Friday, December 04, 2015
Caroline Glick: America’s pathological denial of reality
How much lower will America sink before it regains its senses? Wednesday, two Muslims walked into a Christmas party at a community service center in San Bernardino, California where one worked. They were wearing body armor and video cameras and carrying automatic rifles, pipe bombs and pistols. They opened fire, killed 14, and wounded 17.Khaled Abu Toameh: Who Is Stealing Palestinian Land?
The murderers, Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik were killed by police.
Speaking to the Daily News, Farook’s father said his son, “was very religious. He would go to work, come back, go to pray, come back. He’s Muslim.”
Farook’s neighbor told the paper that over the past two years, Farook exchanged his Western dress for Islamic gowns and grew a beard.
These data points lead naturally to the conclusion that Farook and his wife were jihadists who killed in order to kill in the name of Islam.
But in America of December 2015, natural conclusions are considered irresponsible, at best.
In an interview with CNN following the shooting, US President Barack Obama said the massacre demonstrates that the US needs stricter gun laws. As for the motives of the shooters, Obama shrugged. “We don’t yet know the motives of the shooters,” he insisted.
So what Hamas is actually saying is: If the Palestinian Authority was able to steal large portions of land in the Gaza Strip in the past, there is no reason why Hamas too should not have a taste of the cake.Aaron David Miller: Does the World Need a Weak or Failing Palestinian State?
The Palestinian Authority and many Palestinians have expressed shock over Hamas's decision to compensate its employees with parcels of land. But besides strongly condemning the move by Hamas, Abbas and his lieutenants in Ramallah know that there is nothing they can do to prevent the land-grab.
The Palestinians are once again paying a heavy price for the continued power struggle between Fatah and Hamas and failed leadership -- both in the West bank and Gaza Strip. By stealing their people's land and distributing it among their followers, Hamas and Fatah are further undermining the Palestinian dream of establishing a proper state based on the principles of democracy, accountability, transparency and the rule of law.
Henry Kissinger recently asked an intriguing and politically incorrect question: With the state structure weakened in several Arab states and having collapsed in others, with Iran and Islamic State rising, and amid general instability in the Arab world, why create another potentially weak, dysfunctional Arab state in Palestine?
A decade or so ago, when I was a Middle East negotiator, even posing such a question would have been considered a hostile act among peace advocates or, worse, would have been seen as shilling for Israeli right-wingers and neoconservatives.
But amid so much disorder in the Middle East, it’s worth pondering–even if there are several reasons to be cautious or openly skeptical about the prospects:
Negative trend lines: In the Arab world, several states are melting down (Syria, Libya, Yemen); polities are run by authoritarian kings, emirs, or generals (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar); and a few, such as Tunisia, are struggling to reform. The region will be unstable for years to come, thanks to widespread dysfunction and/or plain bad governance, lack of respect for human rights, systemic corruption, and the absence representative institutions. Maybe a Palestinian polity would be different, being nudged up against Israel, the region’s only democratic state (however imperfect). But the challenges are enormous.
Netanyahu: Don’t worry, there will be peace ‘eventually’
Israelis and Palestinians will “eventually” make peace, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday, indicating that true reconciliation first requires profound changes within the Palestinian people, including a new leader.Israel Draws Up Document Justifying Legality of Settlements, Property Claims to West Bank
“Don’t give up hope. Eventually there will be, I believe, a Palestinian leadership that will emerge and will embrace a genuine peace,” he told a group of young German leaders visiting Israel. “Not a false peace. Not a tactical peace, but a genuine peace.”
Netanyahu did not say when he expected that moment to arrive, though he did not appear hopeful for a peace deal in the near future. He blamed Palestinian refusal to recognize a Jewish state “in any boundaries” for the ongoing conflict, explaining that such recognition is his key condition for any peace deal. “We want to know that we have a partner that accepts our right to exist,” he said.
It was unclear whether the Palestinians would ever recognize Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, he said, “but the day it [happens], then we’ll have peace. We’ll have the real breakthrough to peace.”
