[T. Belman. I highly recommend you read and distribute the Sovereignty Journal.]

Arutz Sheva

Days before the March 17 elections, the Women in Green (WiG) movement has published issue number five of its Sovereignty Journal, which features interviewswith right-wing politicians and thinkers in an attempt to shift the public discourse towards declaring sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.

The new issue, which will be distributed in 120,000 copies in Hebrew and English and can be requested from WiG, includes interviews with politicians Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud), Economics Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home), and Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud).

It also features interviews with the head of Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) Itamar Marcus, Prof. Moshe Arens, Prof. Eliav Shochetman and other right-wing thinkers, in addition to articles by Attorney Dafna Netanyahu and Jerusalem Post editor Caroline Glick.
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By Don Calabrese, CFP

Hillary Clinton could save us all a lot of time by simply issuing the following statement:

You’re wasting your time asking me my position on anything. I have no idea. Regardless of what I’ve ever said or done in the past, or what I may say today, what I may actually do in the future depends entirely on how I perceive my own self-interest at that moment. And since I have no idea what the situation might be if and when I have to take an action on anything, I have no idea what I might do. So, in answer to your question: I don’t know. And stop asking me.

That would be an honest answer, and it would apply to absolutely any issue. Witness her kinda-sorta-but-we’ll-see reversal on the Obama trade bill – the very same trade bill she supported as Secretary of State when doing so seemed to present no barriers to her presidential ambitions:
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T. Belman. The EU has more than enough problems that it is struggling to deal with, yet it is finding the time to focus on the Israel-Palestinian conflict which is not one of its problems. Dare I say antisemitism is afoot here. I venture to say that the real problems of the EU will prevent it from doing more than threaten Israel.

By Shimon Stein, INSS

The two visits to Israel and the Palestinian Authority by Federica Mogherini since she was appointed High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union in November 2014 were designed to reflect her view of the importance and urgency of the Israeli-Palestinian issue and her intention to be involved in efforts to renew the dialogue between the two parties. These actions may appear to indicate business as usual within the EU, but these are not usual times.

The European Union is currently facing a systemic crisis that threatens its very future. At the same time, the EU is contending with crises with its neighbors to the south and to the east. These challenges raise doubts regarding Mogherini’s ability to project the authority necessary to contend with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as other issues relevant to the stability and security of Europe. Indeed, one may ask, what union does she actually represent?
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Why does one of America’s foremost Jewish leaders choose to attack Israel rather than take a picture at the Western Wall or make a solidarity visit to France’s Jews?

By Ron Torossian, INN

Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is retiring from the organization in July after many years at the helm – and for some reason, he chose to condemn the State of Israel on three separate occasions in his last few days of running the organization. This master of Public Relations criticized Israel on different issues in three separate forums – in an op-ed, in a speechand via press release.

It is true that Foxman undermined the Prime Minister of Israel a few months ago when he urged Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel his speech to a joint session of Congress about the Iranian nuclear threat, and that he has stated that those who oppose a two-state solution encourage anti-Semitism, boycotts against Israel, and are bad for Israel.  Foxman has long spoken out on liberal issues.
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The bottom line is that the war was fought to stop the rocket fire on Israel’s south and that if not for the Iron Dome, Israeli casualties would have been immense.

Ambassador Dr. Dore Gold, INN

The Gaza War is a war Israel did not want, but it is also a war that averted disaster for Israel.

However, the truth has been abused again by the one-sided mandate issued by the UN Human Rights Council on July 23, 2014, which calls for an investigation into events surrounding the war in the “Occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem and particularly the occupied Gaza Strip” – blind to the fact that Israel was the target of thousands of rockets and mortar attacks, all against civilian populations, and with some targeted Israeli areas having three times the population density of Gaza.

The UN report written as a result of that mandate is another perversion of the truth.
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By Suzie Dym, INN

By Susie Dym, Zion’s Corner, in Arutz Sheva Online

Richard Allen of New York City, is said to have quietly raised millions of dollars for Israel.  In2011, he and his wife were awarded the Theodor Herzl Medallion by Israel Bonds and the Israeli Minister of Finance. But lately, Richard Allen has become both the most criticized and the most listened-to man in the New York City Jewish community. What is he now trying to do for Israel, and why?

Richard Allen, you are a businessman. Why did you decide to get involved in public affairs?

JCCWatch.org started in November 2010, with our first internet post — a smiling photo of Uri Zaki, U.S. director of B’Tselem, standing behind a table given to him by our local Jewish Community Center, the JCC in Manhattan. Zaki was raising money to promote an anti-Israel agenda, handing out literature that defames our people, while soliciting contributions, all from inside the JCC in Manhattan.

