History of Posts for IsraelWatcher prior to 2019

 History of Posts for IsraelWatcher prior to 2019

Israel Related News You Can Trust April 2, 2019

Praying the Headlines:  Israel Related News You Can Trust 4 2 2019

Approaching Israeli elections in 2019 | Netanel R, Kehila News | As we approach the 2019 elections in Israel, many outside Israel are wondering about how elections work in Israel and what is likely to unfold in the upcoming elections.

Interview: The First Messianic Jew to Run for Knesset | David Lazarus, Israel Today | Israel's national election is just one week away. Meet the Messianic Jew who hopes to win a seat on April 9

Democrats’ absence at AIPAC cause for concern | Ron Cantor | Speaking at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual conference on Monday, Pence noted that the Democrat Party is no longer a reliable supporter of Israel and has been “co-opted by people who promote rank anti-Semitic rhetoric.”

One year of the "March of Return" on the Gaza Strip border: Statistics of violence | Israel Foreign Ministry  | November 2018 saw the biggest surge in the number of rocket launches, with 460 confirmed incidents. While over 100 of those were intercepted by the IDF Iron Dome air defense system, the rocket fire has nevertheless inflicted casualties. The total number of border incidents since 30 March 2018 stands at 2199, including: 1,233 rocket/mortar bomb launches | 18 incidents of gunfire from the Gaza Strip | 94 IED incidents, where one or several explosive devices were hurled across the security barrier | 600 Molotov cocktail incidents | 152 incidents of arson/burning tires/hurling of various objects

PA prioritizes salaries to terrorists over medical care for Palestinians | Maurice Hirsch, Adv. and Itamar Marcus, Palestinian Media Watch | PA to stop giving Palestinians medical care in Israel which cost them $100 million a year, because Israel cut from the PA what the PA spends on terrorists' salaries - $138 million a year.

Why Palestinians are Fleeing Lebanon | Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute | International journalists based in the Middle East seem to care precious little about the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Lebanon, who, for several decades now, have been protesting the apartheid and discrimination practiced by an Arab country....The Arab and Western silence towards the plight of the Palestinians in Lebanon achieves one thing alone: aggravating Palestinian agony. Yet the only evil the Arab leaders and the international community see is the supposed evil that they link to Israel.

UN-Funded Social Studies Textbook Says ‘Zionist Occupation Started in 1856’ | JNS.org | A 2017 United Nations-funded school textbook for Arab students offers a revisionist history of Israel as part of its goal to incite violence against Israelis. 

UNIFIL Confirms Existence of Six Tunnels in South Lebanon |Anna Ahronheim, Jerusalem Post | Two tunnels confirmed to have crossed into Israeli territory; U.N. head Guterres expressed “deep concern” about Hezbollah’s tunnels.

U.S. Eyes New Front to Combat Iran in Golan Heights | Adam Kredo, Washington Free Beacon | U.S. officials say recognition of territory is key to fight against Iran terror

Good Job, Grenell |The Jerusalem Post editorial praises the unyielding efforts of US Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, to ensure that German companies cooperate with the US sanctions on Iran despite German government actions actively aimed at attempting to increase business with Tehran and circumvent US sanctions, and declares: “As the largest economy in the EU, German cooperation with sanctions would go a long way in hindering Iran’s ability to spread its death and destruction across the globe. Grenell should be commended for working overtime toward that goal. And Germany should reverse its course.”

Germany Refuses to Disclose Iranian Attempts to Buy Nuclear, Missile Technology | Jerusalem Post | Germany is concealing important data that could establish Iranian regime violations of the 2015 nuclear deal. 

Ex-London Mayor Ken Livingstone: ‘It’s Not Antisemitic to Hate the Jews of Israel’ | Algemeiner | Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone — no stranger to controversy – has stirred outrage again, telling a meeting of supporters of far-left Labour

UK: Radical Muslims Welcome, Persecuted Christians Need Not Apply | Raymond Ibrahim, Gatestone Institute | In rejecting the claim for asylum of a man who converted from Islam to Christianity, and presumably compelling his return to Iran, the British government is effectively sentencing him to death. At the same time, the Home Office allowed a Pakistani cleric, Syed Muzaffar Shah Qadri, considered so extreme that he is banned even from his native Pakistan, to come and lecture in UK mosques.

