WEEKLY QUOTES
“If there is a lobby right now that is truly ‘all about the Benjamins,’ it is the lobby that is spending tens of millions of dollars per year in order to acquire influence in the capital of the United States.”– – Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, to Matthew Kassel of Jewish Insider. He responded to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) traveling to the World Cup for four days on Qatar’s dime. Omar, the progressive congresswoman, frequently criticizes the influence of the Israel lobby in U.S. politics, and is now being accused of “selective outrage,” for not being bothered by Qatar’s banning of homosexuality and its mistreatment of immigrants. (WIN, Aug. 17, 2023)
“… The idea that restraining the power of the courts would turn Israel into an authoritarian and theocratic state – as [Daniel] Gordis, [Yossi Klein] Halevi and [Matti] Friedman assert – is nonsense on stilts. While the protesters talk about defending democracy, what they are communicating is something different from the actual meaning of the word. When they say they want to preserve democracy, what they are really telling us is that they wish to preserve their power. … Gordis, Halevi, and Friedman are so immersed in hatred of Netanyahu and his allies that they are oblivious to the fact that once you convince Americans that Israel isn’t a democracy – irrespective of the fact that you are defining it in ways that would be unrecognizable to Americans who, whether Democrats or Republicans, would never tolerate the rule of a judiciary that assumes the sort of power that Israel’s Supreme Court has done – then you are effectively tanking the alliance between the two countries.” – Jonathan S. Tobin (Israel Hayom, Aug. 20, 2023)
“No one believes for a moment that Iran’s mullahs will use billions of dollars of new wealth for humanitarian purposes. As Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office pointed out: “Israel’s position is known: arrangements that do not dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure do not stop its nuclear program and only provide it with funds that will go to terrorist elements sponsored by Iran. … “ – Morton A. Klein, National President, Zionist Organization of America criticizing President Biden’s swap deal, wherein Iran will release five American hostages for an eye-popping ransom of $6 billion of sanctions relief. (Israel Hayom, Aug. 15, 2023)
“It appears that if it weren’t for the courageous actions of these whistle-blowers, who had nothing to gain and everything to lose, Hunter Biden would never have been charged at all.” — the legal team for one of the IRS agents and whistle-blowers in a statement. (American Greatness, Aug. 21, 2023)
“One of the most important things that I think gets lost in the shuffle of Trump is his desires to use the powers of the federal government proactively against those he doesn’t like,” says Schmidt, in one of the greatest acts of journalistic projection perhaps ever performed. Because of course, it is President Biden who has been using the DOJ to pursue his leading political adversary, with the help of the media. Make no mistake about it: The wall-to-wall coverage of Trump’s endless indictments—each of which came on the heels of a Hunter Biden revelation—is the manifestation of stage three of moving the goalposts.”– Stephen L. Miller. (Newsweek, Aug. 18, 2023)
“In 1971, The Temptations reminded us that smiling faces tell lies…. “Smiling Faces” attributes the lies and “evil that lurks within” to jealousy, misery and envy. That just might be Attorney General Merrick Garland’s motivation for appointing David Weiss to be the so-called special counsel. For an erstwhile appeals court judge, not becoming a Supreme Court justice must really sting.”– Kenin M. Spivack (The American Mind, Aug. 18, 2023)
“That was a disgusting display by both women on the set. I would vote for Ron DeSantis over Joe Biden any day of the week, I made that clear. I tell you what my bias is. When I sat across Ron DeSantis, I pressed him on the weaknesses of his arguments, things that he said were inconsistent, positions he had that would fall apart if you really drilled down. And he stood on his own. That’s what a journalist does. That’s your obligation as a member of the media. You failed Rachel Maddow, you failed, I don’t care how much they give you, 30 million dollars a year, you’re not worth thirty cents. That was an embarrassment. You fell down on the job, you embarrassed yourself and network, and you ceded the entire discussion to a dishonest broker who set us down this disgusting path that we now are on.” — Megyn Kelly criticizing Rachel Maddow’s interview with Hillary Clinton. (Real Clear Politics, Aug. 18, 2023)
“The Wagner Group is conducting reconnaissance and search activities. Making Russia even greater on every continent — and Africa even freer.” — The leader of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin in a video published Monday. The group maintains a strong military presence in Africa, where it has partnered with several nations, including Mali and the Central African Republic. (Times of Israel, Aug. 22, 2023)
“So this is from two different debates, but, I mean, Trump was right. I mean, he did make a fortune from China and Joe Biden was wrong. I don’t know that he was lying about it. He might not have been told by Hunter, but this blind spot is a problem.” – CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead.” (Fox News, Aug. 19, 2023)
