On second day of visit to Britain, US president says he turned down meeting with Labour leader, brands him a ‘somewhat negative force’

By DMITRY ZAKS and JEROME CARTILLIER, JPOST

LONDON (AFP) — US President Donald Trump promised a “phenomenal” post-Brexit trade deal with Britain as he met outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday to boost their frayed alliance against a backdrop of protests and political turmoil.

As a big balloon of a diaper-wearing baby Trump floated over a rally that blocked central London traffic, the US leader heaped praise on May and scorn on opposition Labour chief Jeremy Corbyn.

He dismissed thousands of protesters rallying nearby as “fake news” and turned down a meeting with Corbyn — who delivered a fiery speech against Trump’s policies despite also requesting one-on-one talks — branding him a “somewhat negative force.”
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US plans to stress to Russia at Jerusalem summit that Iranian forces and their proxies have to leave Syria.

By Ben Ariel, INN

A senior White House official said in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday that the US plans to stress to Russia during its trilateral national security advisers summit in Jerusalem this month that Iranian forces and their proxies have to leave Syria, Axios reported.

The trilateral meeting between the national security advisers of Israel, the US and Russia in late June is an unprecedented event. The White House official said the main focus of the summit will be Syria and Iran’s activities in Syria, Lebanon and the rest of the region.

Israel wants to use the summit to push the US and Russia closer together in order to get a deal on Syria that would push Iranian forces out of the country, noted Axios.
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There is an inherent danger that the focus on economics will allow the Palestinian Authority to continue to operate a school system based on war indoctrination against Israel.

By David Bedein, INN

The media universally reports that US Presidential envoys Kushner and Greenblatt are“expected to discuss only the economics of the Palestinian Authority community at this time”.

There is an inherent danger that their singular focus on economics will allow the Palestinian Authority to continue to operate a school system based on war indoctrination – without any constraints.

With the genesis of the nascent Palestinian Ministry of Education, the Center for Near East Policy Research, which I direct, took upon itself the responsibility to examine attitudes to war and peace which appear in Palestinian Authority schoolbooks used by the PA and UNRWA, ever since the PA issued its new school books in the August 2000

We  gained access to new PA school books after I politely asked permission of PLO leader Yassir Arafat to examine these texts.
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Israeli Jews strongly divided over whether state-run conversion system should be more lenient to prospective converts.

By Josefin Dolsten, JTA,

A slight majority of Jewish Israelis want it to be easier for people to convert to Judaism, according to a new survey.

Respondents were asked about whether they want conversions to be performed as leniently as possible according to Jewish law.

Fifty-two percent of Jewish Israelis want that to happen, while 35 percent want conversions to be more stringent and 13 percent don’t know. Among secular Jews, 68 percent want conversions to be easier; that number is only two percent among the haredi Orthodox.
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Senior White House adviser says he hopes Palestinians ‘can become capable of governing,’ and states that his father-in-law Trump is not racist

By Amir Tibon, HAARETZ

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner at a dinner symposium of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) in Washington, U.S., May 2, 2019. \ Yuri Gripas/ REUTERS

WASHINGTON — Jared Kushner said Sunday that the Trump administration’s slashing of U.S. aid to the Palestinians was “a result of decisions taken by the Palestinian leadership.

During an interview with Axios journalist Jonathan Swan broadcast on HBO Sunday, Kushner — a senior adviser and son-in-law to U.S. President Donald Trump — was asked about the massive cuts in U.S. aid to the Palestinians the Trump administration made last year. He replied that the Palestinian Authority was to blame, and that the cuts occurred because the PA cut all ties with the Trump administration following its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017.
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The president sees Brussels as too weak, too liberal, and anti-American on trade.

By  Walter Russell Mead, WSJ

“Why does he hate us?” is the question American foreign-policy types often hear from European friends and colleagues when the subject of Donald Trump comes up—as it often does. With Mr. Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Europe this week, it seems an auspicious time to attempt an answer.

The news isn’t all bad. When Mr. Trump and senior administration officials talk about China, they attack it for abusing the international system in a ruthless quest for global hegemony. Their reading of Europe is different: that a mix of dysfunctional policies, unrealistic ideas about world politics, and poor institutional arrangements has locked the Continent on a trajectory of decline. As Mr. Trump’s team sees it, they aren’t trying to weaken Europe; they are trying to save Europe from itself.
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By Hillel Frisch, BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 498, June 15, 2017

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: It is a widespread belief that Palestinian hopelessness feeds terrorism and the prospects for peace decrease it. This has always been false. In fact, the opposite is true: when Palestinians feel hopeless, Palestinian terrorism declines; when they are hopeful of gaining the upper hand, Palestinian terrorism increases. An Israeli iron fist is necessary to save both Israeli and Palestinian lives.

