Fact Is, Wapo Ignores Truth: Miranda Devine, New York Post, June 10, 2021“IT should be clear by now that the “fact-checking” industry exists only to denigrate conservative ideas and suppress news the left doesn’t want reported. It is an ideological weapon thinly disguised as objective analysis of empirical facts. It is used by partisan media outfits such as The Washington Post to accuse competitors of journalistic malpractice and justify their own errors and omissions. It is an insult to journalism. Which brings us to Mr. Pinocchio himself, Glenn Kessler, WaPo’s resident “fact-checker,” last seen claiming Republican Sen. Tim Scott’s slave ancestors had it easy.
This week, Kessler attempted to fact-check our front-page story last month revealing fresh evidence that Joe Biden, as vice president, met with foreign clients of his son Hunter, including Vadym Pozharskyi, an executive at the corrupt Ukrainian energy company Burisma, at a dinner in Washington, DC. This was 2015, at a time when Burisma was paying Hunter $83,333 a month to sit on its board. Our story showed that Joe also met Russian and Kazakhstani business associates of Hunter’s at the April 16, 2015, dinner in a private room at Café Milano. We cited e-mails from Hunter’s abandoned laptop, including a guest list he prepared a month before the dinner. … “I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings,” Joe said in 2019.
Enter Kessler, carrying water for the Biden administration, in a slovenly approximation of journalism that gets basic facts wrong and omits crucial details. Kessler’s conclusion: “When we looked into it, there was less to the story than one might imagine.” Really? Kessler claimed Pozharskyi was not on the guest list we published. “A tentative guest list for the event . . . did not include Pozharskyi,” he wrote. “So it’s still unclear how the vice president could have met him, unless he was a last-minute addition.” Kessler’s reading comprehension leaves a lot to be desired.
… Kessler knows what “ostensibly” means. It’s hardly a forgettable event when the vice president takes a motorcade to Georgetown and walks into Café Milano with his Secret Service entourage to disappear into a private room to meet all those foreigners. But Kessler doesn’t query his source on all the contradictory statements that have emanated from the Biden camp. After the White House failed to respond to our questions, it took two weeks to mount this feeble defense. They just had to take their pick of useful idiots to feed it to. “
School Board Member Encourages High Schoolers To Remember ‘Jihad’ As They ‘Enter A World Of White Supremacy And Capitalism’ During Graduation Speech – 14 Years After Her Father Was Fired For Using the Word: Daily Mail, June 14, 2021
Abrar Omeish, the sole Muslim member on the Fairfax County School Board, in Virginia, addressed the graduating students of Justice High School on June 7. In English, she told them that: ‘The world sees the accolade, the diploma, the fruit of all your years yet be reminded of the detail of your struggle.’ But when she repeated the speech in Arabic, she told students to remember their ‘jihad’ – a word meaning both ‘struggle’ and, specifically, holy war waged on behalf of Islam. Her Libya-born father Esam Omeish, a surgeon, was forced to resign from the Virginia Commission on Immigration in 2007 when video emerged from the year before, showing him condemning Israel and advocating ‘the jihad way.’
“’We struggle with human greed, racism, extreme versions of individualism and capitalism, white supremacy growing wealth gaps, disease, climate crisis extreme poverty amidst luxury and waste right next door, and the list goes on,’ ‘The world may try to quiet you by deciding for you what’s cool, what’s weird, what is or isn’t objective. It may try to convince you that what you hold dear is too different to be accepted. But who gets to decide? You are walking into a world that will be uncomfortable when you seek to cause good trouble. And that may seek to intimidate you or make you think the truth is controversial. Every part of your being may scream in rage at the ways others have wronged you,’ but ‘let compassion for your fellow human beings, not anger or rage — and believe me this is hard to do — fuel you.’
“Hurts my heart to celebrate while Israel kills Palestinians & desecrates the Holy Land right now. Apartheid & colonization were wrong yesterday and will be today. Here and there.” – Abrar Omeish tweets.
