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May 15, 2019 at 10:23 am
(Wednesday, May 15, 2019) – New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Bret Stephens spoke about the history and politics of nations whose interests are guided by their values as opposed to nations whose values are guided by their interests, in a wide-ranging presentation he gave at the annual American Friends of Migdal Ohr (AFMO) Gala last night.
“The West is in crisis because it is following policies that are not in keeping with its values and deep traditions, especially with the rise of antisemitism which is usually the harbinger of national decline,” Stephens said. “It is happening in Europe with the rise of fascist parties and it is happening in the U.S., when a member of Congress can explain the hold Israel has on the American imagination, as ‘a...
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May 15, 2019 at 10:20 am
Two Israeli companies are threatening a major lawsuit against a French company that chose not to bid on a tender to expand the Jerusalem light rail system.
According to Hebrew news site Mako, the transportation firm Alstom formally announced on Friday that it would withdraw its planned bid. Israeli companies Dan and Electra, which were involved in the prospective deal, claimed that the decision stemmed from concerns that the light rail project would violate human rights.
On Monday, the two Israeli firms sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, saying they had “received with shock the official position of Alstom regarding its participation in the tender, which in effect prevents Dan and Electra from submitting a bid for the tender.”...
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May 15, 2019 at 10:04 am
(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. State Department has ordered all non-emergency government employees to leave Iraq as soon as they can. Americans at the embassy in Baghdad and at the U.S. consulate in Erbil have been asked to depart the country by commercial transportation and are advised to monitor local media for updates, review personal security plans and review the complete travel advisory for Iraq. Visa services at each location have been suspended.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a surprise, last-minute trip to Iraq about a week ago as tensions between the U.S. and Iran have escalated.Pompeo visited two days after plans were announced to move an aircraft carrier strike group into the region ahead of schedule.Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump...
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May 15, 2019 at 10:03 am
In this year’s U.S. measles outbreak, parts of Brooklyn and Rockland County have experienced two-thirds of the reported 704 infections. The media generally blame an alleged low vaccination rate in these areas, each with a large percentage of ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Public health experts corroborate this message. Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control testified to Congress: “I do believe that…most cases that we’re seeing are in unvaccinated communities.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, declared:
“Coverage in a given community, when it falls below a certain critical level, you get the kinds of outbreaks that we’re seeing, particularly in places...
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May 15, 2019 at 10:02 am
Where does an alleged war criminal accused of torture and directing mass executions look for work while living in the United States? For Yusuf Abdi Ali, there was an easy answer: Uber and Lyft.
Within a couple of days of applying to be a ride-share driver, Ali said he was approved to shuttle passengers from place to place. He's been doing it for more than 18 months, according to his Uber profile.
When CNN reporters recently caught a ride from Ali, the former Somali military commander was listed on Uber's app as an "Uber Pro Diamond" driver with a 4.89 rating.
"I do this full time," said Ali, who drives in suburban Virginia. He explained that he prefers to drive during weekends because "that's where the money is."
Ali said he has driven for Lyft, too, but he prefers worki...
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May 15, 2019 at 10:02 am
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama legislators have given final approval to a ban on nearly all abortions, and if the Republican governor signs the measure, the state will have the strictest abortion law in the country.
The legislation would make performing an abortion a felony at any stage of pregnancy with almost no exceptions. The passage Tuesday by a wide margin in the GOP-led Senate shifts the spotlight to Gov. Kay Ivey, a fixture in Alabama politics who’s long identified as anti-abortion.
Ivey has not said whether she’ll sign the bill. Sponsor Rep. Terri Collins says she expects the governor to support the ban. And the lopsided vote suggests a veto could be easily overcome. But an Ivey spokeswoman said before Tuesday’s vote that “the governor intends to w...
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May 14, 2019 at 9:27 pm
Jerusalem, Israel - May 14, 2019 - One year ago, May 14, 2018, the United States officially moved their embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel. Today, on Agron Street, the site of former consulate, to be the official residence of the Ambassador, has signs in place.
At the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem, a few feet away, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, attended an event marking the one year anniversary of the US Embassy moving to Jerusalem and the declaration regarding the move of the US Ambassador's official residence to Jerusalem.
Also in attendance were US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and his wife Tammy, as well as Guatemalan First Lady Patricia Morales and Guatemalan Ambassador to Israel Mario Bucaro.
Ambassador Fried...
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May 14, 2019 at 8:40 pm
Baltimore City officials still attempting to recover from last week's RobinHood ransomware attack, but it could be weeks before the city regains control of its computer systems.
It has been a week since the initial attack that affected the city's computers, email and phones that remain shut down.
WBAL-TV 11 reports that, among other things, city use and occupancy permits are holding up. Portions of Cross Street Market set to open days ago remain dark. Real estate deals are also being held up in what's typically a busy season.
The hackers responsible for the cyberattacks have demanded $76,000 in Bitcoin to free the system, and Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young said that the city will not pay the ransom, even though that could be the less expensiv...
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May 14, 2019 at 8:17 pm
President Reuven Rivlin says the stabbing of a Jewish woman in Sweden shows need to combat anti-Semitism.
“Once again, Jews in Europe are in danger. Today’s brutal stabbing of a woman in Helsingborg, Sweden reminds us that we cannot rely on fading memories of the Holocaust to keep today’s Jewish communities safe,” he says.
“We will combat anti-Semitism until it is eliminated and we will not stay silent in the face of such events.”
Swedish authorities have indicate that the attacker today was a Muslim man. The victim remains in critical condition after stabbed several times and left for dead.
Read more at Times of Israel.
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May 14, 2019 at 8:14 pm
Donald Trump Jr. has agreed to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for a second round of questions, complying with a subpoena from Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who came under fire from fellow Republicans for demanding the testimony.
