hard to get Muslims elected to political office at the national, state, and local level. He shows how this initiative is gaining ground despite the frank anti-Americanism of Ilhan Omar and others – or is it because of that anti-Americanism?

Building power

“Invest in building power for Muslims in politics,” is the invitation from the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) in a tweet on May 23, 2020, which features a photo of a smiling Salam al-Marayati, MPAC’s President and co-founder, with the notorious Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Ca.).[1] “We ensure that Muslim voices are heard by decision-makers in Washington, DC,” the tweet also says, “and we work diligently with policymakers like Rep. Adam Schiff to advocate for legislation that protects our communities.”[2]
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July 18, 2020 | 1:01 pm | 1 Comment »

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After Trump campaign swap, questions — and Kushner — remain  

Some Republicans are worried the adviser is spread too thin, with a portfolio including the coronavirus, immigration, reinventing government and, for good measure, the Middle East

By JONATHAN LEMIREJILL COLVIN and ZEKE MILLER, TOI

In this June 14, 2020, file photo, Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's White House senior adviser, follows Trump across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, after stepping off Marine One (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
In this June 14, 2020, file photo, Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s White House senior adviser, follows Trump across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, after stepping off Marine One (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — US President Donald Trump’s long-in-coming campaign shakeup rearranged some big job titles but isn’t likely to change the identity of the person truly in charge of day-to-day operations: Jared Kushner.

Kushner wields his influence quietly and is rarely a presence in the campaign’s suburban Washington headquarters. Fittingly, he was nowhere to be seen Thursday when, in an emotional changing of the guard meeting, campaign manager Brad Parscale surrendered his title to onetime deputy Bill Stepien.

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July 18, 2020 | 12:49 pm | 3 Comments »

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BLM’s corporate extortion  

T. Belman.  What is happening in America, I have never experienced in my lifetime.  It is right out of the Marxist/Lenenist/Nazi playbook. When I see how massive the BLM is I think to my self that its current roots are to be found in the old ACORN and Barak Obama, the community organizer, self identifieed. He teamed up with Soros to get elected, to create J Street, to embrace the Muslim Brotherhood and to start Occupy Wall Street. There may be others that I missed. BLM was a long time in coming and didn’t just start with the killing or George Floyd.  I see the hand of Barack Obama, the community organizer, and avowed communist, at play here.

By Grant Baker, AMERICAN THINKER

As Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots ransacked brick-and-mortar businesses over the summer, publicly traded companies, especially retail, began ponying up tremendous sums of money to BLM affiliated organizations. The staggering sums promised by Walmart, Target, Nike, McDonald’s, and others might be dismissed as a marketing stunt in a different context, but the size and timing of the donations suggests something more sinister.

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July 18, 2020 | 12:12 pm | Comments »

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New Polls: Biden Leads By Double Digits, But…  

T. Belman.  There is much more  in favor of Trump’s reelection than Benson alludes to.  70,000 people a month are joining the walk away movement.  The Primary Model which announced with 87% certainty, a Trump victory in 2016, now perdicts, with 90% certainty, a landslide victory in 2020. Latinos are warming to Trump especially because of his proposed DACA legislation.  Blexit is also moving the needle.  Only 9% of blacks voted for Trumo in 2o16. Candace Owens famously announced that all she had to do was move the black vote to 15 % and it would assure a Trump victory.  Latest poslls have him receiving will over 20%. Police Union Backs Trump for Re-Election in 2020.  Recent studies have concluded that riots and looting result in a move to the right by the electorate.

By Guy Benson, TOWNHALL

New Polls: Biden Leads By Double Digits, But...

Among the last five national surveys of the 2020 presidential race, former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead is nearly ten points on average.  If you exclude the two outliers among those five data sets — Rasmussen’s (+3) and Quinnipiac’s (-15), the approximate average doesn’t change.  President Trump is currently losing his re-election bid, and he knows it, as evidenced by his high-level campaign shakeup announced yesterday.  Sometimes actions speak louder than words or polls, so his struggles are not fake news.  Let’s take a look at the new NBC/WSJ poll, which gives Biden an 11-point advantage:
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July 18, 2020 | 8:34 am | 4 Comments »

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