I love Israel and the Jewish people. The buck stops here. We cannot turn a blind eye to Israel’s detractors.  I decided to do something.
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[T. Belman. I hate the title but bought the book anyway.]

By Elder of Zion Blogspot

“Ally,” Michael Oren’s new book in the headlines, is not the book you expect it to be.

Especially if you have been reading Michael Oren’s daily articles to promote his book – most notably his article in the Wall Street Journal last week, that began:

‘Nobody has a monopoly on making mistakes.” When I was Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2009 to the end of 2013, that was my standard response to reporters asking who bore the greatest responsibility—President Barack Obama or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—for the crisis in U.S.-Israel relations.

I never felt like I was lying when I said it. But, in truth, while neither leader monopolized mistakes, only one leader made them deliberately.

I read his book with this sentence in mind. How did he back up his statement? I’d like to know the inside story of how President Obama purposefully distanced himself from supporting Israel.
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VOICE OF ISRAEL

VOI’s Daniel Seaman and Daniela Traub discuss the demographic shift indicated by the public’s support for a campaign to deny government funding for a play glorifying an Arab terrorist, and the efforts of Culture Minister Miri Regev, Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked. They also discuss why they believe the Israeli Left is on the decline and how what they call the “real Jewish Israel” is emerging.

LISTEN

Obama expects “deeper cooperation” with Turkey

AL MONITOR

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is reportedly angered by the victory June 15 of Syrian Kurdish and rebel fighters over Islamic State (IS) forces in Tell Abyad, a Syrian town close to the Turkish border.

The influx of more than 23,000 Syrian refugees to Turkey as a result of the latest fighting brings the total number to nearly 1.8 million, the most Syrians hosted in any country, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Fehim Tastekin wrote June 14, “Erdogan’s anger with the operation to oust IS from the region became evident when he said on June 11, ‘The West, which is hitting Arabs and Turkmens of Tell Abyad from the air, is sadly settling the PYD [Democratic Union Party] and PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party] terror organizations in their places.’”
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Individualism beats out ideology among Palestinian youngsters, who prefer Western clothing to radical Islam

BY AVI ISSACHAROFF, TOI

It was a relatively short trip: five Palestinian cities and East Jerusalem, from Jenin in the north to Hebron in the south, in less than two months, with stops in Bethlehem; Ramallah, of course; and Nablus. The purpose: to try to understand what the Palestinian public wants — or, to put it another way, to see where relations between Israel and the Palestinians are headed.

While of course it is hard to reach unequivocal conclusions based on random visits to six different cities, it still seems that the same general topics came up in almost every meeting, at least with the young Palestinians. Concepts such as intifada, jihad, and suicide attacks are so 1990s. The new discourse in the territories focuses on jobs, travel abroad (mainly to the Gulf Emirates, to strike it rich), getting far away from the Palestinian groups and concentrating on building a better personal future — a discourse that is almost identical to that of average young Israelis.
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Foxman raps ex-envoy for engaging in ‘conspiracy theories’ and ‘amateur psychoanalysis’ in series of op-eds on Israel-US relationship

BY AVI LEWIS, TOI

The Anti-Defamation League lashed into former Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren Sunday for a number of “unjustified and insensitive” essays he published in US media, one of which claimed that President Barack Obama’s foreign policy may have been unduly influenced by his early upbringing among adherents of the Muslim faith.

ADL Director Abraham Foxman called on the American-born Knesset member to retract his statements that “attack” the president and “veer into the realm of conspiracy theories.”
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By Yonah Jeremy Bob, JPOST

Bensouda recognized “Palestine” as a state in January and has opened a preliminary examination of alleged war crimes against the IDF and the Palestinians during the 2014 Gaza war.

Shurat Hadin – Israel Law Center will soon be seeking the disqualification of ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda from dealing with issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, due to her alleged bias, the NGO is to set to announce on Monday.

Bensouda recognized “Palestine” as a state in January and has opened a preliminary examination of alleged war crimes against the IDF and the Palestinians during the 2014 Gaza war in which more than 2,100 Palestinians were killed, 73 Israelis were killed and thousands of rockets were fired by the Palestinians on Israeli communities, while Israel carried out thousands of air strikes in the Gaza Strip.
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T. Belman. I also believe that Obama will not leave office before he allows such a resolution to pass. Oren’s formula for preemption is the same one that Bibi has been following; uphold Bar Ilan speech, never reject negotiations and commit to only building in the settlement blocs the whole world agrees we get to keep. Oren doesn’t say that this will get Obama to withhold the veto. Obama will try to force Israel to make binding commitments as the price for his veto such as agreeing to a permanent freeze. I understand the need to avoid Obama’s plans but still feel that no binding commitments should be made. Only a year and a half to go.

