Middle East

‘Squad,’ ‘Quad,’ ‘Quint’ All Seek to Influence U.S. Foreign Policy

We’re rather familiar with “the Squad,” but what about “the Quint” and “the Quad?” For now, the latter two are more likely than the former to have importance to a potential Biden administration.With the announcement of Tony Blinken as secretary of State and Jake Sullivan as national security adviser, the anti-Israel far left is at bay for now — both men are known to be personally reasonably disposed toward Israel. But if the Quint has an impact on the administration’s Middle East policy, both regarding Israel and Iran, and the Squad joins in, the U.S. position in the region will suffer. [Shoshana Bryen]

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International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

Iran commander warns of ‘severe revenge’ for scientist assassination

Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri warned of “severe revenge” for those behind the assassination Friday of a top nuclear scientist outside Tehran.”Terrorist groups and the leaders and the perpetrators of this cowardly attempt should know that severe revenge awaits them,” he said in a tweet reported by state news agency

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Middle East

Biden team stands by Palestinian-American staffer after backlash

Joe Biden’s transition team has said that it continues to support the appointment of a Palestinian-American to a senior position after critics accused her of anti-Semitism.Arab-American organisations had hailed the appointment of Reema Dodin, formerly a Senate staffer, as deputy director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs and the first Palestinian-American to serve

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Middle East, USA

Biden’s Team Turns Blind Eye to Palestinian Terror

President-elect Joe Biden’s first major foreign policy appointments are being hailed as centrists and experts. None of them are known as radicals, ideologues or Israel-bashers. News outlets have made much of the fact that the stepson of a Holocaust survivor is one of the key appointments. But a closer look at their backgrounds and associations raises disturbing questions about their views on Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict. [Moshe Phillips]

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Middle East, USA

TV Series on Yom Kippur War drives home peace necessity

Valley of Tears, the dramatic series currently being shown on Israeli TV about events in the Golan Heights at the outbreak of the Yom Kippur war, has had me and many others spellbound each week. Although several of my friends and acquaintances have told me that they are unable to watch it as it brings back too many painful memories, I find myself compelled to watch. I quite understand their attitude, and am almost surprised at my own ability to persist through every graphic scene. I admit that I find it difficult to sleep afterwards, but some obsessive preoccupation with the events of that traumatic time brings me back to the screen every week. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Ethiopian-Israeli activists denounce PM for failure to fulfill aliyah vow

Ethiopian-Israeli activists staged a demonstration outside the Prime Minister’s Office and even blocked the road on Wednesday morning in protest at the failure to bring those waiting in Ethiopia to Israel.In September, the government approved a plan to bring to Israel before the end of the year 2,000 of the remaining 8,000 members of the

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International, Middle East

Netanyahu welcomes passengers of first flight from UAE to Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed travellers arriving at Tel Aviv’s airport on Thursday, on the first flight arriving from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Israel, authorities said.The flight was operated by the airline Flydubai and was the first scheduled flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv, according to authorities.Netanyahu spoke of an “historic flight”

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Middle East

Trump is a good friend of Israel. We’ll see about Biden

In the recent election, American-Israelis voted 70%-30% for President Trump, the converse of how American Jews voted. That tells you Israelis value the president’s accomplishments abroad, feats which are not high priority for most Jews in the US. Under Trump, the US moved its embassy to Jerusalem, quit the Iran nuclear deal, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, declared that Israeli “settlements” beyond the 1949 Armistice lines are not illegal, endorsed, in principle, an Israeli annexation of up to 30% of the West Bank, and brokered normalization agreements with three Arab states under the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement. All of these accomplishments deal with reality in the Middle East, not some tired, fanciful panacea about the necessity for a State of Palestine to allow peace in the Middle East.  [Steve Kramer]

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Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA

What’s better paying in P.A? Nursing or terrorism?

In case you ever doubted it, Palestinians have the same conflict over career paths as you and I. Young Americans must choose between accepting a steady and lucrative if humdrum job or chasing a stimulating if risky profession. Such as a businessperson or teacher as opposed to an actor. The Palestinians last week presented their own contrasting example – that of a nurse or of a … terrorist. It turns out that it is far more profitable to choose terrorism rather than a nursing position or any other employment offered by the Palestinian Authority. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Business & Finance, Lifestyles, Middle East

Streaming Jewish Programs (Nov. 29-Dec. 4, 2020)

Following are programs of scholarly and popular Jewish interest that can be accessed via the Internet from Nov. 29 through Dec. 4, 2020.  All times are Pacific Standard Time. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

Biden appoints Palestinian-American woman to senior White House role

US President-elect Joe Biden on Monday appointed a Palestinian-American woman to serve as a senior member of his White House staff.Reema Dodin, who is currently a volunteer on the President-elect’s transition team, will take the post of deputy director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, alongside Shuwanza Goff.She will be the first ever

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Middle East, USA

Israeli PM, UAE Crown Prince nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Israeli media reported on Tuesday, citing a statement by Netanyahu’s office.The nomination was submitted by Lord David Trimble, a former First Minister of Northern Ireland and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, receiving the prize

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Middle East

Lebanon judge wants ministers investigated over port blast

The judge leading Lebanon’s probe into the deadly Beirut port blast wants three members of the cabinet investigated over their possible responsibility in the disaster, a judicial source said on Tuesday.On August 4, the explosion of hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands, and ravaged large parts of the

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Middle East

OpEd: Trump, Bibi stand at edge of illegitimacy

We’ve long known about the problems at the top of government. Democracy or not, it ain’t easy holding together large and–inevitably– complex societies. And now the issue is highlighted in the two countries closest to me: Israel and the United States. In both cases the Prime Minister or President have reached the extreme of illegitimacy. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA