The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.
From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."
The Israeli prime minister cited the examples of post-World War II Germany and Japan as a model for his vision of "peace, prosperity and security."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses
a joint meeting of Congress in the chamber of the House of
Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on July 24, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
on Wednesday laid out his vision for post-Hamas Gaza, calling for the
enclave to be “demilitarized and deradicalized” in a manner similar to
Germany and Japan after World War II.
Speaking
to a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.,
he also called for the establishment of a Middle Eastern defense
alliance to confront the threat posed to the region by Iran.
“The day after we defeat Hamas, a new Gaza
can emerge. My vision for that day is of a demilitarized and
deradicalized Gaza,” said the Israeli premier. “Israel does not seek to
resettle Gaza. But for the foreseeable future, we must retain overriding
security control there to prevent the resurgence of terror, to ensure
that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” he added.
He called for a Palestinian civilian administration in Gaza, on the condition that it not seek to destroy the Jewish state.
“That’s not too much to ask. It’s a fundamental thing that we have a right to demand and to receive,” he said.
“A new generation of Palestinians must no
longer be taught to hate Jews but rather to live in peace with us. Those
twin words, demilitarization and deradicalization, those two concepts
were applied to Germany and Japan after World War II, and that led to
decades of peace, prosperity and security.
“Following our victory, with the help of
regional partners, the demilitarization and deradicalization of Gaza can
also lead to a future of security, prosperity and peace. That’s my
vision for Gaza.”
According to a report by Axios,
citing Israeli officials, the United Arab Emirates hosted Israel and the
United States in Abu Dhabi last week for a secret meeting to discuss
plans for post-war Gaza. One of the scenarios discussed involved a temporary international mission deployed to the Strip, according to the report.
‘NATO-style’ regional ‘Abraham Alliance’
With regard to the regional defense alliance,
which he proposed to be called the “Abraham Alliance,” Netanyahu said
it should include countries that “have made peace with Israel and those
that will make peace with Israel.”
The region had already seen “a glimpse” of
that alliance on April 13, he said, when Iran launched more than 300
missiles and drones at Israel. A coalition of countries comprising the
United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt successfully
neutralized the threat.
The Israeli prime minister thanked U.S. President Joe Biden “for bringing that alliance together.”
In a briefing with the Israeli press
delegation following his speech, Netanyahu compared the proposed
alliance to NATO. During the address, he said the unified group “would
be a security coalition in every sense of the word.”
He said it would be “an extension of the
groundbreaking Abraham Accords,” which included normalization agreements
signed in the fall of 2020 between Israel, the United Arab Emirates,
Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. He suggested that the pact be called the
“Abraham Alliance.”
Israel would likely attempt to recruit
Saudi Arabia to join an alliance, whether or not Israel succeeds in
signing a formal normalization agreement with the Sunni kingdom.
In his address, Netanyahu noted that
Israel is currently fighting a war on multiple fronts against Hamas,
Hezbollah and Houthis, all terrorist proxies funded and armed by Tehran.
“In the Middle East,” Netanyahu said,
“Iran is virtually behind all the terrorism, all the turmoil, all the
chaos, all the killing.”
Hamas's attempt to defend its crimes against Israelis should be seen as part of its attempts to mislead and fool the international community. Hamas wants the world to believe that its attack was an act of self-defense against Israel. It wants everyone to believe that Israel is responsible for the attack because of its purported "plans" against a mosque in Jerusalem.
The Hamas document [which
purports to explain why it massacred 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023]
lists a number of reasons, all of which can be easily refuted, as to why
the terrorist group launched its attack on Israel.
This claim is totally untrue: there are absolutely no Israeli
"plans" to split the Al-Aqsa Mosque into a Jewish and Muslim area or to
convert it into a Jewish site.
The purported "plans" exist only in the imagination of Hamas and
other Palestinians. It is simply part of a Palestinian campaign of
defamation against Israel to try to justify the murder of Jews.
According to the "status quo," formulated by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in 1967, Jews would not be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount but would be able to visit the site.
While Israel has respected the status quo, Muslims have
consistently violated it in an apparent attempt to deepen their hold on
the holy site.
It is also important to note that Hamas and many Palestinians consider all Jews "settlers," regardless of whether they live in Tel Aviv, or in a settlement in the West Bank, or in New York.
Hamas further claims that it launched its attack because of
"thousands of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails who are
experiencing deprivation of their basic rights."
Most of the "detainees" Hamas is referring to are convicted
terrorists who were imprisoned for murdering or attempting to murder
people (usually Jews). For many years, these terrorist prisoners have
enjoyed comfortable conditions, especially when it comes to
entertainment and leisure. A variety of exercise equipment – including
ping-pong tables, stationary bicycles and pull-up bars (in addition to
chess) – is available. Each prison cell is equipped with a television,
and the prisoners have access to at least 10 channels. Palestinian
prisoners, in addition, are entitled to family visits and unlimited
access to lawyers.
In contrast, both the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank
and the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip have been accused by human
rights organizations of "systematically torturing critics" in detention.
A report published by Human Rights Watch in 2022 said: "PA and Hamas
security forces routinely taunt and threaten detainees, use solitary
confinement and beatings, including whipping their feet, and force
detainees into painful stress positions for prolonged periods, including
hoisting their arms behind their backs with cables or rope, to punish
and intimidate critics and opponents and elicit confessions..."
As of October 7, 2023, an estimated 18,000 - 18,500 residents of
the Gaza Strip held work permits issued by the Israeli authorities to
enable them to work in Israel, where their pay is five times higher than
in Gaza. As noted last month: "Many of those workers to whom Israel
opened its doors were apparently working in Israel by day, and by night
returning to Gaza and providing Hamas with highly detailed maps and
drawings of every house in Israel's border communities, and reports
about everyone in them, including the pet dogs."
