By Kelleigh Nelson, NEWS WITH VIEWS

Sharia law is a political system that is authoritarian, violent and supremacist at its core.  Sharia contains regulations that mandate death for those who exercise their freedom of conscience and want to leave Islam, for those who are deemed to have blasphemed against Islam by insulting Allah or the Quran or the prophet or by even speaking honestly about their contents in ways that Muslims object to. — Robert Spencer

When our elected officials decide to make new laws, they should have in mind our national interests first.  They should realize that foreign laws such as sharia will never be compatible with our Constitution or our way of life. — Amil Imani

Sharia is far more than a legal system of laws. It includes theology, law, philosophy, religious rituals and morals. The Sharia claims to be Allah’s law and must replace all other forms of government. —Dr. Bill Warner
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T. Belman. Why is it allowed to flourish among Negev Bedouin? and Bedouin women in Israel strive to end illegal polygamy.

In addition, Israel has to support all these wives and their children. It is a source of money for the man. Also, polygamy enables the Bedouin community to grow at an alarming rate. The demographic problem will get bigger and bigger.

Although Israel outlawed polygamy decades ago, it is widespread in the Bedouin sector • For the first time, Israel is prosecuting suspected polygamists, but many Bedouin see it only as a ploy to curb their sector’s population growth.

Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

T. Belman. When Pompeo visited Jordan, The Foreign Minister said ” “Israel must withdraw from the region (Golan).” This is a prime example of Jordanian opposition to Israel and another reason to support the king’s removal. President Trump will recognize Israel’s annexation and so will Congress.

By Uri Heitner, ISRAEL HAYOM

Immediately after the Six-Day War, then-minister Yigal Allon proposed annexing the Golan Heights. A year later, he officially recommended doing so in a letter to the prime minister, seeking to bring the matter to a government vote. Then-Prime Minister Levi Eshkol refused to even discuss the matter.

Eshkol was a champion of settling the Golan Heights. One-third of the communities that have been established on the Golan in the 52 years since its liberation were founded in the first year and a half between the war’s end and Eshkol’s death, and he was the main driving force behind them. He believed settlement was the correct path to true annexation and worried that just discussing the issue of declaring Israeli sovereignty would turn the United States and the world against us and hurt the settlement effort. The people who went to live on the Golan also believed in this approach. They didn’t waste energy over questions about sovereignty; they believed in practical Zionism, in one acre at a time, one plowed furrow after another.
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T. Belman. What interests me in this report is that the recommendation is coming from a minister from the Kulana Party. This party is left of Likud. In addition, I read that for the last 4 years, growth in the settlements has decreased every year. Bibi is responsible for this. Why is this not a huge scandal? Why is Bibi not being held accountable.? What is he worried about except the criminal charges?

Economics Minister calls for gov’t to evacuate illegal Bedouin encampment east of Jerusalem before April elections.

By Hezki Baruch, INN

Economics Minister Eli Cohen (Kulanu) visited the illegal Bedouin encampment Khan al-Ahmar Wednesday, and called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to order its evacuation before the Knesset election this coming April.

Khan al-Ahmar, home to some 180 Bedouin squatters, was built in the 1990s just east of Jerusalem, on land belonging to the nearby Israeli town of Kfar Adumim.

The Israeli Supreme Court ordered the encampment’s evacuation in September, but in October the cabinet voted to indefinitely postpone the implementation of the court order, in the hopes of reaching an agreement with the squatters for a voluntarily evacuation in exchange for an alternative site.
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By J.R. Dunn, AMERICAN THINKER

Back in the days of the Cold War, much was said about the titanic power of the Soviet Union.  The USSR, we were told, was a superpower the equal of the United States, possibly even superior.  This meme was spread by lefties who wanted the USSR to win, by sincere pacifists hoping to stop war before it could begin, and by an enormous cohort of liberals who repeated it because they heard it from the first two.  (Much liberalism can be explained this way.  It’s the ultimate “I heard it from somebody” ideology.)

Needless to say, it was gibbering nonsense.  The late ’80s Soviet collapse revealed that the USSR was never any kind of power at all – an economy that didn’t produce, weapons that didn’t work, a populace addicted to drink and overwhelmed with despair.  “Bulgaria with nukes” is how someone characterized it, and truer words were never spoken.  That remains the case today, despite Vlad Putin’s chest-beating, and it’s likely to remain the case as far ahead as anyone can see.
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It is not the case that Europe does not possess the military and economic power to replace the role of US troops in Syria.

