Look at life under communism, and you’ll see why religion will never die

By Roger Sruton, THE SPECTATOR

Does the world have a purpose? The new atheists regard the question as absurd. Purposes emerge in the course of evolution, they tell us; to suppose that they could exist before any organism can gain a reproductive advantage from possessing them is to unlearn the lesson of Darwin. With the theory of evolution firmly established, therefore, there is no room in the scientific worldview for an original purpose, and therefore no room for God.

Today’s evangelical atheists go further, and tell us that history has shown religion to be so toxic that we should do our best to extinguish it. Such writers describe the loss of religion as a moral gain — even though, for most ordinary believers, it looks like the loss of all that they most seriously value.

But maybe the atheists have misunderstood their target.
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By MUSTAPHA TLILI, MOSAIC

“You must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.”

President Obama delivered these words in his Cairo speech, five years ago today, when he reached out to rehabilitate Islam and Islamic civilization in the eyes of the world — and redeem America in the eyes of the global Muslim community after the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
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The way to nip the European neo-fascist movement in the bud is for Europe to become once again an alliance of self-governing nation-states.

By MELANIE PHILLIPS

The Jewish world has reacted with horror to the results of the European elections as displaying an upsurge of parties promoting Jew-hatred. Certainly, the results give plenty of cause for such concern. But in significant respects, such a response is wildly off-beam.

Some parties which surged, such as Greece’s Golden Dawn, Hungary’s Jobbik and Germany’s National Democratic Party (NPD), are undoubtedly fascist or bigoted. And France’s National Front, which avoids the open Jew-hatred of its founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, nevertheless retains troubling undertones.
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By JPOST.COM STAFF

According to “Makor Rishon” newspaper, Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that for Israel to maintain its Jewish character, it would have to reach “a separation from the Palestinians.”

LAHAV HARKOV, JPOST May 6/14

TAU/IDI poll finds 49% of Israeli Jews and 72% of Israeli Arabs disagree with idea that Israel should annex areas important to it for settlement and security in the West Bank.

The GUARDIAN

The Abbott government has ruled out using the term “occupied” when describing Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, prompting suggestions about a shift in Australia’s foreign policy.

The government on Thursday delivered a statement to clarify its stand on the controversial question of the legality of settlements after the issued flared up at a Senate hearing the night before.

The attorney general, George Brandis, on behalf of the minister for foreign affairs, Julie Bishop, said it was “unhelpful” to refer to historic events when describing these areas, given the ongoing Middle East peace process.
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After eight years of painstaking research, Israeli life-sciences company Eventus Diagnostics (EventusDx) has produced a blood test for the early detection of breast cancer.

By Ruthie Bloom, Israel21c

The Octava Pink test is now available in Israel and Italy, and is undergoing clinical trials to receive US Food and Drug Administration approval.

This is the first blood test ever that can reveal cancer, not merely markers that might indicate cancer or something else. Its innovation also lies in its examination of antibodies in the blood to pinpoint this specific cancer.

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India and China have issued statements of support for the new Palestinian unity government which comprises the rival factions of Hamas and Fatah. The announcements from both countries came a day after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a cabinet. The unity government is controversial because Hamas is regarded as a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States. Hamas is an Islamist group and does not recognize Israel’s right to exist. Fatah meanwhile focuses primarily on Palestinian nationalism within a secular framework. The two groups had been engaged in conflict for years but recently reconciled in April 2014. Accordingly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lobbied world powers to refrain from recognizing the new Palestinian unity government.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement welcoming the new Palestinian unity government on June 3. ”We believe Palestine’s internal reconciliation will strengthen the solidarity of the Palestinian people, and promote the founding of an independent state for Palestinians and peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel,” said foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei, according to Xinhua. “China believes peaceful negotiation is the only way to realize Palestine-Israel peace,” he added. The Chinese foreign ministry additionally called for the international community to support a negotiated solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
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Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
Straight from the Jerusalem Boardroom 195, June 5, 2014
http://bit.ly/1jVlm8m

1.  The mega-billion dollar Chinese food conglomerate, Brightfood ($17bn annual sales) acquired 56% of the Israel-based Tnuvah – Israel’s largest food/dairy company – for $1.4bn, aiming to dramatically expand Tnuvah’s global market (Globes Business Daily, May 23, 2014).  China’s giant, Shenyang Yuanda ($4bn annual sales) signed a joint venture agreement with the Israel irrigation and fertilizer company, AutoAgronom, including a $2mn investment in expanding Auto Agronom’s marketing posture in China (Globes, May 23). Liu Yandong, Vice Premier of China’s State Council: “[Israel reflects] diligence, wisdom, creativity and perseverance…. China and Israel signed science and technology cooperation agreements in 1993 and 2010…. China and Israel cooperation in science, technology andinnovations (STI) has taken deep roots, blossoming and yielding fruitful results…. China is Israel’s largest trading partner in Asia and Israel’s third largest trading partner globally…. Enhancing China-Israel STI cooperation will bring more benefits to the peoples of both countries….” (Jerusalem Post, May 17).  Read more…

by Paul Schnee:

It is impossible to believe that the dreadful decision to swap Sergeant Bergdahl for 5 of the most important Taliban leaders could have been made without the benefit of alcohol. Surely it was made with the full knowledge of all the major participants that Sergeant Bergdahl was at best a deserter and at worst a collaborator whose desertion caused the deaths of at least 6 of our warriors who went in search of him.

