T. Belman. This is not a vetting problem as many have suggested. Zemon is wrong to suggest that immigration will only succeed with migrants from common cultures. Must cultures can be assimilated especially if the number of immigrants are not overwhelming. They must be digested slowly if they are different. The only exception to the rule is cultures associated with Islam because of its strong hold on Muslims. They are not permitted to assimilate. Also Muslims have been told by their religion that they are the master race, so to speak, and everyone else in inferior. They have an inbred sense of entitlement. In addition they are imbued with a desire to force the world to submit to Islam.

Czech President says Muslim refugees do not share a common culture. ‘Let them have their culture and not bring it to Europe’.

ARUTZ SHEVA

Milos Zeman, President of the Czech Republic, who is known for his fiery anti-migrant rhetoric, said that it is “practically impossible” to integrate the Muslim community into European society in a televised interview he held on Sunday. “The experience of Western European countries which have ghettos and excluded localities shows that the integration of the Muslim community is practically impossible.”
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By David Solway, AMERICAN THINKER

Canada’s most attention-grabbing personality is the new Liberal prime minister Justin Trudeau, whom a swooning electorate has just elevated to the highest office in the land. Possessing no relevant business or political experience and no demonstrable leadership qualities apart from name recognition and good looks, he is a dandiprat version of the fatuous nonentity American elected to lead them into a condition of weakness and insolvency. Many in the U.S. are now suffering Obama remorse and reassessing their folly. Eventually Canada, too, may come to its senses, though I wouldn’t bet on it. An Eloi people roistering in a Morlock world does not augur well for their future.
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T. Belman. Perhaps Israel won’t be buying these planes after all.  Israell must know all these things and believes they will be corrected or is placing orders as political support knowing that they will never be delivered.

But the problem remains. The Russian S-300 and S-400 prevent F-16 from flying in areas it is deployed.

By David Archibald, AMERICAN THINKER

The F-35 has been around as long as global warming. The aircraft had its origin in the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) program started by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy in 1993. The word “Strike” in the designation of this program indicates that it was oriented toward developing a light bomber. The following year, the JAST program absorbed the Common Affordable Lightweight Fighter program and a separate short take-off/vertical landing program. This became the Joint Strike Fighter program, with the aim of producing a common airframe and engine across the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps. This aircraft was claimed to be 20 percent cheaper to acquire and operate than legacy aircraft such as the F-16. That was the intent. Lockheed Martin won the flyoff against Boeing in 2001.
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Israel-hating academics want to force Palestinianism down Jewish students’ throats. Why are they not demanding that Students for Justice in Palestine, the Muslim Student Association, debate or embrace the views of pro-Israel students?

By Dr. Richard L. Cravatts, ARUTZ SHEVA

Winston Churchill could have been observing the sorry state of academic free speech today when he observed that “Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage.”

As if to confirm Churchill’s prescience, this month a cabal of 55 high-minded but morally incoherent American and Canadian professors formed Open Hillel’s Academic Council, a group comprised of well-known Israel-haters who condemned “Hillel International’s Standards of Partnership [which] narrowly circumscribe discourse about Israel-Palestine” and which, in its view, “only serve to foster estrangement from the organized Jewish community.”
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The Obama Administration believes it is at war with Israel- not a shooting war, but a political war.

By Caroline Glick, JPOST

Over the past several weeks, we have learned that the Obama administration believes it is at war with Israel. The war is not a shooting war, but a political war. Its goal is to bring the government to its knees to the point where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu loses power or begs Obama and his advisers to shepherd Israel through a “peace process” in which Israel will renounce its rights to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.

One component of this war is espionage. Last month The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel is a top target for American espionage.
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T. Belman. Sokolovsky and Cotler are right. So why is Netanyahu proposing two changes to the proposal:”First, to drop the demand that representatives of these NGO’s wear tags in the Knesset – this is unnecessary. Second, to require reports about the first shekel or dollar from foreign governments.”

The first Israeli NGO law was an amendment to the 2008 Amutot Law, which required persons who received at least NIS 20,000 from foreign entities to disclose that fact.

By Jan Sokolovsky and Ariella Cotler, JPOST

The easiest way to respond to the almost hysterical attacks against the NGO transparency bill regarding funding by foreign governments, now before the Knesset – including that of US Ambassador Dan Shapiro – is simply to read it, because the attacks are baseless.

The bill does not stifle freedom of speech; it is not aimed at left-wing organizations; it does not seek to shut down any organization. In fact, it is politically neutral, and requires only enhanced transparency from anyone, Right or Left, who receives significant funding from a foreign entity and engages in political activity. It does not undermine democracy in any way.