By Ralph Schoellhammer, JPOST

The US retreat from Syria has led to speculations who will fill the emerging power vacuum, but the most likely candidates are Russia, Turkey and Iran. One player, however, is conspicuously absent in these discussions: The European Union. Although the EU has geopolitical interests in the Middle East that are equal to those of the aforementioned countries, nobody is seriously expecting Brussels to deepen its footprint in the region.

It is not the case that Europe does not possess the military and economic power to replace the role of US troops in Syria. The EU’s combined military spending is among the world’s top three and 3,000 troops stand ready for immediate deployment as a rapid reaction force. Although the deployment of European forces in Syria would be a logistical challenge, it is likely that the United States would be willing to provide needed support. Equally important is the economic weight the EU can muster in an attempt to restrain the ambitions of its geopolitical competitors:
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The allocated area is considered particularly sensitive for diplomatic reasons ? Netanyahu in the past torpedoed a similar plan due to international pressure

By Yotam Berger, HAARETZ

Settlers erecting the illegal outpost of Givat Eitam in September, 2018.Olivier Fitoussi

The government has allocated about 1,200 dunams (300 acres) for planning of a new neighborhood that would expand the settlement of Efrat toward Bethlehem, in an area considered particularly sensitive for diplomatic reasons.

The neighborhood is expected to expand the built-up area in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc up to the southern outskirts of the Palestinian city, in a manner that would surround Bethlehem with settlements.
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DEBKA

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan waited for John Bolton, US national security adviser, to land in Ankara on Tuesday, Jan 8, before refusing to see him and casting relations into a fresh crisis.  Bolton arrived in the company of Gen. Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the US Chiefs of Staff and James Jeffrey, Trump’s special adviser on Syria and the war on ISIS. He came from talks in Jerusalem. The high-ranking US officials had to make do with meeting only presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, while Erdogan used a speech in parliament to rebuff any American proposals for the US-backed Kurdish group to play a key role in Syria after the US withdrawal.

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Turkey is now vigorously pursuing its political and/or military penetration in the most sensitive parts of the region.

BY ZVI MAZEL, JPOST

A startling discovery toward the end of the year revealed a new facet of Turkey’s ongoing efforts to once again become a major player in the Middle East and restore some of the glory of the fallen Ottoman Empire. Huge consignments of arms hidden in two containers from Turkey were discovered by customs authorities in the Libyan Port of Khoms on December 17 and 18. No less than 3,000 hand guns of Turkish manufacture, a number of hunting guns as well as ammunition were found in the first container, and 4.2 million bullets, also of Turkish manufacture, in the second.

Khoms is a relatively minor port in the western part of the country, a mere 100 kilometers from Tripoli and fairly close to Libya’s border with Tunisia and Algiers. It was undoubtedly chosen on the mistaken belief that controls would be more cursory than in the country’s main port in the capital Tripoli. From the nature of the contraband weapons, it is fairly obvious they were not intended for a regular army, but rather for terrorist activities of armed groups, most probably Islamic organizations linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
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By Moshe Dann, JPOST

One of the most powerful arguments used against Israel is that it is “stealing private Palestinian land.” Of course, this is not only illegal, it is immoral and contrary to Jewish law. The source for this accusation, moreover, is the Civil Administration (CA), a branch of COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories), the IDF authority that operates the civil and judicial system in Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”).

It was recently reported that Israel intended to approve thousands of homes for “settlers” in Judea and Samaria, and “retroactively authorize illegally built settler homes on private Palestinian property.”
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Turkey reportedly rejects US offer to cancel its purchase of S-400 missiles from Russia.

By Elad Benari, INN

Turkey has rejected a US offer to cancel its purchase of S-400 missiles from Russia, the Russia-based Sputnik news agency reported on Sunday, citing Turkish media.

According to the report, a US delegation visited Turkey earlier this week and tried to convince Ankara to give up on purchasing the Russian missile systems.

Turkish authorities, however, reportedly rejected the offer since it did not include a discount on the price set or a transfer of technology.
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A meeting between Israel’s prime minister and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince would make sense.

By Karen Elliott House, WSJ

The Trump administration has worked for nearly two years to get Riyadh and Jerusalem openly working together. Crown Prince Mohammed loves risk and is eager to turn the page from the Jamal Khashoggi murder. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Mideast trip this week seems choreographed for a dramatic finale starring the crown prince.

Mr. Pompeo’s trip is intended to underscore that far from fading out of the Middle East, the U.S. is leading a broad coalition against Iran. The linchpins of the effort are Israel and Saudi Arabia, which share a fear of Iranian expansionism and are the closest U.S. allies in the region. They have maintained informal but not-so-secret contacts, sharing intelligence on their common nemesis. Why not make it official?
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By Victor Rosenthal

Dear Arab citizens of Israel (or “Israeli Arabs” or “Palestinian citizens of Israel,” if you must):

Zionism is a problem for you.

