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Tel Aviv Hospital Closes Last Corona Ward

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Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv announced Monday that it has closed its last active ward treating Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, following the current decline of the pandemic in Israel. Photo by Eitan Elhadez-Barak/TPS on 4 October, 2020

By: Aryeh Savir

Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv announced Monday that it has closed its last active ward treating Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, following the current decline of the pandemic in Israel.

The last 18 Corona patients hospitalized in Ichilov, the main hospital complex serving Tel Aviv and its metropolitan area, were moved to a designated compound.

In another ease of the COVID-19 related restrictions in Israel, the Cabinet approved on Sunday night field trips for youth movements in open areas and overnight field trips for grades 11 and 12 and post-secondary boarding schools in which at least 90% of pupils have been vaccinated.

The Cabinet also approved opening Israel’s skies to flights from any destination.

The operator of the airport will be restricted in the allocation of slots for arriving flights in accordance with the daily quota of 3,000 entries in total, the social distancing rules and the carrying out of tests at the airport.

The improvement in Israel’s situation vis-à-vis the Coronavirus is attributed to its success to rapidly vaccinate its population.

When asked about returning to a completely normal routine, Israel’s Corona czar Prof. Nachman Ash told Ynet News that “the closest thing to that will happen when we can achieve herd immunity, at least seven million vaccinated. That means children will also need to be vaccinated. I hope that will happen in the summer. We are waiting for the results of Pfizer’s research on the subject.”

The Ministry of Health updated Monday that it documented 1,339 new COVID-19 cases over the past day.

Of the 56,929 tests done over the past day, 2.4% returned positive.

627 of the patients hospitalized with Corona are in serious condition, 212 of them are on life support. The numbers here have been steadily dropping.

Over 5,165,000 Israelis have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, some 55.55% of the population, and over 4.2 million Israelis – about 45% – have received the second dose.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu estimated this week that by the end of April the entire adult population in Israel will be vaccinated.

However, Israel marked a grim milestone on Monday when it counted 6,025 who Israelis have died of the virus.

In a somewhat related development, an interfaith event was held at the Kotel, Western Wall, this weekend, led by Christian and Baha’i clerics and representatives of the Jewish community from Spain and Israel.

As part of the event, the representatives offered prayers to end the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, to heal the inhabitants of the world, and to restore order to life.

The event was held at the initiative of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism’s representation in Spain.

The initiative began in Spain, where believers of the various religions conveyed written prayers to their representatives in Israel to be placed in the Western Wall.

  (TPS)

Kosovo Opens Israeli Embassy in Jerusalem

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Kadri Veseli, leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), speaks during a press conference in Pristina, Kosovo. Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Zenel Zhinipotoku)

By: Zenel Zhinipotoku & Llazar Semini

Kosovo’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday it has formally opened its embassy to Israel in the disputed city of Jerusalem.

A statement said the move was made after the establishment of diplomatic ties with Israel on Feb. 1 and a Kosovo-Serbia summit held at the White House in September.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora announces that the Kosovo Embassy in the State of Israel, with headquarters in Jerusalem, officially has been opened,” said the statement.

Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed, as the capital of a future state.

Most of the international community doesn’t recognize the Israeli annexation of east Jerusalem and says the competing claims to the city should be resolved through negotiations. Most international embassies are in Tel Aviv.

Kosovo becomes the first European country and Muslim-majority one to establish its embassy in Jerusalem, following the U.S. and Guatemala.

Kosovo’s decision was taken when outgoing Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti met with Serb President Aleksandar Vucic at the White House in September with then-President Donald Trump.

“Setting of the plaques and the state flag at the Kosovo Embassy in Israel reflects the Government of Kosovo’s commitment to comply with the pledge for establishing the diplomatic mission to Jerusalem,” it said.

The new embassy is situated in downtown Jerusalem in the western part of the city. There was no opening ceremony, and Kosovo said it didn’t send a delegation to inaugurate the embassy because of coronavirus restrictions.

With Sunday’s announcement, Kosovo becomes the third country with an embassy in the holy city. The U.S., under President Donald Trump, was the first country to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, followed by Guatemala.

Several other countries have either opened or pledged to open lower-level diplomatic offices in the city, including a mission opened last week by the Czech Republic.

Albin Kurti, Kosovo’s prime minister-designate, has found himself in a difficult diplomatic position before taking up his post after pressure from Turkey, a close ally of the new Western Balkan country to change its mind about the Jerusalem location.

Kurti has said that “the place where the embassy will be located is to be considered following checking of the documentation of the outgoing government.”

Kosovo’s acting foreign minister, Besnik Tahiri, said that opening the embassy in Jerusalem isn’t connected to the change of Cabinet, adding that “it is clear for all the parties that the recognition of the state of Israel and the opening of the embassy in Jerusalem is one of the most important events during the recent years,” according to a statement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Kosovo that the move could damage future relations with his country.

Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed, as the capital of a future state. Most of the international community doesn’t recognize the Israeli annexation of east Jerusalem and says the competing claims to the city should be resolved through negotiations.

(AP)

Largest Pro-Israel Group in US Launches Ads Against Biden Pentagon Pick

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A prominent pro-Israel group is launching a targeted ad campaign calling on Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W. Va.) to oppose Pentagon nominee Colin Kahl, citing Kahl’s “antagonism” toward Israel and “disturbing” positions on Iran. Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com

Christians United for Israel calls on Joe Manchin to Oppose Colin Kahl

By: Alana Goodman

A prominent pro-Israel group is launching a targeted ad campaign calling on Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W. Va.) to oppose Pentagon nominee Colin Kahl, citing Kahl’s “antagonism” toward Israel and “disturbing” positions on Iran.

The series of ads will run in six West Virginia newspapers early next week, ahead of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s vote on Kahl’s nomination for undersecretary of defense for policy, which is expected to take place on Tuesday. Manchin has said he is still undecided and is likely to hold the swing vote on the committee.

The ads feature a statement by Pastor Doug Joseph, Christians United for Israel’s state director for West Virginia, describing Kahl as an “antagonistic anti-Israel voice” and asking constituents to call Manchin’s office and voice their opposition.

The ad campaign comes as a number of Republicans have come out strongly against Kahl, due to his positions on Israel and Iran, as well as his inflammatory Twitter comments. Kahl has referred to the GOP as the “party of ethnic cleansing” and a “clown show,” and approvingly linked to an anti-Israel blog that claimed the “Israel lobby” was trying to start a war between the United States and Iran.

“Kahl’s nomination may well hinge on one vote. And that vote will very likely be our state’s own Sen. Joe Manchin,” wrote Joseph. “Given his West Virginia values and common-sense approach to the Middle East, I am hopeful he’ll make the right decision and decline to support such a misguided nomination.”

“The stakes are high. I have every confidence that Sen. Manchin is disturbed by Kahl’s record on Israel because, like the majority of West Virginians, the senator has Israel in his heart,” he added.

Christians United for Israel is the largest pro-Israel advocacy group in the country and has over 77,000 members in West Virginia, according to a spokesman.

“Kahl’s hostility toward Israel is beyond unconventional. It’s outlandish,” says Joseph in the ad. “While serving in the Obama administration, he led an effort to strip recognition of Israel’s true capital of Jerusalem from the Democratic party’s platform.”

“Kahl’s disqualifying positions are not limited to his antagonism toward Israel. He has held numerous positions concerning Iran that call his judgment into question,” the ad continues. “Among the most disturbing was his opposition to America’s designation of Iran’s ruthless Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.”

Sen. Manchin did not respond to a request for comment.

