Pro-Israel architect of Iraq war is calling on the new administration to assert a bold American stance in the Middle East and expressing reserved optimism about President Trump’s chances of doing so… Wolfowitz has been preaching for increased American involvement in Iraq and in Syria, despite what he acknowledges is a lack of enthusiasm in America for “heroic ventures in the Middle East”…
Consortium News: As Official Washington fumes about Russia-gate, Israel’s far more significant political-influence-and-propaganda campaigns are ignored… The October Surprise… In some European circles, the neocons are described as “Israel’s American agents”…
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) featured our 2012 article: A New York Times’ headline reported that Palestinians in Gaza attacked Israel first. But the article itself explained that the rockets only came after Israelis attacked Gaza with an airstrike first, killing a Palestinian and injuring several others.
Analyst Jack Dresser discusses the Israel connection to Mideast wars, the injustice of a “two-state solution,” Israel’s loss of full control, the role of Jewish organizations in the Palestine rights movement, JVP President Vilkomerson’s husband’s employment at Israeli security company Check Point, and to what degree such groups will embrace a “transformative vision”…
Mocking Palestinian hunger strikers, right-wing Israelis held a barbecue outside Ofer Prison in the West Bank and served free food to passers-by to. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network has issued a call for action to support the strikers.
Israel is refusing to extradite the man, who made threats to 2,000 different institutions around the world, schools, malls, police stations, hospitals and airlines… JVP’s Alissa Wise had earlier said that Trump’s suggestion that the JCC bomb threats could have been made by a Jew was “a truly disgusting form of victim-blaming…” Kaydar reported to have earned $240,000 from his threats…
Over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails began a hunger strike on April 17. Israel responded by placing Marwan Barghouti, the movement’s leader, in solitary confinement, and said it will not negotiate with the prisoners.
Mr. Hafez calls the book “explosive and meticulously researched” and says “its scholarly content makes it an indispensable tool for any researcher on the root cause of Middle Eastern turmoil.”
As with every year, Israel issued a number of permits for West Bank and Gaza Christians to enter Jerusalem during Easter. But then it imposed a week-long closure on the occupied territories for the Jewish Passover holiday, which coincided with Easter celebrations, thus deeming all permits void for this week.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reports that Shneur Odze, a candidate for mayor of Manchester, found the New Testament in his synagogue. He took the offending volume outside and set it on fire, then posted photos of the book burning and wrote on Twitter: “Grateful to whoever put a missionary bible amongst our synagogue’s books. Was wondering what I’d burn my Chametz with…”