Killing this oversight would only give Obama more Iran running room.

Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2015

In the matter of the Corker-Cardin bill giving Congress a voice in the Iranian nuclear deal, allow us to adapt Churchill’s dictum on democracy: It’s the worst form of legislation, except for all the others that have been proposed.

We write this as the bill—named for Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker(R., Tenn.) and ranking Democrat Ben Cardin (Maryland)—is being assailed by some of our conservative friends as a damp squib that won’t stop President Obama from striking a bad deal with Tehran while giving the agreement an implicit seal of Congressional approval. Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have proposed amendments that, while defensible on their merits, would give Democrats the political excuse many of them seek to vote against the bill.
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By Ted Belman

Under no circumstances should Iran be allowed to get the bomb, given that they are the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, have killed many Americans and constantly chant death to America. For those who care, it is also dedicated to destroying Israel, America’s most stalwart ally in the Middle East. I would have thought this, self-evident.  Apparently not.

President Obama, from the beginning of his first term choose engagement with Iran as opposed to confrontation. But Iran proved a reluctant fiancée. Obama had to bribe her by lifting significant sanctions that were in place that were beginning to bite. Once the negotiations started in earnest, Obama continued to abandon his read lines by making concession after concession. But Iran held her ground.
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Israel is set to become even more polarizing in American politics.

By Peter Beinart, The Atlantic,  Mar 19/15

Some of Benjamin Netanyahu’s victims are obvious: Isaac Herzog, who hoped to unseat him; Barack Obama, who hoped for an Israeli leader who wouldn’t conspire against him with the GOP; anyone who still believes in the two-state solution.

Others are less obvious. Consider what Bibi has done over the past few months to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which lobbies on behalf of the U.S.-Israel alliance in Washington. To its critics, AIPAC looks like a right-wing organization. But that’s not how it looks inside. AIPAC’s staff is militantly bipartisan. After all, they must maintain their influence no matter who runs Washington. And AIPAC’s members have, historically, been mostly Democrats. Since most American Jews are Democrats, it’s hard to run a large, mainstream American Jewish group without having lots of them around.
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T. Belman. Bennett is therefore the only one that might kill the coalition by not joining it or bolting later necessitating new elections. We have yet to see what is to happen with the construction freeze.

To obtain political quiet and government longevity, Netanyahu is piling his future partners’ plates with honors, irrespective of the size of their factions. All except Naftali Bennett.

By Yossi Verter, HAARETZ

In the little spare time he has – by all accounts, in the small hours of the night – Benjamin Netanyahu apparently watches the American cult TV series “Breaking Bad.” It’s about a chemistry teacher from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who falls ill with cancer, and in order to pay for expensive treatments and ensure his family’s future, turns to the production and sale of crystal meth.The new highs (or lows) of extreme violence, absolute evil and unfathomable cynicism portrayed in every episode undoubtedly help the premier chill out after hours of coalition bargaining with Naftali Bennett and all the others.

One of the key comments that Walter, “Breaking Bad”’s protagonist, makes to his young partner-in-crime, Jesse, when warning him against falling prey to the charms of a local drug lord, is: “Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.”
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Regavim, the right-wing equivalent of Peace Now, says Europe is using an impoverished Bedouin population to create political facts on the ground

By Elhanan Miller, TOI

Illegally constructed structures in the hamlet of Arareh, east of Jerusalem, April 29, 2015 (photo credit: Elhanan Miller/Times of Israel)

Two biblical verses look down from the conference room wall of Regavim, an Israeli NGO that monitors and reports on illegal Arab construction in Israel and the West Bank. The first, taken from the book of Genesis, sums up the organization’s motivation, iterated in the words of God to Abraham: “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring, forever.”