The ads will run in the Charleston Gazette-Mail, the Herald Dispatch, the Register Herald, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, the Times West Virginian (Fairmont) and the Parkersburg News & Sentinel, according to CUFI.

“Colin Kahl is unfit to serve,” said CUFI founder and chairman Pastor John Hagee in a statement to the Washington Free Beacon. “His fringe pro-Iran, anti-Israel views would imperil the national security interests of the United States. The people of West Virginia are communicating with Sen. Manchin’s office and we believe it is incumbent upon the Senator to hear what his constituents are saying and oppose this nomination.”

(www.WashingtonFreeBeacon.com)

Are Trump & Biden Unwitting Allies in Forging Israeli-Arab Alliance?

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A man wears a mask bearing the national flags of America, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Aug. 31, 2020. (AP/Nir Elias)

Lebanese reporter explains the reasons Arab countries are now dealing with Israel, calling the Jewish state “the Arab world’s new soft power.”

By: Paul Shindman

“Even though the Saudis have not yet signed a treaty, they are firmly on board the anti-Iran wagon,” Vohra noted, adding that officially, the Saudi government denies it conducts any business with Israel, “but behind closed doors, cooperation between the Israelis and several Gulf nations is thriving.”

Now, with President Joe Biden working to rejoin the nuclear deal, the result Vohra says, is also to strengthen Israel-Arab state ties – “a once-unthinkable alliance” – for the same reason that Obama’s policies did. Those ties express themselves through “soft” channels, including strategic, technological, and business cooperation.

“Just last month, Israel called for the formation of a defense alliance with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, with Iran in its sights. It signed various deals with the UAE, the second-largest economy in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia, in tourism, health, agriculture, and the water sector. According to an initial estimate, bilateral trade between Israel and the UAE is expected to increase from $300,000 to $500 million a year.”

After years of cold peace with its neighbor to the west, Israel is also enhancing ties with Egypt. A senior Egyptian minister visited Israel recently, she notes, and it was agreed to run a natural gas pipeline to Egypt from Israel’s offshore Leviathan field.

It’s not just Israel driving the change. It’s also coming as well from the Arab business sector.

“Israel is enhancing strategic cooperation by creating lobbies with a vested interest in the relationship through feel-good business ties,” Vohra noted. “Business constituencies increase the stake in peace and reduce the chances of a conflict. Israel understands that and hopes that instead of being seen as a ‘war nation,’ as has been the case, it can prove its worth as an ally — and not just against Iran.”

Vohra writes that an additional reason for cooperation is the Arab world’s “general fatigue” in dealing with the Palestinians, noting that there is resistance to being “held hostage to the Palestinian issue” while Arab countries see relations with Israel as essential to diversifying their economies.

With Biden combining his drive to restore relations with Iran together with renewed animosity towards Saudi Arabia over its human rights record and the war in Yemen, the Arabs are finding still more common cause with Israel.

“Tense relations between Washington and Riyadh are leading to a new quartet — Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain. We might see them get closer whilst Biden runs the White House,” Yoel Guzansky, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv told Foreign Policy.

“Despite the challenges, Israel’s relationship with the Saudi and Emirati bloc seems to be on the up and up. And as they present a united front against Iran, Biden’s attempt to rejoin the nuclear deal will only become harder,” Vohra concluded.

(World Israel News)

Read more at: www.worldisraelnews.com

Israel Develops World’s First Laser and GPS Guided Mortar Munition

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Israel unveiled on Sunday the “Iron Sting,” a networked precision fire system, a mortar munition that employs laser and GPS to engage targets accurately and prevent collateral damage. Photo by Hillel Maeir/TPS on 26 October, 2017

By: TPS

Israel unveiled on Sunday the “Iron Sting,” a networked precision fire system, a mortar munition that employs laser and GPS to engage targets accurately and prevent collateral damage.

The Iron Sting is designed to engage targets precisely, in both open terrains and urban environments, while reducing the possibility of collateral damage and preventing injury to non-combatants.

Its operational use will revolutionize ground warfare and equip battalions with organic, accurate and effective firepower.

The 120 mm mortar has recently undergone final trials in a testing site in southern Israel. The completion of testing enables the start of serial production ahead of the system’s supply to the IDF.

The series of tests was carried out using two networked “Cardom” mortar systems developed by Elbit, one mounted on an M113 APC and a “Cardom Spear” mounted on a Hummer.

Head of Research and Development in Directorate of Defense R&D in the Israel Ministry of Defense, Brig. Gen. Yaniv Rotem stated that “10 years of research and development have led us to this moment when we can provide the IDF’s ground forces with advanced capabilities made for the modern battlefield.”

“This laser and GPS- guided mortar munition provides troops with a precise firing capability that has only been implemented in missiles and air munition thus far. This is a very complex program and a groundbreaking system on the international level,” he noted.

Head of the Weapons Department in the IDF’s Ground Forces, Col. Arik Avivi said that the precise guided mortar munition is “groundbreaking for IDF battalions, equipping them with accurate and organic firepower. This capability has so far been reserved for large and complex missiles. Thanks to this impressive technological development, it will now be implemented in mortar munitions on a wide scale.”

General Manager of Elbit Systems Land Division, Yehuda Vered explained that “the introduction of this laser and GPS guided munition transforms the mortar system from a statistical firepower into a precision fire system, thus delivering a significant change in fire capabilities at the tactical level.”

“We believe that we have been able to develop an efficient solution that enables to increase precision and reduce collateral damage,” he added.

Defense Minister, Benny Gantz said that the technology “changes the battlefield and provides our forces with more accurate and effective means. It fulfills the IDF’s needs, adapting combat capabilities to contend with enemies hidden within civilian, urban environments, while meeting the legal and moral standards set by the State of Israel.”

  (TPS)

Israeli and US Navies Conduct Joint Patrol in Mediterranean

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The Israeli and US Navies conducted a joint security patrol in the Mediterranean Sea on Monday, another shared show of force in the region. Photo by US Navy on 15 March, 2021

By: TPS

The Israeli and US Navies conducted a joint security patrol in the Mediterranean Sea on Monday, another shared show of force in the region.

The Sixth Fleet’s Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG-61) joined forces with two Israeli Sa’ar 4.5 frigates.

During the patrol, which served as another opportunity for cooperation between the IDF’s naval arm and the US Navy, mutual staff exchanges took place between the vessels for the purpose of learning and a cross-deck meeting of commanding officers.

The joint patrol is “another example of our strategic cooperation and reflects our shared efforts to maintain security and stability in the region,” the IDF stated.

“The joint patrols enhanced interoperability between the maritime nations through communication and command and control scenarios between the two nations, the US Navy stated.

“This is such a great opportunity because we always learn from each other and the crew and I are excited to be here!” said US Navy Capt. Joe Baggett, USS Monterey commanding officer. “We share a common purpose – increase the security and stability in the region to achieve prosperity through enduring partnerships.”

“The Israeli Navy, alongside our American counterparts, undertook a successful patrol to ensure the safety and security of Israel’s maritime borders. The Israeli Navy will continue to operate across all theaters to secure the safety of our citizens and the integrity of our sovereignty,” said IDF Navy Commander Baruch Haviv.

The U.S. and Israeli navies collaborate on a number of military exercises throughout the Mediterranean, including the recent Noble Dina, Noble Melinda, and Juniper Cobra exercise serials.

“Regional security and stability are directly linked to enhanced cooperation, understanding and collaboration with our partners,” said Baggett. “Through operations and training such as this, US and IDF enhance existing cooperative relationships and take great strides in safeguarding the region’s vital link to the global economy.”