Christchurch Murders: The Real Accomplices | Guy Millière, Gatestone Institute | Two days before the tribute to the victims and the broadcasting of the call to prayer, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern invited an imam to read the Koranic verses of Surah al Baqarah before the opening of a parliamentary session. Surah al Baqarah speaks of "those who are killed in the way of Allah" and evokes a "great punishment" for "those who disbelieve". ...The real accomplices of Christchurch mass murderer are not those who sounded the alarm about Muslim immigration to the West, but those in the West who embrace this passive submission, weakness and cultural suicide and refuse to see the potential storms ahead. 

After the New Zealand mosque attacks, pointing fingers of blame | Melanie Phillips, JNS | Much of this Orwellian frenzy is part of the campaign to silence all criticism of the Islamic world through character assassination of its legitimate and necessary critics.

Sarah Halimi’s Lawyers, Relatives, Express Fury as Prospect of Criminal Trial in French Antisemitic Murder Case Again Recedes | Ben Cohen, Alegmeiner | Lawyers representing the family of the Jewish doctor murdered during a frenzied antisemitic assault inside her Paris apartment in 2017 have expressed angry frustration at the news that the accused killer may yet escape a criminal trial.

Never Forget: CAIR's Dirty Deeds | Michelle Malkin, Town Hall | When unappeasable CAIR is ascendant, our free speech rights, religious liberty and national security are at risk.

Israel Related News You Can Trust 3 27 2019

White House Signing Ceremony with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu
as USA Officially Recognizes Israeli Sovereignty over the Golan Heights

Praying the Headlines:  Israel Related News You Can Trust 3 27 2019

Trump Remains Most Pro-Israel President Ever 

     The Purim Miracle: Israel's Golan Heights

Trump Signs Document Officially Recognizing Israeli Control Over Golan | Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post | "Today I am taking historic action to promote Israel’s ability to defend itself, and really to have very powerful and very strong national security, which they are entitled to have.”

VIDEO Ron Cantor Debunks Reports that Trump's Recognition of Israeli Sovereignty over the Golan Heights is No Big Deal. Ron says WRONG: It is a big deal that released something positive in the spiritual realm. The courage of President Trump's pro-Israel moves has given other nations the courage to follow his lead.     

Why Trump’s Golan Heights Gesture Won’t Derail Peace | Jonathan S. Tobin, National Review | And the clear message it sends to allies and enemies of Israel. Since there’s no peace process worthy of the name, it’s better to stand with our ally — and send a warning to Iran.

Reaction to Trump’s Golan move illustrates the growing divide over Israel | Jonathan S Tobin, JNS Daily Syndicate | Democrats aren’t cheering the president’s embrace of a consensus Israeli position, while their leading presidential contenders are boycotting AIPAC.

US Secretary of State Pompeo Makes Unprecedented Visit to Western Wall in Jerusalem | Algemeiner Staff | This marked the first-ever tour of the Jewish holy site by a top American diplomat accompanied by an Israeli official. In the past, the US government had sought to avoid tacitly recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the parts of Jerusalem it took control of in the 1967 Six-Day War.

     Global Leadership: Time to Favor Israel

US Sanctions Iran’s Nuclear Research Unit, Urges Tehran to Negotiate | Reuters and Algemeiner Staff | “The US government is taking decisive action against actors at all levels in connection with Iran‘s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND) who have supported the Iranian regime’s defense sector,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

These EU states just took an unprecedented stand for Israel at the UN Human Rights Council | by Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA | In a major policy reversal by Western members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, all its European Union member states voted against a permanent item singling out Israel.

UK Bans Hezbollah | Judith Bergman, Gatestone Institute | "Hezbollah themselves have laughed off the suggestion there is a difference. I've carefully considered the evidence and I'm satisfied they are one and the same with the entire organisation linked to terrorism." — UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

     Global Islamist Terrorism is Always Anti-Israel

Austrian Chancellor Says Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism ‘Two Sides of the Same Coin’ | Benjamin Kerstein, Algemeiner | In an address at a conference held by the American Jewish Committee’s Transatlantic Institute on Thursday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said, “In today’s political climate, antisemitism and anti-Zionism are often two sides of the same coin.”

IPT Exclusive: Anti-Israel AMP's Inadvertent "Truth" | IPT News | "Speaking truth to power" was the theme Sunday for the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) Chicago chapter's fundraising dinner. At least five AMP officials and speakers were part of a defunct network created by the Muslim Brotherhood in America called the "Palestine Committee." It was tasked with helping Hamas politically and financially, court records show. An investigation by the Investigative Project on Terrorism also found that the AMP carries out tasks similar to the old Palestine Committee, including fundraising, propaganda and lobbying.