It would also seem that the opponents were caught by surprise with this bill, although actually it had a long gestation period.
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By Abraham Katsman, AMERICAN THINKER

There is a lot of George Bailey in America’s foreign policy DNA. And, like George, America has now seen in the Middle East the dystopia of a world in which it is absent.

As another holiday season recedes in our rear-view mirrors, and another flowering of New Year’s resolutions wilts with the deepening winter, America’s presidential campaign begins in earnest. I hope that all voters—and presidential candidates—remain impacted by that most American Christmastime ritual: watching the movie classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” There are lessons to be learned from this 70-year-old film set in small-town Bedford Falls that apply to 21st century geopolitics, presidential elections and America’s special role in the world.
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Op-ed: Over the past few years, some left-wing activists have been going down a dangerous path. They’re not against the occupation, they’re against Israel. They don’t deal with criticism, but in demonization. They’re not against the settlements, but against a Jewish and democratic state. It’s time for self-criticism.

By Ben-Dror Yemini, YNET

To my friends on the left-wing, this is a wakeup call. Ezra Nawi’s story was supposed to set off the warning bells. It didn’t. If you keep on with the regular chorus of “this is an attack on left-wing organizations,” you will be doing a great service for the extreme right-wing.

When did anyone level relevant criticism against you? If your automatic reaction has been for many years to cry out “fascism” or “a danger to democracy,” and never really address the issue at hand, then something has gone completely wrong with you, because this is the way to close yourselves off, it’s not the way to deal with it. After all, most of the automatic reactions to the “Uvda” investigative report focused on the program itself and not the things it exposed. You’ve been praising exposés for years, and all of a sudden you’re against them? What happened?
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T. Belman. The fact that Israel is choosing to lobby and negotiate is very disturbing. There is nothing to discuss. To talk to them is a sign of weakness. Israel must destroy all illegal Arab construction in Area C and prevent the road the EU is building from being completed. The EU should have no say in the matter.

Israel is battling an EU proposal that will be tabled next week in a meeting of European foreign ministers, which calls for all European Union countries to restrict its international agreements with Israel to within the 1967 borders, thus excluding the settlements.

By Itamar Eichner, YNET

Two months after introducing labeling for products imported from Israeli settlements, the EU is planning to further differentiate between the areas on either side of the Green Line.

The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council, which brings together European foreign ministers, is expected to approve on Tuesday a proposal that is liable to levy new sanctions against Israeli settlements and undermine their international legitimacy.

The proposal calls on all European Union countries to restrict their international agreements with Israel to within the 1967 borders, thus excluding the settlements.
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ISRAEL SHOULD BE ACTING NOT ASKING

The European Union has been fairly public in the last few years about its financial support for illegal Palestinian construction in Area C, including the placement of its logo on those structures.

By Tova Lazaroff, JPOST

European foreign ministers likely will discuss the growing tension with Israel over their support for Palestinian development of Area C of the West Bank when they meet in Brussels on Monday, diplomatic sources told The Jerusalem Post.

The members of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council also are expected to restate a number of established positions with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Pro-Israel lobby warns against implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran.

By Ben Ariel, ARUTZ SHEVA

The implementation of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers is “a dangerous moment for America and our allies”, the American pro-Israel lobby AIPAC warned on Sunday night.

In a statement, AIPAC said the implementation “is a turning point in Iran’s strength as a terrorist state and in its ability to pursue regional dominance. Starting today, Iran can repatriate tens of billions of dollars from frozen foreign accounts, fueling its efforts to expand its reach across the region. The international community will dismantle its elaborate sanctions regime, and Iran will start down the path to legitimize its illicit nuclear program.”
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By John Horvat II, AMERICAN THINKER

In classrooms across the country, high school students are taught the scientific method. It consists of constructing a doubtful hypothesis and designing a series of experiments to test the hypothesis with the observable facts. After a number of tests prove positive. The student can then take the facts and reach a conclusion. When a conclusion is constantly verified, it is enshrined in what might be called “established” science.

There is a second kind of science that uses methods very different from those of “established” science. In fact, this science, if indeed it might be called such, uses the exact opposite method. It consists of constructing a conclusion and then testing that conclusion with a hypothesis that is repeated over and over again using doubtful data to back it up.
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In Jenin and Balata, they’re waiting for a one-state solution… or for Islamic State

BY AVI ISSACHAROFF, TOI

JENIN, West Bank — Beneath a sign showing Saddam Hussein alongside various well-known shahids (martyrs), the residents of Jenin’s refugee camp are engaged in heated debate. At issue is whether to put up a banner commemorating the “shahid” Nashat Milhem, the Israeli Arab terrorist who killed three Israelis in a shooting attack in central Tel Aviv on January 1.
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But Tamir Pardo warns a shrinking world presents new challenges; cites Hezbollah’s rise, Iran’s revolution and diminishing Turkish and Saudi power

TOI

Israel is no longer facing any existential threats, Tamir Pardo, the outgoing head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, said in an interview published Saturday. But he warned that the nature of the challenges that the Jewish state must meet has shifted dramatically in recent years.