This joint show of force took place just a week after Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter jets escorted two American B-52 bombers through Israeli airspace.

“This flight is part of the joint strategic cooperation with US forces, which is pivotal in maintaining the security of Israeli and Middle Eastern skies,” the IDF stated.

In an unrelated development, it was reported by TPS that IDF forces were successful in thwarting a firebomb terror attack on the community of Beit El on Monday night.

The IDF stated its forces identified three terrorists who threw Molotov cocktails at the houses of the Beit El.

IDF troops who were in an ambush in the area carried out an arrest procedure, which included firing at the terrorists. Two of the terrorists were hit. There have recently been several firebomb attacks on Israeli homes in the area.

  (TPS)

Settling Political Account, Abbas Stops Funding for Yasser Arafat Foundation

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Payments to the Yasser Arafat Fund were suspended at the behest of Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas, apparently another settling of political scores. Photo by Majdi Fathi/TPS on 11 February, 2020

By: Baruch Yedid

Payments to the Yasser Arafat Fund were suspended at the behest of Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas, apparently another settling of political scores.

In a letter received from the Palestinian National Fund, PA Finance Minister Shukri Bishara instructed Ramzi Khuri, the director-general of the Palestinian National Fund, to stop transferring money to the Yasser Arafat Fund.

Khuri replied to Bishara in a paper in which he announced that the order had been accepted by the National Fund and that all transfers of funds had been stopped.

The PNF is responsible for managing financial aid coming from a variety of sources, including funds from Arab states, contributions from wealthy Palestinians, and a “liberation tax” levied on Palestinians working in Arab countries.

TPS learned from sources in the Palestinian National Fund that so far the Arafat Foundation has enjoyed a total of $ 100,000 a month and the funds have been used for activities to preserve Yasser Arafat’s legacy.

“Abbas’ decision is intended to politically eliminate Nasser Qudwa, the foundation’s chairman and nephew of Arafat,” said a source in the National Fund. Qudwa was ousted from the Fatah Central Committee last week, in a move that caused a stir in Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, due to his intention to establish an electoral list separate from that headed by Abbas.

The Arafat Foundation is an independent, non-profit institution, established by a presidential decree in 2007 with the aim of preserving the “Arafat heritage” and perpetuating his memory. The fund conducts philanthropic activities and supports social enterprises, but a source in the National Fund said that the Foundation also funds political activities abroad, for the PLO and the PA.

The chairman of the fund is Nasser Qudwa, a member of the Arafat family, and alongside him in various positions are also the Palestinian capital tycoon, Munib al-Masri, Intisar al-Wazir, the wife of a senior Fatah figure killed in Tunis, and former PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.

Meanwhile, Qudwa is completing the establishment of the National Democratic Forum, which includes members of the public, and those who are considered supporters of another ousted Fatah member, Muhammad Dahlan.

Abbas’ entourage is very worried about the formation of a coalition in which Qudwa and Dahlan will cooperate, as well as Marwan Barghouti, and a group of figures brought together by Salam Fayyad, the former prime minister of the PA.

                         (TPS)

NYC’s New Schools Chancellor Spells Trouble

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Meisha Ross Porter, a veteran education department official, will be the first Black woman to lead New York City schools. Courtesy of the New York City Department of Education

Meisha Ross Porter is the newly appointed, by Mayor DeBlasio, Chancellor of the New York City Public School System (DOE). She will oversee the educations of over 1.1 million current students and manage a budget of over 34 billion dollars. So, what exactly are her leadership, business or success experiences to qualify her for such mammoth responsibilities? In our eyes, zilch, none. Her black-racial and political clout together with the current sprint to achieve “equity” at the expense of “quality” are the reasons why she will soon be raking in nearly $400,000 yearly in her newly acquired position.

Her work experience in the classroom, to actually face kids, to teach them, to learn about their needs as students, to work and share with teachers, was minimal to say the least. She spent merely 1 1/2 years in the classroom before being promoted to supervisor. And this without a permanent teaching license, leading many fellow educators to question her ability to do justice to the kids for whose futures she’ll be responsible. We’d love for Ms. Porter to show proof of passing exams for teacher or supervisor in the system or for the classroom write-ups, by her supervisors, indicating her teaching abilities while in front of kids. According to the New York Post, quoting a skeptical Brooklyn principal, “How is she qualified to be a chancellor? Under the current guidelines, she couldn’t even become a principal, given her lack of experience. She was a super fast track.”

Porter’s 2019 birthday/job promotion extravaganza at a flashy Bronx nite-spot also raises questions about her financial wisdom. The lavish $45,000, 400 guest, $111 per person shell-out affair raised the eyebrows of many who questioned her sense of propriety as a community leader in a low income community. She’s a queen in her own eyes. But more troubling are her goals to work along racial lines, to focus on racism as the obstacle to learning. Porter once told a Fordham University audience that she is motivated by the drive to “disrupt and dismantle systemic racism.” And she is burdened by two separate lawsuits that accuse her of creating a hostile work environment in her former job, one for an older white, Jewish educator and one for an Afro-Latina superintendent. Rafaela Espinal, said she was fired without explanation after repeatedly refusing to do the “Wakanda Forever” salute, a “black power and black solidarity” gesture. Will students have to perform this rite each morning in class?

Ms. Porter, in her new role, will surely try to dismantle the selection process for admission to the top high schools in the city: Stuyvesant, Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn Tech. Her quote: “The reality is segregation exists, and I’m not going to shy away from the importance of really looking at inequities around admissions processes.” That surely means that there will be a quota system for entry into these top notch schools which will signal their demise as such. Perhaps there will also be an “equity” solution to our schools’ sports programs with the doing away with the competition requirements that now have only the best, most qualified, talented kids selected to represent their schools in track, football, basketball and whatever on the fields, courts and tracks. We’ll wait and see if Chancellor Porter has her eyes on qualifications in all areas. Don’t hold your breath. Right now, her appointment to lead the already crumbling NYC school system has many parents scrambling, searching for private schools to educate their kids.

Watch Out for The Snake, Erdogan!

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Erdogan wants to destroy the good and still growing friendly relationships Israel and Egypt now have with Greece and Cyprus, age-old Christian enemies of Islamist Turkey. Photo Credit: AP

You cannot tame a snake to become a friendly, household pet. That creature never changes, always retaining its determined serpent-like deadliness. That’s a good way of describing Turkey’s current Islamist dictator for life, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Yet, he’s attempting an abrupt about face and reaching out for a better relationship with Israel, Egypt and the other partners of the recent Abraham Accords. Watch out for the slimy guy. He’s a fake-out. Turkey, going back a few years, although 98% Muslim, was then a strong friend of Israel. Its Jewish citizens, going back to the 4th century BCE were one of the first settlers in Byzantium. But Erdogan, an ardent defender of the Palestinian cause and huge critic of Israel, just last September addressing the UN, damned Israel for extending its “dirty hand” over Jerusalem and did not hold back on his punches when he stated, “The order of occupation and oppression in Palestine (by Israel), which is the bleeding wound of humanity, continues to hurt consciences.” And now he wants “reconciliation” with Israel and its new found Arab allies? Fuggedaboudit! He’s lying through his teeth.

The reason for this sudden 90 degree turn? Erdogan wants to destroy the good and still growing friendly relationships Israel and Egypt now have with Greece and Cyprus, age-old Christian enemies of Islamist Turkey. Erdogan and his cohorts also want to torpedo the current negotiations among Israel, Cyprus and Greece for the creation of a mammoth gas pipeline deal that would strengthen those three nations immensely. The Aphrodite Field, located in the Mediterranean Sea between Cyprus and Israel is immense and Turkey would like to somehow slow that creative process down with its fake “love-fest’ with Israel. The former Ottoman Empire, now a shell of its former self, has boxed its way into a corner with the regional democracies if has openly hated and threatened for years. He is not trusted by any of them. They are no dopes.