So it was little surprise that the AMP dinner honored Marc Lamont Hill with its "Al Quds [Jerusalem] Award." Hill warned Palestinian supporters last October against adhering to "a civil rights tradition which romanticizes nonviolence." He also falsely accuses Israel of poisoning Palestinian water.

Omar Holding Secret Fundraisers With Islamic Groups Tied to Terror | By Adam Kredo, Washington Free Beacon | Democratic freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) has been holding a series of secret fundraisers with groups that have been tied to the support of terrorism, appearances that have been closed to the press and hidden from public view.

The Campaign to Make Omar's Anti-Semitism Unassailable | IPT News | Two prominent American-Islamist political activists, both avowed opponents of Israel's existence, renewed complaints Monday that the recent controversy involving U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar's series of anti-Semitic statements was unjust.

The Media Goes to Bat for Congressional Antisemitism | Sean Durns, JNS | “Sunlight,” the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once wrote, “is said to be the best disinfectant.” However, the press is failing to provide such light with full and honest reporting about the mainstreaming of antisemitism in Congress. Their failure will enable the virus to spread.

Israel Designates Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV as a Terrorist Organization | IPT | Israeli authorities revealed last month that Hamas recruiters posing as journalists conveyed secret messages to West Bank operatives via al-Aqsa TV. According to a recent report from the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Palestinian terrorists often rely on media affiliations to communicate with operatives and avoid being targeted by Israel during conflicts.

The protests Hamas don’t want you to see | Joshua S Block, Times of Israel blogs | Gazans have spent 12 years under a tyrannical regime that spends its vast sums on arms rather than food for its people. Those who follow events in the Middle East are no stranger to the weekly riots on the Gaza-Israeli border, but there are other protests going on you probably haven’t heard much about. Why? Because Hamas doesn’t want you to know

Israel Related News You Can Trust 20 Mar 2019

Shia-Supremacy Related

New Hizballah Terror Network in Syria Exposed | Yaakov Lappin for IPT News | The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced last week that it uncovered a new, covert Hizballah terrorist network operating in southern Syria with the backing of Iran. The announcement is an indication that the radical Shi'ite axis has not stopped in its efforts turn Syria into a base of operations.

Iranian Commander: All of Israel within reach of Hezbollah's missiles | Jerusalem Post | Tehran deployed some of its warships to Bab el-Mandeb strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

Congress Unloads on Pro-Iran Deal Forces in Trump Administration | Adam Kredo for Free Beacon |Top GOP lawmakers unite against bid to grant Iran reprieve from sanctions. A debate has been raging inside the Trump administration for months over how far it will go to sanction the Iranian regime. While President Donald Trump has promised a "maximum pressure" campaign to choke off Tehran's resources, the State and Treasury Departments have advocated in favor of waivers permitting Iran to continue sensitive nuclear work as well as its lucrative oil trade.

US Declares West Bank and Golan No Longer “Occupied Territories” | Israel Today | For first time ever, the US State Department's annual human rights report doesn't call Golan and West Bank "occupied"

IDF: Hezbollah head of Golan operations murdered U.S. troops in Iraq (WATCH) | Jerusalem Post | The Hezbollah terrorist organization has begun an attempt to establish and entrench a covert force in the Syrian Golan Heights.

American Islamist Related

Omar Headlines for CAIR | John Hinderaker for Powerline | The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is, like al Qaeda and Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. CAIR masquerades as a civil rights organization, but is actually a supporter of terrorism, as was demonstrated in the Holy Land Foundation case, where CAIR was an unindicted co-conspirator. CAIR is also viciously anti-Israel and anti-Semitic 

     

Online petition calls for investigation of Omar, Tlaib and CAIR | Jerusalem Post  | An online petition started by the group Stop Antisemitism calls on the US attorney general William Barr and special antisemitism envoy Elan Carr to take a deep look at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR.

Good Guys

Clash at UN: Experts Refute UN Gaza Inquiry's Findings | UN Watch briefing email |GENEVA, March 18, 2019 — In testimony this morning at the United Nations, a panel of military and legal experts rejected a report presented by the UN Human Rights Council which accuses Israeli soldiers of alleged “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” on the Gaza border, and calls for their arrest. CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO.