Israel can only conclude that "no good deed goes unpunished."
Hamas also claims it launched its attack on Israel because of the
"seven million Palestinians living in extreme conditions in refugee
camps who wish to return to their lands." If the "refugees" are living
in extreme conditions, it is because their leaders have failed to permit
the building of new homes for them or to improve their living
conditions. There is no reason why "refugee camps" continue to exist
under the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, under Hamas in the
Gaza Strip or anyplace else.
The same abuse applies to the Arab countries hosting Palestinian
"refugees": Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. What have these countries done to
incorporate their Palestinian brethren? Nothing. There is no reason why
a Palestinian living in an Arab country should be treated as a
"refugee" or a second-class citizen.
Hamas, in its document, is actually stating that it sent its men
to murder, rape and kidnap Jews because Israel refused to open its
borders to millions of Palestinian "refugees" who are told to murder
Jews and destroy the only Jewish state.
Finally, Hamas argues that it launched its attack because of the
international community and world powers seeking to "prevent the
establishment of a Palestinian state." This claim, of course, is completely
false. In fact, most of the international community, including the
United States, the EU, Russia and China, have long been pushing hard for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
If anyone is to blame for the failure of the "two-state
solution," it is Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. The leaders of the
PA were presented with multiple opportunities to create a state of
their own, but each time declined Israel's offer of peace without so
much as a counteroffer.
[I]is laughable to hear Hamas lament the failure of the
"two-state solution." This is an organization whose charter openly calls
for waging Jihad (holy war) to obliterate Israel... "Resistance and
jihad for the liberation of Palestine will remain a legitimate right, a
duty and an honour for all the sons and daughters of our people and our
Ummah." – Article 23, of the "new, improved" Hamas Charter of 2017.
Hamas's attempt to defend its crimes against Israelis should be
seen as part of its attempts to mislead and fool the international
community.
The October 7 massacre was orchestrated by Hamas with the sole
intent of slaughtering as many Jews as possible as part of its Jihad to
destroy Israel. Period.
A Hamas document, full of false claims and fabrications,
seeks to justify the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas terrorists and
thousands of "ordinary" Palestinians who invaded Israeli communities
near the border of the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. Pictured: A Hamas
terrorist holds two of the many Israeli children that Hamas abducted and
brought as captives to the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. (Image
source: Hamas/X [Twitter])
Earlier this year, the Iran-backed Palestinian terrorist group Hamas published a document
titled "Our Narrative - Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" purporting to explain
why it carried out the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel during which
thousands of Israelis were murdered, raped, tortured, burned alive, and
kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.
The document, full of false claims and fabrications, seeks to justify
the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas terrorists and thousands of
"ordinary" Palestinians who invaded Israeli communities near the border
of the Gaza Strip that day.
The Hamas document lists a number of reasons, all of which can be
easily refuted, as to why the terrorist group launched its attack on
Israel.
Hamas claims
it launched the attack in response to the "Israeli Judaization plans to
the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, its temporal and spatial division attempts,
as well as the intensification of the Israeli settlers' incursions into
the holy mosque."
This claim is totally untrue: there are absolutely no Israeli "plans"
to split the Al-Aqsa Mosque into a Jewish and Muslim area or to convert
it into a Jewish site.
The purported "plans" exist only in the imagination of Hamas and
other Palestinians. It is simply part of a Palestinian campaign of
defamation against Israel to try to justify the murder of Jews.
Since 1967, Israel has been committed to preserving the "status quo"
at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by allowing the Islamic Waqf to manage
the holy site, also known as the Temple Mount, sacred to both Muslims
and Jews.
According to the "status quo," formulated by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in 1967, Jews would not be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount but would be able to visit the site.
While Israel has respected the status quo, the Muslims have consistently violated it in an apparent attempt to deepen their hold on the holy site.
Muslims have inaugurated
four new mosques on the Temple Mount since 1967: the Dome of the Rock;
the El-Marwani Mosque, located underground in Solomon's Stables; the
"Ancient Al-Aqsa" Mosque, established in 1988 under the upper mosque;
and the Gate of Mercy (Golden Gate) prayer area, set up and turned into a
mosque in 2019.
It is equally false for Hamas to claim that "Israeli settlers'
incursions into the holy mosques" are the reason behind the October 7
massacre. This claim relates to Jews visiting outdoor areas of the
Temple Mount in peace and in conformity with the "status quo." Such
tours have never been prohibited; they have been conducted regularly
since 1967. The tours are not "incursions": they are coordinated with
the Israeli Police and the authorities of the Islamic Waqf.
It is also important to note that the Jewish visitors do not enter
any mosque, but only tour the grounds, outdoors, outside of the mosques.
It is also important to note that Hamas and many Palestinians consider all Jews "settlers," regardless of whether they live in Tel Aviv, or in a settlement in the West Bank, or in New York.
Hamas claims in its recent document
that it launched its attack because Israel is "practically taking steps
towards annexing the entire West Bank and Jerusalem." In 2020, however,
the Israeli government, to facilitate the Abraham Accords normalization
agreement between Israel, the US, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
Bahrain, suspended plans to extend Israeli sovereignty to Jewish communities in the West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in fact, for agreeing to
suspend the plans to apply Israeli law over the Jewish communities in
the West Bank, faced scathing criticism from his political rivals.
In the end, it was the Israeli government that shelved the
"annexation" plans in favor of normalization with the UAE and Bahrain.
