The rulings of this past year have only strengthened the “Anyone but Bibi” camp, which now can’t present valid legal grounds for its petitions against the prime minister.

by Jacob Bardugo, ISRAEL HAYOM

Toward the end of the arguments before the 11 High Court justices, the attorney for the petitioners started to make an election speech based on inflammatory claims about a collapse of rule of law, law enforcement being trampled, and various other lofty arguments. The petitioner warned the judges about what might happen if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to form the next government and serve as its leader. According to the attorney, the events of the past few months would be peanuts compared to what would follow. “The fortress will come down!” she warned.

Chief Justice Esther Hayut stopped the flood of words, calling “populism.”

“The Supreme Court is not a fortress,” Hayut said.

Read more…

By Evelyn Gordon

That Israel will soon have a government is good news; almost any government would be better than the political dysfunction that has produced three elections in the past year. But aside from its existence, there’s little to like about this “unity” government.

The biggest problem isn’t that many important issues will perforce go unaddressed, though that’s inevitable given the compromises required when neither bloc can govern on its own. Nor is it the risk that the government will be dysfunctional even on “consensual” issues like rescuing the economy from the coronavirus crisis, though this risk is real, since both sides’ leaders will have veto power over every government decision.

Rather, it’s the cavalier way that Israel’s Basic Laws are being amended to serve the particular needs of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his new partner, Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz.
Read more…

T. Belman. The title refers to “antisemitism” appropriately,  whereas the sub-title refers to “anti-semitism”. I suggest the editor consciously did so because that’s the term or the spelling commonly used today.  But he is wrong.  Obviously an anti-semite hates semites as opposed to only Jews. “Antisemitism” is a unique word pertaining only to treatment of Jews and should be the only spelling used.

When I grew up in the fifties and sixties, in the shadow of the holocaust, no one ever wrote “anti-semitism”.  Antisemitism was the only word in use.  So, I ask, how and why did this incorrect spelling come into vogue.

The first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary thought the term “anti-Semite” would be short lived and thus did not include it in the original edition of the massive lexicon.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA

Oxford, All Souls College (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

The first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary thought the term “antisemite” would be short lived and thus did not include it in the original edition of the massive lexicon.

A 1900 letter by the editor, James Murray, explaining why he omitted the term was discovered recently in the archives of the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem and placed online. The OED was first published in several installments between 1884 and 1928.

Murray, a British lexicographer, was writing to scholar and anti-Zionist Claude Montefiore, great-nephew of Moses Montefiore, one of the most important early supporters of the modern Zionist movement. The letter appears to be in response to a query from Montefiore.

Read more…

T. Belman. The PA keeps up the mantra that we are talking about “Palestinian occupied lands”. In truth the lands are not occupied nor Palestinian. The Coalition agreement was wrong to postpone annexation until July 1st. It just gives the PA and EU time to organize and wage war against the move. Annexation should be the first order of business.

I hope they do cancel Oslo.  Saves us the trouble of doing so.

PA chairman threatens to cancel all agreements with Israel if it declares an intention to annex territories in Judea and Samaria.

By Dalit Halevi , INN

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Monday threatened to cancel all agreements signed with Israel if it annexes any part of Judea and Samaria.

Speaking to an online summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Abbas said, “We have informed Israel and all international parties that if Israel, the occupying state, takes the step of annexing the Palestinian land, then we will renounce all the commitments, agreements and understandings with it and the American administration.”

Clarifying his remarks, Abbas added, “That is, only if the Israeli government announces its intention to annex some or all of the occupied Palestinian land, then we will renounce all agreements signed between us and them and the US administration.”
Read more…

GREAT IDEA.  GOING ON OFFENSE RATHER THAN JUST DEFENSE

“The opposite of anti-Semitism is Philo-Semitism, the appreciation, respect, and affection for Jewish values and the Jewish community.”

By Ron Kampeas, JTA

Elan Carr, the State Department’s anti-Semitism monitor, wants to get people in other countries to love their Jews more as a means of countering anti-Semitism.