Italian Mayor Take a Stand against Barring Israelis | Alegemeiner |The mayor of Santa Teresa Gallura, Italy, recently cancelled an international jazz festival set to be held in August in the city after the program’s artistic director expressed support for barring Israeli artists from participating in the event, the blog Israellycool reported on Friday.

Its planned Israel trip explains why J Street is losing the fight with the far-left | Jonathan S. Tobin, JNS | The left-wing group’s effort to compete with Birthright Israel represents a backhanded acknowledgement of Jewish state’s centrality that its anti-Zionist allies abhor.

Bad Guys 

Palestinian Red Crescent to host BDS conference | By Maurice Hirsch, Adv. and Nan Jacques Zilberdik for PMW Palestinian Media Watch | In direct breach of its commitments, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), which is a member of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), is set to host a BDS conference.

Southern Poverty Law Center fires its co-founder, Morris Dees | Don't Stop With Morris Dees: Former Employees Told SPLC to 'Clean House at the Top' | PJ Media | The SPLC Claims the U.S. Is Three Times More Hateful Than It Actually Is ...."cares more about raising money than anything else. The amount of money they rake in, is totally out of proportion to the work that they do."

Israel Related News You Can Trust Mar 6 2019

Elections

Jerusalem, We Have a Problem | by David Lazarus, Israel Today | Netanyahu's legal woes have ratcheted up Israel's raucous election scene to unprecedented levels of insanity

The Netanyahu indictments: unfair and inevitable | by Jonathan S Tobin, JNS | The charges against the prime minister set an unfortunate precedent in more ways than one.  Here are four takeaways from the charges against him. First, the corruption allegations are, in fact, highly questionable, and it’s hard to believe they can be sustained in a fair court of law.

What Bibi’s Indictment Means | by Avi Bell, Tablet Magazine | The attorney general’s misguided decision to charge the prime minister with bribery and breach of trust may spell trouble for the future of Israeli democracy. The criminal charges against the prime minister lack legal substance, and they threaten both the rule of law in Israel and the health of its democracy. Professor Alan Dershowitz said as much in several op-eds and an open letter to Mandelblit in recent months, and he is absolutely right.

Violence

Palestinians: Marching Backwards as Israel Prepares for Elections | by Khaled Abu Toameh , Gatestone Institute | Instead of marching Palestinians towards democracy, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas have chosen the model of totalitarianism as a way of governing their people.

IDF strikes Hamas post in response to explosive balloons | Anna Ahronheim, Jerusalem Post | 8,000 Palestinians took part in Gaza riots. IDF aircraft struck multiple Hamas positions in the southern Gaza Strip in response to the launching of explosive balloons towards Israel Saturday night.

Anti-Semitism

IPT Concludes Two-Part Video Series About Anti-Semitism on the Left | The Investigative Project on Terrorism | Polling shows a growing divide within the Democratic Party when it comes to support for Israel. he party's younger, more liberal members increasingly support the Palestinians more than Israel, which could lead to changes in the party platform, and perhaps, U.S. support. Three new members of Congress are amplifying that agenda.

Progressive Replacement Theology | Liel Leibovitz, Tablet Magazine | Why the left is repeating Christianity’s most dangerous historical mistakes, and why it’s very, very bad for the Jews

The United Church of Christ Wrongfully Attacks Israel | by Denis MacEoin, Gatestone Institute | Mistakes and falsehoods such as those we encounter throughout the UCC's misnamed guide to "Promoting a Just Peace in Palestine-Israel", each one seemingly trivial, cannot be dismissed as the results of a moment's inattention. Much effort has gone into the writing of this Guide, and factual errors, which take up so much of the text, are clearly the result of conscious assumptions that have never been checked against reputable facts.

Social Media Mind Control

Fatah under fire for inflammatory Facebook posts | Ron Cantor, Messiah's Mandate | The Palestinian president’s party is under fire for incendiary posts on its Facebook page that include drawings of Jews being murdered and praise for terrorists who killed dozens of Israelis, including children, among other inflammatory posts.

Facebook Still Championing Blasphemy Laws | Judith Bergman, Gatestone | Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg now appears to be more intent on censorship than ever. In a recent memo, written in mind-numbing, bureaucratic obfuscatese, he described his plan to discourage "borderline content", a concept appearing to be so meaningless as to encompass anything that Zuckerberg and Facebook might ever want to censor..... It should, however, be of little surprise that CAIR executives are able to wield such power over social media.

