After the United Arab Emirates startled the world – and especially many in the Arab world – by announcing its normalization of relations with Israel, the country, its leaders, and the Emirati people became the target of Palestinian rage. Hysterical Palestinians accused the UAE of a great “betrayal” and of “stabbing us in the back.” […]
Yet Another Example of The Guardian’s Viciously Biased and Inaccurate Reporting on Israel
In its venomous coverage of Israel, the British newspaper the Guardian has for years been the print equivalent of Jeremy Corbyn. Recently Israel dismantled a group of seven Bedouin tents and eight animal pens on land the Bedouins did not own and that the IDF has used for live-fire practice since 1967 – that is, […]
The E.U. Read the Palestinians the Riot Act, But Will Biden Come to Their Rescue?
As is well known, Mahmoud Abbas has for the past seven months refused to accept the taxes that Israel collects on Palestinian imports on behalf of the PA. This is the second time he has refused to accept the transfer of those taxes. The first time was when Israel insisted on deducting from the sum […]
Iran’s Economy In Free Fall
Iran’s economy has been suffering greatly from the Trump Administration’s re-imposition of sanctions. Majid Rafizadeh recently provided a report on just how bad things have become for the Islamic Republic: “Iran’s Mullahs are in Turmoil Thanks to America’s Current Policy,” Gatestone Institute, November 2, 2020: …Iran’s currency, the rial, lost more than half its value […]
H. R. McMaster’s Advice to Joe Biden
The former National Security Adviser, H. R. McMaster, appeared recently on Fox News, where he was interviewed by Bret Baier. He had words of warning for Joe Biden, urging him not to rejoin the Iran deal – JCPOA – because it did not sufficiently curb Iran’s nuclear program, did not deal at all with Iran’s […]
Saudis Alarmed At Prospect of Biden Rejoining the Iran Deal
Israel and Saudi Arabia are the two countries most threatened by Iran, and both have been well-pleased with President Trump’s withdrawal in 2018 from the nuclear deal with Iran and the imposition of crippling sanctions on the Islamic Republic, that have helped to bring that country economically to its knees. Iran’s major source of wealth, […]
Why Would It Be So Wrong for Joe Biden to Return to the Iran Deal?
The IAEA has been deeply disappointed in the lack of cooperation by Iran in the inspection process. Really, what did Commissioner Rafael Grossi expect? Iran has been obstructing IAEA inspections whenever it thought it could get away with it. “UN watchdog warns Iran again violating nuclear deal with world powers,” Israel Hayom, November 12, 2020: […]
Israeli Agents on a Motorcycle Gun Down Al-Qaeda #2 In Tehran
We have just learned, on November 13, of the killing in Iran on August 7 of Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 man, Abu Muhammad al-Masri, who was assassinated by Israeli agents at the request, according to all reports, of the American government. The story is here: “Israeli agents killed al-Qaeda’s No. 2 on Iran street, at behest […]
IAEA: Iran Violating the ‘Iran Deal’ That Biden Wants to Rejoin
Will the putatively incoming Biden Administration listen? The President-elect-apparent has told everyone he is eager to return to the Iran Deal. But how has Iran been observing the Iran Deal that, without American participation, is still in force with the U.K., France, Germany, Russia, and China? The answer is clear: It hasn’t been observing the […]
For Iran, How Do You Spell Relief? B-I-D-E-N
Iran is elated after Joe Biden’s apparent victory. On January 20, Tehran will likely no longer be dealing with an implacable Donald Trump, who pulled out of the JCPOA and reimposed crippling sanctions that sent Iran’s economy into a tailspin, but with a most pliable Joe Biden, eager to remove those sanctions and to return […]
Mahmoud Abbas Plans to Ask Biden to Move Embassy Back to Tel Aviv
Mahmoud Abbas is planning to ask Joe Biden to move the American embassy back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem. The request has no chance of being granted; Biden has already said that while he would not have moved the Embassy himself, he will not now move it out of Jerusalem.. But Abbas figures that when […]
Israel’s UN Ambassador Speaks Truth to Power
Yes, I agree. It’s a generally hideous formulation — “speak truth to power.” I’ve never used it before, except once as a joke, something about “speaking truth to (Samantha) Power,” and I promise I won’t do it again. But just this once, I think it might be excused…. When it comes to anything to do […]
It’s Not Too Late for Biden to Add Conditions to the Promises He Has Made to the Palestinians
It’s not too late for Biden to add some conditions to those promises that he has already made to the Palestinians. He should now declare that “I am ready to reopen the consulate in East Jerusalem – I’ve said that since May – and to let the PLO reopen an office in Washington, and I’m […]
Biden’s Plans Constitute a Setback for Israel
Years ago, when Joe Biden served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menachem Begin was being questioned by the committee. It was, Begin later recalled, a “lively discussion” in which Biden “hinted — more than hinted — that if we continue with this [settlements] policy, it is possible that he will propose cutting our financial […]
What Would a Biden Presidency Mean For Israel?
Let’s be charitable. Let’s consider the best case to be made for Biden “as a friend of Israel,” which just appeared from a veteran Israeli journalist, Raphael Ahren: “Biden a veteran friend of Israel, settlement critic, may be at odds over Iran,” by Raphael Ahren, Times of Israel, November 7, 2020: …“He has a deep […]
Palestinian Lawyers Sue UK Over Balfour Declaration
In what is evidently not a joke, three Palestinian NGOS have sued – in a Palestinian court, of course, in Nablus – the government of Great Britain for the Balfour Declaration which, say the plaintiffs, has been the cause of all the subsequent misery the “Palestinian people” have suffered. The story is here: “Palestinian NGOs […]
PA Promises a Doomsday Scenario If It Doesn’t Get a State Right Now
The story is here: “Palestinians threaten Israel: ‘Either Palestine, or a fire for a generation,’” JNS, October 28, 2020: Claiming that the United States and Israel are planning to “redesign” the Middle East via “normalization” and the US peace plan, the Palestinian Authority is threatening “anarchy, violence and instability.” “Normalization” of ties with Israel by […]
Meet the New York Times’ New Jerusalem Bureau Chief
He’s only 31, but hey, who’s counting? The news about the latest New York Times expert on the Middle East, by Ira Stoll, is here: “Newly Appointed New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Has History of Mistakes in Israel Coverage,” by Ira Stoll, Algemeiner, October 29, 2020: The New York Times’ next Jerusalem bureau chief […]
Archbishop Le Gall Genuflects to Islam
The Archbishop of Toulouse, Robert Le Gall, has weighed in on Macron’s defense of freedom of expression and the subsequent world-wide Muslim rage against him. And the Archbishop, instead of supporting Macron, and that freedom that the French hold dear, has come down on the side of thin-skinned, murderous Muslims. The story is here: “Prophet […]
Muslim Leaders Worldwide Silent About Pakistani Cleric’s Call to Nuke France
The Muslim hysteria over President Macron’s insistence that in France French values, including the freedom of expression, must not be compromised, is not diminishing. It’s become quite a spectacle for the non-Muslim world to observe. Muslims first began with demands for an apology from Macron himself, which was not forthcoming. Then the focus shifted […]