USA

Pompeo first US top diplomat to visit West Bank settlement, Golan Heights

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday became the first top American diplomat to visit a West Bank Jewish settlement and the disputed Golan Heights, cementing Donald Trump’s strongly pro-Israel legacy.On a farewell tour of the Middle East, Pompeo also said exports from the settlements could now be labelled as “Made in Israel” and […]

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Middle East, USA

Satire: Operation Warped Mind

I can just imagine …

Executive Order # (I’ve lost count) The people of America worship me for beating Covid19 with Operation Warp Speed  guaranteeing the production in the near future of effective vaccines with only 250,000 dead. Jared tells that statistic is bupkes. Although I don’t know what this has to do with the former football coach of the Chicago Bears, I believe him. Besides, I’m a billionaire who doesn’t take increments in the hundreds of thousands seriously…. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]

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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

Hate crimes, growing in number, still are underreported

In recent years, my past paranoia moved closer to reality with searing memories of the massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life temple, the killing spree at a Jersey City kosher grocery store and the murder of a congregant at Chabad of Poway near San Diego. These inflamed feelings intensified on Monday when the FBI reported that bias-motivated murders in 2019 increased as well as bias crimes in general, with a 14 percent surge in anti-Semitic incidents as part of it, according to media sources. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Jewish History, USA

Watershed Moment for the Middle East

Israel’s new agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, new agreements for airline overflights of countries with which Israel has no new peace or economic pacts, a new aviation agreement with Jordan and general Saudi and Egyptian approval have brought what many are calling a “watershed moment.” That “watershed” is the potential splitting of the Arab consensus on “Palestine,” as Arab countries weigh continued rejection of the state of Israel against the realities of life in the Middle East. [Shoshana Bryen]

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Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

Bahrain urges Israel-Palestinian peace in historic Jerusalem meet

Bahrain’s foreign minister called for fresh Israeli-Palestinian peace talks during a landmark meeting Wednesday in Israel with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Pompeo – President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, on a farewell visit to close ally Israel – did not address Israel’s dispute with the Palestinians, who have protested his

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Middle East, USA

US imposes new Iran sanctions ahead of Biden presidency

President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a major Iranian foundation and the country’s intelligence minister, further stepping up pressure before Joe Biden is sworn in.The Treasury Department said it was freezing any US interests of the Foundation of the Oppressed, officially a charitable organization for the poor that has sweeping interests across

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Middle East, USA

Pa. Supreme Court intervenes in Trump effort to disqualify mail ballots filed incorrectly by legal voters

PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court moved Wednesday to intervene in an ongoing court fight over challenges filed by President Donald Trump’s campaign to more than 8,300 mail bail ballots in Philadelphia.At the urging of city elections officials, the court’s Democratic majority voted to exercise “King’s Bench” authority over the case, which permits the justices

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USA

San Diego Dems Endorse Montgomery Steppe for City Council President

By a 4-1 margin, members of the San Diego Democratic Central Committee endorsed City Councilwoman Monica Montgomery Steppe to serve as the next president of the San Diego City Council, rejecting the candidacy of  her fellow Democrat, Dr. Jennifer Campbell.  Montgomery Steppe represents the 4th Council District, and Campbell represents the 2nd District.

The vote Tuesday night came after Montgomery Steppe was endorsed by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, Councilwoman Vivian Moreno, and outgoing Council President Georgette Gomez, The Voice of San Diego reported. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Jesse Gabriel new chair of Legislative Jewish Caucus

The California Legislative Jewish Caucus announced today that Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) has been elected by members of the caucus to serve as Chair for the 2021-2022 legislative session. Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has been elected Vice Chair. In recent years, the Jewish Caucus has grown into an influential voice in the State Legislature, and will expand to at least 17 legislators following the election of Senators-Elect Josh Newman (D-Diamond Bar) and Josh Becker (D-San Mateo). [California Legislative Jewish Caucus]

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USA

GOP Has Become a Danger to U.S. Democracy

While I cheer Biden’s victory in the presidential election, I lament the state of the union Trump is leaving behind. Sadly, Biden’s victory has not been a repudiation of Trump, as he received more votes than any Republican candidate before him, which shocked millions of Americans. Why? Trump is a creature of our own making. He may be seen as an aberration, but he is not. Unless we pay more attention to the tens of millions who voted for him, among many other despairing Americans, and address their grievances and frustration, a hypocrite just like Trump will rise and feed on the public discontent—another rebel in Trump’s image who appeals to the masses sickened by being ignored, another demagogue who personifies Trump and thrives on hatred, division, and contempt. [Alon Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Alon Ben-Meir, USA

Biden speaks to Trump allies Netanyahu, Modi

US President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday held his first talks since his victory with the prime ministers of Israel and India, allies of Donald Trump, who has not conceded defeat.Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had a notoriously rocky relationship with the last Democratic president, Barack Obama, that he was determined “to ensure

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International, Middle East, USA

Trump fires US election security official who rejected fraud claims

Washington (AFP) – Donald Trump on Tuesday fired the government’s top election security official, who had rejected the president’s unsubstantiated claims of “massive” fraud in the vote he lost to Joe Biden. Trump announced on Twitter the termination “effective immediately” of Chris Krebs, who leads the agency that jointly declared “the November 3rd election was the

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USA