Turkey is also spreading lies of its new “friendships” in the region to stop the jelling of good will among Israel, Arabia and the UAE. Turkey belatedly understands that its own attacks on the states of the region have forced a unity among them to stand up to Ankara. Its goal was to drive a wedge between Israel and Greece, to isolate them and the other Gulf states to force them to work with Turkey on its own terms. Their plans have backfired. Now Erdogan, who despises the nations of Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Arabia and Israel, now wants to make nice to them to steer them away from their new found process of “strength through unity” and destroy them, one by one. He has, thank goodness, failed. Under President Trump, these nations have found there is more to be gained by friendship with one another and Israel, rather than hostility. We hope and pray that Mr. Erdogan will soon be toppled from his seat as leader of Turkey and a modern Mustafa Ataturk, that republic’s first President, replaces its current dictator and again brings peace and unity to that troubled region. That bad neighborhood may be in for a complete renovation!

Letters to the Editor

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Voter Fraud in the State of Georgia

Dear Editor:

The Washington Post just issued a correction as to the contents of the incorrectly reported phone call I had with respect to voter fraud in the Great State of Georgia. While I appreciate the Washington Post’s correction, which immediately makes the Georgia Witch Hunt a non-story, the original story was a Hoax, right from the very beginning. I would further appreciate a strong investigation into Fulton County, Georgia, and the Stacey Abrams political machine which, I believe, would totally change the course of the presidential election in Georgia.

Fulton County has not been properly audited for vote or signature verification. They only looked at areas of the State where there most likely would be few problems, and even there they found large numbers of mistakes. We are seeking to find and reveal the large-scale election fraud which took place in Georgia. Many residents agree, and their anger caused them not to turn out and vote for two Republican Senators in the January election.

The Consent Decree signed between Raffensperger and Stacey Abrams was not approved by the Georgia State Legislature, and therefore should be deemed invalid, and the election result changed. Why the Governor and Raffensperger ever approved this Consent Decree is one of the great questions? We look forward to an answer.

You will notice that establishment media errors, omissions, mistakes, and outright lies always slant one way—against me and against Republicans. Meanwhile, stories that hurt Democrats or undermine their narratives are buried, ignored, or delayed until they can do the least harm—for example, after an election is over. Look no further than the negative coverage of the vaccine that preceded the election and the overdue celebration of the vaccine once the election had concluded. A strong democracy requires a fair and honest press. This latest media travesty underscores that legacy media outlets should be regarded as political entities—not journalistic enterprises. In any event, I thank the Washington Post for the correction.

Sincerely
Donald J Trump, 45th President of the US

 

The Threat of Iran Grows

Dear Editor:

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps inaugurated a new underground facility designated for missile storage, Iranian state TV reported Monday.

The report quotes IRGC commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami as saying that cruise and ballistic missiles would make Iran’s navy even more powerful. The TV report showed footage of dozens of missiles in an enclosed space resembling an underground corridor. It did not say where the facility was located nor how many missiles were stored there.

Since 2011, Iran has boasted maintaining underground facilities across the country as well as along its southern coast near the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iran claims to have missiles that can travel 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), placing much of the Middle East, including Israel, within range.

We remain confident in the readiness and preparation of the IDF. It continues to undergo training to assess and guard against any threats to the country’s safety and Sovereignty.

Sincerely

Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI) Staff

 

Hiring Licensed Landscapers

Dear Editor:

With spring weather around the corner, many residents may be looking to hire a landscaper to care for their yard. For your own protection, Oyster Bay Town Clerk Richard LaMarca reminds residents to only hire Town-licensed and insured landscapers.

“The Town has a local law mandating that all persons, companies or corporations doing landscaping for hire in the Town of Oyster Bay be licensed by the Town,” said Town Clerk LaMarca. “Residents can identify a Town-licensed landscaper by the identification decal affixed to the driver’s side door of each vehicle and to the left rear bumper of any trailer used in the course of business. They are also required to carry the license or a photocopy signed by the licensee at all times.”

Town Clerk LaMarca noted that the law provides several other regulations. These include restricting landscapers to working Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. No work is permitted on Sundays. Also, landscapers are prohibited from blowing debris into a street or any public property without removing or cleaning it up immediately thereafter. In addition, landscapers are required to use a drop cloth or other device designed to collect spillage when refilling oil or gas tanks on equipment.

“The landscaping field has always attracted unlicensed individuals who are often not familiar with Town regulations,” Town Clerk LaMarca said. “Whether you are looking for a landscaper to simply cut the grass and trim the shrubbery or to install the landscape of your dreams, hiring a Town-licensed landscaper is the best form of protection. The Town checks to ensure they are properly licenses, have all insurances and that their vehicles are properly registered. The Town of Oyster Bay license assures that the contractor is accountable and that the Town is there for you should you have a problem.”

Residents who witness an unlicensed landscaper operating or in violation of Town Code can contact the Town’s Department of Public Safety at (516) 677-5350.

Sincerely
Town of Oyster Bay

Biden Can Trigger a Regional War by Reviving the Nuclear Deal

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Then-US vice president Joe Biden, right, offers his condolences to Prince Salman bin Abdel-Aziz upon the death of on his brother Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, at Prince Sultan palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 27, 2011 . (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

By: Majid Rafizadeh

The Biden administration, deep down, unfortunately seems to wish to forge ahead with its agenda to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — also known as the Iran nuclear deal, which, incidentally, Iran never signed — and subsequently to lift sanctions against Tehran.

The Biden administration also seems to be conflicted about reversing the course of the previous administration’s “maximum pressure” policy of economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The US had reportedly authorized South Korea to release $7 billion in frozen assets to Iran, until, on March 10, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged South Korea not to release the funds until Iran had agreed to return to full compliance with the JCPOA. Unofficial meetings between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 (China, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and France, plus Germany) seem to be on the way to resurrect the nuclear deal, in spite of major opposition from many regional powers, including Israel and Saudi Arabia, as well as US Senators Jim Risch, Marco Rubio and Jim Inhofe.

Governments in the Middle East have a valid reason to be concerned about the nuclear deal. They have already witnessed its negative consequences. President Barack Obama had pledged that he was “confident” the deal would “meet the national security needs of the United States and our allies”. Throughout that time, the Obama administration not only initiated and expanded appeasement policies, they made unprecedented concessions in an attempt to dissuade the ruling mullahs from their internal and external aggression. The US met them with generosity and flexibility every step of the way.

Soon after, however, many countries in the region – as well as US citizens — felt betrayed. It became clear that the nuclear deal had entirely overlooked Iran’s funding of its violent proxies, such as Hezbollah, which took over Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Houthis in Yemen, as well as Iran’s expansion of influence over large swaths of South America. This would have not been the outcome if Israel and other regional powers had been part of the negotiations.

The composition of the current negotiating team, similar to the previous one, completely excludes those on Iran’s doorstep. In an approach reminiscent of the bygone colonial era, it remains a policy set by governments thousands of miles away.

Worse, after the JCPOA agreement was sealed, the regional powers came to witness first-hand the impact of this nuclear deal. As sanctions against Iran were lifted during the Obama administration, it quickly became clear that instead of curbing Iran’s malign behavior at home and abroad, those actions had, in the eyes of the international community, given Iran a newfound global legitimacy. Both that, and the lifting of sanctions, generated billions of dollars in revenue for Iran’s military institution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as for Iran’s militia and terror groups. Tehran used that influx of revenues to expand its influence throughout the region, including in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. Iran’s expansion campaign proved immensely successful.