In a press call Monday to mark Jewish American Heritage Month, Carr outlined steps the United States was taking worldwide to advocate for defending Jews as violent anti-Semitism spikes, including security measures, prosecuting hate crimes and condemning anti-Semitic speech.

“In addition to all of those important defense measures, we are determined also to work with our allies in developing and driving Philo-Semitic narratives for their country, in the hope that we can reach the day when every society dedicates itself, as the United States has, to embrace and to treasure its Jewish community,” he said.

Read more…

by Jonathan Spyer, MEFORUM

Anti-government protesters scuffle with Lebanese army soldiers near the Central Bank in Beirut on May 1. (AP)

One of the immediate effects of Covid-19 on the Middle East has been to clear the streets of the mass demonstrations which had filled the public squares of a number of regional capitals in the preceding months. The virus has no political preferences, and its generalized assault has led to cooperation in some arenas between bitter rivals.

In certain Middle East countries, however, the virus has provided a boon for authoritarian regimes. Specifically, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon had all witnessed widespread protests against economic mis-management and corruption in the first months of 2020. In Iran, brute force dispersed the demonstrations. In Iraq and Lebanon, the virus brought them to an abrupt end.

Read more…

A close examination of today’s HIAS’ work leads to the conclusion that HIAS knowingly promotes policies that endanger Jews, as well as aligns with those linked to Islamist terrorism.  Jewish community should begin discussing how to show HIAS the door, just as it would for any other organization that enabled dangerously racist communities.

The Conference of Presidents has an ostensible aim of promoting the interests of the Jewish people. HIAS, which has played a leading role in threatening these interests, not only has no place in such an umbrella organization, but no room for it in the Jewish community at all.

by Matthew Mainen, JNS | May 1, 2020

HIAS, formerly known as the Hebrew International Aid Society until 2014, is in the news following a firestorm over the prospects of Dianne Lob, formerly the chair of its board of directors, becoming the chair-elect of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

The increased attention on HIAS provides an opportune time to scrutinize its work in resettling refugees. Unfortunately, a close examination leads to the conclusion that HIAS knowingly promotes policies that endanger Jews, as well as aligns with those linked to Islamist terrorism.
Read more…

By Lloyd Marcus,  AMERICAN THINKER

America! “I want you to get up right now and go to the window…open it and stick your head out and yell, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not gonna take this anymore!” That is from the 1976 movie, Network.  It is the appropriate response to totalitarian governors, hellbent on keeping their constituents in lock-down bondage to further their anti-Trump agenda.

Folks, I am sick of seeing Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx promise that if we are good, they will feed us teaspoons of our constitutional freedoms at their discretion. I am sick of TV commercials designed to frighten and shame us into obeying tyrannical governors. I am sick of TV images of exhausted health workers to sell the lie that hospitals are overwhelmed with coronavirus patients. I am sick of well-meaning people ending conversations with “Stay safe” as if a unique monster is lurking outside. I am sick of pundits saying we need to reopen America safely and responsibly as if going back to normal life is unthinkable and dangerous. Dr. Ben Carson announced that 98% of people who get coronavirus recover.

Despite all our social distancing, research shows far more people were infected than officially confirmed. This means coronavirus is no way near as lethal as we were told. Health experts say herd immunity is the best way to fight the virus. And yet, stating this scientific truth will get you branded a dangerous nutcase by the media. God designed us to deal with viruses. As usual, arrogant men (typically leftist) believe they know better than God. Meanwhile, doctors are ordered to lie about the numbers by labeling practically all deaths coronavirus. This will keep federal funding coming and Americans panicked.
Read more…

By Dr. James M. Dorsey, BESA

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: It is early days, but first indications are that the global coronavirus pandemic is entrenching long-drawn Middle Eastern geopolitical, political, ethnic, and sectarian battle lines rather than serving as a vehicle to build bridges and boost confidence. Gulf states are taking contradictory approaches to the problem of ensuring that entrenched conflicts do not spiral out of control as they battle the pandemic and struggle to cope with the economic fallout.

The coronavirus crisis is changing the political landscape of the Middle East as non-governmental organizations and militants in countries like Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon fill gaps where governments have failed to cater to populations’ social and health needs.

