“So the question right now isn’t so much whether you like Nikki or dislike Ron. It is: Do you wish the Republican Party to disappear as a force in American political history? If you answer honestly that you do, you will be leaving the entire national field open to the Democratic Party, where the rising energy will continue to be on the hard left. (The old boomer moderates of both parties are aging and leaving.) Do you want to abandon America to progressive thinking? If you do, you are no longer a politically involved conservative, but more like a nihilist. It’s all ugly and corrupt, blow it up. Like a young Antifa activist. . . [But Christie is coming,] a wholly undervalued executive talent. . .Love him or hate him, he knows what to do with power [and] he is politically gifted. . .His pleasure is in the game [of politics] and the meaning of the game. . .What a figure. . . .”
WEEKLY QUOTES
SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE: “Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory! Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”— Dwight D. Eisenhower, Order of the Day delivered June 6, 1944. (American Rhetoric, 2001 – present)
“There is no danger that Israel faces that is greater than the one posed by the Iranian regime. That regime routinely threatens to wipe Israel off the map. It continues to provide weapons to terrorists and proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas, who reject Israel’s right to exist.” — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an address to AIPAC. He said, however, that the Biden administration continues to believe that a diplomatic solution would be the best way to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon but if Iran rejects the path of diplomacy “all options are on the table.” (Algemeiner, June 5, 2023)
“The best thing for Israel is to reach a broad agreement, allowing us to rise out of the straits of this difficult period that threatens to destroy us from the inside.” — Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a briefing to reporters during his trip to Azerbaijan speaking on the conflict over judicial reform. He added that people doubted him in the past when he said “our enemies are celebrating” the disarray in Israeli society. “We never before had a Passover during which we were attacked on three different fronts,” referring to terrorism from Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank in April. “We buried our heads in the sand, but it’s real.”(Jerusalem Post, May 31, 2023)
“We strongly believe that we will succeed. I don’t know how long it will take. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different, but we are going to do it, and we are ready. We would like to have certain things {[more modern tanks, F16 fighter jets], but we can’t wait for months. [Responding to some Western critics, Zelensky said that if Ukraine doesn’t withstand Russia] that animal, that beast will develop a taste [for conquest and go further.] Let’s not compare who would be grateful to whom.” — Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking in Odessa, as Ukrainian forces girded for their imminent spring offensive (WSJ, June 3, 2023)
“The Colorado Teachers Association has passed a resolution condemning capitalism, and I couldn’t be more delighted. Public education is a socialist institution. . . a reality that conservatives must confront. The resolution charges that capitalism exploits children, perpetuates the so-called patriarchy, is inherently racist and anti-LGBTQ and is responsible for climate change. They forgot the common cold and the heartbreak of psoriasis. . . The slogan of public school teachers should be ‘We can’t educate, but boy, can we indoctrinate’.” – Don Feder (Washington Times, June 3, 2023)
“[Speaking in Lexington, South Carolina, Republican candidate for President Ron DeSantis was interrupted by a heckler when he noted his successful effort in Florida to make it easier for parents to challenge possibly pornographic books in primary school libraries. He replied] ‘We’re not going to let you impose an agenda on our kids. We’re going to stand up for our kids!’ The crowd applauded and cheered.” — Meg Kinnard and Michelle L. Price. (NBC Miami, June 3, 2023)
“The proposed [EPA Good Neighbor] rule [to replace the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Act, rejected by the Supreme Court] would [while mandating expensive retirement of coal plants and installation of untested carbon-capture technology] reduce global greenhouse-gas emissions by less than a tenth of one percent. Coal is an irreplaceable source of electricity for the foreseeable future because it is affordable and not vulnerable to supply disruptions, like natural gas, or dependent on weather, like wind and solar.” — Michelle Bloodworth. (WSJ, June 2, 2023)