“The truth is that this will be a slightly more right-wing government than the current one. The left is making not-insignificant concessions — giving me, a former head of the Settlers Council and a man of the Land of Israel, the post of prime minister, and my friend Gideon Sa’ar, a firm right-winger, the post of minister of justice. We have not budged from our values. This is not a government that will disengage [from settlements], will not relinquish land, and also won’t be afraid to carry out military operations when needed. The political context won’t stop us. This is not a catastrophe; this is not a disaster. This is a change of government, something normal that occurs in every democratic country. Israel’s government is not a monarchy. Nobody has a monopoly over the government.” – Then Israeli Prime Minister- designate Naftali Bennett addressing the people of Israel. (WIN, June 7, 2021)
“We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the US, Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan and the Taliban”—U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D.-Minn.)—questioning Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a DC hearing. (NY Post, June 11, 2021)
“Israel’s new government must be a puzzle for anyone who thinks of the Jewish state as a racist, fascistic, apartheid enterprise. Issawi Frej is Arab and Muslim and used to work for the Peace Now movement. Now he’s Israel’s minister for regional cooperation. Pnina Tamano-Shata is Black: The Mossad rescued her, along with thousands of other Ethiopian Jews, from hunger and persecution when she was a small child. She’s the minister for immigration and absorption. Nitzan Horowitz is the first openly gay man to lead an Israeli political party. He’s the health minister. At least one deputy minister, as yet unnamed, is expected to be a member of the Raam party, which is an outgrowth of the major Islamist political group in Israel… It’s some fascist state that subjects its leaders to the rule of law and the verdicts of a court. Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, “postponed” elections in April. He’s in the 17th year of his elected four-year term of office.” – political journalist Bret Stephens on Israel’s new government. (NYTimes, June 14, 2021)
“Whiteness is a condition one first acquires and then one has—a malignant parasitic-like condition to which ‘white’ people have a particular susceptibility…There is not yet a permanent cure,” –Donald Moss, a white psychoanalyst who teaches at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute, in an abstract in Sage Journals. (NY Post, June 11, 2021)
NETANYAHU OUT, BENNETT IN AS ISRAEL MARKS END OF AN ERA (Jerusalem) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year run at the helm of the Jewish state’s government ended with parliament approving a new “government of change” led by nationalist Naftali Bennett. But the razor-thin 60-59 vote of confidence in a coalition of left-wing, centrist, right-wing and Arab parties with little in common except a desire to unseat Netanyahu, only underscored its likely fragility. A combative Netanyahu, 71, said he would be back sooner than expected. “If we are destined to go into the opposition, we will do so with our heads held high until we can topple it,” he told parliament before Bennett was sworn in. (Algemeiner, June 13, 2021)
NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE FILED AGAINST NEW GOVERNMENT (Jerusalem) — The first two no-confidence votes in the new government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett were filed. The Likud wrote in its no-confidence motion that “the government was formed with lies and tricking the public, and has no mandate from the public.” The motion was filed by Likud faction chairman Miki Zohar and will be presented on Monday by MK Ofir Akunis. A separate no-confidence motion, filed by Shas and United Torah Judaism relates to matters of religion and state. (Jerusalem Post, June 16, 2021)
ISRAEL STRIKES IN GAZA AFTER MILITANTS FIRE ARSON BALLOONS (Jerusalem) — The counterattack targeting Hamas armed military compounds occurred early Wednesday morning local time and marked the first major flare-up between Israel and Gaza since May 21, when a ceasefire agreement ended eleven days of hostilities. The Israel Defense Forces said the targets were used by Hamas’s Khan Yunis and Gaza Brigades for “terror activities.” The airstrike came after militants launched arson balloons from Gaza, sparking nearly two dozen fires. (National Review, June 15, 2021)
ANTI-ISRAEL ICC PROSECUTOR SEES ‘RESET’ UNDER BIDEN (The Hague) — Fatou Bensouda, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) told the Associated Press that the global tribunal’s relationship with the United States, which shunned the international body based on alleged rampant anti-Israel under former President Donald Trump’s administration — is undergoing a “reset” under his successor, Joe Biden. Bensouda has made the pursuit of the Jewish state a hallmark of her tenure at the ICC, resulting in accusations that she has not served in an impartial manner at the international body. Her successor, British lawyer Karim Khan, takes office on Wednesday. (WIN, June 15, 2021)
ISRAELIS INVENT ORAL CORONA VACCINE (Jerusalem) — An Israeli startup company developing a booster COVID vaccine for people who have already been vaccinated announced that preclinical tests on laboratory rats yielded promising results. The vaccine is administered orally. In a statement, the Qiryat Shemona-based Migvax said its vaccine resulted in “markedly higher neutralizing antibod[ies]” and “elicited more effective neutralizing antibodies.” (United With Israel, June 10, 2021)
