Poll: Only 46% of Israelis think two-state solution is dead  

T. Belman. This poll is suspect having been conducted by two left wing organizations. Some 87% of the Jewish public sees only a small chance that “sometime in the future Jews and Arabs will be able to live in a single state as citizens with equal rights who recognize each other’s rights.” So much for Glick’s plan.

By Gil Hoffman, JPOST

The idea of solving the Israeli- Palestinian conflict with two states for two peoples is dead, a majority of Arab citizens and close to a majority of Jews in Israel believe, according to the monthly Peace Index poll released on Wednesday by the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University.

When asked whether they agreed with the statement that the two-state solution is dead, 57.1 percent of Arabs and 46.1% of Jews agreed, 35.1% of Arabs and 50% of Jews disagreed, and 7.7% of Arabs and 3.9% of Jews said they did not know or declined to answer.
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October 15, 2015 | 7:53 am | 4 Comments »

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State Department Backtracks A Bit on Kerry’s ‘Settlements’ Comment  

T. Belman. Too little, too late. The US refusal to condemn Palestinian incitement and terror is part of the problem. It is an evasion of their moral responsibility.

State Department spokesman insists Kerry not trying to assign blame when he linked “settlements” with Arab terror wave.

By Ben Ariel, INN

Hours after it was revealed that Secretary of State John Kerry had blamed the latest terror wave in Israel on “settlements”, namely, the existence of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, the State Department backtracked on those remarks.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening and quoted by Reuters, State Department spokesman John Kirby said Kerry was not assigning blame when he said a “massive increase in settlements” over the past year had been followed by the current outbreak of violence.

Kirby said Kerry had been consistent in “not trying to affix … blame for the recent violence” but had discussed “the challenges that are posed on both sides by this absence of progress towards a two-state solution.”
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October 15, 2015 | 7:13 am | 7 Comments »

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What makes Obama tick?  

by LAWRENCE SELLIN, PHD FSM

It is no longer considered a brilliant or unwarranted diagnosis to conclude that Barack Hussein Obama suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others; all usually disguising a fragile self-image that is vulnerable to the slightest criticism.

It would not be unfair, in my opinion, to speculate that Obama may also demonstrate some characteristics of malignant narcissism, where individuals might display an increased level of hostility and sadistically undermine organizations in which they are involved, as well as dehumanize the people with whom they associate; in this case, the United States and ordinary Americans, respectively.
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October 15, 2015 | 6:34 am | 2 Comments »

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A Very Syrious Matter  

By Tabitha Korol

The Jewish Community Federations of North America have come together to provide humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees. The organizations, paid contractors who are identified in the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief, are too numerous to mention here, but include AIPAC, AJC, B’nai B’rith Int’l, HIAS, ORT America, and National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), who are furthering the cause of population redistribution.

Refugees, unlike migrants, are defined as those who flee their homes because of persecution. President Obama authorized the State Department to admit 85,000 refugees fleeing humanitarian crises worldwide in 2016. Just as these Islamists have invaded Europe, so our multiculturalists are funding their invasion into America, and despite Saudi Arabia’s air-conditioned tents that are erected and ready to accommodate three million for their annual pilgrimage to Medina, no “Syrians” are welcomed within the Islamic world. By definition, not only are these Syrians not refugees, but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confessed that they have no screening process for “Syrian refugees.”
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October 15, 2015 | 6:27 am | 1 Comment »

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With a skirt and a rifle: Meet the IDF’s religious girl power  

Three young, motivated women explain why they decided to serve the State of Israel as combat soldiers instead of doing national service like other observant girls their age.

By Itzchak Tessler, YNET

In 2010, 935 young religious women joined the IDF. In 2013, the number jumped to 1,616. Every year, the army receives more and more religious female recruits, who are not only enlisting for traditional roles in the Education Corps, but are also joining combat units.

This new trend should not be taken for granted, given the fact that one of the main statements issued by the Chief Rabbinate Council when Chief Rabbis David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef took office was that the Rabbinate “forbids IDF enlistment in any way, continuing the tradition of the previous chief rabbis.”
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October 15, 2015 | 6:12 am | 1 Comment »

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Ben Carson: Never Again’ means standing with Israel  

By Ben Carson, JPOST

cARSONIn recent days I suggested that things might have unfolded in a very different manner in Europe had the Jewish people been armed and better able to defend themselves.

Sometimes it is hard to find the right words to talk about the kind of evil that defies reason and destroys lives. We saw that evil on full display during the Holocaust perpetuated by the fanatical and tyrannical Nazi regime under Adolph Hitler. The lessons to be drawn from those darkest of days in world history are plentiful, and as relevant today as they were nearly 80 years ago.