High Note

Israeli Christians Call for Esther-Like Fast After Syria Pullout Decision | CBN News | The fast was initiated by Succat Hallel, a 24/7 house of prayer overlooking the Temple Mount. "There are some urgent developments in the Middle East that are so important that we believe decisions will be made in these next two months that could affect the destiny—the fate of millions of people in this region and even the future of Israel," Rick Ridings, founder of Succat Hallel, explains in a video.

Sea of Galilee level rises after heavy weekend rain | The water level of Israel’s main freshwater reservoir has risen by an additional 7.5 centimeters (three inches) following this weekend’s heavy rain, the national Water Authority said on Sunday.

Low Note

The Kedushah Crisis | Sexual abstinence of married men roils the Hasidic sects of Gur, Slonim, and Toledot Aharon | By Benjamin Brown, Tablet | Kedushah (holiness) was developed as a pietistic ideal for the virtuous few, encouraging married men to limit to the minimum the frequency and modes of sexual intercourse with their wives. Today, the Hasidic groups of Gur, Slonim, and Toledot Aharon (Toldes Aaron) have radicalized this ideal by imposing it on the community as a whole.

Israel Related News You Can Trust Feb 27 2019

Praying the Headlines: News articles for Believers who LOVE Israel

Israel
                Kushner on Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian Initiative: ‘We Want to Bring Peace, Not Fear’ | by Benjamin Kerstein, Algemeiner | White House senior adviser Jared Kushner spoke publicly on Monday for the first time on the details of the Trump administration’s yet-to-be-unveiled Israeli-Palestinian peace plan....  Kushner described the plan as “very detailed,” touching on all aspects of the conflict, including the “redrawing of boundaries and resolving final status issues.”
                Gulf states offering ‘de facto’ recognition of Israel | Yaakov Lappin, JNS.org | It is possible that both sides are also cooperating on covert operations in Iran, according to Mideast analysts.
                Sisi: 'If Jews return to Egypt, we'll build synagogues’   | Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post | “President Sisi spoke fondly not only of Egypt's past vibrant Jewish community, but also said that should there be a resurgence of the Jewish community in Egypt."
                Exposed: World Council of Churches Spying Against Israel | David Lazarus, Israel Today | Major global Christian organization has dramatically increased its anti-Israel activity, and is possibly breaking the law
                Hamas recruits terrorists from Jerusalem via satellite | Jerusalem Post | Hamas agents used agreed upon codes via Al-Aqsa TV to gain the trust of those they wanted to recruit to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel.
                Palestinians clash with police on Temple Mount amid efforts to end crisis | Jerusalem Post | The Palestinians entered the site, also known as the Gate of Mercy, despite reports that Israel and Jordan had reached understandings to end the crisis over the area.
                Muslims Still Trying to Keep Messiah Out of Jerusalem | David Lazarus, Israel Today | Muslims storm Golden Gate area of Temple Mount; Palestinians hail it as a victory for their cause and for Islam
                Iran launches large-scale maritime war games in the Persian Gulf  | Jerusalem Post
                The Anatomy of a Diplomatic Crisis | by Yaacov Katz, Jerusalem Post | Leaders in both Israel and Poland will need to find a path out of this crisis in a way that preserves Jewish history as well as Polish national pride.
                Can Israel Defeat Hamas Without Toppling It? | Yaakov Lappin, Algemeiner | Despite its radical Islamist ideology and long-term commitment to Israel’s destruction, Hamas in the Gaza Strip is — for now — avoiding high intensity armed conflict.
                Tiny Israel is Fourth Country to go to the Moon | Tikkun.TV Staff | Israel became just the fourth nation to go to the moon, joining Russia, China and of course, the United States.