The Gulf states and Israel saw immediately that the threat Iran poses was never, and will not be, thwarted by this nuclear deal. Instead of preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons, as deceitfully promised, the deal actually permitted Iran in a short time to enrich as much uranium and manufacture as many nuclear bombs as it liked – as well as the ballistic missiles with which to deliver them.

Arab nations have already seen the consequences of the previous attempt at striking a nuclear deal. The Iranian-armed Houthis simply ratcheted up efforts to cause death and destruction in Yemen, and Hezbollah escalated its involvement and control of large swathes of Syrian territory. The region also saw a greater propensity for Houthi rocket launches at civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, the deployment of thousands of Hezbollah foot soldiers in Syria, and the constant bombardment of southern Israel by Iranian-funded Hamas rockets.

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed out, “We have already seen the nature of agreements with extremist regimes like yours [the Iranian regime]”. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan chimed in to the Agence France-Presse news agency:

“I think we’ve seen as a result of the after-effects of the JCPOA that not involving the regional countries results in a build up of mistrust and neglect of the issues of real concern and of real effect on regional security.”

By returning to a deal which brought nothing but heightened destruction and instability to the region, the Biden administration would be abandoning old allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia — which at least has begun instituting reforms — and instead empowering a regime that remains an existential threat to the entire Middle East.

One possible repercussion of rejoining the nuclear deal is that countries in the region may find no other option than taking military action against Iran, a move that would spiral into regional war. “With an agreement or without an agreement, we will do whatever is necessary so you do not arm yourselves with nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said recently during a memorial ceremony at the Tel Hai monument in northern Israel. Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi also recently warned:

“I instructed the army to prepare a number of operational plans in addition to the existing ones. We are taking care of these plans and will develop them during the coming year. Those who decide on carrying them out, of course, are the political leaders. But these plans have to be on the table.”

In short, the Biden administration’s attempt to revive the 2015 nuclear deal can easily turn both the region and the Biden legacy into a conflagration — as well ignite a resolute nuclear arms race throughout the Middle East.

             (Gatestone Institute)

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US foreign policy. He can be reached at [email protected]

Federalism Under Siege – It’s Not Just an Election at Stake.

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H.R. 1 is now before the Senate, and should it pass there, it will de facto disenfranchise millions of American voters.

By: Bruce Thornton

Fresh off their $1.9 trillion “Covid relief” pork binge for their blue-state political clients, the Dems have now set their sights on “election reform,” which is Newspeak for legalizing patent election fraud. Having passed the House, H.R. 1 is now before the Senate, and should it pass there, it will de facto disenfranchise millions of American voters. It also will launch an assault on a critical bulwark of our political freedom––the sovereignty of the 50 states that the Constitution makes responsible for running their own elections

The particulars of the legislation is a catalogue of antidemocratic horrors that will undermine the core mechanism of political accountability––one citizen, one vote; all voters on record as having personally cast their vote; and all votes counted expeditiously under bipartisan the supervision. The alternative is the chaos, last-minute rule changes, and numerous suspicious anomalies that took place last November.

The provisions of the bill point us to exactly that outcome, as the Heritage Foundation points out:

H.R. 1 would mandate same-day and automatic voter registration, and encourage vote trafficking of absentee ballots. It would eviscerate state voter ID laws and limit the ability of states to verify the accuracy of their voter registration lists. This would institutionalize the worst changes in election rules that occurred during the 2020 election. But H.R. 1 would go even further in increasing the security weaknesses inherent in the current “honor” voter registration and voting system that exists in states across the country.

As Heritage regularly documents, voter fraud is real. Yet after the January 6 protest at the capitol––preposterously called an “armed insurrection” despite not a single weapon having been seized––there was a bipartisan stampede to dismiss out of hand any possibility that the election had been compromised by fraud. To drive home the need for omerta, Donald Trump was impeached, and even seven Republicans voted with the Democrats’ patent show-trial. Yet no serious investigation was conducted to establish empirically whether or not the election was fairly decided.

What makes this negligence more galling is that H.R. 1 exists at all. If, as we keep hearing, the election was won fair and square, and there was not enough fraud to change the outcome despite the razor-thin margins in some swing states, why this bill now? Having just presumably demonstrated that fraud was negligible, why legalize the “worst changes in election rules” that will make the already substantial risk from, say, mail-in ballots, even greater?

Of course we know the answer to that question. For decades Democrats have been flogging “voter suppression” as an invented crisis for leveraging electoral advantage. Deeming in-person voter identification as “racism” was merely the banal tactic for obscuring the Dems’ real objective, which was to remove all checks on the voting process in order to multiply Democrat voters. There’s substantial evidence that, facilitated and rationalized by the virus lockdowns, it worked last November. So the natural next step is to build on that success and institutionalize in federal law these practices that guarantee voter fraud will proliferate.

Which makes one wonder why so many conservatives who criticized Trump for challenging the results, which they implied were unsullied by substantial fraud, are now complaining about this bill. Weren’t some of these same hinky practices like mail-in ballots, extended deadlines, revision of cast ballots, and ballot-harvesting widespread in November? If the election was not decided by fraud, then why not make those practices into law? Perhaps because next time the Dems won’t have a fortuitous plague to rationalize such dubious practices.

But let’s not forget the larger aim, one progressivism has been pursuing since Woodrow Wilson. The whole Constitutional architecture has been the target of those who favor concentrated and centralized power instead of the divided and balanced powers of the Constitution. The progressives dismiss the Founders’ achievement as the product of old, bankrupt ideas left behind by the progress of enlightenment and “scientific,” advances in understanding human nature and behavior. Now “experts” trained in these “sciences” are better able to govern and achieve a more efficient rule once the antique “checks and balances” of a divided government are subordinated to technocrats.

The bankruptcy of that idea has been obvious this past year with the coronavirus mitigation policies. Multiple experts were serially brought before the cameras and confidently predicted multiple conflicting “facts” about the virus and how it should be handled. At the same time, cost-benefit analyses and common sense were ignored. It wouldn’t take rocket science to figure out that locking down the world’s largest economy and its third largest population would damage livelihoods and lives, especially of the young. We know from the 2003 Great Recession how high that toll can be from the “deaths of despair” that characterize such calamities. Worse yet, the victims of the virus have been overwhelmingly the already-dying elderly, so these costs of dubious mitigation fell on those with the most to lose.

Indeed, this pandemic has been a graphic, deadly repudiation of the technocratic pretensions of our managerial elite.

But there’s a darker side to the progressive revision of the Constitution––power. The Founders were tragic realists about human nature and people’s ever-present potential to aggrandize their own or their faction’s power. They entertained no hopes for utopia or heaven on earth, but sought to guarantee political freedom and ensure that our unalienable rights are protected. What we made of that freedom and those rights would be up to us.

This imperative was necessary because of the great diversity of Colonial America. In our times “diversity” means the old, “scientific racism” version of crude, reductive categories base on superficial physical appearance or specious “cultures.” Hence the paradox of those who proclaim the importance of “diversity” ending up being the most intolerant and orthodox when it comes to different ideas and beliefs. But the diversity at the Founding was real, a consequence of diverse settlement patterns, folkway, religious beliefs, regions, and political preferences.

For those varied peoples, the states were the most significant level of government closest to them and their particular interests. The state also defended them from the concentrated power of the new federal government that always would be tempted to aggrandize power at the expense of the states, the people, civil society, and business. For the larger a power grows, the more power it seeks. Hence the need for institutional checks to protect the freedom of all.