Netanyahu said that while he places Israel firmly in the camp of modern states, he does not want to marginalize the Jewish people’s Biblical attachment to this land. “We were here not a long time ago, only 4,000 years,” he said dryly, dismissing the notion of Israel as an unrooted colonial intruder. “We’re not Belgians in the Congo. Nor are we the French in Algeria or for that matter the Spaniards in Mexico. We’ve been around here a long time. And we recognize that there is another people here, even though they came thousands of years later. They still live here and we have to coexist.”
Recounting the early days of the Zionist movement, Netanyahu said that not many people lived in Palestine at the time. In the middle of the 19th century, the country “was largely depopulated,” he declared. “There were Arabs but there were not many. In the 19th century, this country was a backwater of the Ottoman Empire.”
Israel is preparing a document providing the legal justification for Israeli settlements, Israel’s Channel 2 reported on Thursday evening.Poll: Over a third of Americans back punitive measures against Israel over settlements
According to the report, the document – which spells out why settlement construction in the West Bank is completely legitimate and does not violate international law — will be translated into multiple languages and distributed to all Israeli embassies in the world.
The document is part of an initiative spearheaded by Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, who is guiding the Ministry’s legal team.
Channel 2 highlighted certain clauses of the document, among them passages stating that Israel’s property claims to Judea and Samaria are valid, as the land “was never under the legitimate sovereignty of any country,” and because the “Jewish affinity to Judea and Samaria is thousands of years old.” The settlements, according to the document, are not new; nor do they constitute “colonization.”
Just over a third of Americans support either imposing economic sanctions or "taking more serious action" against Israel for its policies in the West Bank, according to a new poll commissioned by a Washington think tank whose results were announced on Friday.Two terror attacks within hour in Binyamin region of West Bank
The Brookings Institution released the findings of the survey in anticipation of the Saban Forum, the annual event which brings together top policymakers from the United States and Israel to discuss developments in the Middle East. The forum is held every year at Brookings' Center for Middle East Policy.
Titled “American Attitudes Toward the Middle East and Israel,” the survey shows a clear partisan divide between Republicans and Democrats over perceptions of whom is to blame for the impasse in the Israel-Palestine peace negotiations.
When asked who is to blame for the deterioration in the security situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories, 31% said it was due to the absence of diplomacy, 26% said it was Israeli policies in the West Bank, and an equal number said it was because of Palestinian extremism.
Here, too, stark differences are evident according to party affiliation. Nearly four in 10 Democrats (37%) say that Israel’s expansion of settlements and security measures in the West Bank are to blame for the stalemate, compared to 35% of Democrats who say that a lack of diplomacy is to blame. Just 15% of Democrats attribute the instability to Palestinian extremism.
Among Republicans, 40% say the Palestinians are at fault and 27% believe that the absence of a serious peace process is to blame. Just 16% of Republicans said that Israeli policies were chiefly responsible.
When asked how Washington should react to Israel’s continued settlement activity beyond the Green Line, 31% said that the US should make do with critical statements and slightly more than one in four said that the US should do nothing.
Two terror attacks took place in the Binyamin region of the West Bank within the hour Friday afternoon.UPDATE: Arabs Stole Body of Soldier Stabber, IDF Chasing
In the first incident, a Palestinian knife attacker stabbed an Israeli in the village of A'abud, in the Binyamin region of the West Bank.
The Israeli, 20, was injured in the incident, receiving wounds to the upper body. The victim is in moderate-to-severe condition, according to MDA.
The victim was treated at the scene by MDA paramedics and evacuated to Sheba Medical Center, near Tel Aviv.
The attacker, identified as Abed al-Rahman al-Barghouthi, 27, was shot and killed following the incident, according to Palestinian news agency Ma'an.
In the second incident, two IDF soldiers were lightly injured by a vehicle ramming attack near Ofra in the West Bank on Friday afternoon. Soldiers on the scene shot and killed the Palestinian driver who carried out the attack.
The incidents come less than 24 hours after an IDF soldier and an Israeli civilian were wounded in a terrorist shooting attack at the Hizma checkpoint outside the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev.
An IDF soldier was stabbed in the neck during a riot in the Arab village of Aboud near the Israeli village of Halamish, a.k.a. Neveh Tzuf. The terrorist was shot dead. The soldier, in serious condition, was rushed to Sheba Medical Center and, according to reports, lost consciousness in the ambulance.Hevron stabbers: 15 and 17-year-old Palestinians
According to Arab sources, the terrorist was Abdel-Rahman Barghouti, 28. Local Arab rioters managed to grab the dead terrorist’s body and IDF forces are giving chase.