Britain/Western Europe
                EU: Going Full Orwell | by Judith Bergman, GatestoneInstitute.org | The EU has launched a comprehensive Action Plan against Disinformation — protecting Islam.
                Guardian Again Falsely Accuses Israel of 'Massacring Civilians' in Gaza | CAMERA Alert | Another smear from the Guardian (British newspaper)
                German Government Records 60% Surge in Violent Attacks Targeting Jews During 2018 | by Ben Cohen, Algemeiner | In yet another dramatic sign of rising antisemitism on the European continent, Germany’s government disclosed on Wednesday that violent attacks...
                Thousands Demonstrate in Paris and Across France Against Surging Antisemitism | by Ben Cohen, Algemeiner | More than 20,000 demonstrators filled the Place de la Republique in Paris on Tuesday night in response to a nationwide call for...
                Europe: Trying to Legitimize Iran's Regime | Giulio Meotti, GatestoneInstitute.org |   |"The E.U. only seems to care about the nuclear agreement and trade ties. It pretends that the regime is legitimate and that Iranians have no alternatives to living under tyranny"
                UK Newspaper Investigation Uncovers Extensive Links Between Top Corbyn Aide and Anti-Israel Terror Groups | by Benjamin Kerstein, Algemeiner | A top aide to controversial UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has long-standing ties to anti-Israel terrorist groups and would likely be denied a...

United States
                IPT Launches Two-Part Series About Anti-Semitism on the Left | The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) | Alarming two-part series documenting the sudden rise of anti-Semitism on the left, including Democratic Party politics, the U.S. Congress, the LGBTQ community and the progressive Left.

                Amid a fallout with Turkey, Trump signs legislation blocking transfer of F-35 fighter jets | by Jackson Richman, JNS |
                Israel-hating Islamists Fundraise Off of {US MN-Rep} Ilhan Omar's Anti-Semitism | IPT News
                While hoaxes make headlines, real attacks on Jews keep happening | by Melanie Phillips, JNS | Such falsifications are justified on the grounds that they illustrate a “broader truth.” But they are in fact lies.
                Why The Media Downplay Hate Crimes Against Jews | Ben Shapiro for Jewish Journal | Jews most targeted group in America
                New US envoy on anti-Semitism: No distinction between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism | JNS.org | “I will work to eradicate the attempted distinction between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. There is no distinction,” said United States’ new envoy to combat anti-Semitism.
                New York Times Issues Correction to Front-Page Attack on Netanyahu | by Ira Stoll, Algemeiner | The New York Times has already issued a correction to its latest front-page attack on Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

About 150 years ago the first and only Jew to ever serve as British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

At least that is who Mark Twain attributed the quote to, and who doesn't trust Mark Twain?

If you guessed that this is part two of what I was arguing a couple of weeks ago about the manipulated statistics reported by the ADL regarding a "surge" in White Supremacy groups in the United States since Trump took office, you are right.

The manipulated ADL statistics are a false assertion that must be exposed especially among people of faith. We are to know the truth and not be taken in as so many are by "the persuasive power of numbers, particularly the use of statistics to bolster weak arguments." We cannot make informed decisions in our voting responsibilities if we have been convinced of lies based on manipulated statistics.

I'm sure the Anti-Defamation League, like the Southern Poverty Law Center, started out with noble motives, but today they are riding on a past reputation that has been spoiled. ADL and SPLC are too politically biased against Republicans and for Democrats to deliver the unvarnished facts about anti-Semitism in America. If they were, they would be forced to reveal that the source of the great majority of rising anti-Semitism comes from Leftist activists and much of it is originating on college campuses across the USA.

That is why it was disturbing to me to see the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs (headed by Naftali Bennett) publish the false statistics of the Anti-Defamation League with the indication that there was a rise of Right Wing anti-Semitism starting with the Trump presidency.  This is a false assertion that has been made across the liberal American news media, and the Israeli news media is just as Leftist leaning as their American counterparts in bias against conservative Republican leaders.

This seems counter-intuitive because one would think that Israeli news media would be more interested in seeking the facts when it comes to issues directly impacting Israeli security. Apparently the Israeli news media are just as agenda driven as the American news media. Perhaps it is because they want to oust Benjamin Netanyahu from office in a guilt-by-association-to-Trump mentality. For certain the Israeli media smacks of anti-Trumpism and do follow the lead of liberal American Jews on that point.

It is hard to see how denigrating the pro-Israel  constituency in the United States, but rather supporting those who side with the enemies of Israel, could ever produce good outcomes for Israelis... but that is what is happening.

At the very least the Israeli news media needs to recognize that the ADL statistics are so skewed, it really is a detriment to Israel's national security to make decisions based on them. Trump is not the cause of anti-Semitism in America and is the most pro-Israel president in my 67-year old lifetime. But fake statistics die as hard as fake news, and the ADL statistics are fake statistics that are being widely distributed for political agendas - not a pro-Israel agenda or even a pro-Jew agenda, but for American Jewish Liberal Democrat political agenda. Is that really what Israelis want?

