He couldn’t in the end help them declare statehood, but former US President Barack Obama did have a substantial parting gift for the Palestinian Arabs. Just hours before he turned the White House over to President Donald Trump, Obama issued an executive order releasing $221 million in US taxpayer funds to the Palestinian Authority. The money had been set aside as part of an earlier budgetary bill that included funding to the Palestinian Authority via USAID. However, congressional Republicans had blocked the transfer after the Palestinian leadership sought state-level recognition from various international bodies in violation of signed agreements with Israel.…
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After helping the UN Security Council pass a harsh anti-Israel resolution last month, Britain last week turned the tables and blocked the European Union from officially adopting the final declaration from the Middle East peace conference in Paris. London spurned the conference by sending three low-level diplomats, while the other 70 or so nations attending all sent heads of state or foreign ministers. British officials noted the ridiculous timing of the conference, just days ahead of the inauguration of a new US administration that has very different views on the Israel-Palestinian conflict than its predecessor. They also pointed out that Israel…
The Holocaust was a defining event in human history that created a crisis in regards to our assumptions about the nature of mankind, of society, of the modern state, and of our responsibility as individuals to take a stand against unjust suffering everywhere. These universal questions, and many others, touch upon the very foundations of civilization. Today, we have not yet come to terms with the implications of this event. The Holocaust has therefore become a compelling challenge for concerned individuals all over the world. Yad Vashem is best placed to help committed individuals meet this challenge in an open,…
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently voiced strong support for Israel in his new role. That was something of a relief. Tillerson was previously CEO of Exxon Mobil, and had for years done business with some of Israel’s Middle East foes.However, at his Senate confirmation hearing, Tillerson made no qualms about labeling Israel “our most important strategic partner in the region.” He even took aim at outgoing Secretary of State John Kerry for being so hostile toward the Jewish state. “The secretary’s speech, which followed that UN resolution (condemning the presence of Jews in areas claimed by the Arabs), I found…
Israel Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (pictured) on Tuesday toured the biblical city of Hebron and decried the restrictions placed on Jews living there. Referring to the upcoming inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, and the departure from the White House of Barack Obama, Shaked said there would very soon be no more excuses for failing to strengthen the Jewish presence in this cradle of Jewish civilization. “It is unthinkable that construction in Hebron has been stuck for so many years,” Shaked stated. Hebron is one of the cities claimed by the Palestinian Arabs, and so the world says any Jews living…
The murder of the four young Israeli soldiers in a terrorist ramming attack in Jerusalem last weekend was widely celebrated by Palestinian Arabs. In several locations throughout Judea and Samaria (the so-called “West Bank”), local Palestinians reportedly bought and distributed candies to commemorate the attack. In Gaza, Hamas issued official statements glorifying the murderous action and sanctifying the attacker, a young Arab man from the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber. Thousands gathered on the streets in celebration. “The message of our Islamic party Hamas is a message of encouragement and support for every jihadi who carries out an attack that puts…
The United Nations paid Israel a rare compliment by publicly recognizing the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) medical aid team as the very best in the world. The IDF field hospital is routinely dispatched to disaster zones around the world to provide much-needed assistance and treatment to the victims of tsunamis, earthquakes, and other calamities. The UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) has now made it official that the IDF field hospital is a “Type 3” medical facility, the only one to have attained that classification in the entire world. “We’re going to recommend the director-general verifies Israels team as a Type…
Three prominent US senators have introduced legislation to push President-elect Donald Trump to keep his promise to move America’s embassy to Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act officially recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and obligates the White House to return the US Embassy to the Holy City. The US, like most other nations, moved its embassy to Tel Aviv in the early 1980s to protest Israel’s annexation of the eastern half of Jerusalem. The 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, which the new legislation closely echoes, also obligated the US government to return its embassy to the Israeli capital.…
The terrorist who carried out the deadly truck ramming attack in Jerusalem on Sunday afternoon was apparently a supporter of Islamic State, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Netanyahu made his comments at the scene of the attack, where he received a briefing along with Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. Soon after visiting the site, he was scheduled to convene a meeting of the security cabinet. “We know the identity of the attacker, and according to all the signs he is a supporter of Islamic State,” Netanyahu said (Click here to watch the video). Netanyahu stated there may be a connection between…
Four young women recently graduated the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) prestigious Ground Forces Officers Course, again signaling the Israeli army’s intention to fully integrate women in all combat roles. The four will all serve as officers in the Lions of Jordan Battalion, one of three co-ed battalions tasked with “routine security” along some of Israel’s volatile borders, which is nevertheless not viewed as “full” combat. At the same time, the IDF is starting a new experimental program to fully integrate women into the Armored Corps. Women can already serve in the Armored Corps, but not as tank crew members yet.…