            (FrontPageMag)

Bruce Thornton is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

When Minorities Vote GOP, the Media Smears Republicans as Racists

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The Democrats and their media keep shouting that Republicans are becoming whiter even as Republican voters and elected officials are more diverse than they have been in a generation.

The racism smears stink of fear

By: Daniel Greenfield

In just one week, the Washington Post churned out two op-eds on the same theme, “The GOP is Now Just the Party of White Grievance” and “The Republican Party is Making Jim Crow Segregationists Proud”. The D.C. Democrat paper doesn’t bother clarifying why Democrats from two generations ago would be thrilled that 1 in 5 black men voted for President Trump.

Ever since the election, the media has been beating its narrative drum with one message.

CNN howls that Republicans are the worst racists. The New York Times insists they’re even more racist than that. And MSNBC will counter that only white racists would vote Republican.

The most famous media exponent of the “white grievance” line is Stuart Stevens: Romney’s senior strategist, who went on to join the Lincoln Project. Stevens claimed on MSNBC that the GOP, “went down a path to embrace white grievance as its core” and that, “of the Americans who are 15 years and under, the majority are nonwhite. They’re gonna be nonwhite when they turn 18 and start voting and that’s the end of the Republican party as we know it.”

But David Shor, Obama’s battleground state election analyst, pointed out, “I don’t think a lot of people expected Donald Trump’s GOP to have a much more diverse support base than Mitt Romney’s did in 2012. But that’s what happened.

“My party obviously has an embarrassingly small share of African American votes,” Senator Romney claimed after embarrassingly participating in a Black Lives Matter rally. Photo Credit: AP

“My party obviously has an embarrassingly small share of African American votes,” Senator Romney claimed after embarrassingly participating in a Black Lives Matter rally.

President Trump had done better than Romney with both black and Latino voters the first time around. And he improved on those numbers the second time around. As Shor notes, among Democrats, “Hispanic support dropped by 8 to 9 percent” and “there’s evidence that there was something like a 5 percent decline in Asian American support for Democrats.”

1 in 3 Latino men and 1 in 5 black men voted for President Trump in 2020.

Meanwhile over half of the House minority freshmen are Republicans. This is the first time that more House minority freshmen have been Republicans than Democrats.

The Jim Crow segregationists must be really proud of that one.

As Henry Olsen, the author of The Working Class Republican noted, “Every seat Republicans have flipped from blue to red has been captured by a woman or a minority.”

These are strange numbers for the party of “white grievance”.

The Democrats and their media keep shouting that Republicans are becoming whiter even as Republican voters and elected officials are more diverse than they have been in a generation.

As Shor noted, Democrats gained “roughly 7 percent among white college graduates” and lost support among black, Hispanic, and Asian voters by 2, 9, and 5 percent respectively.

If any party out there is getting whiter, it’s the Democrats. And that has them worried.

These are some of the numbers that explain why Democrats are doubling down on accusations of Republican racism. These smears don’t reflect the real world, they’re a messaging operation by a radical party that bet its future on minority voters only to discover it’s losing its grip on them.

Democrat efforts to connect with minority voters backfired. As Shor noted, police defunding led to “conservative Hispanic voters who’d been voting for us despite their ideological inclinations” to begin “voting more like conservative whites”. And trying to win over Hispanic voters with open borders was an even bigger disaster. “Asking voters whether they lean toward Biden and Trump, and then emphasizing the Democratic position on immigration, often caused Biden’s share of support among Latino respondents to decline.” So much for immigration pandering.

Black leaders and voters rejected police defunding. By the time the election was drawing near, Biden and the Democrats were forced to denounce race riots and reject police defunding.

Police defunding and open borders are only popular with AOC’s base of white hipsters.

Unable to meaningfully connect with minority voters, Democrats have defaulted back to accusing Republicans of racism. And insisting, all evidence to the contrary, that they’re a white party. It’s not only a lie, but it shows the level of desperation and contempt by the Democrats.

The Democrats have defined white grievance as opposition to critical race theory and their culture war. But neither are especially popular with minority voters. Going to war against Dr. Seuss may thrill the hearts of AOC’s white hipster base, but black and Hispanic parents want the Democrats to stand up to the teachers’ unions and reopen schools. San Francisco’s obsession with renaming closed schools even led to a rebuke from its black female mayor.

The Democrat culture war is based around generating racially polarizing moments, but they have nothing to do with the real concerns of most minority voters. They’re the noise of a college-educated lefty elite, white, black, and otherwise, talking about its ideological obsessions.

Eliminating Dr. Seuss doesn’t frame Republicans as the party of white grievance or racism. Instead it shows that the Democrats are unserious radicals who don’t intend to do anything for minority voters, and can’t even prioritize delivering the financial benefits that they promised.

Eliminating Dr. Seuss doesn’t frame Republicans as the party of white grievance or racism. Instead it shows that the Democrats are unserious radicals who don’t intend to do anything for minority voters, and can’t even prioritize delivering the financial benefits that they promised. Photo Credit: Fox News

But, much like Robin DiAngelo’s racist tract, White Fragility, when the Washington Post serially accuses Republicans of being white racists, it isn’t talking to minorities. The Post has fairly few minority readers, despite claiming to cover a city that is majority black. But that’s not the city that the paper is built to cover. The Post is a government paper and its demographic are officials, elected and unelected, and the swamp of contractors, consultants, and lobbyists around them.

White people are telling other white people that Republicans are the party of white people.

The strategy is less about winning over minority voters than making white college-educated voters feel like racists if they even think about voting Republican.

Critical race theory and cancel culture are the barbed wire on the plantation for white voters.

Democrats kept black voters in by telling them that Republicans are racists. Now just as minority voters are beginning to drift over the invisible fence, the Democrats are telling college-educated white voters that Republicans are racist. Racism is the plantation’s fence. Minority voters on the plantation had been taught to fear racism outside the invisible fence while college-educated white voters are being taught to fear the hidden racism lurking deep in their own whiteness.

But the fear strategy, fear of the outside world and fear of your own dark side, has its limits.

The Democrats have gone from the party of, “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself” to the party of, “Fear thy neighbor” and worse still, “Fear thyself.” The party’s pitch has been distilled into fear and hatred. As more minorities vote Republican, the Democrats can only respond by ramping up the racism smears that have become their only real argument for the minority vote.

The more minorities vote Republican, the more the Democrat racism smears fly in the media.

(www.FrontPageMag.com)

Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism.

The Meghan-Harry-Oprah Event and a Look at the History of the Royal Family

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The Royal Family of the United Kingdom. Photo Credit: aptonline.org

By: Fern Sidman

As the Meghan-Harry- Oprah interview story continues to generate ink, especially in the UK tabloids, one can only look back in retrospect to see who the winners and losers are. Clearly, the UK Royal Family took a punch to the gut as did Meghan Markle and hubby Harry, also known as the Sussexes. Yes, folks, both “institutions” came out smelling pretty odious and there was no side that garnered all the sympathy and accolades. Both the Royal Family and the renegade pair who are enjoying life in sunny California with their son Archie and another on the way had their share of stalwart supporters and unrelenting detractors. So, in the end, no one won the prize for victimhood or virtue. The contest was definitely deadlocked.

Fear not, folks. At the end of every good story there always seems to be some winners. This time the loving cup and tons of those “Benjamins” printed at the US Mint goes to both iconic television personality Oprah Winfrey and of course, the executives over at Netflix.