This agreement took place four years before the October 7 atrocities.
Needless to say, on the eve of the Hamas-led attack, there was no talk
in Israel about "annexation."
Hamas further claims
that it launched its attack because of "thousands of Palestinian
detainees in Israeli jails who are experiencing deprivation of their
basic rights."
Most of the "detainees" Hamas is referring to are convicted
terrorists who were imprisoned for murdering or attempting to murder
people (usually Jews). For many years, these terrorist prisoners have enjoyed
comfortable conditions, especially when it comes to entertainment and
leisure. A variety of exercise equipment – including ping-pong tables,
stationary bicycles and pull-up bars (in addition to chess) – is
available. Each prison cell is equipped with a television, and the
prisoners have access to at least 10 channels. Palestinian prisoners, in
addition, are entitled to family visits and unlimited access to
lawyers.
In contrast, both the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip have been accused by human rights organizations of "systematically torturing critics" in detention. A report published by Human Rights Watch in 2022 said:
"PA and Hamas security forces routinely taunt and
threaten detainees, use solitary confinement and beatings, including
whipping their feet, and force detainees into painful stress positions
for prolonged periods, including hoisting their arms behind their backs
with cables or rope, to punish and intimidate critics and opponents and
elicit confessions..."
The Hamas document claims
that the October 7 attack came in response to "the unjust air, sea, and
land blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip." In 2007, Hamas staged a coup
and violently seized control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian
Authority. To prevent
smuggling and the infiltration of terrorists, Israel and Egypt
tightened their border crossings with Gaza and placed restrictions on
shipping. Israel and Egypt did not impose a "blockade" on the Gaza Strip
for no reason.
After Israel, asking for nothing in return, gave complete control of
the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority in 2005 and Hamas seized
control of it, Hamas proceeded to bombard with thousands of rockets,
mortars and other terrorist attacks.
In recent years, Israel, despite the ongoing terrorist attacks by Hamas and other terror groups, took a series of steps to ease restrictions on the Gaza Strip. These measures included issuing permits for working in Israel to thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. As of October 7, 2023, an estimated
18,000 - 18,500 residents of the Gaza Strip held work permits issued by
the Israeli authorities to enable them to work in Israel, where their
pay is five times higher than in Gaza. As noted last month:
"Many of those workers to whom Israel opened its doors
were apparently working in Israel by day, and by night returning to Gaza
and providing Hamas with highly detailed maps and drawings of every
house in Israel's border communities, and reports about everyone in
them, including the pet dogs."
Israel can only conclude that "no good deed goes unpunished."
Hamas also claims
it launched its attack on Israel because of the "seven million
Palestinians living in extreme conditions in refugee camps who wish to
return to their lands." If the "refugees" are living in extreme
conditions, it is because their leaders have failed to permit the
building of new homes for them or to improve their living conditions.
There is no reason why "refugee camps" continue to exist under the
Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, under Hamas in the Gaza Strip or
anyplace else. No one prevented these two parties from facilitating the
building of new homes for the "refugees."
Sadly, both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have always had an
interest in keeping their people living in "refugee camps" to intensify
their "victimhood" and make them "better beggars" for the CNN television
crews. That way Israel can be blamed, not the Arab leaders. Palestinian
officials also seem still to be hoping that one day they will be able
to flood Israel with millions of Palestinians as part of a plan to
eliminate Israel and turn the Jews into a minority in their own country.
The same abuse applies to the Arab countries hosting Palestinian
"refugees": Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. What have these countries done to
integrate their Palestinian brethren since 1948? Nothing. There is no
reason why Palestinians living in an Arab country should be treated as
"refugees" or a second-class citizens for nearly 80 years.
Here is what Human Rights Watch had to say about the conditions of Palestinian "refugees" in Lebanon:
"In Lebanon, many Palestinians are preoccupied with basic
survival, overwhelmed by poor physical conditions in the refugee camps,
pervasive poverty, high unemployment and underemployment, and
inadequate medical services. Successive Lebanese governments have
consistently opposed the permanent resettlement of Palestinian refugees
in Lebanon, and state policies reflect this stance, denying virtually
all social and economic rights. In addition, the state has prohibited
the expansion of existing refugee camps, which contributes to
overcrowding and illegal and unsafe building of additional stories on
existing structures.
"One of the most frequently heard complaints from Palestinians in
Lebanon concerns restrictions on the right to work. Palestinians, like
other foreigners, must obtain annual work permits from the labor
ministry in order to be employed legally. Possession of a work permit
affords foreign workers protection under Lebanon's labor law with
respect to workers rights and benefits. However, these permits are
extremely difficult for Palestinians to obtain: permits are issued
annually to Palestinians by the hundreds while for other foreign workers
in Lebanon they are issued by the thousands. (Hundreds of thousands of
Syrian workers in Lebanon, in contrast, require no work permits.) The
difficulty in obtaining work permits forces many Palestinians into the
underground economy and leaves others open to exploitation by private
employers. For example, a Palestinian teacher with fourteen years'
experience and a university degree from Egypt told Human Rights Watch
that Palestinians can obtain teaching jobs in private schools in Lebanon
without a work permit, but they earn salaries significantly lower than
their Lebanese counterparts and have no job security or worker benefits.
The situation of women workers is particularly difficult. Palestinian
women who work in the garment industry in Beirut and Sidon, for example,
are paid below the minimum wage and earn half the salary of Lebanese
citizens. Because the Palestinians do not have work permits, they do not
receive the benefits provided to Lebanese employees, including medical
insurance.