By David Efune, ALGEMEINER

Former Israeli envoy to Washington, Michael Oren, said the United States is “likely” not to veto an expected United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the creation of a Palestinian state.

Oren’s remarks were made at the New York launch of his new book Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide on Thursday evening.

Responding to a question from the audience about Israel’s public diplomacy on the Palestinian issue, Oren brought up the expected upcoming move at the U.N. and stated emphatically that “the United States is likely not to cast a veto.”
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By Daniel Doran, PJ MEDIA

The deadly security challenges facing Israel, the only country in the world openly threatened with extinction, have obscured other deep concerns about the viability of Israel’s economic system and its very negative impact on Israeli society.

It is seldom reported that besides the dangers from Iran and an inflamed Arab world, Israel also faces serious internal problems created by its dysfunctional political and economic systems. Political dysfunction has created deep divisions in the body politic that make Israel, according to Prime Minister Netanyahu, nearly ungovernable; while economic dysfunction caused by the overwhelming domination of the economy by politics has made a country with perhaps the best human capital, that has a potential to become one of the wealthiest countries in the world, a country where most citizens cannot earn a decent living, and are forced to live in penury.
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[I don’t think cliterectomies were banned.]

Bill banning underage marriage, ‘honor killing,’ and bigamy passes into law in the Canadian parliament.

By Dalit Halevy, INN

The process of approving the law in Canada against “barbaric cultural practices” has been completed and it became effective on Thursday, according to the Toronto-based CIJnews.

The law was passed on to the Senate on November 5, 2015 under the name “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act,” with the aim to provide better protection for immigrants deemed at greater risk of physical injury, primarily women and girls who had immigrated to Canada.
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The Druze and the Middle East’s Minority Pact

By Motti Kedar, INN

It is rare for a country to have to rethink its strategic roadmap. Nevertheless, Israel may be approaching the point in time when it will have to reboot and restart its geo-strategic thinking, if that has not yet been done. In fact, that point in time is staring us in the face and we simply must think out of the box to see and address it, before a head-on collision shatters that very same box without our having plans prepared for a changing reality.

The catalysts that brought Israel to realize that there is a turning point are the Syrian Druze. Israel must, and I repeat, must, do everything and even beyond everything, to help the Druze minority in Syria survive as it faces the Islamist forces who intend to destroy it. Whether it is Islamic state or Jabhat al Nusra who are preparing the “Final Solution” for the Druze in Syria is of no matter. When Islamic State overcomes Jabhat al Nusra, any understanding Israel has made with this organization will vaporize exactly like the ones Israel signed with the Syrian regime.
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Op-ed: An Israeli intervention in favor of Syria’s Druze will only push the enemy to attack us; therefore, it cannot take place under any circumstances.

By Guy Bechor, YNET

The IDF must prepare for a possibility that the Sunni organizations – the Islamic State and similar groups – will attack our border from the no man’s land which was once called Syria. It’s the IDF’s duty to prepare for any scenario, but definitely not to provide an incentive for an attack on us.

In recent days, we have been witnessing a sort of political-media campaign requiring Israel to intervene in favor of some 700,000 Druze living in southern Syria, not far from the Jordanian border. Such an intervention, if it takes place, will not be a preparation for the crucial day, when the enemy attacks us, but will push the enemy to attack us – and therefore it must not take place under any circumstances.
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By Evelyn Gordon, COMMENTARY

Regardless of the subject, some people would always rather divert the conversation to Israel’s “relentless and deliberate program of settlement expansion,” as J Street founder Jeremy Ben-Ami did in response to Michael Oren’s revelations about the Obama Administration’s conduct toward Israel.

So let’s honor their wishes and talk about the settlements – specifically, about how much Israel’s government spends on this “relentless program of expansion.” Because according to new data released by none other than the leader of the opposition, government spending on West Bank settlements and their residents is actually about 40 percent less per capita than Israel spends on all its other citizens.
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DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 20, 2015,

Leaders of the Jabal Druze and southern Syrian Druze community have reached a mutual non-belligerence understanding with heads of the Syrian rebel militias fighting in the region, including Al Qaeda’s arm, the Nusra Front. This is reported exclusively by DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources. The United States and the King of Jordan gave the Druze guarantees that the deal struck Friday, June 10 would be honored.
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