The terrorists behind the Hevron stabbing attack Thursday night were a pair of teen cousins living in the city in Judea, it was cleared for publication Friday.Hanukkah Miracle: High Court Returns to Prison Eight Terrorists Freed in Shalit Deal
Mustafa and Taher Fanoun, 15 and 17, arrived at a security checkpoint in Hevron's Tel Rumeida neighborhood overnight and stabbed a soldier; IDF forces shot them dead at the scene.
Taher posted to his Facebook page that he is a member of the "Hizab a-Tahrir" - a group which advocates an Islamist Caliphate, like Islamic State (ISIS) - and urged his fellow Palestinian Arabs to wage attacks in the name of establishing a state under Islamist Sharia law.
In addition, a suicide note was found on one of the terrorist's bodies, Walla! News reports.
Addressed to the boy's father, the terrorist stated he wants to be a "martyr," praised other "marytrs" from the current terror wave, and hoped his father will be proud of him.
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the decision of the security apparatus to return to prison eight Arab terrorists with Jewish blood on their hands who were freed in the Shalit deal four years ago. The eight were caught again last year in a wave of arrests made following the kidnapping of three boys in Gush Etzion.PM offers ‘deepest condolences’ to San Bernardino victims’ families
The terrorists argued that their detention is motivated by political considerations, and that when they were freed no one warned them that they could breach their conditions for release, as the prosecution was arguing in favor of for their renewed detention.
Justice Elyakim Rubinstein argued in a dissenting view that the state should accept part of their argument and return them to prison for only a few years and not make them serve their full original sentence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday night extended his condolences to the families of the victims of the San Bernardino shooting attack on Wednesday.Motive? Pro-Israel, Conservative Co-Worker Told Farook Islam Not a Peaceful Religion
“The people of Israel stand with the American people as they mourn those murdered Wednesday in San Bernardino. We send our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish the wounded a speedy recovery,” the prime minister said in a statement.
Fourteen people were killed and 21 wounded when two assailants opened fire inside the Inland Regional Center, police said Thursday, revising the toll of injured up from 17.
Well here’s a possible motive: a strongly pro-Israel, anti-Islamic, politically conservative Evangelical Christian was one of the victims of the mass murder in San Bernardino. Not only that, but the man posted on social media the day before the attack that he had recently received threats, including a death threat.Report: San Bernardino Attacker Pledged Allegiance to Islamic State
How do we know this?
Information about the victims is finally being released.
By 3:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, Dec. 3, the families of all fourteen of the deceased victims of Wednesday’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, California had been notified. Once that was completed, the San Bernardino County Coroner then released the names, ages, last residence and date of birth for each victim.
The youngest victim was 26 years old, the oldest was 60.
Once information began to seep out, one was (or at least some of of us were) immediately struck by details about one of the victims, 52 year old Nicholas Thalasinos.
Federal investigators believe that the female suspect in Wednesday’s gun attack in San Bernardino, California, pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State on social media.San Bernardino Shooter Tied to More Than One International Terror Subject
CNN reported Friday that officials close to the probe said investigators have evidence that Tashfeen Malik, 27, expressed her allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a Facebook post while the attack was occurring late Wednesday morning.
According to one official, the female suspect posted to a Facebook account bearing a different name than her own. It is unclear how investigators know that she posted the message.
The FBI is treating the San Bernardino attack as a possible terrorist investigation after finding evidence that the second suspect, 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook, had contact with Islamist extremists. Law enforcement officers also found a dozen homemade pipe bombs and thousands of rounds of ammunition at the home of Farook and Malik, who were husband and wife.
Emerging details suggest that Wednesday’s mass-shooting attack in San Bernardino may have been an extensive terror plot. Gunman Syed Rizwan Farook, who along with his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people and injured at least 17 more after storming a social services center, had been in contact with “more than one international terrorism subject,” CNN reported on Thursday.San Bernardino Shooter Passed DHS Counterterrorism Screening
San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook was in touch over the phone and via social media with more than one international terrorism subject who the FBI were already investigating, law enforcement officials said.