"In addition, various legal barriers prohibit Palestinians from
practicing in Lebanon as doctors, pharmacists, engineers, lawyers or
journalists. Laws, decrees, and regulations of professional associations
specify that members must hold Lebanese nationality for at least ten
years or that there must be reciprocity of treatment for Lebanese
professionals in the country of citizenship of the foreign professional
applying to practice in Lebanon. For example, the journalists' syndicate
restricts membership to those who have been Lebanese citizens for at
least ten years, as does the bar association. Medical, pharmacy, and
engineering associations in Lebanon all have regulations that require
reciprocal treatment as conditions for membership, which by definition
excludes Palestinians who are stateless. These rules open the door for
exploitation of some Palestinian professionals, such as engineers..."
Hamas, in its document,
is actually stating that it sent its men to murder, rape and kidnap
Jews because Israel refused to open its borders to millions of
Palestinian "refugees" who are told to murder Jews and destroy the only Jewish state.
Finally, Hamas argues
that it launched its attack because of the international community and
world powers seeking to "prevent the establishment of a Palestinian
state." This claim, of course, is completely false. In fact, most
of the international community, including the United States, the EU,
Russia and China, have long been pushing hard for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
If anyone is to blame for the failure of the "two-state solution," it
is Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. The leaders of the PA were
presented with multiple opportunities to create a state of their own,
but each time declined Israel's offer of peace without so much as a
counteroffer.
Instead of working to establish a state for their people, Palestinian
leaders Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas were more concerned with
maintaining their positions of authority and benefiting themselves and
their cohorts.
Hamas, for its part, has opposed the "two-state solution" because it seeks to establish an Islamist terror state in place of Israel.
For this reason, it is laughable to hear Hamas lament the failure of the "two-state solution." This is an organization whose charter openly calls for waging Jihad (holy war) to obliterate Israel. This is an organization that has ceaselessly voiced opposition to the "two-state solution" or any peace process with Israel. Hamas has repeatedly vowed to pursue Jihad, an armed struggle, against Israel:
"Resistance and jihad for the liberation of Palestine
will remain a legitimate right, a duty and an honour for all the sons
and daughters of our people and our Ummah." – Article 23, of the "new,
improved" Hamas Charter of 2017.
Hamas's attempt to defend its crimes against Israelis should be seen
as part of its attempts to mislead and fool the international community.
Hamas wants the world to believe that its attack was an act of
self-defense against Israel. It wants everyone to believe that Israel is
responsible for the attack because of its purported "plans" against a
mosque in Jerusalem.
The October 7 massacre was orchestrated by Hamas with the sole intent of slaughtering as many Jews as possible as part of its Jihad to destroy Israel. Period.
Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle
East. The work of Bassam Tawil is made possible through the generous
donation of a couple of donors who wished to remain anonymous. Gatestone
is most grateful.
In 2020, covert actors manipulated the Democratic primary to ensure Joe Biden's nomination and later controlled his presidential agenda, ultimately forcing him to step down in favor of Kamala Harris.
In March 2020, all the major Democratic primary candidates abruptly,
mysteriously, and in near unison withdrew from the presidential race,
ceding the nomination to Joe Biden.
Yet Biden had lost the first three races in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada—and only won his first victory in South Carolina.
Suddenly, on the eve of the Super Tuesday mega-primaries, the
candidacies of front-runner Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth
Warren, and others simply evaporated.
The fear of a front-runner Sanders’ socialist victory and
nomination—and thus an enviable landslide loss to incumbent Donald Trump
in the general election—had prompted the donor class and shadowy
political insiders to act.
And they did so by choosing a perceived moderate, old Joe Biden from
Scranton. That required the coerced departures of all his far-left
rivals, who had hitherto performed much better than Biden in the
primaries.
Now front-runner Biden still displayed obvious symptoms of serious
cognitive decline that had only seemed to mount through the 2020
campaign. And his dementia continued to accelerate during his first
three years as president.
Biden had deceitfully promised to conduct a healing campaign
and a unifying presidency. But once in the White House, his extreme
agendas proved the most divisive and far-left in nearly a century.
Rumors of that prior March 2020 Faustian bargain emerged. The Bidens
got to serve as useful moderate veneers. So, they enjoyed the ceremonial
functions of the presidency while outsourcing the real operations to
former Obama officials, consultants, and advisors.
Indeed, Obama did not, as most ex-presidents do, exit Washington upon
leaving the White House. Instead, he bought a mansion and stayed close
by.
Democrats demonized anyone critical of Biden’s obvious mental
decline. Their smearing crested during Biden’s now-aborted
2024 reelection bid, even as Biden could no longer display even a
veneer of mental and physical engagement.
Polls revealed an impending Trump landslide victory in November—and a massive Democratic loss of Congress.
So suddenly on a Sunday, July 21—just days left before state ballots
were formalized with the names of the parties’ official nominees, and on
the eve of the Democratic convention—party bosses, mega-donors, and
Obama puppeteers went into action for yet a third time.
They reportedly threatened candidate Biden with a complete loss
of any further campaign funding and raised the specter of invoking the
25th Amendment to end his presidency—should he not suddenly withdraw
from the race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his surrogate
on the ticket.
In one moment, the choices of nearly 15 million Biden primary voters
were vitiated. No delegates were consulted. No other alternative
Democrat candidates were even considered.
Biden was dethroned; Harris was coronated—without much public input or even knowledge of how or why.
Democrat grandees stopped smearing Biden’s conservative critics, who
had worried over his dementia. Instead, they now trumped opposition
criticism of Biden’s decline.
Yet Biden most certainly did not resign his presidency. Instead, he promised to serve out his remaining six months in office.
