Turkey was once a staunch ally of the West and a reasonably free country. No longer.

Later today, President Barack Obama will sit down with Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office. It will be a friendly reunion. Obama has said Erdogan is one of the few foreign leaders with whom he has developed “friendships and the bonds of trust.” Speaking to the Turkish parliament four years ago, on his first trip abroad as president, Obama declared, “Turkey is a critical ally. Turkey is an important part of Europe. And Turkey and the United States must stand together — and work together — to overcome the challenges of our time.” These challenges are many — among them, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

While Turkey and America partnered for the greater good throughout the Cold War, no amount of White House praise can hide the fact that Turkey today is less a bridge between the West and the Islamic world and, increasingly, a force undermining trust and cooperation. Read more…

By Ted Belman

I wrote this letter to Toronto activists today.

I propose to invite Pamela Geller and Ezra Levant to participate in a public debate with two of the ablist in support of the Rabbis’ position, hopefully one senior Rabbi and one Academic or Federation macher.

The question would have to be carefully constructed but in essence the debate would be about whether Pamela and those who are on her side are right in calling out Islam and Islamists by telling the truth and warning of the dangers or whether the Rabbis and their fellow liberals are right to make nice and pursuing dialogue at the expense of telling the truth.

I would be happy to help raise money to promote the debate. I think that the audience will number well over 1,000.

This debate would get international attention.

The biggest problem would be to get two people to debate them. Any suggestions?

If any Americans or Canadians are up to the task of debating Pamela Geller and Ezra Levant, step right up. Abe Foxman, how about you?

[Yea, I know, I got a thing for Sarah but wouldn’t you agree that she expresses herself very well and is adept at landing a punch and let’s hope, a knockout blow. Ted Belman]

Sarah Palin’s Facebook entry:

Scandalous Hat Trick

Mr. President, when it rains it pours, but most Americans hold their own umbrellas. Today in the Rose Garden you dismissed the idea of a Special Counsel to investigate the IRS scandal. With that, your galling political hubris shined bright in the midst of today’s dark clouds.

Mr. President, how can we trust your Justice Department to conduct an independent investigation when there is a systemic violation of the Hatch Act throughout your administration?
Read more…

Poland cut its own throat

Farmers, producers and now lawmakers say they regret kibosh being put on kosher and halal meat in deference to animal rights

By VANESSA GERA, TOI

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — For some, it was a barbaric way to treat animals. For others, it was great business.

Until January, slaughterhouses across Poland — a deeply Catholic nation — were the unlikely venues for the Islamic and Jewish slaughter of animals, which in both religions involves a swift cut to the throat of a conscious animal and death by bleeding.

Millions of euros were being made exporting the halal and kosher meat to countries like Egypt, Iran and Israel, as well as to Muslim and Jewish markets inside Europe.
Read more…

I know this organization, PJTN and Laurie Cardoza-Moore. They are true friends of Israel and the Jewish people. Please sign the petition and support their work. Ted Belman.

Read more…

By Alon Ben David for Al-Monitor Israel Pulse Posted on May 3.

It’s well worth noting the change underway in Hamas. It has barely restocked its supply of rockets since Operation “Pillar of Defense,” it is arresting activists involved in shootings against Israeli targets, and it has shifted its efforts from building up its military force to maintaining peace and quiet.

This site has seen more than a few articles about the ideological turnabout underway in Hamas. It has transformed itself from a movement that adhered to terrorism and armed resistance into a movement striving to attain international legitimacy and which aims at coming to power throughout the entire Palestinian Authority in the upcoming elections. Read more…

The man with the knitted kippa – and many hats
By GIL HOFFMAN, LAHAV HARKOV

Naftali Bennett is determined to lower the cost of living, encourage haredi employment and fight assimilation around the world.
[..]
There have been reports of fights between you and Lapid on key issues. Has your bond disappointed you in any way?

Yair and I disagree on a lot: The Land of Israel, negotiations with the Palestinians, religion and state, etc. But there is trust between us. Our word is our bond. There will be disappointment. Neither of us will get all of what we want, but meanwhile we are changing Israeli society. We are making people realize we have to compromise to get along here. The country is not all about fighting anymore.
[..]

I received this letter from Lt Col Howard who used to be a frequent contributor to Israpundit and subsequently kept in touch with me.

He arranged for this letter to be sent to each rabbi by Dr Laitin. He also wrote, “Ted your contributions are very important for the survival of Israel. I am glad to be able to play a small roll in your efforts.

Rabbis

Dr. Howard Laitin Torrance : California : United States

By: Shlomi Eldar for Al-Monitor Israel Pulse

Palestinians and Israelis alike were asked to maintain confidentiality around the “diplomatic secret,” which, it was hoped, would finally lead to productive negotiations between the two parties. Nevertheless, after a meeting of Fatah’s Central Committee in Ramallah on May 11, the details of the proposal were revealed. During his last visit to the Middle East in early April, Secretary of State John Kerry apparently suggested a compromise that would bridge the deep divide between both parties, and put an end to the long-lasting disconnect between them.

According to this new proposal, negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians would commence in June, after Israel makes a commitment to halt construction in those areas of the West Bank that lie outside of the major settlement blocks. In other words, it would freeze construction in the central mountain range of the West Bank and effectively “dry up” the illegal settlements and outposts. For their part, the Palestinians would stop all their diplomatic efforts to win support in the General Assembly of the United Nations and withdraw their demand that Israeli officers be tried in international courts of law.
Read more…

Top Israeli military and intelligence analysts are divided over which side to back in Syria’s civil war

By Jonathan Spyer, TABLETMAG  

The civil war in Syria has led to a keen debate among the professional echelon tasked with advising policymakers in Israel. This debate has been reflected in a more subdued public conversation and occasionally in spectacular events—like the bombing of Syrian military sites around Damascus. So, what are the dividing lines in this Israeli debate? Does Israel back any side in the war in Syria? And what would be an optimal outcome from the Israeli point of view?
Read more…

Bibi is, for one, but what he is afraid of is, not what we are, but may become if we acquire more Arab citizens. Arens wants better integration and more aliya because we are already a bi-national state. We are a bi-national state because two nations live here where each nation’s language is an official language and each nation can set up their own schools. But both nations are not equal in how the state views them. Israel has Jewish symbols only and a Jewish national anthem. Only Jews have a right of return. There are many other issues when the Jewish nationalists want preferences. Can Israel be equally Jewish and democratic or must being a Jewish state trump being a democratic state in order for Israel to be a Jewish state. Arens doesn’t deal with these issues. Ted Belman

Israel is already a bi-national state – a state in which two nationalities reside, Jews and Arabs. The government’s best bet is to encourage aliyah from the Diaspora and to better integrate Arab citizens into Israeli society.

By Moshe Arens, HAARETZ

Fear of the emergence of a bi-national state in the Land of Israel seems to be the driving force, on the right and on the left of the political spectrum, behind the many proposals for abandoning the hills of Samaria and Judea, the biblical Land of Israel, to powers as yet unknown and unpredictable. But the fact of the matter is that the State of Israel is already a bi-national state – a state in which two nationalities reside, Jews and Arabs. The advocates of the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria simply oppose the addition of any more Arabs to the existing Arab population of the State of Israel. Lurking behind their pious slogan “two states for two peoples” is their real, politically incorrect slogan: “Not one more Arab!”
Read more…