In recent days I suggested that things might have unfolded in a very different manner in Europe had the Jewish people been armed and better able to defend themselves. What would have been the impact on Hitler’s war machine if his victims had had more access to guns? It is something that we will never know for sure.
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October 15, 2015 | 5:34 am | 3 Comments »

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Shlomo Avineri and the two-state solution  

By Lewis Rosen, TOI

We are frequently told that the settlers and Israel’s presence in the West Bank are the main reasons why there is no peace. Yet, in the current wave of violent attacks, rather than targeting settlers in the disputed areas over the Green Line, the attempted murders of Israeli Jews have been committed in such places as Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Afula, Petach Tikvah, Hadera and Kiryat Gat as well as in the West Bank.

The recent U.N. speech and subsequent statements by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas drip with delegitimization of Israel and are rife with incitement and false claims about the Temple Mount. The Islamic Movement (Northern Branch) and Hamas have been strongly inciting violence. PA media, school curricula, and imams at mosques deny any historical connection of Jews to Jerusalem and the Land of Israel, depict Israel as a foreign colonialist presence like the Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries, and identify Jaffa, Acre, Haifa, and Nazareth, among others, as cities in Palestine. Is it any wonder that Jews throughout Israel are the target of attacks?
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October 14, 2015 | 5:18 pm | 4 Comments »

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End incitement  

By Reuven Berko, ISRAEL HAYOM

Focus on deterrence
Israel’s experiences since the founding of the state indicate that for every Palestinian terrorist effort stopped by Israel, a new path of terrorism has been forged. When they think they have found a particularly murderous new method, one which they believe has no Israeli antidote, they urge their followers to use it to attack as much as possible.

It is up to us to identify our adversaries and to deal with them individually. Those who carry out stabbing and ramming attacks should be killed on the spot. The political echelon must stop the cycle of incitement on Al Jazeera and put an end to the funding that flows from Qatar — which is hiding behind an American military screen — to Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and the Islamic Movement. A fire at home would force Qatar to tend to its own, meaning more Jews living safely in Israel (and more security for Egypt).
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October 14, 2015 | 2:17 pm | 5 Comments »

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New anti-terror measures, hospitals on emergency footing ready for long terror haul  

DEBKA

After the first shooting in the current wave of Palestinian terror, the Health Ministry Tuesday, Oct. 13, put Israeli hospitals on emergency footing for the potential contingency of multiple casualties. Medical and auxiliary staff and supply centers were put on a state of preparedness. Hospitals in Jerusalem and other parts of the country are already facing a rise in emergency admissions as a result of terrorist attacks.

The security cabinet Tuesday approved a series of anti-terror measures, while warning that the end of the terrorist offensive was not yet in sight and it would take time for the new measures to take effect.
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October 14, 2015 | 12:38 pm | 2 Comments »

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China Joining Russia In Syria Brings Risks Of World War  

IDB Editorial

American Decline: Chinese forces head to Syria to join with Russia in filling Obama’s power vacuum and purportedly fight the Islamic State. A false move involving NATO member Turkey could mean world war.

Russian and Chinese military sources now confirm that Chinese warships are en route to the Middle East to get in on some of the action of humiliating the U.S.

In just a week and a half, Moscow has upended the dynamics of power in the Mideast by taking on the role that President Obama relinquished: acting like a superpower in a regional conflict that has implications extending far beyond the region.
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October 14, 2015 | 12:31 pm | 6 Comments »

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Third Intifada Most Dangerous of All  

Moshe Feiglin, JEWISH LEADERSHIP BLOG

“Defense Minister Ya’alon is technically correct when he says that the number of victims of each terror attack in this current intifada is less than in the previous intifada,” said Moshe Feiglin on Tuesday. “Thank G-d that until now, we are paying a ‘lower price’ for the short-sightedness and flaccidity of our leaders. But Ya’alon’s claim proves just how disconnected the government is from reality. If we dig beneath the surface, we will see that the current Arab uprising is the worst of all.”

“We are no longer looking at terror organizations somewhere over the border,” Feiglin explained.

“We are looking at a war declared against us by the Arabs who live in the Land of Israel, with growing partnership with the Arabs who live in the State of Israel. The Third Intifada is beginning to look more like a sporadic, personal civil war. The mentality that currently prevails among the government leaders does not have a way to control the violence. If it continues, its results will be much worse than those of its predecessors.”
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October 14, 2015 | 7:51 am | 11 Comments »

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How to Deal with the Arab Violence  

By Moshe Feiglin, JEWISH LEADERSHIP BLOG

The new Arab murderer was born after the handshakes between Rabin, Netanyahu – and Yassir Arafat, the head of the Organization to Liberate the Land of Israel from the Jews. For his entire life, the new Arab murderer has heard from Israel that this is his Land and that we are nothing more than occupiers who will soon be moving on.

The new Arab murderer does not need an organization to ignite him. Israel has been igniting him from the day he was born.

To really fight the new wave of Arab murderousness in Israel, we must understand its source.
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October 14, 2015 | 7:46 am | 5 Comments »

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Our World: The nuclear deal’s true purpose  

By Caroline Glick, JPOST

It works out that President Barack Obama’s signature diplomatic achievement, his nuclear deal with Iran, has nothing to do with preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power or even with placing restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities.