So Democrat insiders not only removed their leading candidate, who
for the prior six months had won all the 2024 primaries and almost all
the delegates, but insisted that Biden keep Democrats and himself in
power—but only if he agreed to quit the race.
In sum, at the 11th hour of a two-year reelection effort, a
cabal arbitrarily decided that Joe Biden might well lose the Democrats
the White House and the Congress.
So, they reversed course, now claiming his dementia was so acute as
to destroy their November prospects. But mysteriously, his decline was
not severe enough to imperil the American people, whom Biden must
continue to lead until January 20, 2025.
Furthermore, the bosses’ replacement choice, Vice President Kamala
Harris, had entered no primary. She never won a single delegate. Harris
also never captured a single delegate in her first and only presidential
run back in 2020. She then dropped out of the race even before the
first Iowa and New Hampshire balloting.
We have now witnessed three left-wing veritable coups.
In 2020, covert actors decided to ossify the Democratic primary
races. Next, they conferred the nomination on a clearly cognitively
challenged Joe Biden. He was now tasked with serving as a useful
moderate vessel for a virtual, even more radical, Obama third term.
The same operators next assumed virtual control of Biden’s presidential agenda, given his accelerating cognitive decline.
When that charade could no longer be sustained, for a third time, they circumvented the normal transparent democratic process.
So, they removed the once useful but now a liability Biden—while
insisting that he was still fit enough to keep the left in power—until
the anticipated Harris victory in November.
And all of this was the shadow work of those who sanctimoniously lectured America that “democracy dies in darkness.”
"As everyone knows, the first two, 'Our Journey Together' and,
'Letters to Trump,' have been spectacular successes, and this is the
BEST OF ALL, especially in light of the fact that we are now living in a
Failing Nation, but it will not be failing for long," he added. "We
will soon, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
The book itself features Trump's insight into his own four years as president and further spells out his plans for a second term.
The book cover features the image of Trump raising his fist in the air after surviving an assassination attempt.
"Save America" is currently available for pre-order.
Trump's most famous book, "The Art of the Deal," predates his political career.
House Democrats who voted with all Republicans included Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Yadira Caraveo of Colorado, Don Davis of North Carolina, Jared Golden of Maine, Mary Peltola of Alaska, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington State.
There were six Democrats who joined Republicans in the House to pass a
resolution "strongly condemning" Vice President Kamala Harris, now the
top 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, for her performance as the
border czar.
The resolution,
introduced by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the House Republican
conference chair, formally condemns Harris and the Biden administration
for failing to "secure the U.S. border." The resolution notes that there
have been about 9.7 million illegal immigrant encounters nationwide
since January 2021.
Democrats who voted with all Republicans included Rep. Henry Cuellar
of Texas, who is often critical of the administration's handling of the
border as well as Reps. Yadira Caraveo of Colorado, Don Davis of North
Carolina, Jared Golden of Maine, Mary Peltola of Alaska, and Marie
Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington State.
To address parental concerns, Trump proposed implementing "the direct election of school principals by the parents."
Former President Donald Trump on Thursday outlined a plan to overhaul the American education system and restore parental rights.
The 12-point plan
entails cutting federal funding for institutions espousing Critical
Race Theory, gender ideology, and other sexual or political content, as
well as aggressively investigating institutions accused of racial
discrimination.
Trump also hopes to keep men out of women's sports programs, remove
radical activists in the Department of Education, embrace merit-based
pay for teachers.
"Our public schools have been taken over by the Radical Left maniacs," Trump declared.
"we will begin to find and remove the radicals, zealots, and Marxists
who have infiltrated the federal Department of Education, and that also
includes others, and you know who you are," he continued. "Because We
are not going to allow anyone to hurt our children. Joe Biden has given
these lunatics unchecked power—I will have them fired and escorted from
the building."
To address parental concerns, Trump proposed implementing "the direct election of school principals by the parents."
"More than anyone else, parents know what their children need. If any
principal is not getting the job done, the parents should be able to
vote to fire them and select someone who will. This will be the ultimate
form of local control," he asserted.
Republican superlawyer Harmeet Dhillon joins gender-critical feminist legal team. As California attorney general, Kamala Harris took credit for making corrections department stop opposing taxpayer-funded inmate sex changes.
Female inmates are returning to court with new allegations of how the
law, which makes no distinction based on genitalia, has directly harmed
them since it took effect three and a half years ago, with a Republican
super-lawyer joining their gender-critical feminist legal team.
WoLF said the refiling addresses the court's procedural questions. It
challenges the constitutionality of the penal code sections added by SB
132, saying they cannot be "applied or enforced in any manner without
violating" their clients' constitutional rights, and sues the CDCR
secretary and wardens of the two women's prisons.
"CDCR is committed to providing a safe, humane, respectful and
rehabilitative environment for all incarcerated people," information
officer Mary Xjimenez wrote in an email to Just the News, declining to comment on litigation.
"At all our facilities, CDCR thoroughly investigates all allegations
of sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, and sexual harassment pursuant to
our zero-tolerance policy and as mandated by the federal Prison Rape
Elimination Act (PREA)," she wrote, describing SB 132 as allowing
"transgender, non-binary and intersex people to request to be housed and
searched in a manner consistent with their gender identity."
A consulting firm hired by CDCR to evaluate
the law's implementation told the department in a report last year that
it has disfavored female inmates in practice and inherently denies them
the privileges granted to male inmates who identify as women.
CDCR itself expected the law to prompt an increase in Prison Rape
Elimination Act sexual assault allegations "because it will result in
the integration of different populations that have not previously been
housed together," according to its three-year budget request to comply
with SB 132, filed soon after the law took effect, according to new
evidence cited by the plaintiffs.