The versatile Oprah who has vast experience in television production, the film industry and much more is already a multi-billionaire, but the $8 million that CBS forked over for the licensing agreement to air the interview definitely helped to bulk up her already gargantuan bank account. And let’s not forget the fact that she will have gone down in interview history as reeling in a big one while taking in the stream of praise that has come her way.

And for the folks at Netflix? That’s an easy one. One can only imagine a formidable group of executives from Netflix rubbing their hands together in glee as their eyes morphed into neon dollar signs while watching the Oprah interview. Oprah asked the Sussexes whether they have every watched the mega-hit known as “The Crown.” A loaded question right there as the series has catapulted Netflix to the front of the line as one of the premier movie and series producers and has garnered heartfelt paeans from just about every corner of the earth where there is a television.

So, just having Meghan and Harry saunter out to the interview set and mesmerize the world with revelations about the Royal Family that are beyond shocking is more than enough to motivate the average watcher to give some serious consideration to subscribing to Netflix in order to slake their insatiable hunger for the entertainment industry’s dramatic take on the history of the Royal Family.

And, of course, the mere mention of the series “The Crown” on both the Oprah interview and in the interview that late night CBS television talk show host James Corden did with Harry a few weeks back certainly can’t hurt when it comes to marketing the blockbuster series. Although the statistics have not been thoroughly researched, I would surmise that Netflix walked off with at least a few hundred thousand more subscribers, considering that 17 million people globally tuned into the Oprah-Meghan-Harry event.

Turning our attention to the focus of the interview which did reveal much about the machinations of the UK royal family it is noteworthy to review a bit of history about the family, so that one can get a better grasp on who they are and what they mean to the British Empire and the many countries that comprise the commonwealth of nations that recognize the leadership of the monarchy.

Even though the House of Windsor looks and sounds very British with their “stiff upper lip” and “carry on” attitude, the royal family has a very weak British blood line in their DNA. As a matter of fact, the royal family has way more German blood and practice more German traditions than they do on the British side.

The House of Windsor as we know it today began in 1917 when the family changed its name from the German “Saxe-Coburg & Gotha.” Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather, King George V, was the first Windsor monarch, and today’s working royals are the descendants of King George and his wife, Queen Mary. King George’s mother, Queen Alexandra had both Danish and German blood coursing in her veins and had German blood on his father’s side. Queen Mary was known as the princess of Teck, in the Kingdom of Württemberg in Germany, even though she was born and raised in the United Kingdom. Her parents were Francis, Duke of Teck, who was of German extraction, and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, who was a granddaughter of King George III. Rumor has it that Queen Mary even spoke English with a German accent.

Before 1917, members of the British Royal Family had no surname, but only the name of the house or dynasty to which they belonged. … The family name was changed as a result of anti-German feeling during the First World War, and the name Windsor was adopted after the Castle of the same name. German bombers were called “Gothas”, in reference to their manufacturer, Gothaer Waggonfabrik

This all stems back to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert whose 63 year reign placed its indelible mark on the United Kingdom. Both Victoria and Albert were of German lineage. Queen Victoria was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover (as in Germany) and the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha dynasty became part of the family in 1840 when Victoria married Prince Albert of that dynasty. Victoria was succeeded by her son Edward VII in 1901, upon her death. He was known as a descendant of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as well.

To this day, the royal family on the Emerald Isle still practice such German traditions like opening up gifts on Christmas Eve rather than on Christmas Day.

With the advent of World War II and the subsequent abdication of King Edward VIII (aka, David), the royal family did everything in its power to publicly dissociate with Germany. Because the two countries were in the midst of ferocious battle during both world wars, it was thought best to treat Germany as the enemy that it was.

Interestingly, history has recorded that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, (also known as the former King Edward VIII and his American wife, Wallace Simpson) traveled to Nazi Germany during World War II where they were feted by Adolf Hitler and prominent members of the Third Reich. There has been much speculation on whether Edward’s trip with his wife to Nazi Germany was meant to show the world that at least one country in Europe recognized him as the King of the British Empire and his wife as his royal consort, deserving of adulation and tremendous respect.

Another piece of information that has rocked royal historians to the core is a most interesting one. Prince Phillip of Greece and Denmark who later became the royal consort to the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth (and abandoned his foreign royal title and was granted a strictly British prince title by his wife in the early days of their marriage) was the only male heir of his mother, Princess Alice and his father Prince Andrew. His sisters all married Nazi officers. Redeeming the family from its connection to the Nazi party was Philip’s mother, Princess Alice. Although she also spoke German, she ended up back in Greece during World War II and helped Greek Jews escape from the Nazis who had invaded the country.

The Royal Family, however, has over the last thousand years, successfully navigated life’s turbulent highways. Although it has taken some serious bruises along the way, somehow, the pageantry of the monarchy has captivated people from across the globe and kept it in its favor. Despite the consistent presence of the Republicans faction in the UK that calls for the end of the monarchy, the House of Windsor still prevails and remains a much loved institution in the British empire.

Matzot and the Soviet Jewry Movement

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Moscow Choral Synagogue. Photo Credit: Wikipedia

By Larry Domnitch

There was a definite connection between the procurement of Matzot for Passover for the beleaguered Jews of the Soviet Union and their struggle for liberation from oppressive rule.

An announcement made in the Moscow Central Synagogue on March 16, 1963, that state bakeries would not provide Matzot, caused great disappointment. Congregants were advised to bake Matzot at home, but that would not suffice in providing for the great need.

That year, in 1962, several hundred Jewish students from various New York colleges marched silently for two hours in front of the Soviet UN Mission in Manhattan in protest against the ban.” In their released statement, they called the Soviet prohibition part of a “larger official attempt to destroy the bond between Soviet Jewry and the traditional roots of Judaism which have a national historical significance.” This was one of the first protests ushering in the era of the Soviet Jewry movement. Photo Credit: YouTube

A year earlier, the Soviet government officially prohibited the distribution of matzot throughout the Soviet Union. In response, Jews around the world began to raise their voices in protest.

That year, in 1962, several hundred Jewish students from various New York colleges marched silently for two hours in front of the Soviet UN Mission in Manhattan in protest against the ban.” In their released statement, they called the Soviet prohibition part of a “larger official attempt to destroy the bond between Soviet Jewry and the traditional roots of Judaism which have a national historical significance.” This was one of the first protests ushering in the era of the Soviet Jewry movement.

A few days later, on March 20, US Senator from New York, Jacob Javits, sent an appeal to the Soviet ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Dobrynin to intercede in allowing shipments of American baked matzot. Several American Matzo manufacturers offered to send abundant amounts of Matzot to Soviet Jews.

That year, the Soviets did not comply with efforts to persuade them.

The next year, feeling some pressure, the Soviets appeared to express willingness to make some concessions. A month before Passover, Soviet diplomats abroad responded to Jewish religious leaders’ inquiries on the matter of matzo.

In Washington DC, on February 7, Genardy Gavrikov, a Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Washington stated that Jews in the USSR would be entitled to bake Matzot after a meeting with Rabbi David Hill, president of the Young Israel organization.

One month later, during a two hour visit to Jerusalem’s Heichal Shlomo Synagogue, the Soviet ambassador to Israel, Mikhail Bodrov, wearing a kippa on his head, said he would look into the matter of the refusal of Soviet authorities to allow the import of Matzot for Passover.

on March 20, US Senator from New York, Jacob Javits, sent an appeal to the Soviet ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Dobrynin to intercede in allowing shipments of American baked matzot. Several American Matzo manufacturers offered to send abundant amounts of Matzot to Soviet Jews. Photo Credit: nyc.org

The following week, on March 24, the New York Board of Rabbis representing the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform, appealed to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights requesting that Jews be allowed to bake and import Matzot.