“But any time you look at some alternative, whether it’s the mystery moderate from the Midwest or Gavin Newsom or anybody else, things start unraveling really fast. And so the Democrats are lucky, frankly, to have a candidate in Biden who has presided over an incredibly strong economic recovery, who has presided over pretty good international peacemaking efforts, both in Asia this week and also in Europe, and who I believe whose numbers will go up as inflation recedes, as it is. And the strong job numbers are there. And they’re extremely lucky to have a candidate, frankly, who’s not a member of what you would call the coastal elite. And Joe Biden has — sends off all the right cultural messages for moderate independent voters who don’t have college degrees. And Democrats are not grateful enough for what they have, in my view.” – David Brooks. (Real Clear Politics, Aug. 19, 2023)
“Hunter Biden was trying to promote an illusion of access to his father for his own reasons. The president saying hello to people when his son puts them on the phone is not at all doing anything to influence any policy.” And you can make whatever judgment you want to make about whether that was appropriate or not. But the president saying hello to people when his son puts them on the phone is not at all doing anything to influence any policy, to use his position for any nefarious purposes.” — Rep. Dan Goldman to CNN’s Jake Tapper. (Real Clear Politics, Aug. 13, 2023)
“One of the things I have heard consistently in the construction industry is the lack of labour: more carpenters, more skilled labourers, more folks to work in the construction industry to build the homes that we are needing to match the growing economy that we have right across the country. That’s why immigration remains a solution in terms of the labour shortages we’re seeing right across the country, in terms of building the kind of future for all Canadians that we need.” – Canadian PM Justin Mr. Trudeau explaining why more immigration is a solution to Canada’s housing shortage. (Epoch Times, Aug. 21, 2023)
SHORT TAKES
ISRAEL’S HIGH COURT REJECTS REQUEST TO DELAY JUDICIAL REFORM HEARING (Jerusalem) — The High Court of Justice rejected a request to postpone the reasonableness standard law hearing scheduled for September 12 by at least three weeks, but said that it would delay respondents’ argument filing and consider allowing the submission of additional arguments after the hearing. Attorney for the government Ilan Bombach, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Justice Minister Yariv Levin had asked for more time to prepare for the hearing, but the High Court said that it was not possible to postpone the hearing because of calendar constraints. (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 22, 2023)
IDF PROBE FINDS EGOZ SOLDIER KILLED DURING JENIN OPERATION WAS SHOT BY FRIENDLY FIRE (Jerusalem) — The Israel Defense Forces published the findings of a probe into the death of a soldier from the elite Egoz commando unit at the tail end of a major operation in the West Bank city of Jenin last month. It confirmed that Sgt. First Class David Yehuda Yitzhak, 23, a non-commissioned officer, was shot while securing the beginning of the military’s withdrawal from Jenin, in a tight alleyway in the city’s refugee camp by other Israeli commandos in the area, due to a misidentification. (Times of Israel, Aug. 22, 2023)
IDF SAVES ISRAELI FROM VIOLENT MOB AFTER HE MISTAKENLY ENTERS PALESTINIAN TOWN (Turmus Ayya) – The IDF rescued Sunday night an Israeli man who was attacked after mistakenly entering the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya, located some 14 miles northeast of Ramallah. Local residents surrounded the Israeli and stoned him as well as torched his car. Israeli soldiers were alerted to the scene and whisked him away. (Israel Hayom, Aug. 21, 2023)
EGYPT INTEL OFFICIALS VISITED ISRAEL TO DISCUSS SECURITY, ECONOMIC COOPERATION: REPORT (Cairo) — An Egyptian intelligence delegation travelled to Israel to discuss security issues and economic cooperation. The delegation included two prominent officials, including a top intelligence agency official and a North Sinai security chief. The unnamed source said the two parties discussed security issues, including new measures agreed upon in the aftermath of the killing of three Israeli soldiers by an Egyptian conscript in March. Economic matters were also on the table, including questions over energy cooperation and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip. (The New Arab, Aug. 18, 2023)
HAMAS BEGINS TO ESTABLISH A ROCKET PRODUCTION INFRASTRUCTURE IN JENIN (Jenin) — Saleh al-Arouri, the leader of Hamas’ military wing in Judea and Samaria, has been working to realize his vision of setting up a terrorist network in northern Samaria dedicated to producing and launching rockets toward Israel. While the Israel Security Agency has managed to apprehend some members of this terrorist network in recent months, most remain concealed within the Jenin refugee camp. Despite those arrests, the group continues manufacturing and launching rockets at Israel. Seven of these primitive, locally-produced “Qassam” rockets have been launched recently. The group seeks to transfer advanced technological knowledge for rocket production from Gaza to Judea and Samaria. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Aug. 21, 2023)