California's Office of the Inspector General also warned the law
cannot reject a proposed transfer "solely on the prospective
transferee’s history of raping women," and a Justice Department "sexual
victimization report" released this month found that "trans-identifying
biological males" committed 18% of assaults on female inmates in
2019-2020, the suit says.
Ahead of a difficult election, the litigation threatens to deepen the
Democratic divide on gender identity recently highlighted by Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff handing President Biden his first defeat
in a judicial nomination, citing nominee Sarah Netburn's recommended
transfer of a male child rapist who identifies as a woman to a New York
women's prison.
Two new inmates joined the four original plaintiffs in the amended
complaint, which "details years of abuse and trauma in California
women’s prisons" that violate the inmates' First, Eighth and Fourteenth
Amendment rights, according to a WoLF statement on the refiling.
Channel Johnson alleges her "trans-identifying biological male
inmate, Jonathan Robertson … threatened to rape and murder her" after
she refused to lie about their previous consensual sexual relationship,
for which Robertson was disciplined.
When Johnson and her family reported Robertson's similarly
threatening letters to her family members, "including her minor younger
brother and nephew," CDCR retaliated by moving Johnson to the California
Institution for Women rather than punish Robertson, the suit says.
The female was "put in solitary confinement and banished from the
prison with which she had become familiar" while "Robertson, whose
background includes having raped a woman in another female prison,
stayed put" and threatened her again when Johnson was transferred back
to CCWF last year. (The suit says she's now at CIW again.)
The second new plaintiff, Cathleen Quinn, alleges CDCR retaliated
against her for reporting that male inmate Michael Contreras "peep[ed]"
at her "while she was using the bathroom and naked from the waist down,"
first putting her in solitary confinement, then revoking her
"suitability" for parole through a "rules report violation."
Quinn appealed the RVR and was found not guilty 11 months later, but
CCWF's parole board "created new pretextual reasons to continue to block
her parole eligibility for an additional five years" based on
"institutional misconduct" that did not stop her initial eligibility for
parole, the suit says. The parole commissioner allegedly told Quinn she
"should have been quiet."
Original plaintiff Tomiekia Johnson also witnessed and reported
Quinn's peeping and is "aware of Contreras stalking and attempting to
rape another female inmate, Jennifer Barbero," but CCWF again did not
discipline Contreras because Barbero fought off the attack, the suit
says.
Johnson has "consistently met or even exceeded the criteria for
re-sentencing or commutation" but continues to be denied parole for what
she's told are "political reasons," with CCWF even citing her
participation in the lawsuit as proof of her transphobia, the suit says.
"Contreras is a large man who dresses and grooms masculinely and is
not interested in making any effort to present as a woman," typical of
the newly self-identified transgender inmates seeking women's prison
transfers, according to the complaint. "Often, there is no evidence they
are in the process of 'transitioning'" — socially, hormonally or
surgically.
CCWF acknowledged that plaintiff Krystal Gonzalez had been assaulted
by a "transgender woman with a penis," whom she reported for thrusting
his genitalia against her backside, but ignored her grievance, the suit
says.
Gonzalez has seen transgender inmates "posing" in a feminine manner
"when meeting with prison counselors but reverting to their masculine
habits upon returning to their housing units."
WoLF Legal Director Lauren Bone told Just the News that Robertson wasn't using a preferred name in the CDCR's system, which lists Robertson as housed at a substance abuse treatment facility and prison.
California public radio station KQED claimed California was not following the law
under its "year-long investigation" published last fall, which
sympathetically portrayed Skylit and other male inmates in women's
prisons and tried to discredit WoLF and female inmates.
Bone told Just the News that Contreras goes by Eva Reeves in CDCR's system,
which shows the inmate is housed at CCWF but gives no indication that
Reeves is male. A person identified as "Eva Reeves," purporting to be
housed in a California prison, joined an inmate blogging platform run by a consulting firm this spring.
“The framework of a deal is basically there. We’re working out the implementation,” the senior Biden administration official told reporters.
Relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas
terrorists in Gaza wear shirts that read "seal the deal now" as they
arrive to the speech of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
outside the U.S. Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 24, 2024.
Photo by Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90.
A senior Biden administration official who
spoke on background with reporters on Wednesday after Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress denied
that Netanyahu is holding up a deal that would include a ceasefire and
release of hostages.
Talks with Hamas are “in the closing
stages” and are “reaching the point that we believe a deal is
closeable,” the senior official said. “It’s time to move to close that
agreement.”
The senior official spoke briefly and then
fielded questions from journalists the day before U.S. President Joe
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris—the presumptive 2024 Democratic
nominee for president—are slated to meet, separately, with Netanyahu.
The meetings at the White House—the first
to which Netanyahu has been invited since he was re-elected in November
2022—will address Israel’s defense, including broader integration in the
Middle East, developments in the Gaza Strip and the regional
humanitarian situation, according to the senior official.
“The framework of a deal is basically
there,” the senior U.S. official said about negotiations with Hamas.
“We’re working out the implementation.”
The senior official noted that there are
“some very serious implementation issues that still have to be resolved”
that the Biden administration didn’t “want to discount the difficulty
of.”
“There are some things we need from Hamas, and there are some things we need from the Israeli side,” the senior official said.
There have been breakthroughs lately on
Hamas’s previously “completely unacceptable” demands, with the phasing
of the deal coming into greater focus and consensus, per the senior
official.
‘The pieces are coming together’
The implementation of a potential agreement is progressing but not yet finalized.
