The Afghan military, as well as other law-enforcement agencies in the area, are ‘reasonably well-equipped, reasonably well trained, reasonably well led’, Milley noted. ‘The Afghan army, do they stay together and remain a cohesive fighting force, or do they fall apart? I think there is a range of scenarios here, a range of outcomes, a range of possibilities…we have to wait and see how things develop over the summer. There’s a lot of variables to this, and it’s not 100 per cent predictable’. “—General Mark Milley, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. “A’stan fall feared”.

Facebook’s ‘Independent’ Board Stocked With Trump Haters:  David Marcus, NY Post, May 5, 2021

“What do you get if you cross a former Danish prime minister, someone who once edited the left-wing Guardian newspaper, a Yemeni activist, a bunch of law professors and a Pakistani digital rights activist? The predictable banning of Donald Trump.”  (re Facebook panel’s confirmation of continuing ban on Trump).

Debate Erupts At Rutgers Law School After White Student Quotes Racial Slur:  Tracey Tulley, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, May 3, 2021

“Although we all deplore the use of racial epithets, the idea that a faculty member or law student cannot quote a published court decision that itself quotes racial or otherwise objectionable words as part of the record of the case is problematic and implicates matters of academic and free speech.”—Gary L. Francione, a law professor, commenting on a controversy at Rutgers University Law School, involving a white student repeating a line from a 1993 legal opinion citing the “n-word” epithet in an on-line discussion with a faculty member, and a black student group demanding he apologise for doing so.

“People of Jerusalem, we want you to cut off the heads of the Jews with knives.  With your hand, cut their artery from here. A knife costs five shekels. Buy a knife, sharpen it, put it here and just cut off (their heads). It costs just five shekels. With those five shekels, you will humiliate the Jewish state. You shall find the strongest in enmity towards the believers to be the Jews and the polytheists. The Jews have spread corruption and have acted with arrogance, and their moment of reckoning has come. The moment of their destruction at your hands has arrived.” — senior Hamas Official Fathi Hammad tweeted while the Israeli police struggled to contain the continued Arab rioting. (Twitter, May 10, 2021)
 
“Jerusalem is being attacked by violent rioters and the terrorist group Hamas.  It is a shame that some on the left are pushing misinformation and anti-Israel propaganda that stokes the flames.  Stop the rockets.  Stop the violence,” – former US Ambassador to the UN Niki Haley.  (Facebook, May 10, 2021)
 “Congresswoman @RashidaTlaib maybe you should open your eyes to the whole picture? Islam’s 3rd holiest site is being used to stockpile Molotov cocktails and rocks that are being lobbed at the police and at Jewish worshippers praying at the Western Wall, below the Temple Mount.” — Ambassador Gilad Erdan tweeted in response.  Tlaib had falsely claimed that “people praying [on the Temple Mount] during the holiest days of the holy month of Ramadan have been beaten, gassed, shot, & killed by Israeli forces. They are denied medics & forced to use prayer mats as stretchers.”  (Algemeiner, May 10, 2021)

“The Jihad Squad, @IlhanMN @RashidaTlaib @AOC doesn’t think Israel has the right to defend itself from terrorists Hamas when they fire rockets into Israel,” the Georgia Republican tweeted Monday. “They also support terrorists Antifa/BLM who attack Americans. Members who support terrorism don’t belong in Congress.” — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga) referred to congressional Democrats known as the “Squad” as the “Jihad Squad” and said they don’t belong in Congress due to their recent defense of Hamas. Rep Ilan Omar, for example, tweeted:  “Israeli air strikes killing civilians in Gaza is an act of terrorism. Palestinians deserve protection. Unlike Israel, missile defense programs, such as Iron Dome, don’t exist to protect Palestinian civilians. It’s unconscionable to not condemn these attacks on the week of Eid.” (Gateway Pundit, May 11, 2021)
 
“Jerusalem is not a settlement, but the capital of Israel.” – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the U.S. official temporarily in charge of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, until a new ambassador is appointed, lodged a complaint last month objecting to Israel’s approval for 450 housing units in the Har Homa neighborhood.  (United With Israel, May 7, 2021)

MUSLIMS DESECRATE SYNAGOGUES AND JEWISH SCHOOLS IN POGROM IN RAMLE-LOD (Lod)

Muslim mobs attacked Jewish targets in the city of Lod in an apparent show of solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, leaving behind scenes reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. As part of the attacks, the rioters pillaged synagogues, ransacked the houses of prayer and desecrated the Torah scrolls. They also attacked Jewish schools in the city. (Jewish Press, May 11, 2021).