I understand that. Zionism implies that all or part (I admit to being one of those who believe that “all” is correct) of the land between the river and the sea belongs to the Jewish people, while you believe that it is yours. We believe that we are the aboriginal tribes of the land of Israel; you say that you are.

This isn’t about that question. This isn’t about archaeology or history. I’ve written about those things countless times. I don’t think I could convince you that my point of view is correct, even though I’m certain that all the evidence shows that it is.

Rather, this is about today’s reality and how to live in it.
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by Tabitha Korol 

Claiming to work for “peace and social justice,” in the US and around the world, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has, nevertheless,been rightly called “the most militant and aggressive of Christian anti-Israel groups.”  They boast of their history of non-violent activism, yet work to ultimately destroy the Jewish people and their ancient homeland, Israel, by inciting others to strive for Israel’s annihilation, often through violence. 

The AFSC, a Quaker group that, together with a British Quaker organization, began in 1917 as a wartime medical corps to assist civilian victims of World War I, aiding orphans and victims of famine and disease.  Their additional humanitarian work through Europe, Japan, India and China, helping African-, Native-, Mexican-, and Asian-Americans, certainly earned them the Nobel Peace Prize.  Yet, in the 1930s and through World War II, they helped non-religious Jews and Jews married to Christians, alleging that “religious Jews” were being helped by other organizations; they did not decline to help Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims based on the extent of their religiosity.  Read more…

T. Belman. In fact the Kashoggi affair has helped move things along. MBS was so weakened that he needed support from both Trump and Netanyahu and thus became a yes man.

The New York Sun | January 7, 2019

Is President Trump about to make his move in the Middle East? We ask because Secretary of State Pompeo leaves Tuesday for a swing through the region at a time when the stars seem to be aligning for something big. Is it possible that President Trump’s talk with Prime Minister Erdogan, our plan pull GIs out of Syria, John Bolton’s visit to Israel, and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s call for an election are linked?

Feature the latest from one of the most sagacious scoop artists on the Middle East beat, Karen Elliott House of the Wall Street Journal. She’s out with a column in tomorrow’s Journal alerting her readers not to be surprised if Prime Minister Netanyahu fetches up in Riyadh to meet with the Crown Prime, Mohammed bin Salman — and “soon.” Ms. House doesn’t write something like that off the top of her head.
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T. Belman. This is a huge problem and must be solved. Israel must consider an easier way to convert just as the Reform have done. It is very important that the children of these immigrants be deemed Jewish. Those who want to be Jewish according to Hareidi standards can convert according to their standards. The rest should have a lower standard for joining the Jewish people.

By Sam Sokol, JTA

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau, second from left; Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, third from left; and Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau at a special meeting of the Israeli Rabbinate Council at the Western Wall tunnels in Jerusalem’s Old City, May 24, 2017. (Shlomi Cohen/Flash90)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — For the first time, Israel announced that Jewish immigrants to Israel were outnumbered by non-Jewish immigrants.

The headlines might suggest that Christians and perhaps Muslims have been moving to the Jewish state in significant numbers, but the truth is more complicated: According to numbers released Monday by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, 17,700 of the 32,600 migrants who moved to Israel in 2018 came under the Law of Return but were listed as “having no religion.”

Such immigrants, hailing largely from the former Soviet Union and Baltic states, count Jewish ancestry but are ineligible to marry as Jews, for example, under the state-controlled rabbinic court system. In 2017, there were 11,400 such immigrants out of a migratory population of 29,100.
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TV report says secret taboo-busting trips arranged with goal of building basis for future ties; delegates tour Yad Vashem, meet academics, discuss Iraqi Jewish heritage

By TOI STAFF

A residential area lies in ruins, after an Iraqi Scud missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel on Januar 18, 1991. The Iraqi missile attack came one day after US forces launched Operation Desert Storm – the Gulf War – against Iraq. (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver)

In an unprecedented series of visits, three delegations of local leaders from Iraq have reportedly made trips to Israel in recent months, and held meetings with Israeli officials.

The delegations, totaling 15 Iraqis, held meetings with Israeli academics, visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, and, most significantly, met with Israeli government officials, Hadashot TV news reported on Sunday night.

Iraq is at war with Israel and is a firm supporter of the Arab League boycott of Israel. Its passports are not valid for travel to Israel.
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