PALESTINIANS SURPRISINGLY SPLIT ON SAUDI-ISRAEL NORMALIZATION (Ramallah) — In July, The Washington Institute conducted a poll with the Palestine Center for Public Opinion with over 1,500 face-to-face interviews in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. Specifically, respondents were asked whether they agreed with this statement: “If Saudi Arabia normalizes relations with Israel, Palestinian leadership should also normalize relations and end the conflict.” Two-thirds of West Bank residents reject this proposal to normalize ties in the face of a Saudi-Israeli deal. But in Gaza, attitudes are split: 50% of Gazans would support normalizing relations with Israel were Riyadh to do so. Strikingly, 21% of Gazans agree strongly with this idea—statistically equivalent to the 23% of Gazans who strongly disagree. (Washington Institute, Aug. 17, 2023)
IRAN UNVEILS ADVANCED ‘MOHAJER-10’ DRONE ABLE TO STRIKE ISRAEL (Jerusalem) — Iran celebrated its national defense industry day with the unveiling of a new drone that it claims is the latest achievement of its defense industry. The “Mohajer-10” is supposed to have a range of 2,000 km. and the ability to fly for up to 24 hours at an altitude of 7,000 meters. This means that Iran could use this drone to threaten Israel or US forces in the region. (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 22, 2023)
MAJORITY OF RECENT ETHIOPIAN IMMIGRANTS TO ISRAEL ARE CHRISTIANS (Jerusalem) — Out of more than 5,000 immigrants from Ethiopia who arrived in Israel as part of Operation Tzur Israel between 2020 and 2022, 3,301 identified as Christians. In contrast, only about 1,773 identified as descendants of Jews, though this wasn’t proved to be true according to Israeli authorities. Notably, none of them were found to be eligible for aliyah under the Law of Return. This was according to official data from the Population and Immigration Authority. The official data was publicized by The Israeli Immigration Policy Center (IIPC) (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 21, 2023)
SHAS MINISTER: NOT ALL ULTRA-ORTHODOX MEN SHOULD BE EXEMPT FROM IDF SERVICE (Jerusalem) — Moshe Arbel, the ultra-Orthodox health and interior minister of Shas, said that Haredi men who do not study Torah should not be exempted from mandatory conscription into the military. “Particularly as [an ultra-Orthodox man] who served in the army and as someone who served in the reserves until entering the Knesset, and whose brothers served in the army, one of them an officer in the IDF, I want to say clearly – being ultra-Orthodox is not a reason for exemption from military service,” Arbel said in an interview with Channel 12. (Times of Israel, Aug. 22, 2023)
CREDIT SUISSE HID NAZI-LINKED ACCOUNTS AS RECENTLY AS 2020(Washington) — As recently as 2020, investment banking and financial services giant Credit Suisse maintained accounts linked to Nazis. “Credit Suisse’s internal investigation into its historical Nazi ties was hampered by scoping restrictions and resulted in incomplete findings,” according to a release from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee. The committee finally received an unredacted report from Credit Suisse after “persistent and bipartisan oversight by the Senate Budget Committee,” including a letter from Grassley and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the committee chair. According to the report, “64,000 sets of potentially relevant records related to Nazi-linked accounts are not part of Credit Suisse’s ongoing investigation.” (VIN News, Aug. 21, 2023)
BIDEN’S EMBATTLED IRAN ENVOY SUSPENDED FOR CONDUCT LANDS TEACHING JOB AT ELITE UNIVERSITY (Washington) — Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs announced the hiring of Robert Malley, who has been on unpaid leave from his role as Iran envoy at the State Department since June. The suspension of Malley’s security clearance was related to potential mishandling of classified information, although details remain murky. The State Department has largely refused to comment on Malley’s situation, citing personnel rules that prevent officials from discussing his suspension or the investigation. Multiple media outlets reported last month that the investigation into Malley had been taken over by the FBI. (Algemeiner,Aug. 16, 2023)
RUSSIAN WARPLANE DESTROYS UKRAINIAN SPY BOAT IN BLACK SEA(Moscow) — A Russian warplane destroyed a Ukrainian reconnaissance vessel in an area in the Black Sea where Russian gas extraction facilities are located, the Russian Defense Ministry said early on Tuesday. It had been destroyed by an SU-30 aircraft from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which rarely comments publicly on its operations inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory but which Moscow has accused of stepping up attacks on Russian interests using uncrewed naval drones. (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 22, 2023)
DONALD TRUMP’S SUPPORTERS TRUST HIM MORE THAN FAMILY, FRIENDS (Washington) — Former US president Donald Trump’s ongoing legal troubles may not have slowed his political career, a new poll taken by YouGovand CBS News between August 16-18 found. Trump is now holding a strong lead against his Republican competitors with 62% of people polled saying that they would back Trump. In one of the more shocking finds of the survey, many Trump-voting participants expressed that they trusted what Trump would tell them is true (71%) more than they would trust what their friends/family (63%), other conservative media figures (56%), or religious leaders tell them as true. (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 22, 2023)
