“It is important to understand the significant change that is taking place on the ground – it is related to Iranian funding, and to the proliferation of weapons under the Iranian directive. Iran seeks every means to harm the citizens of Israel.” — Defense Minister Yoav Gallant blaming Iran in the wake of Hebron attack. (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 22, 2023)
“Vivek Ramaswamy is completely wrong to call for ending America’s special bond with Israel. Support for Israel is both the morally right and strategically smart thing to do. Both countries are stronger and safer because of our iron-clad friendship. As president, I will never abandon Israel.” — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She blasted GOP rival Vivek Ramaswamy for recent comments calling to curtail U.S. aid to Israel. (Jewish Insider, Aug. 21, 2023)
“It’s a matter of great regret that this judge should have abandoned the human rights principles he must have regarded as important. I would call upon the current court and its member states such as the UK to disavow Zupancic’s statements, and I would suggest there should be an examination of the cases on which he sat to ensure that the views he is now expressing did not affect his judgments.” — Lord Carlile KC, the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation regarding Judge Bostjan Zupancic, who worked at the court for 17 years until 2016, and who shared claims that Jews are “the central enemies of Western civilization”, as well as the hook-nosed caricatures commonly seen in neo-Nazi propaganda. (The JC, Aug. 24, 2023)
“You are facing a serious choice now. You can stand in a stall of Russia’s Defense Ministry and serve as watchdogs for executors [sic] of your commanders or take revenge. To take revenge, you need to switch Ukraine]. After that, we will march to Moscow and this time we will not stop 200 kilometers before the Moscow ring road but go to the end.” — Denis Kapustin, commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a group of pro-Kyiv Russian fighters that attacks Russian regions bordering Ukraine, calling on members of the Wagner mercenary group to avenge the murder of their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. (NY Post, Aug.27, 2023)
“MSNBC’s professional fawner and courtier-in-chief, Joe Scarborough, actually said, with a straight face, that the local press coverage of Biden’s trip has been ‘glowing’. People have apparently been ‘thanking the president for being there, saying that it made such a difference, that he and [first lady] Jill were so empathic, they were so giving, they gave them hope’. Scarborough clearly didn’t see the locals who lined the route of Biden’s motorcade, shouting ‘Here he comes after 13 days!’ and ‘Fuck you!’, while giving him the finger.” — Jenny Holland.on President Biden’s response to the horrendous fires in Maui. (Spiked, Aug. 27, 2023)
“Here’s the dilemma: The plea deal is only the latest favor to Hunter. Arguably bigger was allowing the statute of limitations to lapse on offenses from 2014 and 2015 (think Burisma). If Mr. Weiss now comes back and charges Hunter with more-serious offenses, the obvious question will be: Why was he willing to go along with a sweetheart plea deal in the first place?” — William McGurn. (WSJ, Aug. 21, 2023)
“We find ourselves in a desperate bind. By prosecuting Trump for frivolities and thereby persecuting his supporters, the Left stokes the very populist rage they fear, making the situation even more volatile. But even in a scenario where they let Trump run in an “unfortified” race, they will never allow him to wield the powers of the office if he won. This, too, would further boost the outrage of Trump’s supporters and those at least sympathetic to his campaign.” – Adam Ellwanger. (American Mind, Aug. 25, 2023)
“With a $53 billion endowment, Harvard pays its graduate students — who work for the university doing research and teaching classes, while getting their degree — $40,000. That’s often not enough to cover housing, food and other expenses, especially living in Cambridge, Mass, where the cost of living is 73% higher than the national average.” – Adam Andrzejewski. (RealClearInvestigations, Aug. 22, 2023)
“Transgender teacher Kayla Lemieux is seen in a new photo strolling through Canada with her giant Z-cup prosthetic breasts — as outraged parents call the decision to hire her at a new school “the definition of insanity.” The controversial shop teacher was photographed strolling with a friend down a suburban Toronto sidewalk wearing her wig, eyeglasses and oversized fake boobs beneath a skimpy tank top and shorts. The pic, taken about two weeks ago, has been doing the rounds among concerned parents — including some who told The Post they are outraged she’s been given a new gig despite being put on leave at her old school because of security concerns sparked by her presence teaching kids.” – (NY Post, Aug.28, 2023). (The Nora Frances Henderson Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario, has already warned parents there will be heightened security measures and potential “disruptions,” according to a memo obtained by the Toronto Sun. Kayla Lemieux was spotted wearing her breasts again near Toronto about two weeks ago, parents said. “The problem’s just moved somewhere else,” said Celina Close, a parent of Oakville Trafalgar high, the school Lemieux worked out before being put on paid leave last spring.)
ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER DEFENDS RECORD AMID BACKLASH OVER LIBYA MEETING FALLOUT (Jerusalem) — Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen defended his record of accomplishments since taking office amid the ongoing fallout from his announcement of an unprecedented meeting with his Libyan counterpart, who has since been fired and forced to flee the country. Most countries with an official diplomatic presence in Israel have their embassies in Tel Aviv — only the US, Guatemala, Honduras, and Kosovo currently have their embassies in Jerusalem. In recent weeks, however, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Paraguay have each announced their intention to move their embassy to Israel’s capital. Cohen’s effort to highlight Israeli diplomatic accomplishments during his tenure follows his announcement in a press release on Sunday of a “historic” meeting in Rome with Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush, which he said was “the first step in the relationship between Israel and Libya.” (Algemeiner, Aug. 29, 2023)
DUTCH SUPREME COURT CONFIRMS IMMUNITY OF FORMER ISRAELI OFFICERS OVER A DEADLY 2014 GAZA AIRSTRIKE (The Hague) — The Dutch Supreme Court upheld a ruling that a Palestinian man cannot sue Israel’s former defense minister and another former senior military officer over their roles in a deadly 2014 Gaza airstrike. The highest Dutch court confirmed findings by judges in two lower courts that Benny Gantz and former Air Force Commander Amir Eshel are protected from civil proceedings in the Netherlands because they have “functional immunity.” The long-running case was brought by Ismail Ziada, who lost six members of his family in the airstrike that lawyers for the two Israelis argued was part of an Israeli military operation during the 2014 Gaza conflict. (Washington Post, Aug. 25, 2023)
OVER 200 NEW IMMIGRANTS FROM US, CANADA ARRIVE IN ISRAEL (Jerusalem) — Some 215 new immigrants from the U.S. and Canada touched down at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, including many who have opted to become lone soldiers. The rest of the group, which arrived on the 64th Nefesh B’Nefesh chartered flight, included 22 families, 15 singles, 17 retirees, and several professionals, including 7 doctors. In an innovative move, while still onboard, the new olim finalized their immigration processing by filling out relevant paperwork and receiving their immigration certificates, or teudot oleh. The move marks an expansion from last summer’s pilot initiative, which aims to streamline the Aliyah process. Minister of Aliyah and Integration, Ofir Sofer, welcomed the new olim. (WIN, Aug. 16, 2023)
ISRAELIS ARRIVE HOME AFTER EMERGENCY STOP IN SAUDI ARABIA, DESCRIBE HOW THEY WERE TREATED OVERNIGHT (Jerusalem) — The 128 Israelis whose flight from the Seychelles was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Monday night arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport on Tuesday afternoon. They spent Monday night at an airport hotel in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah in Mecca Province. The travelers departed Jeddah International Airport on a replacement Air Seychelles plane on Tuesday morning that was flown in from Dubai. The passengers were reportedly not allowed to leave their hotel rooms during the stay. “I very much appreciate the warm attitude of the Saudi authorities toward the Israeli passengers whose plane was in distress and had to make an emergency landing,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video message on Tuesday that was subtitled in Arabic. (WIN, Aug. 29, 2023)
HUNDREDS OF ISRAELI HIGH SCHOOLERS WILL REFUSE IDF SERVICE BECAUSE OF ‘THE OCCUPATION’ (Jerusalem) — Over 200 high school students, poised for mandatory draft into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), have announced their refusal to serve. Their decision is rooted not only in the contentious judicial reforms but also in concerns over “the occupation,” The Jerusalem Post reported. These students, aligning themselves with the “bloc against the occupation,” have intensified debates on two fronts: the IDF’s conscription and the ongoing judicial changes. Taking a stance entrenched in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they could reshape the narrative around these issues, the report said. The group publicized their intentions on X and an official letter outlining their stance is expected to be dispatched to the IDF shortly. (WIN, Aug. 29, 2023)
BIDEN ADMIN RAISED CONCERNS PALESTINIAN AID WOULD BOOST HAMAS. IT WENT AHEAD WITH AID ANYWAY (Washington) –Internal docs show Biden admin knew there was a ‘high risk’ Hamas would benefit from U.S. aid. The Biden administration pushed through plans to distribute hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer aid to the Palestinians despite internal assessments that those plans could boost the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas, according to internal documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. (Washington Free Beacon, Aug.16, 2023)
