Israel
January 20, 2022 — Paul Mirengoff
Joe Biden has withdrawn U.S. support for a pipeline project designed to deliver Israeli natural gas to Europe. Biden thereby reverses a decision made by the Trump administration. The Biden administration tried to justify the reversal of U.S. policy on the basis of its interest in “renewable energy.” But the obvious effect of the decision is to strengthen the stranglehold Russia has on Europe’s energy supply. In this regard, it’s
»
January 9, 2022 — John Hinderaker
Last October, the New York Times printed a review of a book about Henry Kissinger by Martin Indyk. The review was titled Henry Kissinger and the Puzzle of the Middle East. The Times piece was updated two months later, on December 22, and was corrected today: A review on Dec. 19 about “Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy,” by Martin Indyk, referred imprecisely
»
December 15, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
The paper edition headline to this Washington Post article is “Trump’s outburst over Netanyahu shocks allies.” I wrote about that outburst here. Why is anyone shocked that Trump said what he said? The outburst is vintage Trump. Netanyahu is the umpteenth former ally Trump has thrown under the bus for “disloyalty.” Trump’s absurd claim that he prevented the destruction of Israel is fully consistent with his “I alone can fix
»
December 12, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
It’s not a scoop to say that Donald Trump’s opinions about individuals, including whether to support or denigrate them, are based almost entirely on how the individuals in question have treated Donald Trump. Nor is it a scoop to say that Trump’s view of how individuals have treated him is based these days almost entirely on whether they embrace his unsupported claim that he won the 2020 election. Benjamin Netanyahu
»
December 2, 2021 — Scott Johnson
Within tacit limits, President Biden attacked anti-Jewish bigotry in his remarks “During a Menorah Lighting in Celebration of Hanukkah.” Nary a word, however, about the genocidal Iranian regime, which the administration seeks avidly to appease and accommodate, or about the anti-Jewish and anti-historical “Jerusalem” resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly yesterday. The Jerusalem Post covers the “Jerusalem” resolution here. The UN covers it here. UN Watch covers it
»
October 10, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Ruth R. Wisse is a leading scholar of Yiddish literature. To many conservatives, she is best known for her frequent contributions to Commentary magazine. Wisse has published her memoir. The book is called Free as a Jew: A Personal Memoir of National Self-Liberation. Cynthia Ozick, Wisse’s fellow Commentary comrade-in-arms, calls the book an “intellectual autobiography. . .of profound moral force and scathing political discernment.” I agree. The book begins with
»
October 1, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
When I attended college in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I viewed Oberlin College as a model for what a radicalized campus should be. After John and I braved a snow storm to visit Oberlin for a debate tournament, my impression was confirmed. Oberlin was in the vanguard. These days, that position must be difficult to maintain, but Oberlin is trying hard not to lose it. There was the
»
September 30, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
This pathetic: She can’t even speak to a small group of college students without revealing her anti-Israel views and giving aid and comfort to our enemies. From now on, Harris’ public appearances should be limited to ribbon cuttings (if they still have them). Iran quickly seized on Harris’ statement that the view of Israel as genocidal is one version of the truth. According to Fox News: An Iran state media
»
September 29, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Kamala Harris has been out of the news for quite some time, surely the result of a decision (perhaps by Joe Biden’s handlers) to lower her profile. However, Harris appeared at George Mason University in Northern Virginia on Tuesday in a surprise visit to a political science class. She said she was there to promote voter registration and discuss voting rights. During her visit, Harris took questions from students. As
»
September 27, 2021 — Scott Johnson
I wrote about the theatrical tears of Sandy Cortez last week in “Don’t cry for me…” Sandy shed tears when she changed her “No” vote to “Present” on the funding for replenishment of Israel’s Iron Dome defensive system. She subsequently issued a statement that proclaimed and explained her meltdown: Yes, I wept. I wept at the complete lack of care for the human beings that are impacted by these decisions,
»
September 23, 2021 — Steven Hayward
A few days ago “progressive” Democrats the House succeeded in getting the Appropriations Committee to strip out $1 billion in U.S. funding for Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile defense program, which relies on a lot of U.S.-made technology such that the Iron Dome appropriation is something of an export subsidy, from the continuing resolution to keep the feddie guvmint operating through the end of the year. This did not set well
»
September 21, 2021 — John Hinderaker
The House of Representatives is taking up a continuing resolution to fund the government and increase the federal debt limit pending new permanent spending bills. Far-left Democrats led by Ilhan Omar’s Squad took advantage of the opportunity to deny Israel funding for the Iron Dome program that protects Israeli civilians against terrorist attacks. Per Politico: NEWS: House Democrats are removing the Iron Dome provision from the CR amid pushback from
»
September 6, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Fresh off of falsely claiming to have visited the Tree of Life synagogue where a white supremacist gunman massacred Jews, Joe Biden invited seven rabbis to a conference to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. As Daniel Greenfield reports, Biden’s selections, taken as a whole, do not look like the American Jewry, to paraphrase that leftist cliche. Instead, they look like Joe Biden’s leftist political allies. Greenfield writes: Reconstructionists, a secular leftist denomination
»
August 28, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
A brief video clip (about 22 seconds) of Joe Biden’s joint appearance with Israel’s prime minister is circulating on the internet. It appears to show Biden dozing while Prime Minister Bennett is speaking to him. At the beginning of the clip Bennett is looking directly at Biden. After about eight seconds, he turns away from Biden. Perhaps Bennett thought that Biden had nodded off, so there was no point in
»
July 20, 2021 — Scott Johnson
Andrew Stiles is not only the Washington Free Beacon’s brilliant humorist, he also has the “scoop” on the latest from the Ben & Jerry’s crew. Stiles serves up the story in “EXCLUSIVE: Ben & Jerry’s Targets Anti-Semite Demographic With Audacious New Ice Cream Flavors.” Subhead: “Left-wing dessert has slaughtered millions through its contributions to the global obesity epidemic.” He reports: The company, which is at least partially responsible for the
»
July 7, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
The coalition government that rules Israel is an absurdity. Cobbled together for the sole purpose of ousting Benjamin Netanyahu, it’s led by Naftali Bennett, a hard line anti-Arab, but includes members of an Islamist party. That’s not the only absurdity, but it’s absurd enough. The first real test of the coalition’s adhesion occurred yesterday. At issue was a law that, as I understand it, prevents Arab-Israeli citizens from conferring their
»
June 12, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
When I visited Israel for the first time in 1982, I was told that relations between Jews and Israeli Arab were fairly good. In Haifa, where my father-in-law lived, relations were said to be exemplary. After spending time in Haifa and the surrounding region, it seemed to me that this was true. With the two intifadas, relations deteriorated. By the time my father-in-law died (2003), they weren’t all that good
»
