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Israel Tag

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 18, 2016 3 Comments
Israel has debuted a sea version of their successful Iron Dome to provide more protection from Hamas and Hezbollah. https://twitter.com/LTCPeterLerner/status/732941770280013825 The sea Iron Dome will also protect the natural gas fields off the coast of Israel. The discoveries led to a $15 billion deal to supply Jordan with natural gas.

Posted by Alexandra Markus on May 17, 2016 4 Comments
I know a cover-up happened at Brown/RISD Hillel over an anti-Israel "Nakba Day" event held on the premises organized by a small group of leftist Jews and anti-Israel campus allies. How do I know? I was there. Such an event arguably violated Hillel International's Israel Guidelines (aka Standards of Partnership), but it is not an isolated event. And that is the bigger picture, how some local Hillels promote anti-Israel narratives and turn the one place on campus where pro-Israel students can feel comfortable into just another anti-Zionist forum. Here is the story of what happened:
  1. Left-wing Activism and Planning "Nabka Day" at Brown Hillel
  2. What is Zochrot?
  3. What is the Nakba?
  4. The Public Event
  5. The Decoy
  6. Caught Red-Handed
  7. The Aftermath
  8. A Problem from the Top
  9. Conclusion

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on May 17, 2016 3 Comments
Islamic State (ISIS) is getting logistical and military support from Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas, a senior official of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) told the press. IDF’s Major General Yoav Mordechai revealed that terrorists belonging to Hamas and ISIS were now conducting joint military exercises in Gaza -- along the southern border of Israel. Islamic terrorist group Hamas, founded in 1987, calls for the destruction of Israel and annihilation of Jewish people in its official charter. Hamas Charter makes it clear that the Gaza-based terrorist group does not see itself as a separate entity fighting Israel, but instead is a part of the worldwide Islamic jihad. The newly-exposed alliance between ISIS and Hamas should not come as a surprise to anyone. Both of these Islamist groups not only subscribe to the same doctrine of global Jihad, but are offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood movement that first started in Egypt around 1920s. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden also belonged to the same theological school of thought.

Posted by Miriam Elman on May 16, 2016 3 Comments
Every four years the United Methodist Church General Conference (UMCGC) meets to make policy decisions and set the direction for the denomination. From May 10th through May 20th, 864 delegates (half of them clergy) are convening at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland to consider over 1,000 resolutions. https://twitter.com/markdtooley/status/728246671138689024

Posted by David Gerstman on May 16, 2016 9 Comments
There continues to be fallout from the profile of Obama adviser Ben Rhodes that appeared in Sunday's New York Times magazine last week. Much of discussion of the article has surrounded who demonstrated bad faith, the Obama administration or Samuels. There are two targets of the criticism. In the MSM and left-leaning media the villain is David Samuels for writing a hatchet job on the administration. In the right-leaning media the villain is the administration for lying about the nuclear deal with Iran. But the question of dishonesty or bad faith is less important than the system Samuel described. From the administration's view, the article was, according to Lee Smith, "a victory lap," a boast of how they bested their political opponents and mastered the media. Little attention has been paid to exactly how the "echo chamber" Ben Rhodes boasted about actually worked.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 14, 2016 7 Comments
We reported on Friday that top Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddine was killed in an explosion in Syria, but that the circumstances were unclear, Another top Hezbollah commander killed – but who dunnit?. Badreddine was considered a master bomb maker, credited with developing that combination of explosives and gas that took down the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and numerous American and other diplomatic facilities. Badreddine of late was commander of Hezbollah forces propping up the Assad regime, and was hated not only by Israeli but also by many Arab states. So he had plenty of enemies, and plenty of people who wanted him dead. But he also lived in the shadows, with few photos of him prior to his death (Hezbollah has released more photos after his death) and a life lived under assumed names. While pro-Hezbollah Lebanese media immediately blamed Israel. That made perfect sense in light of Israel's presumed assassinations of numerous Hezbollah leaders, including  Imad Mughniyeh (mastermind of almost all attacks on Israel and the U.S.), his son Imad Mughniyeh (who was killed along with several high level operatives and an Iranian general),Hassan Laqqis (key Hezbollah link to Iranian weapons procurement) and Samir Kuntar (who killed an Israeli girl by smashing her head against the rocks on a beach).

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 13, 2016 4 Comments
There have been a series of assinations of top Hezbollah commanders in the recent past, including Imad Mughniyeh (mastermind of almost all attacks on Israel and the U.S.), his son Imad Mughniyeh (who was killed along with several high level operatives and an Iranian general), Hassan Laqqis (key Hezbollah link to Iranian weapons procurement) and Samir Kuntar (who killed an Israeli girl by smashing her head against the rocks on a beach). In some of the cases (Imad Mughniyeh) Israeli involvement was clear, in the others it's presumed. Hezbollah just lost another top commander, the brother-in-law of Imad Mughniyey, and its top commander in Syria, Mustafa Amine Badreddine. The BBC reports:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 12, 2016 6 Comments
As part of the Israeli Independence Day celebrations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted a live question and answer session on Twitter. Respondents tweeted questions using the #AskNetanyahu hashtag. Typical of most hashtag events, ne'er do wellers loaded up #AskNetanyahu with all kinds of silly questions. Unlike most hashtag events, Netanyahu responded.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 12, 2016 4 Comments
You may recall the name Janna Jihad. Janna is a member of the Tamimi clan from Nabi Saleh. Among the more infamous Tamimi members is Ahlam Tamimi, the woman who organized the Sbarro Pizza restaurant suicide bombing in 2001, and then broke out with a huge smile when she learned that more children actually were killed than she thought. The Tamimi clan also has a sophisticated media operation. Under the guidance of Bassem Tamimi and his wife, Tamimi and other village children are used as media props to confront Israeli soldiers for the cameras, including throwing rocks, hoping to create a viral image or video.

