Israel
April 2, 2016 — John Hinderaker
I wrote earlier this week about a 9/11 Truther named Kevin Barrett. Barrett once taught at the University of Wisconsin, where his belief that the United States government, in conjunction with Israel, carried out the September 11 attacks made him controversial. Back in 2006, Barrett’s crackpot views were seen as an issue of academic freedom, and the University of Wisconsin rejected suggestions that Barrett was an inappropriate person to have
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March 21, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff
Donald Trump delivered his much-anticipated address to AIPAC this afternoon. You can read the speech here. I thought it was a good speech. Apparently, the audience did too. Trump received applause that at times was raucous. He even brought many to their feet multiple times. Trump’s focus was right where it should be — on the Iranian threat. “My number one priority,” he said, “is to dismantle the disastrous deal
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March 15, 2016 — Steven Hayward
Thought experiment: suppose a nativist or race-hate group put up flyers on every other door of a college dormitory attacking Mexico for allowing so many of its citizens to cross our southern border and take away jobs from Americans. Think there might be the usual outcry about racism and bigotry? The only question would be how fast the administration would go to DefCon1 and cancel classes for a day of
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March 14, 2016 — John Hinderaker
Here in the U.S, serious issues of national security have mostly been forgotten in the tragicomedy of our presidential election–which, God help us, still has nearly eight months to go. In Israel, however, life and death is a constant preoccupation. Since the current round of terrorist attacks began in October, around 30 Israelis have been murdered. Tuvia Weissman, a 21-year-old IDF soldier, was one of them. Last month, he was
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March 4, 2016 — John Hinderaker
Caroline Glick is, in my opinion, the most astute commentator on events in Israel and the surrounding region. In yesterday’s column, she assessed Hillary Clinton as a possible successor to Barack Obama: Whether or not Obama’s anti-Israel policies will survive his tenure in office depends on who succeeds him. If Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is elected to serve as the next president, there is no question that they will survive
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February 27, 2016 — Scott Johnson
One thing George W. Bush got right: the Islamic Republic of Iran is an evil regime. It seems an elementary point. It seems obvious. The regime is responsible for the murder and disfigurement of many Americans. It is the proud supporter of terrorist organizations including but not limited to Hamas and Hezbollah. It is itself a tyrannical, murderous, terrorist regime. Yet President Obama is operating on a theory of international
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February 6, 2016 — John Hinderaker
Historically, Americans have strongly supported the State of Israel. For a considerable time, that support was bipartisan, much as opposition to Communism was a bipartisan consensus for most of the Cold War era. At one time, sympathy for Israel may even have been more widespread among Democrats than Republicans. But in recent years, the parties have diverged sharply on the Mideast conflict. This Gallup chart shows the progression: Currently, fewer
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December 30, 2015 — Paul Mirengoff
At NR’s Corner, Elliott Abrams gives his take on the report that the Obama administration spied on the Israeli government. Abrams served for many years as a U.S. foreign policy official and is, of course, a leading pro-Israel advocate. Thus, his is a voice I wanted to hear on this potential scandal. Abrams believes there should be a strong presumption against spying on allies. He also believes that we should
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December 30, 2015 — Paul Mirengoff
Last night, I wrote about a Wall Street Journal report that the NSA spied on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and members of his government, and that the spying included intercepting communications with members of Congress. I included in the post the Journal’s brief discussion of the rules that apply to U.S. surveillance that reaches such members. According to the Journal: A 2011 NSA directive said direct communications between foreign intelligence
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December 29, 2015 — Paul Mirengoff
President Obama announced two years ago that he would stop eavesdropping on leaders of U.S. allies, after the world learned the reach of long-secret U.S. surveillance programs. According to The Wall Street Journal, this meant an end to spying on French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders. However, Israel apparently failed to make Obama’s list of true allies. The Journal reports that
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December 17, 2015 — Scott Johnson
In a special Wall Street Journal column (accessible via Google here), Bret Stephens reports on the case of Dr. Gershon Pincus. Having pursued a successful general practice in New York City for some 35 years, Dr. Pincus sought to offer his services to the military. He applied for part-time work at an off-base Naval clinic in Saratoga Springs, New York and got the job last year, commuting from his home
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December 12, 2015 — Paul Mirengoff
If this account of the White House Hanukkah party is accurate, then President Obama’s politicization of everything has reached a new low. According to Daniel Greenfield: Obama’s own remarks were boilerplate inoffensive stuff. Israel’s President Rivlin, a political hack who desperately sucks up to the media, was equally insipid. But the White House chose Susan Talve to light the Menorah. Talve is a member of the anti-Israel group T’ruah which
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December 10, 2015 — Scott Johnson
I’d never heard of Adam Greenberg before I went to see him speak last night at Temple of Aaron in St. Paul. He spoke as a guest of the Jewish National Fund. If you ever planted a tree in Israel, the JNF was probably in the picture. I learned last night that it is now also supporting settlement of the Negev among several other worthy projects in Israel. From an
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December 3, 2015 — Scott Johnson
Today’s New York Daily News cover (left, via Twitter) mocks the prayers of thee Republican presidential candidates and House Speaker Paul Ryan for the victims of yesterday’s massacre in San Bernardino. “God isn’t fixing this,” the cover blares. Subhead: “As latest batch of innocent Americans are left lying in pools of blood, cowards who could truly end gun scourge continue to hide behind meaningless platitudes.” The Daily News cover perfectly
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November 22, 2015 — Paul Mirengoff
In the early 1960s, less than 20 years after the end of World War II, a hot topic in the Jewish community was: should a Jew buy a Volkswagen? I never discussed the matter with my parents, but their answer must have been in the affirmative because my mother ended up driving one, and I don’t think she stole it. In light of this story in the Observer, the question
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November 19, 2015 — John Hinderaker
In Israel today, five people were murdered and more wounded in two separate terrorist attacks. In southern Tel Aviv, an Arab terrorist murdered two Jews at prayer and wounded a third. In Gush Etzion region, just south of Jerusalem, terrorists shot three people fatally and wounded seven more. Several of the victims, including one of the dead, are reported to be Americans. This is, of course, the same Islamic terrorism
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November 15, 2015 — Paul Mirengoff
One of the targets of Friday’s Paris attack was a popular Cambodian restaurant called Le Petit Cambodge. At least 13 people were killed there. My younger daughter, who lived in Paris for a year, has eaten at Le Petit Cambodge. It’s a favorite restaurant of one of her cousins who lives nearby. As soon as she heard about the attacks, my daughter contacted her cousin to see if he was
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