Israel
September 29, 2014 — Scott Johnson
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the United Nations this afternoon (video below). The prime minister’s office has posted the text here. As is just about always the case, everything he has to say is worthwhile. In part his speech responds to Mahmoud Abbas’s imputation of “war crimes” and “genocide” against Israel in the same forum this past Friday. Of most interest, however, is Netanyahu’s discussion of Iran in the context
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September 27, 2014 — Scott Johnson
Our chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition saluted retiring Sixth District Rep. Michele Bachmann this past Sunday night. Since her election to Congress in 2006 — she first spoke to us that December, before she took office — Michele has been our favorite speaker. By my count, this was at least her sixth appearance before us. No one else comes close. We are grateful for her heartfelt and eloquent support
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September 17, 2014 — John Hinderaker
Elizabeth Warren is a heroine to many liberals, who hope she will challenge Hillary Clinton from the left. Even apart from the concept of anyone being to Hillary’s left, this seems bizarre to me. Warren parlayed the false claim that she is an Indian into academic success as an alleged bankruptcy expert. (I am sure that I have several partners who know more about bankruptcy law than Warren does.) Now,
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September 12, 2014 — Scott Johnson
Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke yesterday at the 14th annual International Conference on Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, Israel. He speaks as both a student of terrorism and a the leader of a country on the front line against the perpetrators of terrorism, so as always his remarks have a special interest. The text is posted here. The video is below. In his introductory remarks, Netanyahu addressed himself to United States Ambassador Dan
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September 2, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
Hamas has once again precipitated mass destruction, almost entirely of its own structures and people, and has achieved nothing concrete unless you count a few more miles of fishing rights. The upshot? Hamas’ popularity has surged, at least according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. The survey finds that 61 percent of Arab residents of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza would pick Hamas leader Ismail
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August 28, 2014 — Scott Johnson
No surprise here, but I had overlooked what Peter Wehner has extracted from the Jerusalem Post: Speaking extensively on US relations with Jerusalem since the end of the latest round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians last April, and throughout Operation Protective Edge, a candid [former US special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations Martin] Indyk said at times US President Barack Obama has become “enraged” at the Israeli government,
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August 17, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
Today was to mark David Gregory’s last appearance as host of Meet the Press. But NBC did not permit Gregory, who will be replaced by Chuck Todd, to bid his audience farewell. Instead, Andrea Mitchell hosted the show and paid tribute to the fired host. I didn’t see the show, having long ago stopped watching anything except soccer on NBC. I’m relying on the coverage of NRO and the Huffington
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August 11, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
To superficial observers of the Middle East, the latest round of fighting in Gaza looks like a replay of previous rounds. Once again, it seems, Israel pounded Hamas but didn’t crush it. But there was something different this time around. This time, Hamas was far more isolated diplomatically. Egypt, the Saudis, and the Palestinian Authority all showed “no sympathy” for Hamas (as President Obama would say). Indeed, unlike President Obama
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August 10, 2014 — Steven Hayward
For a very long time I couldn’t stand Alan Dershowitz, the Harvard criminal law professor who was reliably irritating on almost any subject. He seemed the male version of Gloria Allred, turning up on camera in the middle of every controversy, rivaling Jesse Jackson for the title as the best political ambulance chaser in the land. He succeeded through sheer bluster and volume; hence, about the only person who ever
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August 8, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
True to its word for once, Hamas today resumed rocket attacks on Israel as soon as the cease fire was scheduled to expire. It was a smart play by the terrorist outfit. One senses that Hamas’ stranglehold on Gaza depends on securing Israel’s agreement to remove its blockade. Without this, Hamas has nothing to show for the devastation brought on by its latest war. In this sense, Hamas has little
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August 7, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
Hamas has announced its position regarding a permanent cease fire with Israel: the Israelis must meet all of Hamas’ demands: [Hamas spokesman] Mushir al-Masri advised tens of thousands of Israelis who left their homes in the South not to return unless Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu complied with all the demands of Hamas and other groups. . . . The Hamas spokesman claimed that Israel has only one choice: to comply
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August 6, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
Israel has agreed to extend a ceasefire that ended a month of fighting in Gaza beyond its Friday expiration date, the Jerusalem Post reports. However, Hamas says it will resume fighting unless significant progress is made in negotiations. For Hamas, significant progress means significant concessions on its demands for money, an end to Israel’s blockade, and access for Gaza’s Palestinians into Israel. If the past is any guide, Hamas would
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August 5, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
The cease fire in Gaza appears to be holding and Israel has pulled back, its military campaign apparently over. Now comes the hard part — the diplomatic war. As Herb Keinon of the Jerusalem Post observes, Israel has almost always done far better on the battlefield than in the diplomatic arena that follows its wars. This is likely to be the case once again. Israel appears to have accomplished militarily
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August 4, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
Israel and Hamas have agreed to an unconditional cease fire of 72 hours. This cease fire is more likely to hold than previous ones because fighting had already decreased on its own. But we’ll see. The agreement was negotiated between Egypt and Hamas representatives in Cairo. Israel did not participate in the talks but accepted the cease fire. It’s instructive to recall that Israel and Egypt had come up with
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August 4, 2014 — John Hinderaker
Last week, guest hosting the Laura Ingraham radio show, I had the privilege of interviewing Ron Dermer, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. The interview begins at around the 12-minute point in the clip below, which covers the whole third hour on July 30 with no commercials. But the discussion before that point is on the subject of the Gaza conflict, so I would encourage you to listen to the whole
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August 3, 2014 — John Hinderaker
The American public has consistently supported Israel in its many battles with Islamic enemies over the years. While the numbers bounce around as poll numbers always do, I don’t think there has been much change in this basic fact. Thus, the current NBC/Wall Street Journal survey finds that as to “the current conflict in the Middle East,” 46% of registered voters say their sympathies are with the Israelis, and only
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August 2, 2014 — Steven Hayward
The video below shows 10 minutes of a 28 year old Bibi Netanyahu (identified as Ben Nitay for some reason) appearing on the old PBS show “The Advocates” commenting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He handles Fouad Ajami quite easily. Worth a look.
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