“We worked out a pretty detailed text of
the arrangements of how a hostage exchange would actually work,
including with significant benefits for Gazans and humanitarian
permissions,” the senior official said.
The details of the implementation are part
of “a pretty intense negotiation. It’s actually ongoing,” according to
the senior official. “We think the pieces are coming together, and it’s
time to kind of move to close this out.”
The senior official would not put a
timeframe on reaching a deal, but said “given that we have the lives of
hostages on the line, there’s really no time to lose.”
Asked by a reporter if there is any
indication that Netanyahu is holding up the deal, particularly after the
U.S. president announced that he isn’t seeking re-election, the senior
Biden administration official said that is not the case.
“If we draw that conclusion, we’ll say it
very clearly. Right now, there has been progress and the implementation
issues are real. You can’t do a deal until they’re kind of worked out,”
the senior official said.
“If I’m talking to you a month from now,
and we’re still kind of where we are now, I might draw a different
conclusion,” added the senior official.
Because Hamas leaders are spread out—in
Doha, Turkey and underground in Gaza—“it’s anything but a normal
negotiation,” according to the official. “But there has been progress
because the Israelis have put an awful lot on the table.”
A reporter asked the senior official about
Netanyahu’s claim in his address to the joint session of Congress that,
contrary to assessments of some human rights organizations and others,
Israel isn’t preventing entry of food into Gaza.
The senior official said that the Biden administration shares the perspective of the Israeli premier.
“We do not see the Israelis blocking the
entry of provisions into Gaza. We have some issues of distribution that
our folks are working through all the time,” said the senior official,
noting that armed gangs siphon off aid. “It’s a very difficult wartime
environment.”
The Government Accountability Office reported that 50% of security screenings failed to detect prohibited items like IED components
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report
showing that the Federal Protective Services (FPS) fails to detect items
prohibited from entering federal buildings about 50% of the time.
The findings are the result of 27 "covert" GAO's investigations in the early part of this year at 14 federal buildings.
In half the tests, security screenings failed to detect prohibited items like batons, pepper spray, knives, and IED components, according to the report released Tuesday.
FPS is part of the Department of Homeland Security led by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The report also states the agency – which manages and oversees more
than 13,000 contract guards – is working to improve screening by
increasing training and analyzing data to identify common causes of test
failures.
"Federal real property has been on our High Risk List since 2003, due partly to past attacks on federal buildings, the report also states.
During his July 23 testimony, GAO Physical Infrastructure Team
Director David Marroni said his agency identified deficiencies in FPS
guard training and oversight that led to these screening failures going
as far back as 2008.
The dig at the famous site, destroyed by the Nazis, has taken on new importance this year in the aftermath of Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre, said Israel Antiquities Authority Director Eli Escusido.
Colored fragments of wall uncovered during
excavation of the Great Synagogue of Vilna in Lithuania testify to the
building's once-beautiful decorations, according to the Israel
Antiquities Authority. Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority.
Excavations of the Great Synagogue of
Vilna, Lithuania, destroyed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, have
revealed the floor of the main prayer hall, the Israel Antiquities
Authority announced on Thursday. The uncovered sections are decorated
with red, black and white flowers.
The unusual dig, which first began last
decade, has also uncovered two huge concrete basins under the
synagogue’s bathhouse and a Jewish ritual bath, or mikvah, according to
the IAA.
The august synagogue, built between 1630-1633, was in continuous use for
300 years until World War II. Constructed in the Renaissance-Baroque
style, the large and magnificent synagogue was the oldest and most
significant building for Lithuanian Jewry.
During its heyday, the synagogue was
surrounded by a complex of other synagogues, ritual baths and community
institutions that formed a large center of Torah study and community
life—the beating heart of Lithuanian Jewry. Among the buildings in the
complex were the community council building, the home of Rabbi Eliyah,
aka the Vilna Gaon, the famous “Strashun” library and a bathhouse,
according to the IAA.
The synagogue was looted and burned by the
Nazis, and its remains were completely destroyed by the Soviet
authorities in the 1950s, who built a school on the site.
Over the last decade there have been five
excavations carried out at the site in the wake of a ground-penetrating
radar survey showing significant remains below the surface, revealing
the complex’s rich past.
“The magnificent remains we are
discovering—the synagogue Bimah that was uncovered during the previous
excavation seasons, as well as the colorful decorations of the floor and
walls—bring back moments in the life of a lost vibrant community,” said
excavation co-directors Jon Seligman of the IAA and Justinas Rakas of
the Lithuanian Archeological Society. “The architectural wealth and
vitality we encounter—alongside the destruction of impressive giant
columns that collapsed during the destruction of the synagogue by the
Nazis and the Soviets, tell the tragic story of a community that lived
here, that is no more.”
IAA Director Eli Escusido said that the
excavations of the site have taken on added significance this year in
the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.
“In the face of rising anti-Semitism and
attempts to deceive and deny, there is one undeniable truth, both simple
and tragic, which tells us about an entire magnificent community that
was destroyed due to hatred of Jews—Never Again,” he said.
The combined session of Congress greeted him rapturously. Also, Bibi subtly shivved the Biden/Harris administration in a devastating way for the election.
Today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke for almost an hour
before a joint session of Congress. I was paying attention so hard to
his magnificent speech that I forgot to take notes—and there’s no
transcript available yet. These are my impressions of the speech.
One. Bibi got one of the most rapturous greetings
I’ve ever seen Congress give anyone. The ovation when Bibi walked to the
podium and stood there went on so long that Speaker Mike Johnson
finally had to gavel it to an end.