During his campaign for the nomination in 2008 I wrote that the Middle East was the region where Barack Obama would eventually betray us all. This prediction was made not because I thought Obama would be incompetent but because listening to him I quickly realized that his values, and therefore his intentions, were not those of an American patriot. Unfortunately my prediction was accurate and now extends to every course of action he takes.
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By Ted Belman

When Russia Seized control of Crimea and then arranged for a referendum to justify making the Crimea part of Russia, I suggested that Israel should do likewise, i.e., hold a referendum on Area C of Judea and Samaria, to justify extending its sovereignty to it.

Now Eugene Kontorovich has also drawn a comparison in Crimea, International Law, and the West Bank published by Commentary Magazine.

The UN General Assembly voted 100 to 11 to continue to recognize Crimea as part of Ukraine. Thus Russia cannot rewrite Ukraine’s frontiers at will.

But, as many foreign-policy realists argued while Vladimir Putin was making his move, it is not all that clear why Crimea should belong to Ukraine in the first place. The substantial majority of the population is ethnically, linguistically, and religiously Russian. The majority of its population probably prefers to be ruled from Moscow rather than Kiev (though not by the 90-plus percent margin of the recent shotgun referendum). The territory is adjacent to Russia and has been part of Russia historically.

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By Ted Belman

On behalf of the State Department, Jen Psaki said,

“At this point, it appears that President Abbas has formed an interim technocratic government that does not include ministers affiliated with Hamas,”

“Based on what we know now, we intend to work with this government, but will be watching closely to ensure that it upholds principles that President Abbas reiterated today.”

“It does (mean the aid will flow), but we will continue to evaluate the composition and policies of the new government and calibrate our approach accordingly.”

Probably the use of the word “technocrat” was dreamed up by the State Department and communicated to Abbas for use in describing the new government, so that the US could ignore the law and reality and “work with “ the new government.
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Netanyahu plans to counter US acceptance of Palestinian unity by blocking West Bank elections

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 3, 2014,

The US and European decision to continue funding the Palestinians under their new, Hamas-backed government, is a landmark: For the first time, the US and Europe will be bankrolling an organization branded under their own laws as terrorist, as well as its armed militia, the Ezz e-Din al-Qassam, DEBKAfile’s counterterrorism sources note.

The structure of the Fatah-Hamas coalition government, sworn in by Mahmoud Abbas under prime minister Rami Hamdullah in Ramallah Monday, June 2, says it all: From that date, the Hamas regime ruling the Gaza Strip is dissolved and its prime minister Ismail Haniyeh and ministers step down. They are replaced by the government of reconciliation in Ramallah, which is henceforth responsible for ruling both territories, and running their public services, education, health, and law and order enforcement.
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U.S., EU announce they will continue to work with and assist new Palestinian unity government • Israeli official: “We are deeply disappointed by the State Department regarding working with the Palestinian unity government.”

Shlomo Cesana, Daniel Siryoti, Gideon Allon, Yoni Hirsch, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration said on Monday it plans to work with and fund the new Palestinian unity government. Israel immediately voiced its disappointment with the decision, which was also criticized by some U.S. lawmakers.

The United States views Hamas as a terrorist organization and Congress has imposed restrictions on funding for the Palestinian Authority, which typically runs at $500 million a year, in the event of a unity government.

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By KHALED ABU TOAMEH, JPOST

The announcement of the new Hamas-Fatah unity government in Ramallah on Monday leaves many unanswered questions.

The most important question is how will the government be able to prepare or hold presidential and legislative elections in light of Israel’s decision to prevent Hamas from participating in the vote in the West Bank.

And who can guarantee that Hamas would not win the elections when and if they are held? Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced shortly after the government was sworn in that its main task would be to pave the way for elections within six months.

Abbas said late this week he would instruct the Palestinian Central Elections Commission to start preparing for the elections. The last presidential elections were held in January 2005. A year later, the Palestinians held parliamentary elections that resulted in Hamas’s victory.
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Meir Halevi Siegel, JEWISH PRESS

Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister who has released more murderers than any other Israeli leader, and Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein have scuttled a bill intended to prevent lopsided prisoner swaps involving IDF hostages.

At today’s government session, Netanyahu announced that the bill, submitted jointly by by Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) and David Tzur (Hatnua) Law and approved three weeks ago by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, would move for further debate to the security cabinet instead of allowing the government to vote. The measure calls for granting the judicial branch the option of rescinding the president’s right to grant clemency or pardon in cases involving first-degree murder.
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When will there be a state of Palestine? When the Palestinians’ desire to create their own state is greater than their desire to destroy Israel.

By Rachel Besinger, JPOST

Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary

When Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas chose to scuttle peace talks with Israel this spring by deciding to conclude a pact with Hamas rather than the Jewish state, he was taking a calculated risk. In embracing his Islamist rivals, Abbas sought to unify the two leading Palestinian factions not to make peace more possible but to make it impossible. Since Palestinian public opinion–indeed the entire political culture of his people–regards any pact that would recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state as a betrayal of their national identity, bringing Hamas back into the PA fold illustrated that he would not take the sort of risks that peacemaking required.
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By Ted Belman

As you are aware running a blog the size of Israpundit is a major job.  Aside from the cost of maintaining the site and hiring technical people, there are additional costs and expenditures that come up from time to time such as traveling expenses and conference fees. Also I want to raise the necessary money to commission a feasibility study of Martin Sherman’s compensated emigration plan otherwise known as the “humanitarian solution”.

Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated. This is your opportunity to partner in the work I am doing.

Thank you.