Posted by Miriam Elman on May 11, 2016 8 Comments
The Day of Remembrance for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism (Yom Ha’zikaron) began yesterday when a memorial siren at 8:00 p.m. brought Israel to a standstill. It marked the start of the commemoration day nationwide, with an official state candle-lighting ceremony at the Western Wall (the Kotel) in Jerusalem also taking place at that time. https://twitter.com/Hilajes81/status/730323383284604929 Another two-minute siren wailed this morning across Israel.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 10, 2016 4 Comments
Today is Israel Memorial Day, in which those killed in combat and in terrorist attacks are remembered. One of my goals is to follow up on the victims of the Knife Intifada. Last week I updated regarding the murder of Israeli mother Dafna Meir, who was stabbed in her home by a Palestinian teen in front of her children; the 16 year old was recently convicted. When I travel to Israel again, currently planned for June, I hope to meet with several of the families. You may recall our on February 19, 2016, report on the murder of Tuvia Yanai Weissman, 21, who was stabbed to death in a supermarket while he was shopping with his wife and baby daughter. When he saw the Palestinians stabbing other shoppers, he rushed towards them and fought them with his bare hands, but was killed in the process.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 08, 2016 8 Comments
As you know if you have been reading Legal Insurrection for years, we regularly track Gallup and Pew surveys of attitudes among Americans of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. What we see is that support for Israel among the entire U.S. population remains at near historical highs. For example, the Gallup survey released in February 2016 demonstrated that Americans still overwhelmingly support Israel:
The survey shows that support for Israel versus the Palestinians remains near historical highs, slightly up from last year:
Americans’ views about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remained steady over the past year, with 62% of Americans saying their sympathies lie more with the Israelis and 15% favoring the Palestinians. About one in four continue to be neutral, including 9% who sympathize with neither side, 3% who sympathize with both, and 11% expressing no opinion.

Posted by Miriam Elman on May 08, 2016 11 Comments
In the saturated market of U.S. anti-Israel activism, the political organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) plays a starring role. In many posts (see a partial list here), we’ve highlighted how JVP provides the façade of American Jewish support for pro-BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) organizations arrayed against the Jewish state. By presenting itself as the Jewish justification for BDS, the group gives “cover” to political and economic war on Israel, insulating BDS from allegations of anti-Semitism and providing it with a veneer of legitimacy. On its website, JVP boasts over 60 member-led chapters across the United States and more than 200,000 online supporters. These days it also has increased access to funding, which it uses to promote and publicize its “high profile” anti-Israel activism.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 05, 2016 2 Comments
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad confirmed he will sign a bill that will not allow public companies to do business with firms involved in Israel boycotts. Iowa's Senate passed House File 2331 last week in a 38-9 vote. The legislators hope the bill counters "efforts of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement." Palestinian groups began the movement in 2005 as a way to money and goods from Israel. "I just think it is wrong to be boycotting our friend and ally, Israel," declared Gov. Branstad. "There is a lot of opportunity for us to do business with them, and I don’t believe we ought to be penalizing Israel, of all countries. They are one of our best friends and allies. This is something I strongly support."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 05, 2016 7 Comments
If you spend any time reading propaganda from the anti-Israel movement, you will hear how Israel imprisons Palestinian "children," meaning anyone under the age of 18. Of course, many if not most of those children were participating in attacks on Israelis and are 15, 16 and 17 year olds who have both the power and the will to kill. One of the hallmarks of the so-called Knife Intifada is knife attacks perpetrated by young teens, with devastating effect. If you don't think a 13-year old with a knife is dangerous, than you have never been attacked by a 13-year old with a knife. One of those attacks by a Palestinian "child" killed Israeli mother Dafna Meir, in front of her children. We reported on the attack on January 17, 2016:

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 05, 2016 2 Comments
NATO has accepted Israel's request to establish an office at the headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The decision went through because Turkey decided to stop opposing Israel's attempts at opening an office at NATO. A non-NATO country needs unanimous consent from all NATO members in order to collaborate with the organization.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 04, 2016 8 Comments
Kuwait Airways has decided to stop all of their inter-European flights instead of accepting Israeli passengers. The Lawfare Project filed civil and criminal complaints against the airlines in Geneva, Switzerland, over their discrimination policies. They claimed the policy violated "the Swiss Penal Code as well as the Swiss constitution, which protects individuals from discrimination based on race, religion and ethnicity." "By cancelling these lucrative flight paths rather than admitting Israelis on KAC flights, the airline--a wholly owned instrumentality of the Kuwaiti government--is demonstrating its commitment to discrimination even while exposing itself to enormous pecuniary loss," wrote Lawfare Project in a statement.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 03, 2016 7 Comments
The newest offering from Prager University asks an interesting question. Why are there still Palestinian refugees and no Jewish refugees? Dumisani Washington of Christians United for Israel hosts the video and points out a number of facts which are frequently ignored by critics of Israel.
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