“Everyone knows that Israel is a very strong nation. This is no longer a time when Israel, as a young state, is forced to deal with existential fears,” Pardo told the Hebrew-language Maariv newspaper.

“The greatest challenge faced by every head of the organization is to adapt to reality,” he said. “This is a profoundly different reality to the one that existed when I was drafted into the IDF in 1971. Then we dealt with entirely different issues, as the threats were different. Hezbollah was an entirely different entity, Iran has completely changed, and even Turkey and Saudi Arabia are not what they once were.”
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By Shimon Koffler Fogel, CIJA CEO, Times of Israel

For many in the pro-Israel community, the election of a new federal government has raised questions about the future of the Canada-Israel relationship and whether the unparalleled friendship developed over the last decade will prove to be durable or anomalous. These questions reflect the strength of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s record, which brought bilateral ties to new heights, rather than any deficiency in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s orientation toward the Jewish state.

Although Trudeau and Harper’s tone and style are dramatically different, Mr. Trudeau has been unequivocal, both as leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister, that support for Israel will remain a fixture of Canadian foreign policy under his stewardship, firmly rooted in a cross-party consensus and reflecting shared values, interests and opportunities.
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Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
“Israel Hayom”, January 15, 2016, http://bit.ly/1ldE1DZ

The annual US investment in Israel – erroneously defined as “foreign aid” – has yielded one of the highest rates of return on US investments overseas. Israel is no longer a supplicant, transforming itself from a national security and economic consumer to a national security and economic producer, generating substantial dividends, which exceed the annual investment by its lead investor, the US.

US national and homeland security and commercial interests have derived significant benefits from the special US-Israel cooperative alliance, which has evolved into a unique, mutually-beneficial, two-way-street, win-win relationship, transcending the tension between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, rising above 68-year-old US-Israel disagreements over the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian issue.

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By Shoula Romano Horing, AMERICAN THINKER
Two days after the Israeli government approved a 15 billion-shekel budget to improve Arab Israeli towns, and cities’ infrastructure and welfare, an Arab-Israeli terrorist randomly shot and killed 3 Israelis and wounded 7 in Tel Aviv. Most Israeli Arabs, who constitutes 21% of the Israeli population, do not take arms against the Jewish state, but they almost never condemn or speak out publicly against the continuous anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish campaign of terror and incitement to violence by their Palestinians brethren and leadership.

Since 1967, a majority of Arab Israelis have chosen to identify themselves as Palestinians, Arabs, or Muslims but never as Israelis, unless they want to receive a right or a benefit from the state or need to complain about alleged victimization and discrimination. The time has arrived for the Israeli people and the Israeli government to demand from Israeli Arabs that they show their loyalty to the state by willingly participating in national service and publicly condemning anti-Israel terror and incitement as a precondition to receiving further state benefits and privileges. Read more…

The reasons for the dislike of Israel are numerous and often reinforce each other.

By Prof Efraim Inbar, ARUTZ SHEVA

Israel is demonized and singled out by the media and international bodies. Israel is accused of excessive use of force, despite its great efforts to minimize collateral damage, while the massacres by the Assad regime or the heavy collateral damage resulting from Saudi attacks in Yemen are hardly mentioned. The EU decided to mark the products of the Israeli settlements beyond the “Green Line,” taking no similar action for the products in northern Cyprus (occupied by Turkey), or in Tibet (occupied by China), or in Western Sahara (occupied by Morocco). Israel, a democratic state, is accused of human rights violations, while the UN ignores the human rights violations of many of its members.

The reasons for the dislike of the Jewish state are numerous and often reinforce each other.
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Analysis: Israel and Russia share a common fear of terrorism, and in 2014 Putin was one of the few world leaders to support Operation Protective Edge and was in 2005 the first Russian president to visit Israel.

By Josh Cohen, Reuters, YNET

Love him or hate him, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military intervention in Syria unquestionably upended Middle Eastern politics. Putin supported Syrian President Bashar Assad, established several military bases in Syria, created a de-facto Russian-Shi’ite axis, confronted Turkey and forced the West to re-engage with him.

While all the region’s major players feel the influence of Russia’s military campaign, one country overlooked by commentators analyzing Russia’s Syrian campaign is Israel. Israel’s interests vis-à-vis Russia run wide and deep and are impossible for Jerusalem to ignore.
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