By Shoshana Bryen, AM THINKER

The United States and Israel have had a close political and security relationship for decades, because — in the main — they see both democratic norms and the requirement for security as mutually reinforcing. Iran’s willingness to kill its own citizens in the streets and provide military support to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have brought Washington closer to Jerusalem’s view of the most important and most imminent threat to stability in the region. But it isn’t a smooth transition, as American diplomats are still insisting on defining Israel’s politics in place of and in opposition to Israel’s voters.
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The Biden administration remains committed to a policy that will empower Iran militarily, economically and diplomatically against Israel and the Sunni Arabs.

By Caroline Glick, jns

(January 27, 2023 / JNS) The Iranian revolutionaries plod into the fifth month of their uprising against the regime with little tangible help from the outside world. To date, more than 500 Iranian revolutionaries have been killed by regime forces directed by the Revolutionary Guard Corps. More than 18,000 have been arrested.

So too, unfettered by restrictions on its nuclear activities enacted under the long-abandoned 2015 nuclear deal, the ayatollahs continue spinning their advanced centrifuges and stockpiling enriched uranium.
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More than 180,000 pounds of live munitions were fired, and thousands of military took part in the exercise

By Dion Nissenbaum, WSJ    26.1.23

U.S., Israel Hold Largest-Ever Joint Military DrillPlay video: U.S., Israel Hold Largest-Ever Joint Military Drill

T. Belman. Revivi reminds us why the Judiciary is held in such low esteem in Israel..

Chief Justice Hayut harshly criticized the proposed judicial reform, but she should have criticized the courts instead. Here is why.

By Oded Revivi, INN

Israel’s High Court’s Chief Justice delivered a speech recently in which she brought up important issues about the stability of the judiciary. She blamed the criticism leveled at the judiciary she heads on the lack of a large enough number of justices.

To my mind, what was lacking in the speech was some soul searching and perhaps even a plea for forgiveness.

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T. Belman. This is a defeatist assessment, not a sober one. Israel must not defer to American progressive Jews or the Democratic Party, nor to the present or future members of Abraham Accords. The benefits flowing from the AA are minuscule compared to annexing most of Area C.

As for the need to have the US on board should we attack Iran, then attack Iran now before we annex.

The new government will enact its domestic changes. Re sovereignty, it has more constraints and may change facts on the ground first.

By Rafael Castro, INN

The decisive victory of the conservative-religious bloc in the recent Knesset elections may have roused hopes in the nationalist camp that the current government cannot live up to. Paradoxically, the room for manoeuver of the current government is less constrained domestically than in the international arena.

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T. Belman. Israel’s priority should be fight the terrorists and to keep Area C.  Peace with Saudi Arabia can wait.

Saudi foreign ministry denounces Israeli “storming” of Jenin that led to “the fall of a number of victims”.

By Elad Benari, INN

Security forces operate in JeninIDF Spokesperson’s Unit

Saudi Arabia on Thursday blasted the Israeli counterterrorism operation in Jenin, during which several Islamic Jihad terrorists who were plotting attacks against Israelis were eliminated.

The Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement quoted by Reuters it denounced Israeli forces’ “storming of the city” that led to “the fall of a number of victims”.

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Straight talk with Col Douglas MacGregor

Tesla Fans

Israeli voters have consistently opted for the bloc of the religious–Right, contrary to the assumption that Israel’s current government is undermining democracy.

 By  Rabbi Dov Fischer, IH

It seems that every free and democratic vote that results in a victory for conservatives marks the “death of democracy.” If you Google “death of democracy in America,” you get 54,800,000 results. No social media “influencer” can match that. Among the first 10 results is Al Jazeera’s prediction of doom: “Unless that simple, yet hard realization is embraced by folks now, America’s dark days will only become dimmer.”

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12 billionaires with Jewish backgrounds appear on list of America’s ‘most generous givers’ who donated a collective $27 billion in 2022

By ASAF ELIA-SHALEV  Today, 5:51 am  

Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg seen at the 8th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, November 3, 2019. (Peter Barreras/ Invision/ AP)

JTA — Jews made up nearly half of America’s biggest philanthropic donors last year, according to a calculation by Forbes of who gave the most money away in 2022.