CANCER BREAKTHROUGH: ISRAELIS INVENT FIRST NANOCHIP TO TEST TREATMENTS (Negev) — In a stunning medical breakthrough, researchers at Ben Gurion University developed a nanochip that mimics cancer cells and can be used to test various treatments. The chip was first reported by the prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journal, Science Advances. (United With Israel, June 15, 2021)
PRO-ISRAEL AMERICA UNITED AIRS AD AGAINST OMAR ON MINNESOTA TV (Minn) — Pro-Israel America United is running a new and highly critical ad against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), following recent comments in which she appeared to equate Israel and the United States with Hamas and the Taliban. The 30-second spot will run on digital platforms and all week in the Minneapolis media market. (Jewish Insider, June 15, 2021)
QUEBEC ADOPTS IHRA DEFINITION OF ANTISEMITISM (Quebec City) — The Quebec government is adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, joining some 40 sister democracies around the world and hundreds of local governments and institutions. The decision followed the May 26 unanimous National Assembly motion condemning the antisemitic incidents that took place in Montreal during the recent Israel-Hamas conflict, including violent clashes between protestors. (Jerusalem Post, June 14, 2021)
CANADA’S RULING LIBERALS ANNOUNCE EMERGENCY SUMMIT ON ANTISEMITISM AMID INTERNAL ROW OVER ANTI-ZIONIST PARLIAMENTARIAN (Ottawa) — Canada’s government will host an emergency summit on antisemitism, to be hosted by Irwin Cotler, Canada’s special envoy to combat antisemitism. A former MP from the ruling Liberal Party, Cotler has served as Canada’s Justice Minister. In a long career as a human rights lawyer, Cotler’s clients included the late Nelson Mandela, the former South African President. news of the forthcoming summit came amid a row over antisemitism within Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party. Last week, Green Party MP Jenica Atwin defected to Trudeau’s ranks. Pro-Israel MPs criticized the welcome afforded to Atwin given her recent inflammatory tweets during the conflict in May between Israel and Hamas. On Twitter, Atwin argued that there are “no two sides to this conflict, only human rights abuses” by Israel. (Algemeiner, June 14, 2021)
CONCERNED BY RISING JEW-HATRED, VAST MAJORITY OF US JEWS REGARD DEMONIZATION OF ISRAEL AS ‘ANTISEMITIC,’ ADL SURVEY SHOWS (Washington) — A nationwide survey published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that three-quarters of American Jews were more concerned about antisemitism in the US and abroad, and 60 percent had personally witnessed antisemitism because of the conflict in May. The survey also demonstrated that a clear majority of American Jews view the campaigning themes of anti-Zionist groups, such as labeling Israel an “apartheid state,” or comparing its actions to the Nazis, as antisemitic. (Algemeiner, June 14, 2021)
200 JOURNALISTS DEMAND MORE ANTI-ISRAEL HATRED (Washington) — A group of 200 journalists — including reporters for The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times — signed a letter demanding that news organizations be even more anti-Israel than they already are. The letter reads: “ … We have failed our audiences with a narrative that obscures the most fundamental aspects of the story: Israel’s military occupation and its system of apartheid. For the sake of our readers and viewers — and the truth — we have a duty to change course immediately and end this decades-long journalistic malpractice. [emphasis added]” (Algemeiner, June 14, 2021)
OVER 850 HARVARD AFFILIATES DENOUNCE ANTISEMITISM, ‘DEMONIZATION’ OF ISRAEL (Cambridge, Mass.) — Over 850 students, faculty and other affiliates of Harvard University have signed a statement in support of Israel’s “right to self-defense” and the “right of the Jewish people to self-determination,” which also criticized what it called the rise of anti-Israel activism on campus. The letter comes amid a nationwide spike in antisemitism that included two recent acts of vandalism involving the Harvard Hillel building. (Algemeiner, June 11, 2021)
PROMINENT TECH LEADERS ISSUE OPEN LETTER DENOUNCING ANTISEMITISM (California) — A group of prominent tech leaders issued an open letter opposing antisemitism on Sunday, saying, “Too few Americans acknowledge that antisemitism … exists.” The letter cites a series of antisemitic incidents as motivating the letter. The signatories included David Rogier, the CEO of MasterClass; Tomer Cohen, the CPO of Linkedin; Arianna Huffington, the co-founder of the Huffington Post and CEO of Thrive Global; Shari Redstone, chairman of ViacomCBS and president of National Amusements; a large group of Google executives among many others. (Algemeiner, June 13, 2021)
IRAN’S HARDLINE PRESIDENTIAL FRONTRUNNER COULD TAKE THE COUNTRY BACK TO A DARK PAST, JUST AS IRANIANS ARE ITCHING FOR CHANGE (Tehran) — Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline judiciary chief with a brutal record on human rights, is running virtually uncontested in this week’s presidential election, after Iran’s clerical rulers barred most of his rivals from the race to replace outgoing Hassan Rouhani. While the outcome of the vote appears to be a foregone conclusion, what his election will mean for the country is far from clear. Analysts said the election of Raisi, a close ally of Khamenei, could signal a clampdown on dissent domestically, and a return to a more closed off Iran globally, at a pivotal moment. (CNN, June 14, 2021)
IRAN REGAINS U.N. VOTE AFTER U.S. ENABLES U.N. PAYMENT (NYC) — Iran regained its vote in the U.N. General Assembly after the United States enabled Tehran to use funds frozen in South Korea to pay some $16 million it owed to the world body. (Reuters, June 11, 2021)