“We ought to be able to prove that forensically, without any doubt, and we ought to be able to get the evidence of who added the words, where the words came. … We have to get all the facts. But once the facts are known if it confirms what you’ve said, this is a very, very serious ethical and perhaps even legal breach.” — Alan Dershowitz commenting on the Democrat-led House Select Committee decision to investigate whether the Jan. 6th Congressional Committee doctored a key piece of its evidence, adding audio to silent U.S. Capitol Police security footage used to create a dramatic video montage for the opening of its primetime hearings last summer, (Just the News, June 3, 2023)
“[Recently] ousted Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will be teaching a health course at Harvard University this fall, the Harvard Gazette announced. . . Although she closed hair salons and barbershops to purportedly thwart the coronavirus, she came under scrutiny for getting her hair done while her constituents could not. . . Among her accomplishments, the Harvard Gazette points to ‘public safety’ [but] according to WBEZ radio, the Windy City led the nation in murders and mass shootings in 2021 [46 people were shot, 9 fatally, last weekend alone–Ed.].” — Alex Swayer. (Washington Times, June 2, 2023)
SHORT TAKES
IDF ATTACKED SECRET IRANIAN WEAPON FACTORIES IN SYRIA – REPORT(Jerusalem) –The alleged attack by the Israeli Air Force in Aleppo, Syria in the beginning of May targeted sites belonging to a secret Iranian unit operating in Syria, according to media reports in Saudi Arabia. The sites were used by the Iranian Unit 18340, which operates in Syria secretly, as weapons factories to produce precision missiles, as per the reports. Israel targeted facilities in the Aleppo area that were used to produce weapons, according to the reports. (Jerusalem Post, June 5, 2023)
DELEGATION OF ELITE IDF SOLDIERS HEADS TO MOROCCO FOR ‘AFRICAN LION’ EXERCISE (Jerusalem) — A delegation of 12 soldiers from the IDF’s elite “Sayeret Golani” reconnaissance unit on Sunday departed for Morocco to participate in the US African Command (AFRICOM) annual “African Lion” military exercise, the IDF announced. The exercise brings together participants from 18 nations and includes some 8,000 military personnel, including soldiers from the US, Morocco, and Ghana. This is the first time the IDF is participating in “African Lion.” (United With Israel, June 6, 2023)
GERMANY’S SIEMENS FACING AMERICAN SCRUTINY FOR AGREEING TO BOYCOTT ISRAEL (Washington) — Germany-based conglomerate Siemens agreed to boycott Israeli products to secure a $360 million deal to provide Turkey with high-speed trains, according to copy of the contract obtained by a pro-Israel watchdog group that contradicts months of public denials from the company. The news could raise legal issues for Siemens in the United States, where multiple states have instituted financial penalties for companies that participate in anti-Israel boycotts. The Zachor Legal Institute, the watchdog group that obtained a copy of the contract, said it has added Siemens to its list of scrutinized companies.(Washington Free Beacon, June 6, 2023)
ISRAEL CONDUCTS FIRST TEST OF AUTONOMOUS FLYING TAXI (Jerusalem) — Israel has begun conducting initial tests of autonomous drones that could one day serve as public transportation. A series of tests and experimental flights conducted throughout Israel over the past week by 11 companies, in the context of Israel’s National Drone Initiative. Israel hopes autonomous Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft will help to ease its worsening traffic problems. (VIN News, June 6, 2023)
US WEIGHS IN ON ROGER WATERS ANTISEMITISM DEBATE, SAYS ARTIST HAS LONG HISTORY OF DENIGRATING JEWS (Washington) — The State Department said that Waters has “a long track record of using antisemitic tropes” and a concert he gave late last month in Germany “contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust.” The comments came in a written response to a question posed at Monday’s State Department press briefing about whether the administration agreed with criticism of Rogers from the U.S. special envoy to combat antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt. (VIN News, June 6, 2023)
IRAN REOPENS EMBASSY IN SAUDI ARABIA AS SAUDIS SEEK REGIONAL RECALIBRATION (Riyadh) — Iran reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia, marking the beginning of the end of a seven-year diplomatic freeze between the two regional rivals. The opening follows an agreement mediated by China in April for the two countries to normalize relations by resuming flights and eventually exchanging ambassadors. Saudi Arabia has not yet said when it will open its embassy in Tehran. (Algemeiner, June 6, 2023)