Two. Bibi stuck a huge shiv into the Democrat
presidential ticket without seeming to have done so. It was remarkably
clever and done with tremendous subtlety and grace. To appreciate what
Bibi did, you must understand the Democrats’ antisemitic base.
Biden and Harris distanced themselves as far as possible from Bibi.
Biden had the excuse of his COVID diagnosis and frailty, but Kamala had
no excuse. That’s why it was so striking that she wasn’t at the airport
to greet Bibi (nor was anyone else from the administration), and she
refused to appear in Congress when he was speaking, opting instead for a sorority party:
No one from the Whitehouse could get away to meet Israel's Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu, at the airport!
The reason for Joe’s and Kamala’s terror of being seen with Bibi is their base. Almost 30 Democrats
refused to appear at the event. Rashida Tlaib did show up, but only to
make a statement, which the C-SPAN cameraman caught perfectly:
Netanyahu labels American anti-genocide protesters as "useful idiots" and receives a standing ovation.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib stays seated and holds up a sign that reads "WAR CRIMINAL". pic.twitter.com/F4XlGsDYKn
The Democrats hope that leftist Jews (like Kamala’s stepdaughter, who supports Hamas) will vote for them even if the Democrats don’t support Israel, but they know that Muslims will not vote for Democrats if they seem to support Israel.
And that’s where Netanyahu’s delicate (and perhaps unintentional)
shiv came in. Practically the first point he made in his speech was to
express gratitude for Biden’s unwavering support for Israel:
Netanyahu: "I thank President Biden for his heartfelt support for Israel after the savage attack on October 7. He rightly called Hamas sheer evil." pic.twitter.com/dQneqrzdLi
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) July 24, 2024
That ought to enrage the base, which is why I appreciated it so much.
In fact, it’s not really true. Biden has slow-walked much-needed
weapons systems to Israel and repeatedly tried to slow Israel when she’s
on the verge of victory. And that doesn’t even count the ill-fated Gaza
pier that cost American taxpayers over $300 million and ended up feeding Hamas fighters, who seized all the food.
Well played, Bibi!
Three. Bibi had an incredibly strong, moral opening, which you should listen to because it’s brief:
Netanyahu on the threat Iran poses to the world:
“This is not a clash of civilizations. This is a clash between barbarianism and civilization.” pic.twitter.com/xFoXV9FWfB
— dahlia kurtz ✡︎ דליה קורץ (@DahliaKurtz) July 24, 2024
That’s exactly right. Hamas is a death cult, as are Hezbollah and the Houthis. Notably, they are all Iranian proxies.
Four. Bibi made the strong case that Iran is the
real enemy and that it’s America’s enemy, too. This is exactly right.
Iran finances terrorism all over the world, and its ultimate target is
America.
We Trump supporters like to say that the Democrats are really after
us, but Trump is in the way, both as a target and as our defender. The
same is true for Israel. For Iran, Israel is the “Little Satan” to
America’s “Great Satan.” Bibi even read aloud a quotation from a
Hezbollah official to that effect. When we support Israel, we defend
ourselves.
Five. Bibi attacked the moral failings of the
antisemites who support Hamas. They are acting at the behest of Iran, a
totalitarian, misogynistic, homophobic nation. They are, said Bibi,
“useful idiots.” (See, e.g., the Tlaib video, above.)
Six. Bibi showed clearly what a multicultural
society Israel is. He introduced Noa Argamani, a hostage who was saved
during the daring rescue in April. She is half-Asian. He introduced a
soldier who ran eight miles carrying his weapon to get to the battle
site on October 7. That soldier is black, with forebearers from
Ethiopia. Bibi also introduced a Muslim Bedouin and a man who was
clearly a Mizrahi Jew (i.e., brown-skinned Middle Eastern Jew rather
than a more fair European Ashkenazi Jew). He noted that all serve in the
military, regardless of race, ethnicity, or creed. That was a stick in
the eye to those who claim Israel is an apartheid nation.
Seven. Bibi reiterated that the Jews’ ties to the land go back 4,000 years. They are the indigenous people.
Eight. Bibi made it absolutely clear that Jews will
never meekly accept existential attacks against it. Israel will not
attack, but she will always fight back against those who seek to destroy
her. (And he may have slipped in a warning that he’s going to attack
Iran’s nuclear facilities and go after Lebanon if it doesn’t get rid of
Hezbollah.)
That’s all I’ve got offhand without a transcript. I suggest you take
the time to watch the speech. As I said, it’s magnificent, and it was
heartwarming to see the love that the room showed for him. I had the
unusual sensation of admiring Congress.
"It encourages Israel's enemies, who also have American blood on their hands and our hostages in their custody," said Robert Greenway of Heritage.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the
National League of Cities via video conference on March 8, 2021. Credit:
Lawrence Jackson/White House.
Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic
nominee for president, will be conspicuously absent from her seat, as
U.S. vice president, behind Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
when the latter addresses a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.
“It is unconscionable to see Vice
President Kamala Harris shirk her duties as president of the Senate and
boycott this historic event,” stated Victoria Coates, vice president of
the Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at
The Heritage Foundation. “If we can’t stand with Israel now, when can
we?”
Coates’s colleague Robert Greenway, director of Heritage’s Allison Center for National Security, agreed.
“Iran and its terrorist proxies look to
eliminate the State of Israel, and the United States cannot turn a blind
eye to the situation as we will be the next in their crosshairs,”
Greenway stated. “Vice President Kamala Harris’s refusal to preside over
the joint session of Congress further isolates our closest ally in the
region.”
“It encourages Israel’s enemies, who also
have American blood on their hands and our hostages in their custody,”
he added. “We must be better.”