The common mantra that Palestinian hopelessness increases terrorism and that the prospects for peace decrease it has always been fake news. Palestinian terrorism invariably rises in tandem with their hopes of gaining the upper hand.

During the first intifada, Palestinians killed 91 Israelis over the course of slightly over five years. Palestinian terror shot up dramatically, however, as the Camp David peace process initiated at the end of 1991 morphed into direct negotiations with the PLO. The Oslo “peace” process was thus accompanied by a precipitous increase in Palestinian terrorism.

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by Dr. Eric R. Mandel, JPOST

According to the research of Harvard’s Erica Chenoweth, more than half of nonviolent revolutions are successful, as long as more than 3.5% of the population participates to ensure regime change, whereas less than 25% of violent uprisings succeed.Is the hostile behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran just a mild thorn in the United States’ side, or is it a direct and growing danger to American and allied security interests?

With the exception of those married to preserving the Iran nuclear agreement at any cost, the idea of a nonviolent regime change in Iran is a very appealing notion. In theory, it would serve American interests by removing a dangerous nemesis with American blood on its hands, and it could also create the possibility of turning a malignant enemy into a potential ally in the Muslim world, while freeing the Iranian people from 40 years of terror, repression and hardship.
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Reported Israeli attack on T-4 base is the third strike on Syria this week. Israel isn’t sure who fired rockets at the Golan on Saturday, but it’s clearly not errant fire

By Amos Harel, HAARETZ

The attack on the T-4 airbase in northern Syria at around dawn on Monday, attributable to Israel, is the third on Syrian soil within a week. In the two previous cases Israel was reacting to fire against it. This time, according to the foreign media, the target was Iranian interests.

As Haaretz reported in February, this year Iran changed some of the characteristics of its activity in Syria.

On the backdrop of the persisting Israeli attacks, and the dissatisfaction with Russia and Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps moved its main activity from the Damascus international airport to a base more distant from Syria’s center – T4, which is next to Homs. The Iranians have operated from that base before, and Israel bombed it on a number of occasionsin 2018.
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AJC poll exposes deepening divide between American and Israeli Jews on issues like Trump’s policies and the importance of ‘caring about Israel’

Judy Maltz, HAARETZ

The Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem, in the West Bank April 7, 2019.Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

Fewer American Jews consider “caring about Israel” an important part of being Jewish, a survey published on Sunday by the American Jewish Committee finds. Those questioned also indicated that they do not believe a thriving state of Israel is “vital” to the long-term future of the Jewish people

A growing number of American Jews, the survey shows, are also unhappy with Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians and support a full evacuation of West Bank settlements.

This was first ever survey conducted by the veteran Jewish organization to examine attitudes concurrently in the three largest Jewish communities in the world: the United States, Israel and France.  (Israel was included in last year’s survey, but this was the first time for France).  The questions asked of members of the three communities were not identical, however.
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T. Belman. Meanwhile Kushner said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that the Palestinians deserve “self-determination,” but stopped short of backing Palestinian statehood. He also said he is uncertain if Palestinians can govern themselves.

BOTTOM LINE. Pompeo casts doubt on the Plan being accepted which means it won’t even be tabled. Kushner nixed a new Palestinian state.

Thus in my opinion the Jordan Option is their only option.

“He was not in any way confident that the process would lead to a successful conclusion,” said one of the attendees under condition of anonymity.

By Tzvi Joffre , JPOST

In a closed-door meeting with Jewish leaders on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo opened up about the Trump administration’s upcoming Middle East peace plan, saying that “it may be rejected,” the Washington Post reported.

Pompeo spoke at a private meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

“Could be in the end, folks will say ‘It’s not particularly original, it doesn’t particularly work for me,’ that is, ‘it’s got two good things and nine bad things, I’m out,'” Pompeo said in the meeting.

The secretary of state added that “the big question is can we get enough space that we can have a real conversation about how to build this out.”
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T. Belman. This is only the beginning. Trump is going to take down the Islamists and he has most of the world supporting him. Trump does not kick the can down the road. He looks for permanant solutions. Remember when he was campaigning he used to say that he would defeat the Islamists AND THEIR IDEOLOGY. He started in Riyadh two years ago and got commitments from most Arab countries to go along. But they faltered. He is back now and is not taking “no” for an answer.