BIDEN’S TOP CANDIDATE TO BE AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL LEADS PRO-CHINA THINK TANK (Washington) — Jack Lew, an Orthodox Jew and former Democratic Secretary of the Treasury, has cozied up to Beijing and earned praise from Chinese state media. President Biden’s top candidate for ambassador to Israel hosted Chinese Communist Party officials as chairman of a think tank described as “consistently soft on China, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, an advisory group that supports closer business and diplomatic ties between the United States and China. The committee is funded by corporations like Citigroup, Blackstone, and BlackRock, the private equity behemoth the Wall Street Journal has labeled a “powerful friend” of China. That could be cause for concern as the United States seeks Israel’s help in combating Beijing’s growing influence in the Middle East—and to weaken the growing ties between Israel and China. (If confirmed, Lew will join a stable of Biden ambassadors who have cozied up to CCP interests. Eric Garcetti and Caroline Kennedy, the ambassadors to India and Australia, respectively, served on the board of Asia Society.). (Washington Free Beacon, Aug.28, 2023)
LEAKED DOCUMENT: ROBERT MALLEY’S SECURITY CLEARANCE REVOKED OVER HANDLING OF SENSITIVE INFO, PERSONAL CONDUCT, AND USE OF CLASSIFIED NETWORKS. EMBATTLED US-IRAN ENVOY CLAIMED HE HAD NO IDEA WHY CLEARANCE WAS REVOKED (Washington) –Embattled U.S.-Iran envoy Robert Malley had his security clearance and State Department credentials pulled in late April after “serious security concerns” were internally raised about his handling of sensitive information, personal conduct, and use of classified networks, according to a leaked letter sent by the State Department’s security division. (Washington Free Beacon, Aug. 28, 2023)
HELEN MIRREN EXPLAINS WHY SHE IGNORES BDS PRESSURE, PRAISES ISRAEL (London) — British actress Dame Helen Mirren has faced pressure from the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel throughout her career but prefers instead to support Israeli artists and the Jewish state as a whole, the famed Academy Award winner explained in a new interview. “I’ve met great artists in Israel. To abandon those artists didn’t seem the right thing to me,” Mirren, 78, told the Israeli media outlet N12. “On the contrary, work with the artists of Israel. It’s the artistic community that I believe will carry Israel forward.” (Algemeiner, Aug. 29, 2023)
RCMP ALERTED, JEWISH GROUPS ALARMED AFTER U.S. WHITE-SUPREMACIST LEAGUE MAKES INROADS IN CANADA (Ottawa) — The RCMP and city police forces are investigating links between antisemitic leaflets and posters found in cities across Canada, anti-Jewish graffiti found in Ontario high schools and an active U.S. white-supremacist group. MPs and Jewish groups are warning about inroads being made in Canada by the Goyim Defense League, which sells Hitler busts on its website, posts virulently anti-Jewish videos on its own TV channel and demonstrates with swastika flags outside American synagogues. The leaflets found in Canada were printed from the website of the group, while the antisemitic graffiti at high schools referred to the group’s video-streaming platform GoyimTV. (The Globe and Mail, Aug. 24, 2023)
VIKTOR SHOKIN SAYS HUNTER BIDEN WAS RECRUITED BY BURISMA TO ‘PROVIDE PROTECTION’ WHILE COMPANY ENGAGED IN ‘ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES’ (Kyiv) –Former Ukraine prosecutor general Viktor Shokin claims he was fired by the former Ukrainian president at Joe Biden’s insistence. Then-second son Hunter Biden was brought on to the Ukrainian gas company Burisma’s board to “provide protection” for CEO and founder Mykola Zlochevsky from criminal investigations. ‘I have no doubt that there were illegal activities engaged in by Burisma,’ he told Fox News’ “One Nation” host Brian Kilmeade through a translator in an interview that aired on Saturday night. ‘It continued to expand and Zlochevsky, who at the time held the post of minister … started bringing in people who could provide protection for him. Hunter Biden was among them and the corruption network expanded as a result,’ he said. Kyiv’s former top prosecutor has emerged as a key figure in the investigation into the Biden family foreign business dealings and accusations of bribery. Shokin’s accusations, if deemed credible, could lead to calls for a House impeachment of President Biden. (NY Post, Aug.26, 2023)
GEN Z HAS MADE IT LOUD AND CLEAR: THEY DON’T WANT BIDEN FOR 2024 (Washington) — America’s youngest voters have had it with Pres. Biden—and increasingly want to vote for someone else. In a NYT-Siena poll conducted July 23-27, just 4% of voters 18-29 had a very high opinion of him, versus 17% of the general population. Just 17% of this age group within the Democratic Party want him renominated in 2024, versus 45% of all Democrat primary voters. (Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., polls at 13%, and Marianne Williamson 27%, among the 18–29-year-olds, who in 2028 will constitute half of all eligible voters.). (NY Post, Aug.27, 2023)
CHINA BUILDS UP NANOTECHNOLOGY—SMALLEST OF WEAPONS FEARED TO BE MOST TOXIC (Beijing) -The Chinese military is building sophisticated biological weapons and small scale electronic tools made with nanotechnology that could be used in covert warfare, a major study warns. “China’s invisible arsenals. . . include the delivery of biological, biochemical and neurological weapons on target populations” (“In the Shadows of Science: Unravelling China’s invisible Arsenals of Nanoweapons”). (Washington Times, Aug.26, 2023)