Let's break it down to why the ADL numbers are fake. First the stats are too generalized. Reporting the ADL's report, the New York Times headline read simply: "Anti-Semitic hate crimes are on the rise, up 57 percent in 2017 from 2016." But that statistic covers 3 categories of incidents: vandalism, harassment, and assault.

According to the ADL: "The sharp rise, reported in ADL's Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, was in part due to a significant increase in incidents in schools and on college campuses, which nearly doubled for the second year in a row."

 Vandalism accounts for much of the overall increase, with harassment also seeing an increase, largely due to the series of false bomb threats made by a troubled Israeli teenager on Jewish institutions across the U.S.  The assault category actually saw a 47% decrease.

We know that the precursor to assault is harassment and vandalism, which points us back to the Leftist activist rhetoric on college campuses as the ground zero of anti-Semitic incidents —not Trump, who by great contrast is consistently vocal on his pro-Jew and pro-Israel sentiments.

We count on our government and our media to get it right, but what happens when their political agendas get in the way of relaying solid facts? We have to be on our toes in a propaganda-rich environment as information-overloaded as the world is today. 

How do we do that? The old fashioned way: we have to know the source — the original source of the information, and the reliability of the source publishing the information.  We always have to ask, does this source have an agenda beyond providing me with facts? Usually they do.  That's why I am devoting more focus in Arrows from Zion to highlighting important news stories from sources I consider to be reliable.

There are many individual ministry leaders that I personally count on to shed light on the news in and about Israel. There are also Israeli Messianic Jewish news platforms that are able to sift through and bring the news stories that are most pertinent to international Christians and Messianic Jews.  These Israeli believer sources and platforms are what should be our Ground Zero for obtaining the news we need related Israel, although I will also include reliable secular news stories and sources too.
— Donna Diorio

In Another League

Historically considered a wise point of etiquette, the admonition to "Never discuss politics or religion in polite company" does not seem to apply to the times we live in. When polite runs head on into the dangers of remaining silent, we had better start talking with others about our religion and our politics, or so it seems to me.

That is why this week I want to put in front of you some of the things that are being said about the upcoming election for Prime Minister in Israel by Messianic Israelis along with some of the directions Israel's Liberal news media are saying.

First, let me say that I do not know who would make the best Prime Minister for Israel in the coming season.  I am confident however that God does know and that He will have the last say in how the vote goes.  There is a scripture verse that says of God, "He removes kings and establishes them." But Daniel 2:21 goes on to say, "He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning." 

 

It seems to me there is an invitation there from God to believers to be with Him in our prayer petitions to Him for the next Prime Minister of Israel. God can do anything He wants, but what He really wants is for us to be on the same page with Him, because when we aren't, He has been known to give us what we wanted that was in opposition to what He wanted for us. King Saul instead of David, for example.

 

If believers in the United States were voting in the Israeli elections, there is little doubt that Benjamin Netanyahu would win this election hands down. The majority of Israel-supporting Christians are conservatives (Republicans) who relate to Netanyahu's strong Israel-national security positions.  To us, Netanyahu is a Trump-like figure, something the Israeli news media really doesn't like and writes to dispel.

For example, today in the Jerusalem Post Did Trump Interfere in Israel's Election by Sharing Netanyahu Instagram Post? the paper took issue with President Trump's re-tweet of the above pictured political billboard bearing the slogan,"Netanyahu: In a different League." 

 

In the U.S. that will be seen as a plus among Christian Israel-supporters but the trouble is, they are not well versed in the religious side of the coin. US Christians don't really know the factors shared in Daniel Juster's recent article about the political alliance Netanyahu is overly dependent on. Because of Bibi's need for the religious parties in his government coalition, it gives power for the religious persecution of the Israeli believing community.  This is something we need a real breakthrough in of understanding among international Christians, so please read Juster's,  The Painful Rule of the Shas Party.

 

There is also misunderstanding even within the Israeli Messianic community about the main source of rising anti-Semitism in the United States. The Israeli news media continually stress that it originates primarily in the conservative Right wing of US politics. Nothing could be farther than the truth.  This misunderstanding is based on liberal Israeli news media flat out misreporting and misrepresenting the facts. 

You can take that from the US liberal left Jews or from the liberal right Jews, but know this: "Republicans now sympathize with Israel (as opposed to the Palestinians) by a whopping 52-point margin over Democrats—79 percent to 27 percent—the greatest spread between the two parties in the last 40 years. Republicans have never been more favorably disposed toward Israel, while for Democrats, the opposite holds true."