The second, epitomizing Regavim’s modus operandi, quotes from the first chapter of Isaiah: “Zion will be delivered with justice.” Regavim – Israel Independence Fund was founded in 2006 by newly elected Jewish Home MK Bezalel Smotrich and Yehuda Eliyahu in response to a September 2005 Supreme Court case brought by Peace Now against the illegal outpost of Harasha in Samaria.
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OBAMA AND ISRAEL By Discover The Networks

When reading this profile, keep in mind that whatever Abunimah believes, Obama does as well

DISCOVER THE NETWORKS

Born in Washington, DC on December 29, 1971, Ali Abunimah is a Palestinian-American graduate of Princeton University and the University of Chicago. A former board-of-directors member of the Arab American Action Network, he co-founded the Electronic Intifada website and is closely affiliated with the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. His personal website, Abunimah.org, acts as a clearinghouse for his writings, which are fiercely hostile toward Israel and the United States.

Abunimah authored the 2006 book One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, which rejects a two-state solution for the Mideast conflict and proposes instead the creation of a single, united, democratic state for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
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By Ben Caspit, AL-MONITOR

Slowly, quietly and under the radar, Israel recently completed a full U-turn regarding everything connected to its relations with Hamas. The same Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who declared the day after the Cast Lead operation ended that he would overthrow the Hamas regime in Gaza has in recent years become the bulwark of that exact same regime. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon keep their new policy under wraps for internal domestic political considerations, but as for now, the blockade on Gaza is almost nonexistent and Israel maintains ongoing if indirect contact with Hamas. Israel has no intention of operating to change this regime. On the contrary: Israel prays for governmental stability in the Gaza Strip. According to several reports, Israel even conducts indirect negotiations under Qatari mediation for a long-range settlement of the situation, including a cease-fire of five or more years.

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By Mazal Mualem, ISRAEL PULSE AL-MONITOR

[..]

Never has there been another finance minister in Israel with so much authority and so many means to succeed. Even Netanyahu, who was appointed to the post in 2003, did not have all the power that Kahlon now has.

Kahlon will be the first finance minister to head the Israel Land Authority, which will be transferred to him from the Housing Ministry, and the Planning Administration, which will be transferred from the Interior Ministry. He will also head the Housing Cabinet. The Kulanu Party will also receive two additional ministries: the Ministry of Housing, which will go to Maj. Gen. (Res.) Yoav Galant, and the Ministry of the Environment. His party will also chair the Knesset’s Welfare Committee and receive a 7 billion Israeli shekel (about $1.8 billion) budget to combat poverty.

Furthermore, Kahlon asked for and received the right to veto any Basic Laws and infringe on the powers of the Supreme Court, and to veto the Nationality Law, which Netanyahu promoted during his last term.

By Yoram Ettinger, ISRAEL HAYOM

Irrespective of a cynical and gullible “elite” media, independent of diplomatic pressure, political correctness and conventional wisdom, in defiance of the global economic slowdown, in the face of war and terrorism, and despite ill-advised threats of boycott, divestment and sanctions — but, due to principle-driven tenacity, inherent optimism, human capital/brain power, creativity, cutting edge ingenuity and breakthrough, game-changing innovations — Israel’s economy is expanding beyond expectations, reacting constructively to pressures and challenges, and developing unique commercial and security niches in response to local and global needs.

For example, the April 10 issue of the Financial Times reported that “Israel’s cyber security technologies claim 10% of the world’s investments, and Israel’s exports exceed $3 billion. … Buy Swiss watches from Switzerland and information security from Israel. … Israel built its cyber-related offensive, defensive and snooping functions as a byproduct of its regional conflicts, ‘turning lemons into lemonade’ (Udi Mokady, CEO of CyberArk).”
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Democrat Adam Schiff on what worries him about the framework nuclear agreement with Tehran—and about his Republican colleagues.

By Jeffry Goldberg, THE ATLANTIC

As the great (and not-so-great) powers approach a June 30 deadline—putatively the mother of all deadlines—in the march toward a final nuclear agreement with Iran, I find myself relying on the analysis of a handful of experts to help me understand the intricacies of the technical and political aspects of the so-called framework agreement—“so-called” because the framework agreement has appeared, so far at least, to be more framework than actual agreement.