Now that he is ratcheting up pressure on Iran he is making moves to get Russia on board. Hence the meeting in Jerusalem.

By Ibrahim Hamidi, Asharq Al-Awsat
Sunday, 2 June, 2019 –

The US national security adviser, John Bolton, and his Russian and Israeli counterparts Nikolai Patrushev and Meir Ben-Shabbat will soon meet in West Jerusalem to discuss regional security issues and Syria in particular. This
will mark the first meeting of its kind.

Western diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday that the future of Iranian presence in Syria will be the main topic on the agenda of Jerusalem’s meeting.
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T. Belman. This author was recommended to me for her brilliance and her research.

Do you use a cordless telephone?  A cell phone?  A Smart phone?  A Smart television?  Wi-Fi?  A Wi-Fi router?  A Smart meter?  If so, for the sake of your own life and health, you need to read this article.  Information about health dangers is being withheld from you.

By Marilyn M Barnewall

In the following explanations of a highly dangerous and new technology, the letter G means generation and generation refers to a set of requirements that determine a standard and what compatible devices and networks qualify for the standard. It also describes technologies that power new types of communication.  The letters EMF mean electromagnetic force/field.

It sounds like it’s going to be a dull, complicated article.  It’s not.  It’s an attempt to help you save your health (possibly life) and that of your children.

Consumer use of the technology which has made our lives so much easier is not the only important reason you need this information.  A new 5G (5^th generation) technology is about to inundate us with EMFs (electromagnetic fields/forces) which, according to scientific research, are much higher than allowed in most of the technologically sophisticated world.  Will they de-populate America?
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Hamas and the PLO will be left to hang out to dry after the Manama Conference –  having been responsible for prolonging the Jewish-Arab conflict that should have been resolved decades ago.

By David Singer, INN

The announced participation of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar in the “Prosperity for Peace Conference”   in Manama on 25-26 June – jointly convened by President Trump and Bahrain (“Manama Conference”) – promises to offer  unique opportunities for Gaza and Arabs of Judea and Samaria (aka ‘West Bank’) to emigrate to other Arab countries to seek better lives for their families.

Tens of millions of desperate people have fled their birthplaces in recent years seeking entry illegally into  other countries. There is no reason to believe that Gaza and ‘West Bank’ Arabs would not similarly want to emigrate  if offered the opportunity to do so legally.
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Washington has realized that disengaging from the region will only exacerbate its problems and that its relationship with Israel is a conduit, not an obstacle, for enhancing U.S. standing.

by Prof. Eyal Zisser, ISRAEL HAYOM

Something strange is happening to U.S. President Donald Trump. Just a half year ago, he declared that the United States’ historical role in the Middle East had come to an end and that his intention was to reduce the scope of American forces deployed to the region and even remove all U.S. soldiers still stationed in Syria.

The president explained that America had lost interest in the Middle East because it no longer needs its oil, and because the Islamic State group, which had threatened to bring the fight to U.S. soil, was eliminated. He added that from his perspective Iran could now do as it pleased, noting that reimposed economic sanctions were steadily weakening the Islamic republic. In any case, he summarized, Israel would be able to fend for itself thanks to economic aid provided by the U.S.
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My hope is based on a simple strategy that requires only sanity among the religious-nationalist community of Israel. I know that is asking a whole bunch. But here goes.

By Rabbi Prof. Dov Fischer, INN 28/05/19

I am becoming a big Avigdor Liberman fan. Every day I hold out hope that he will not budge.  Stick to your position, adoni sar ha-bitachon she-avar (my lord, past Defense Minister). Don’t let the religious push you around.  Force new elections. Please.

Here is the thing.  My hope is based on a simple strategy that requires only sanity among the religious-Zionist nationalist community of Israel. I know that is asking a whole bunch. But here goes:

We lost as many as six religious Zionist Knesset seats in the April election, seats for which the voters actually cast ballots that had to be flushed down the drain. Each contending slate needed to obtain at least 3.25 percent of the total vote to enter the Knesset.  Three wise religious Zionist parties – HaBayit Hayehudi (The Jewish Home), Ichud Leumi (National Union), and Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) — forged a deal to run together on one united slate, which they called United Right Wing Parties (URWP).  That way, although each of those parties individually might have attracted fewer than 3,25 percent of the votes, together they easily passed the threshold.  They all got in.
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