CHINA DEFENDS BUZZING AMERICAN DESTROYER IN TAIWAN STRAIT, ACCUSES US OF PROVOKING BEIJING (Beijing)—Gen. Li-Shangfu, China’s new defense minister, told the defense officials gathered in Shanghai for the Shangri-La Dialogue that, while China has no problems with “innocent passage” naval traffic in the region, “we must try to use those freedom of navigation [patrols]. . . to exercise hegemony of navigation”. That same day, a Chinese warship passed perilously close across the path of an American destroyer and a Canadian frigate in the Strait separating self-governed Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. (Additionally, among other incidents, recently a Chinese J-16 fighter jet intercepted an American Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea in what the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command termed an “unsafe manner”.) Gen. Li said the U.S. had created the danger, and asked “What’s the point of [their] going in there? We Chinese always say ‘Mind your own business” [ending his speech by advising the U.S. and others to stop “meddling in China’s internal affairs” by backing Taiwan’s defense activities. (AP, June 4, 2023)
COMER TO HOLD WRAY IN CONTEMPT FOR REFUSAL TO TURN OVER DOCUMENT ALLEGING BIDEN BRIBERY SCHEME (Washington) —The House Oversight Committee will begin the process of holding FBI director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress, committee chairman James Comer(R., Ky.) announced Monday, citing the bureau’s continued refusal to turn over a whistleblower document alleging President Biden’s involvement in a bribery scheme. Comer said that FBI officials confirmed the credibility of the FBI-generated whistleblower document — which alleges that then-vice president Biden received $5 million as part of a bribery scheme — during a briefing in a secure SCIF on Capitol Hill on Monday. The bureau agreed to privately brief Comer and ranking Democrat Jamie Raskin after the chairman threatened to hold Wray in contempt for refusing to turn over the document to the committee, but the concession does not appear to have assuaged Comer’s concerns. (National Review, June 5, 2023)
FEUD BETWEEN RUSSIAN WARLORDS EXPOSES CRACKS IN KREMLIN’S WAR MACHINE (Moscow) —A growing feud has emerged between Russian warlords, “Wagner” mercenary founder Yegeny Prigozhin Chechen leader and Chechen leader and military chief Ramzan Kadyrov, a Putin intimate. Prigozhin, whose mercenary troops (many taken from prisons) played a key role in the battle for Bakhmut, has criticized Russian military leaders, has now engendered tension with Kadyrov, claiming the Chechens aren’t able to take all of Ukraine’s Donetsk province. (Putin, perhaps seeking to keep potential rivals weak, may be behind the public feud.). (WSJ, June 1, 2023)
SAUDI ARABIA CUTS OIL OUTPUT AFTER OPEC MEMBERS CLASH OVER QUOTAS (Riyadh) —Amid growing concerns over slowing global energy demand, Saudi Arabia has announced it will be cutting its output by 1 million barrels of oil a day, as part of a deal emerging from the most contentious OPEC meeting in recent years. This is in addition to earlier output reductions, in and would extend to the end of 2024. The UAE and other large producers also extended reductions in their production. (The 23-member association accounts for over one-half of the world’s annual oil production.) African countries, and Russia—the latter faced with economic boycotts over its invasion of Ukraine–were less enthusiastic. In the West, the reduced production could raise currently reduced prices, negatively affecting already stressed economies. (WSJ, June 4, 2023)
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR JOHNSTON REFUSES TO APPEAR AT COMMITTEE STUDYING TRUDEAU FOUNDATION (Ottawa) — Special Rapporteur David Johnston has refused to take questions from MPs on The House of Commons public accounts committee regarding his previous work at the Trudeau Foundation, leading members of the committee to threaten to issue him a summons. Trudeau appointed Johnston to be the special rapporteur on March 15 following media reports suggesting widespread interference by Beijing in Canada’s elections. Instead of launching a public inquiry, which opposition leaders repeatedly called for, the prime minister said he would heed the recommendations of Johnston. (Epoch Times, May 30, 2023)
Commemorating the 79th Anniversary of the Liberation of Europe: Watch a clip from Liberation, narrated by Sir Ben Kingsley, Patrick Steward and Whoopi Goldberg from the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s two-time Academy Award®-winning Moriah Films. For more information on Liberation and how to stream it: https://www.moriahfilms.com/film-library/liberation.html
Dropped onto D-Day: Machla Abramovitz, Israzine, June 5, 2019 (Originally published in Mishpacha Magazine) — Second Lieutenant Edward Shames, age 92, has the voice and demeanor of a man ten years younger. Speaking from his home in Virginia Beach, Virginia, he comes across as personable, straightforward, funny, and somewhat self-effacing. “I’m no hero,” he insists. “I did a job that I was trained to do and I did it well because I was trained to do it well.”