These experts include Gary Samore, formerly the Obama administration’s chief Iran nuclear expert (now at Harvard’s Kennedy School), and David Albright, a nuclear expert at the unfortunately acronymed Institute for Science and International Security. Both men are appropriately, rather than demagogically, skeptical of the deal. Samore says he is waiting to assess the strength of the provisions governing monitoring and verification. Albright has raised a series of hard questions that American negotiators should be able to answer before signing off on a final deal. I also rely on the analysis of General Amos Yadlin, the former chief of Israeli military intelligence, who provides a sober, non-hysterical Israeli view of the negotiations. (His recent analysis, in which he looks at the framework agreement with skepticism but advances a line popularized by President Obama—in essence, if there’s a better alternative to a deal, no one has yet described it—is worth reading.)
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CAMERA

Israeli soldiers set up a field hospital together with the Nepalese army in Nepal following the deadly earthquake on April 29, 2015. (IDF Spokesperson)

Israel frequently sends aid teams to countries hit by natural disasters such as post-earthquake Haiti and tsunami-stricken Japan. Nepal is no different. The Times of Israelreports:

Israel’s aid team to the earthquake-battered Himalayan nation of Nepal is the largest in manpower of any international aid mission.Over 250 doctors and rescue personnel were part of an IDF delegation that landed Tuesday in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, in the wake of Saturday’s magnitude-7.8 earthquake that devastated large swaths of the mountainous country, killing at least 5,000 and leaving some 8,000 wounded and tens of thousands seeking shelter and food.

The Israeli group set up a field hospital with 60 beds that began operations on Wednesday in coordination with the local army hospital. 

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The biblical Book of Esther records an account of Jewish resistance to attempted genocide in the setting of the Persian Empire. According to the text, Jews were targeted for annihilation simply because of their Jewish identity. However, the story also reports that they were allowed to defend themselves against anyone who sought to kill them. In the context of attempted genocide, the message of Esther addresses a timeless and universal issue of justice – that humans have the right and responsibility to defend themselves against those who intend to murder.

Revd. Dr. Petra Heldt, Professor, Rothberg International School, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Jews and Anti-Judaism in Esther and the Church By Tricia Miller PhD, shows how the anti-Judaism that is a central feature of Esther relates to the contemporary issue of the contested legitimacy of the State of Israel as part of the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. In her outstanding book, Dr. Tricia Miller uses an academic approach to demonstrate the relationship of historic theology to current events concerning Israel for the purpose of encouraging Christians to support Israel’s right to exist and defend itself against those who seek its destruction. Read more…

From Jeddah with love? How an Arab Israeli soldier’s quest to enlist his countrymen led him to an unexpected source of pro-Israel sentiment.

By Ari Sofer, INN

Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen… These may not be countries you would expect tofeature in a pro-Israel campaign.

Even in Egypt and Jordan, which have treaties with Israel, you’re not likely to find much pro-Israel sentiment among the general public – at least not in public

However, a recent poll of the Arab world, released last month, revealed something surprising: unlike their elders, young Arabs are increasingly abandoning the paradigm of Israel as the root of all evil. The Arab Youth Survey showed that faith in that doctrine, which has long-dominated the Arab discourse, is being eroded, as a new generation with access to information beyond the “official” channels which dominated life before the social media age takes stock of the challenges it faces – from ISIS to dictatorships to unemployment – none of which have anything to do with Israel.
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T. Belman. This was written after Palin announced she was very interested in a potential run. Since then she has been very quiet. This article attracted over 100 comments on American Thinker.

By Paul Murphy, AMERICAN THINKER

The Thursday, February 5, article “Not Sarah Palin — not again,” by Jerry Shenk, struck me as dead wrong on all counts.

First, Sarah Palin is one of us, not one of them.