Would home baking of Matzot be permitted? Could it suffice? Private homes were inadequate for baking and supplying sufficient quantities. At the same time, there were additional arrests and incarcerations of individuals who were found baking matzot. That week, eight Jews were reportedly arrested in Moscow baking Matzot and their equipment was confiscated. This gesture was essentially cosmetic and the outcry from voices in the West intensified.

Would the Soviets permit Matzot on Passover?

The Chief Rabbi of England, Rabbi Israel Brodie, appealed to Soviet authorities “in the name of Anglo-Jewry” to permit Jews have matzot for upcoming holiday. He appealed to Soviet authorities “to permit the basic religious requirement to be performed in an adequate and satisfactory manner.”

That Passover, a special prayer was added to the seder by Rabbi Brodie, articulating the increasing identification of World Jewry with the plight of their brethren. “Behold this Matzo, the symbol of our affliction but also of our liberty. On this festival may our hearts be turned to our brothers and sisters in Russia who were not permitted to bake Matzo and to celebrate this Passover.”

The World association Jewish Students appealed to the UN Commission of Human Rights to intervene for the release of Jews arrested previous week for baking Maztot.” Their message also protested against the ban on Matzot.

As Passover approached, twelve major American Jewish organizations expressed readiness to send a planeload of Matzot. They urgently requested the consent of the Soviet government to approve this undertaking.” The Soviets did not concede.

As Passover began on April 8, a story appeared in Jewish Telegraphic Agency on April 10, that the Moscow Central Synagogue was crowded with worshippers, but “few were in a position to secure Matzot.”

The efforts did not seem to have had an impact! The Soviet response seemed once again to be ‘Nyet!’

But Jewish activists wanted results. With the arrival of 1964 as the outcry grew, the Soviets responded. Just prior to Passover in 1964, the Moscow Jewish community was permitted to rent a small bakery to bake matzot. By 1965, some synagogues in major cities were also permitted to be used for baking matzot. Jews were also allowed to receive individual packages of over ten thousand pounds of matzot sent from abroad. By 1966, bans were lifted in some capitals of the Soviet republics, and in the regions within the Soviet Southern republics that possessed Jewish communities.

The pressure intensified as the Soviet Jewry movement grew worldwide.

By 1969, the Soviets eased more restrictions and matzot were readily available.

The reduction of other restrictions accompanied the easing on Matzot. In 1971, tens of thousands of Jews would be permitted to leave for Israel. In subsequent years, the numbers of emigrants increased. The iron curtain was opening.

Glenn Richter, one of the founders of the activist Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry in 1964, relates, “We had the definite feeling that there was an effective ban by the Kremlin producing sufficient Matza and what little occurred was largely for show to the West. We well remember the effective ban the previous year, 1963, and that certainly pushed our actions a year later.”

The Soviet’s easing on matzot restrictions was part of a trend of concessions to international pressure. In a sense, it was Matzah, and the Jewish drive and persistence to fulfill the obligation of partaking of Matzah on Passover that helped to open the doors to freedom for many Soviet Jews.

Larry Domnitch lives with his family in Efrat.

‘Four Keys of Kabbalah’: A Relatable Introduction to Jewish Mysticism

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It’s not often that an author hides such a wide-ranging and impressive work behind a title as simple and unassuming as “The Four Keys of Kabbalah” by Rabbi Yisrael M. Rice, longtime Chabad emissary to Marin County in Northern California.

Rabbi Yisrael Rice incorporates eternal wisdom and practical life lessons

By: Menachem Posner

It’s not often that an author hides such a wide-ranging and impressive work behind a title as simple and unassuming as “The Four Keys of Kabbalah” by Rabbi Yisrael M. Rice, longtime Chabad emissary to Marin County in Northern California.

Couching Kabbalistic and Chassidic concepts in relatable language and analogies, Rabbi Rice deftly lays out the purpose of creation, human suffering and everything in between, and then goes on to draw direct lines between these big-picture concepts and how these truths are to be incorporated into everyday life.

Couching Kabbalistic and Chassidic concepts in relatable language and analogies, Rice deftly lays out the purpose of creation, human suffering and everything in between, and then goes on to draw direct lines between these big-picture concepts and how these truths are to be incorporated into everyday life.

Chairman of the editorial board and member of the executive committee of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), Rice has been on the forefront of Jewish adult learning for decades, and this book does not disappoint, bringing fresh perspective and relevance to timeless Torah wisdom.

Here, Rabbi Rice shares some of the genesis of the book, as well as what he hopes it will accomplish for readers:

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

A: I came to Marin County in 1987 and was excited to share Chassidism with the people I met. But I was disappointed. I would teach something I found earth-shatteringly revolutionary, and people would shrug and say, ‘What does this have to do with me?’ I realized that there was a problem with the messenger (me). I set about looking for a better way to convey these concepts which I have found to be so powerful and empowering. This eventually became a seminar, which gave birth to a series of JLI courses, and then this book.

Q: A reader of this book is immediately struck by how you begin with universal “macro” concepts, the Keys of Kabbalah, but you don’t stop there, tracing those ideas into actual mitzvah observance and going into the specifics of the various mitzvahs.

A: That’s right. I worked very hard to build a bridge between very big ideas and very small changes we can make in our lives, painting with broad strokes but filling in the fine details as well. To me, the two poles are both crucial and have a symbiotic relationship. Without the big picture, our Jewish observance—our very lives—lacks vitality and purpose. On the other hand, if it does not lead to action, the big picture is stunted. In other words, meaning is discovered through both deep understanding and doing something with that understanding.

Q: It’s clear that you paid a lot of attention to how you convey the book’s concepts, and there is a lot of rich storytelling, vivid analogies, as well as a touch of humor. Who is the book intended for?

A: My intention is to reach any person who is looking for deeper meaning behind Judaism. But it is applicable to any person, Jew or non-Jew, and most of it is perfectly understandable with minimal background information.

Q: Without giving away too much of the book, can you share what the Four Keys are?

A: Sure. They are:

  1. Everything that exists is brought about by a Divine spark;
  2. The Divine spark is concealed;
  3. The purpose of this hiddenness is for us to discover and uncover the spark;
  4. Only through discovery do we have ownership, and that gives meaning and value to us and our life’s work.

But spelling out the Four Keys is only the first part of the book. I then go on to demonstrate how these four keys unlock meaning in our everyday lives, including the performance of various mitzvahs.

Q: What has it been like to release a book during Covid, when conventional book signings and speaking engagements are virtually impossible?

A: You just said the key word: virtual. I have had Zoom speaking engagements where Chabad Houses or community centers bring together 50, 100 people for a conversation and we then share a link where people can buy the book. I have had Zoom book-signings showing people as I inscribe the book for them and then pack it up for shipping.

And there have been hidden blessings as well. Chabad emissaries are giving out a lot of care packages these days. Some have purchased cases of books to put into the packages, which is something I would have not expected.

Q: How does this relate to the very popular JLI courses you have authored? Is the book a product of the courses?

A: I would say it’s really the other way around. Over the course of decades, I wrote down and refined the ideas in the book. Along the way, a separate tributary opened up in the form of the JLI courses. Perhaps these courses will fuel future books.

Q: Do you have any final thoughts for readers?

A: The profound mystical idea is simple and elegant. More importantly, it’s waiting for you to bring to life in your own unique way. (Chabad.org)

The Four Keys of Kabbalah (including signed copies by request) can be purchased at kabbalahkeys.com and Amazon, where it is also available as a Kindle e-book.