In a year that saw their fortunes take a hit amid declines in the stock market, America’s 25 “most generous givers” donated a collective $27 billion, up from $20 billion in 2021, for a lifetime total of $196 billion, according to Forbes. They included 12 billionaires with Jewish backgrounds — a dramatic overrepresentation when compared to the proportion of Jews in the overall US population.

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T. Belman.  There are no “negative legal implications for Israel on the international stage.” and nothing wrong with  annexation, de facto or otherwise.

Chief military prosecutor, Defense Ministry legal adviser reportedly warn Netanyahu move could place Israel in legal peril on world stage

By TOI STAFF     Today, 7:48 am

Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich arrives for coalition talks with Likud chief Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem, November 6, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Senior legal authorities within the defense establishment reportedly warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a meeting this week against the transfer of civilian authorities in the West Bank under the Civil Administration to far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and argued that the move could have negative legal implications for Israel on the international stage.

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Since the beginning of this month, 29 PA Arabs have been killed in shootouts with IDF troops 

Islamic Jihad erected 30 barricades to prevent IDF from entering Jenin, to no avail.

Israel National News      Jan 26, 2023, 

Scene from this morning’s operation in JeninREUTERS/Ali Sawafta

A senior IDF officer has revealed further details of Thursday morning’s successful counterterrorism operation in the Jenin refugee camp, in the course of which terrorists actively plotting a major attack were eliminated.

“We eliminated a ticking time-bomb in the form of Islamic Jihad terrorists who were planning a series of attacks on the homefront,” the officer said.

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Mordechai ben Menachem. The first 11 minutes are ‘technical’ and one can take them or not.

But from 11 minutes he discusses the geostrategic view and his discussion is superb. As usual, one may agree or disagree with what he says, but his logical thoughts are some of the best.

by Micha Gefen, ISRAEL UNWIRED        January 25, 2023

Ever since Bibi’s government took power a few weeks ago, animosity has grown between Jordan’s King Abdullah and Bibi over the Temple Mount.

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CAROLINE GLICK SHOW

CAROLINE GIVES A GREAT SUMMARY OF THE LOOMING BATTLE.

L. Goudsmit. Globalism is a replacement ideology that recognizes no limits, no boundaries, no national sovereignty, and no individual sovereignty. The only limit and only boundary recognized by the globalist elite is the line that separates rulers from ruled. Globalism is the 21st century return to feudalism, no matter how much lipstick is painted on this totalitarian pig. One can only hope that legitimizing the sexual abuse of children is a bridge too far, and that people will finally make  The Turn.

EU Rebrands Pedophiles as ‘People with a Sexual Interest in Children’

PM Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gallant, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have begun discussing the measures, which could have construction projects beyond Green Line get speedy approval process.

By  Mati Tuchfeld, ISRAEL HAYOM

The settlement of Ma’ale Efrayim in Samaria | Photo: AP / Oded Balilty

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government is poised to take a series of steps that could result in a massive increase in the population of Jewish communities in Judea in Samaria over the coming years, Israel Hayom has learned.

During a recent meeting between Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and settler leaders, some of the components of the plans were revealed. If finalized, they would come on top of the pledges already written into the Coalition Agreements that were signed between the Likud and its allies in the Knesset.

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Hours-long visit also attended by Shin Bet head, Jordanian counterpart to discuss possible unrest on site ahead of Ramadan in March

By TOI STAFF and LAZAR BERMAN       Today, 3:59 am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly promised King Abdullah II that the status quo on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem will be preserved during a previously unannounced meeting between the two in Jordan on Tuesday.

According to Channel 12 news, Netanyahu made the promise more than once during the hours-long visit, and also gave assurances that Israel would protect the authority of the Islamic Waqf — a Jordanian-appointed council that administers the Temple Mount. The site is the holiest site for Jews, as the location of two biblical temples, while the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Mount is the third holiest shrine in Islam, turning the area into a major flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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