ASHKELON: 2 ISRAELIS KILLED IN ROCKET ATTACK (Ashkelon) —

Two Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were killed when a massive barrage of rockets hit the city of Ashkelon. Some 70 Israelis were injured and evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon and Asuta Hospital in Ashdod. (Jewish Press, May 11, 2021)

JEWISH GROUPS DEFEND HANNITY AFTER ANTI-SEMITISM ACCUSATIONS (NYC)

After the Jerusalem Post reported on claims that Fox News host Sean Hannity is anti-Semitic based on a headline in a tweet he posted, the commentator is fighting back – and he’s backed up by the support of several prominent Jewish leaders. Last week, Hannity tweeted an article that referred to far-left Democratic politician Bernie Sanders as “Bolshevik Bernie.” “The trope of Jews being Bolsheviks is a long-standing pattern in anti-Semitic rhetoric,’ the article read, without acknowledging that Sanders has repeatedly expressed admiration for Marxist regimes in Cuba and the former Soviet Union. Hannity demanded an apology from the Post on Twitter, writing that “there is no member of the press in the United States that has been more supportive of the State of Israel than I have been and will continue to be.” (WIN, May 5, 2021)

ACTOR LAKEITH STANFIELD APOLOGIZES FOR MODERATING A CLUBHOUSE ROOM FULL OF ANTISEMITISM (California) 

Oscar-nominated actor Lakeith Stanfield apologized for moderating a room on the audio app Clubhouse in which participants made a slew of antisemitic remarks. The room in question, titled “Someone Ended The Room About Farrakhan,” had split off Wednesday from another one shut down titled “Did Min. Farrakhan Tarnish His Legacy By Being Antisemitic?” “At some point during the dialogue the discussion took a very negative turn when several users made abhorrent anti-Semitic statements and at that point, I should have either shut down the discussion or removed myself from it entirely.” (JTA, May 10, 2021)

NEW YORK TIMES FINDS RIVERDALE SYNAGOGUE ATTACKS NOT ‘FIT TO PRINT’(NYC)

Rock-throwing attacks on four synagogues in the Bronx, for which a suspect was arrested and released, have been national and international news. CNN, The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal , the Arizona Republic, the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, all covered the story. Yet the New York Times — which has as part of its name “New York,” the city where the attacks happened — hasn’t found the news fit to print. . (Algemeiner, May 6, 2021)

AGENCY WORKING WITH US MILITARY POSTS SERMON ADVISING ‘MEN OF ISRAEL’ TO APOLOGIZE FOR KILLING OF JESUS (Washington) 

An agency that provides administrative services to the U.S. military posted an Easter sermon on its website that described a New Testament passage preaching to Jews as a demand to “say sorry” for killing Jesus. The Washington Headquarters Services pulled down the sermon attributed to a Navy chaplain in North Carolina on April 28, a day after complaints by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a group that advocates for troops and veterans who report discrimination in the military. (JTA, May 6, 2021)

BASED ON BIDEN’S PERFORMANCE SO FAR, THERE’S TROUBLE AHEAD FOR DEMOCRATS (Washington)

 Biden’s approval rating below 100 days’ approval rating for every post-WWII president save Trump. Audience for his April 9 address to Congress 50% lower than Trump’s 2020 State of the Union; viewership of pro-Biden MSNBC and CNN down, NBC poll by even larger percentages. CNN poll shows 78% viewers agree border situation is in “crisis”, at NBC his performance on border security and immigration 59% negative, 35% positive. And meanwhile, homicide rates in American cities rise at highest rates ever measured. (RealClearPolitics, May 7, 2021)