Jonathan Tobin of the Jewish News Syndicate writes, No, there’s no Trump-fueled surge in anti-Semitism. Tobin cites false data by the ADL and other the false claims that Trump is responsible for provoking revival of right-wing extremism that targets Jews.  The Christian Family Research Council begins to clear up some of the false narrative in Left-Wing Anti-Semitism: The Greatest Campus Threat Is Ignored by the SPLC.

Benjamin Weingarten notes in Israel as a Partisan issue that "The Democrats have ceded the Jewish State to the GOP for future political gain" and asks, "Could it be that liberal Democrats have grown more Arabist, consistent with the growing anti-Zionist nature of the progressive movement?"

 

Aligning with the Jewish Liberal Left in the USA who are mostly Democrats, Israeli news media have naturally adopted the same narratives.  This leaves two big problems: (1) the real roots of rising anti-Semitism in the US goes unaddressed by Jews. (2) Israeli Messianic Jews may not be as questioning of the narratives they read in their own newspapers regarding politics concerning Jews and the United States.

 

On Twitter I see consistent false narratives from Israeli news sources about Trump, where American anti-semitism is originating from and our politics in general. To be like the men of Issachar in our day, we need to develop a sense of what subjects our news sources are trustworthy in reporting on, and what subjects they simply are not.

On Israel Today I noticed an article by Tsvi Sadan titled, Democracy in Danger: A Call for Revolt where he notes that "Israel's left is becoming increasingly hysteric in its outlook, now openly calling for violent revolt and even civil war." This is what we have been dealing with in the United States throughout the Trump presidency, plus all the accompanying dirty tricks of the so-called "deep state,"  the entrenched powers seeking to halt drag Trump from office by hook or by crook.

 

Anyone who follows Israeli politics is well aware that this is how the political game is played in Israel too, which means we need to be cautious about narratives, which are not the facts, and turn up our God-given discernment to the highest level.  Our nations are so on the line but God wants to give us understanding of our times so we can enter into unreserved agreement with Him as to which way we should go. We can turn our discernment into action in the voting booth - and we should!

If you remember my recent article The Cave of Adullam & The 3 anointings of David, when David fled from the jealousy of King Saul, he was joined immediately by 400 men from the tribe of Judah. But that wasn't the end of it because 1 Samuel 22 tells us that after that, "Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God."

Among them where the men of Issachar, who "came to David at Ziklag, while he was still banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish."  As I Chronicles 12:32 says of the men of Issachar, they were men "who understood the times and knew what Israel should do'.

We are like those men who came day after day to help King David (a type of Yeshua) until he had a great army like the army of God. We are also like those men of Issachar who came to David to cooperate with the will of God in setting up David as their king and fighting with him until it was done. The men of Issachar were those who were especially  granted the gifts of God in "wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning" —as are we! 

We need to see ourselves in a new light, not merely being politically opinionated like everyone else in our nations, but being in another league of Spirit-led understanding of the times and what Israel should do, so we may enter into full agreement with whatever God wants to do next. - Donna Diorio

Post Script: After writing this yesterday, President Trump delivered his State of the Union message to the American people in which he could not have made a stronger statement as to his personal commitment to the Jewish people when he concluded the SOTU speech with a strong emphasis on honoring Holocaust survivors, a Pittsburgh Synagogue survivor and strongly opposing anti-Semitism. See a small portion in this video clip (apologies for the advert in the opening)

Caspari Media Review gives a summary on Anti-Semitism articles in the Hebrew press, one of which highlights exactly what I wrote about in my opening commentary, In Another League. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, headed by MK Naftali Bennett got bad (false) statistics from the US for its annual report.

    I don't know about Europe, but as far as the United States, that conclusion is a bold faced lie, likely based on the deceptive reporting habits of long trusted Jewish sources that are no longer credible due to falsification of statistics by the ADL, SPLC and other trackers.

     Israelis need to wake up that this is part of the narrative battle that is being played out in the politics of the US, false narratives which are repeated as factual by the Liberal news media in Israel. This is a battle for the truth and the truth in certainly that the uptick of anti-Semitism in the USA is coming from Left-Wing activist groups, Islamists and their adherents. Right Wing anti-Semitism is factually miniscule in comparison.