The empowerment of NGOs and militant groups, particularly in cases where they act without coordinating with a government, raises potential security issues as militants capitalize on their ability to show up states’ lack of capability at a time of crisis.

The expanded role of militants takes on added significance as states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE use the pandemic to entrench many of the Middle East’s fault lines, if not widen them to their advantage.

Read more…

Murderer of victim of the Sbarro suicide bombingis living it up in Jordan. I beseech King Abdullah to do the right thing. Opinion.

By Joseph Frager, INN

Malki Roth

On August 9, 2001 Malki Roth who was 15 at the time and 14 others died at the hand of a suicide bomber at the Sbarro Restaurant in Jerusalem. The mastermind of one of the most horrific of terrorist acts in the annals of history is Ahlam Ahmad al-Tamimi. She plead guilty in an Israeli court for her pivotal role and received 16 life sentences and an additional 250 years behind bars. Tamimi admitted she selected the Sbarro Restaurant because it was a known favorite for families and expressed her “delight“ that so many children were killed.

A 16th victim who also is an American citizen remains in a vegetative state. The other American killed was Shoshana Yehudit Greenbaum who was five months pregnant at the time.
Read more…

Controversy swirls around TV production, screened amid warming Jerusalem-Riyadh ties; head writer says he wants to send message that societies used to be much more tolerant

By AGENCIES and TOI STAFF

This undated publicity photo shows a scene from ‘Umm Haroun,’ a Saudi-made television series aired during Ramadan that has sparked controversy by offering a positive depiction of a Jewish community in the Gulf that existed before the creation of Israel. (MBC Group via AP)

A television series aired by a Saudi broadcaster during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has sparked controversy by offering a positive depiction of a Jewish community in the Gulf at the time of Israel’s creation.

Critics say it and another series aired on the network promote normalization with Israel even as the Palestinian cause is under threat by US President Donald Trump’s Mideast plan, which heavily favors Israel and would allow it to annex large parts of the West Bank.
Read more…

By The Associated Press, NYT

JERUSALEM — An Israeli court has ordered the Palestinian Authority to pay nearly $150 million in damages to the families of people killed in militant attacks.

The decision comes following a lawsuit brought by Shurat Hadin, an Israeli legal advocacy group, on behalf of relatives of victims from a number of attacks, mostly carried out during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s. A previous court ruling from last year found the Palestinian Authority to be liable for those attacks, along with other actors.

In its decision Friday, the Jerusalem court ruled that the funds would come from tax money that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians. Shurat Hadin had asked that more than $2 billion be paid in compensation.

The court gave Israel until next month to request that the order be annulled. Israel might consider appealing if it fears the freezing of the funds could destabilize the cash-strapped Palestinian government.
Read more…

Weak, starved, battered in body and mind, they still chose to risk their lives to save others

By Yoel Yaari, HAARETZ

Alexander Hermann, Ruth Elias and Bela Hazan. National Archives in Prague

“We took the sick from the beds, dressed them and moved them to the forest, and covered them there with branches. We waited until it was dark. Then we set out on a march by the light of the moon to the Americans. We carried the seriously ill in our arms. For hours we worked on this, because we were tired and weak… The old German [who showed us the way] gave us a piece of white cloth. My friend and I waved it and shouted to the soldiers. One of the soldiers came down and walked toward us. He was obviously taken aback by the sight of us – we looked like a group of Musselmänner [a slang term for prisoners near death from starvation]. He gestured for us to sit down on the grass…”

Read more…

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

In the 3rd May 20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

• Six coronavirus patients are improving thanks to a new Israeli treatment.
• Israeli-Arabs lit three of Israel’s 12 Independence Day torches.
• Volunteers from Israel’s IsraAID are delivering food to needy Californians.
• New Israeli kiosks allow safe and fast coronavirus testing.
• The EU is financing half of the development of Israeli coronavirus stem cell treatment.
• An Israeli app allows Israel’s President to visit your home.
• During the pandemic, 40 Jews make Aliya from Ukraine and Brazil.
• The Israeli Air Force saluted medics with an Independence Day fly-past over Israeli hospitals.

Read more…