U.S. MILITARY SHIP FIRES 30 WARNING SHOTS AFTER ENCOUNTER WITH IRANIAN VESSELS (Strait of Hormuz) 

A U.S. Coast Guard ship fired about 30 warning shots after 13 vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came close to it and other American Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. This is the second time within the last month that U.S. military vessels have had to fire warning shots because of what they said was unsafe behavior by Iranian vessels in the region, after a relative lull in such interactions over the past year. (Reuters, May 10, 2021)

AIR FORCE TESTS NEW SUITS TO PROTECT AIRCREW FROM BIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL ATTACKS (Washington) — The U.S. Air Force is testing a specialized uniform and other gear meant to protect airmen in case of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear, or CBRN, attacks. Members of the 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron tried out the new Uniform Integrated Protective Ensemble, or UIPE, Air system on HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, last month, according to a news release. (Military.com, May 10, 2021)

30 TALIBAN MILITANTS ARE KILLED IN EXPLOSION DURING BOMB-MAKING CLASS AT AFGHAN MOSQUE (Qultaq)

The 209th Shaheen Corps – part of the Afghan National Army – said in a statement that 30 fighters including six foreign nationals who were expert mine makers, had been killed in an explosion on Saturday morning during a bomb-making class. The blast happened at a mosque in the village of Qultaq in the Dowlatabad district of Balkh province. (Daily Mail, May 11, 2021)

TRUDEAU SAYS CANADIANS CAN HAVE A ‘ONE-DOSE SUMMER’ TO SET UP FOR A ‘TWO-DOSE FALL’ (Ottawa) 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Canadians that the inflow of vaccines would be enough to get all Canadians fully vaccinated by September. “A one-dose summer sets us up for a two-dose fall, when we’ll be able to talk about going back to school, back to work, and back to more normality,” he said. (Post Millennial, May 11, 2021)

TRUDEAU LIBERALS PUSH BILL THAT WOULD ALLOW MAIL-IN BALLOTS TO BE RECEIVED ONE DAY AFTER ELECTION DAY (Ottawa) 

Conservative MPs have begun denouncing Bill C-19, An Act To Amend The Canada Elections Act, which would allow returning officers to “receive mailed ballots as late as 6 pm the following day,” reports Blacklock’s Reporter. Mail-in ballots are used often by Canadians working abroad or by members of the military. The 2019 election saw only 49,545 ballots received. Five million ballots are being printed in preparation for the next election. (Post Millennial, May 10, 2021)

MICHIGAN GOVERNOR ORDERS CLOSURE OF PIPELINE THAT PROVIDES HALF OF ONTARIO AND QUEBEC’S OIL (Michigan) 

The government of Michigan has told Canadian energy company Enbridge that it must shut down an oil and gas pipeline that runs through the state. The state’s government says the line, which has existed for over 65 years, could cause a spill that would severely damage the area. Enbridge has denied that the pipeline, known as Line 5, is at any risk of spilling, saying that while the line does go underwater through the Straights of Mackinac, the line runs through a tunnel beneath the lakebed.  (Post Millennial, May 11, 2021)

The Pew Study Cheat Sheet: 10 Key Conclusions From The New Survey Of American Jews:  Ben Sales, JTA, May 11, 2021 — Meet America’s Jews: They’re older, more educated, richer and less religious, on average, than the rest of the country.

New Wave Of Violence: Hamas’s Destructive Gamble To Overtake Palestinian Leadership:  Yaakov Lappin, WIN, May 11, 2021 — Hamas’s rocket assault on Jerusalem and southern Israel is a result of a dangerous and destructive decision by its leadership to gamble heavily in its power struggle with Fatah, and to capitalize on what it sees as Israeli political chaos.

Judith Miller: Is Iran’s Supreme Leader Near Death? Why The Answer Is Supremely Important:  Judith Miller, Fox News, May 8, 2021 — Could Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei be near death? American and Israeli Intelligence analysts have been debating the state of the Iranian political and spiritual leader’s health since Khamenei posted a tweet Wednesday asking supporters to pray for him.