Trump Jr. struck the deal Tuesday to interview with the panel next month for between two and four hours. The committee had originally a set a 5 p.m. deadline on Monday for him to respond.
Questions about the Trump Tower project in Moscow and the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump campaign officials and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya are fair game, according to a source who was briefed on the deal.
Another source said the committee outlined 10 topics it hoped to discuss with Trump Jr., but the scope of the int...
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May 14, 2019 at 8:10 pm
Brooklyn, NY - Hoping to boost immunization rates and halt the measles outbreak that has continued spreading throughout the city’s Jewish neighborhoods, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office has released a pro-vaccination video featuring a well known member of the Chasidic community.
The just over one minute long clip has Alexander Rapaport, executive director of the Masbia soup kitchen network, takes viewers on a quick tour of the many community organizations that prioritize health including Hatzolah, Maimonides Medical Center, Yad Ephraim, Relief, Refuah and Ezra Medical Center.
Explaining the strong emphasis that the Jewish community has always placed on wellbeing, Rapaport is shown standing with two of his sons urging viewers not to fall for misinformation about immunization...
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May 14, 2019 at 8:05 pm
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a prominent foreign policy hawk, voiced confidence in a new interview that the U.S. could win a war with Iran, saying it would take “two strikes.”
“Yes, two strikes,” he told “Firing Line’s” Margaret Hoover when asked if the U.S. could win a war against Iran. “The first strike and the last strike.”
Cotton said that he would not advocate for a war with Iran but warned there would be a “furious response” to any provocation against U.S. interests in the region.
“I don’t advocate military action against Iran. I’m simply delivering the message that if Iran were to attack the United States it would be a grave miscalculation on their part and there would be a furiou...
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May 14, 2019 at 6:24 pm
Baltimore, MD - May 14, 2019 - In this shiur we speak about the difference between the hebrew words amirah and dibur. Maamaros are statements which have a permanence. Kohanim have the crown of Kehunah which they get simply as a heritage so the passuk says "Emor". Dibros are not permanent because they are spoken to people who have a choice. They require action to bring them into existence. The crown of Torah and the holy position of the high priest are given to someone who has earned it and is therefore constantly renewing their right to it on a daily basis. In that sense, it is an aspect of dibur.
Click here to listen
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May 14, 2019 at 6:23 pm
The city of Jerusalem marked the 1st anniversary of the relocation of the American Embassy to the capital, and illuminated the walls of the Old City and the Chords Bridge in the colors of the American flag.
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion: "The US Embassy is the first to move to Jerusalem, our eternal capital - the only fitting location for embassies in the state of Israel. We embrace and recognize our friends from the United States, President Donald Trump and Ambassador David Friedman - you are true partners
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May 14, 2019 at 6:12 pm
The Lawfare Project has announced that it has filed a new case against Kuwait Airways in Germany, over the airline’s policy of anti-Semitic discrimination on its flights. The case is being brought by a Frankfurt based Israeli businessman who booked a flight from Munich to Sri Lanka in November last year, only to be denied the right to travel.
The plaintiff in the new case, known as Shmuel M, booked business class tickets from Munich to Colombo, which was the quickest flight to Sri Lanka available from that airport. When Shmuel M asked about the availability of kosher food on the flight the airline asked whether he held an Israeli passport. When he confirmed that he did, he was told that he would be unable to travel and would need to speak to the airline’s lawyers for further i...
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May 14, 2019 at 6:10 pm
Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein’s message of Jewish strength to 800 young Jews
Just weeks after the anti-Semitic shooting at Chabad of Poway in Southern California that took the life of a congregant and wounded three others, the synagogue’s rabbi, himself injured in the shooting, visited the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where more than a million Jews and others were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. He proclaimed a message of Jewish resilience to a group of 800 Jewish young people from the Commonwealth of Independent States on their annual “Eurostars” trip to sites of Jewish interest across Europe.
“Am Yisrael Chai!” he cried out. “The Jewish nation endures!” His call was echoed by hundreds of vo...
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May 14, 2019 at 6:07 pm
In an interview with Lebanese Mayadeen TV last week, Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh said the terrorist group had demonstrated only a portion of its “power and determination” in its armed conflict with Israel earlier in May. He went on to say that his organization had “sufficient capabilities for a prolonged confrontation.”
Referring to the events of May 3-6, he said “these past few days were only a live-fire exercise for the resistance,” adding that he is certain that “a greater battle with the Zionist enemy is yet to come.”
Al-Nakhaleh said that the PIJ had not informed Cairo of its intention to “retaliate” against Israel.
He added that during the first day of fighting there was no communication with the ...
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May 14, 2019 at 6:07 pm
Russia - On his first trip to Russia as U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo warned his Russian counterpart against any “unacceptable” Russian meddling in U.S. elections.
At a news conference following three hours of meetings Tuesday, Pompeo said he told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that any such action by the Russians in the 2020 elections “would put our relationship in an even worse place than it has been.”
Following their discussions in the resort city of Sochi which covered an array of issues that have heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, including Iran and Venezuela, Pompeo and Lavrov briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At the start of that session, Putin told Pompeo that his recent conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump ...
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May 14, 2019 at 6:07 pm
Beirut - Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri has received a U.S. official as Washington mediates a maritime border dispute with Israel.
Acting Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield arrived Tuesday beginning a two-day visit to meet with Lebanese officials.
Satterfield’s visit comes a week after President Michel Aoun presented the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon with a “unified stance” regarding the demarcation of the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel.
Last month, Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told the commander of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, Maj. Gen. Stefano del Col, that Beirut is ready to establish the maritime border and special economic zone with Israel.
There are some 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of wat...