Just weeks after Obama led the international community in concluding the nuclear pact with Iran, the Iranian regime filed a complaint with the UN Security Council accusing the US of committing a material breach of the agreement.

The US action that precipitated the complaint was a statement by White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest claiming that if Iran violates the deal, “the military option would remain on the table.”
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October 14, 2015 | 6:47 am | 6 Comments »

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Blowback: Saudi Arabia vs. Russia in Syria  

by Jonathan Schanzer and Boris Zilberman
The National Interest

After deploying its ground and air assets across Syria, Russia entered into an agreement with the Shiite leaders of Iran and Iraq to coordinate military efforts. At the podium of the United Nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin looked as if he had pulled off a masterful power play in the Middle East. But Putin seems to have forgotten the dangers of the neighborhood he seeks to dominate. More importantly, he is ignoring Russia’s recent history of meddling in the Muslim world. If past is prologue, things could get bloody.

US President Barack Obama, who has arguably looked weakest as a result of Putin’s muscling into Syria, recently warned that the Kremlin may be heading for a quagmire. There is unquestionably an element of sour grapes here, but Obama has a point. The scores of Sunni factions already fighting in Syria—both jihadis and moderates—are now nearly unanimous in their fury over Russian attempts to bolster the Assad regime. And so are the traditional financial patrons of militant Islam in the Middle East. The Saudis have now openly called for an end to Russian airstrikes.
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October 13, 2015 | 4:29 pm | 1 Comment »

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Putin Aims at Syria — and Strikes Europe  

Take note, Europe: By bombing Syria, Putin has finally put Russia back at the center of the world.

BY BENJAMIN HADDAD, HANNAH THOBURN, FOREIGN POLICY

On Sept. 30, Russian jets began airstrikes on rebel-held territories in the Syrian cities of Hama, Homs, and Latakia. This should have come as no surprise. During his speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, Vladimir Putin laid out his plan for a “genuinely broad international coalition against terrorism,” a catch-all term that now appears to include the Islamic State, al-Nusra Front, and the Free Syrian Army — anyone and everyone who opposes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The bombings followed weeks of military buildup in Syria and years of verbal and lethal support for Russia’s ally Assad.
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October 13, 2015 | 4:18 pm | 2 Comments »

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Farewell to Syria  

By Gideon Sa’ar, Gabi Siboni, INSS

The civil war in Syria is at the top of the global agenda for two primary reasons. The first is related to Russia’s military presence in the country, which until a few weeks ago was marginal and of a low profile, and became substantial once Russia dispatched dozens of fighter jets and helicopters, hundreds of soldiers, and a defense system for deployment on Syrian soil. Russian President Vladimir Putin has openly stated that the move has three objectives: to help the Assad regime survive, to attack the Islamic State, and to eliminate Russian Islamic radicals fighting in the ranks of the Islamic State. The second reason is related to the massive influx of refugees into Europe, a phenomenon forcing European leaders to stop turning a blind eye to the longstanding civil war.
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October 13, 2015 | 11:24 am | 2 Comments »

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Stabbings are not abating  

HAARETZ

Violent tensions between Israel and the Palestinians peaked Tuesday, with multiple terror attacks reported in Jerusalem and the central city of Ra’anana, leaving over 30 Israelis wounded and at least two dead.

In the morning, a stabbing was reported in Ra’anana, followed by two separate attacks Jerusalem, followed by yet another attack in Ra’anana.

Latest updates:
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October 13, 2015 | 11:12 am | 32 Comments »

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U.S.-Made Weaponry Is Turning Syrian Conflict Into Proxy War With Russia  

NYT

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Insurgent commanders say that since Russia began air attacks in support of the Syrian government, they are receiving for the first time bountiful supplies of powerful American-made antitank missiles.

With the enhanced insurgent firepower and with Russia steadily raising the number of airstrikes against the government’s opponents, the Syrian conflict is edging closer to an all-out proxy war between the United States and Russia.

The increased levels of support have raised morale on both sides of the conflict, broadening war aims and hardening political positions, making a diplomatic settlement all the more unlikely.
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October 13, 2015 | 8:35 am | 8 Comments »

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Turkey is the Next Failed State in the Middle East  

by David P. Goldman, Asia Times Online

We do not know just who detonated the two bombs that killed 95 Kurdish and allied activists in Ankara Saturday, but the least likely conjecture is that President Erdogan’s government is guiltless in the matter. As Turkish member of parliament Lutfu Turkkan tweeted after the bombing, the attack “was either a failure by the intelligence service, or it was done by the intelligence service.”

Betrayed by both the United States and Russia, and faced with the emergence of a Kurdish state on its borders and the rise of Kurdish parties in the parliamentary opposition, Erdogan is cornered. At risk in the short-term is the ability of his AKP party to govern after the upcoming November elections. At risk in the medium term is the cohesion of the Turkish state itself.
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October 13, 2015 | 7:31 am | 4 Comments »

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