Second, the country needs a healer – someone who can rise above the mass media’s hate-fueled attacks while working to bring sanity back to government and ideological balance back to both major parties.  Sarah Palin can do this: she’s a deeply committed conservative who has consistently shown, and not just as governor and McCain’s running mate, but throughout her personal and political life, both an ability to work with the other side and a willingness to listen to others.

Third, Palin is electable – whether she takes Scott Walker, Michele Bachmann, or Newt Gingrich along doesn’t really matter.  With her at the top of the ticket, the media will go berserk, and the same four million Tea Party voters who stayed home in 2012 will put her into the White House with a massive majority.
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There is a thread that runs between Obama’s policy toward Iran and his policy toward Israel.

By Caroline Glick, JPOST

On Tuesday the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps forcibly commandeered the Maersk Tigris as navigated its way through the Straits of Hormuz. Iran controls the strategic waterway through which 40 percent of seaborne oil and a quarter of seaborne gas transits to global markets.

The Maersk Tigris is flagged to the Marshall Islands. The South Pacific archipelago gained its independence from the US in 1986 after signing a treaty conceding its right to self-defense in exchange for US protection. According to the treaty, the US has “full authority and responsibility for security and defense of the Marshall Islands.”
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By Martin Sherman, JPOST

The past week has been particularly hectic, leaving little time to devote to writing.

Accordingly, I thought I might cut a few corners – and myself some slack – by laying back, and at the same time, showing off a little.

I decided to provide INTO THE FRAY readers with a glimpse of some of my past writings, dating back almost quarter of century, and the predictions/prescriptions made in them – all of which are still keenly relevant today.

I leave you, dear readers, to appraise the accuracy of these prognoses, and to assess, in certain cases, what might have been achieved, and in others, what might have been avoided, had they been heeded more, or earlier, by the nation’s leaders. Read more…

T. Belman. In response, Mort Klein, President of ZOA, responded:

After much deliberation. We decided this bill gives us a vote on stopping deal, even if we need to get 67 votes to override a veto. That means 54 republican votes and 13 democratic votes which is difficult but possible. Without this bill there is no vote. Zoa is supporting the Cruz ,Rooney,Rubio amendments. Aipac is not.

By Ted Belman

ZOA just put out a press release in support of the Corker Bill which gives the Senate a voice on the future Iran deal.

It started by saying:

1) They urged their Senators to support S.615, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, introduced by Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), and thanked the 53 co-sponsors of this legislation. This Bill allows Congress to review and vote on any final Iran Nuclear Deal and vote before sanctions are lifted against Iran.

I have great difficulty with this bill and so do many others. Read more…

T. Belman. I think you will enjoy this beautifully written article. I did. The comments, which now number close to 500 are also very interesting to read. It really struck a chord.

I’m Out

By Fran Solomita, AMERICAN THINKER

I remember the righteous smugness I used to feel when the one conservative friend in my social circle would begin expressing his opinions at a dinner gathering. I and the other ‘enlightened’ diners would shift uncomfortably and glance at one another, rolling our eyes: “Here he goes again.” My stomach would tighten with a worry not fit for the occasion. I began to feel personally offended. And the smugness sometimes boiled over into anger, as I’d listen to my friend, loyal and kind, simply share his “crazy” ideas and opinions with us.
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The agreement with Aryeh Deri paves the way for Shas to enter the new Israeli government coalition.

By Lilach Weissman, GLOBES

China seeks to establish new trade routes in the region

By Dubi Ben-Gedalyahu, GLOBES

“Independence” is a very popular concept in Israel, however, the concept is a very flexible one. In reality, Israel’s strategic geopolitical position has made it the political and economic playground of foreign powers throughout history, leaving very limited room for the judgment of the “local” residents. The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 did not change the big picture much.Until last decade, for example, the dominant force that molded Israel’s financial-political “independence” was the United States. US interests still carry significant weight in Israel’s economic and political conduct, but over the past five years, the beginnings of what may be termed the “Chinese chapter” in the history of the Israeli economy have become apparent. Read more…