It appears that Farook was radicalized, which contributed to his motive, though other things — like workplace grievances — may have also played a role, other law enforcement sources said.
NBC added that Farook and Malik, both of whom were killed in a shootout with police, left an explosive device at the site of the attack. Authorities believe that the couple planned to detonate the bomb remotely after first responders arrived to the scene. They gave no reason as to why the device did not explode.
CBS News reports that one of the shooting suspects in the San Bernardino massacre Wednesday passed the Department of Homeland Security's "counterterrorism screening as part of her vetting" for a visa.How jihadists link Paris and Jerusalem
Writes the National Review:
"Federal officials maintain that they have a rigorous and effective screening process in place for people from countries such as Syria that have significant jihadist movements, making the immigration records of the San Bernardino shooters a potentially significant piece of the debate over refugee policy."
Senators Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) want President Obama to release the immigration records of the San Bernardino shooters, claiming the records are relevant to the debate about Syrian refugee resettlement.
“We are dealing with an enemy that has shown it is not only capable of bypassing U.S. screening, but of recruiting and radicalizing Muslim migrants after their entry to the United States,” Cruz and Sessions wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
So the jihadis have told us what the root causes of their atrocities are: France’s “crusader” war against radical Islam and its insulting of their prophet. It may baffle Westerners but it makes sense to Islamic jihadists. One of the keys to defeating Radical Islamic terrorist organizations is understanding their culture and internal logic; one must avoid superimposing Western logic and rationales.Daniel Pipes: Muslim ‘No-Go Zones’ In Europe?
Palestinian jihadists say that Western observers have misunderstood radical Islamic Palestinian terrorism. Westerners condemn Palestinian terrorism conditionally. They rationalize deadly assaults by superimposing Western “root causes” invariably linking Palestinian terrorism to accusations of Israeli “occupation” and settlement building. A good example of Western thinking is the extraordinary comments of former French ambassador to Israel Jacques Huntziger, who three days following the September 11, 2001 attacks differentiated between Hamas and al-Qaida terrorism during a foreign diplomatic corps event hosted by president Moshe Katzav in Jerusalem. Referring to scores of Hamas terrorist attacks including one just several days earlier, Huntziger told this writer, then a reporter for Israel’s Channel One English News, that, “We all condemn the terrorism Hamas and Islamic Jihad perpetrate here, but this terrorism is linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which must be solved. One cannot compare this conflict to the tragic events in the US. Such a comparison would be politically irresponsible. Arafat must act to stop terrorism, but this conflict must be settled.”
Huntzinger’s differentiation between jihad in the US and Israel was broadly condemned by the Israeli leadership and Knesset at the time. But it reflects the double standard that continues to characterize Western responses to radical Islamic terrorist attacks in Israel – in stark contrast to the self-declared motivations of Palestinian and other jihadists themselves, whether loyal to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Al Aksa Martyrs’ Brigades, Hezbollah, al-Qaida or IS. Palestinian terrorists have long reminded us that their motivations are religious, ideological and maximalist. They murder and terrorize not to establish a Palestinian state, but to destroy the only Jewish state.
How to reconcile these experiences? My visits establish that non-Muslim civilians can usually enter majority-Muslim areas without fear. But things look very different from the governmental point of view. On a routine basis, firefighters, ambulance workers, and even social workers meet with hostility and violence. For example, days after I visited the Marseille slum, its residents shot at police preparing for a visit by the prime minister of France. Thus does it and its ilk represent a no-go zone for police, a place which government representatives enter only when heavily armed, in convoys, temporarily, and with a specific mission.MEMRI: Leading Up To The Bataclan Massacre In Paris: ISIS's Jihad Against Music
The term no-go zone is informal (apparently deriving from American military argot); dictionaries ascribe it two meanings in line with my conclusions: either (1) ordinary people staying away from an area out of fear or (2) the representatives of the state entering only under exceptional circumstances. ZUS do not fit the first descripton but do fit the second.
Whether or not Molenbeek, Rinkeby, and the Marseilles slum are no-go zones, then, depends on what aspect one choses to emphasize – their acessibility to ordinary visitors at ordinary times or their inaccessibility to government officials in times of tension. There are also no-go gradations, some places where attacks are more frequent and violent, others less so. However one sums up this complex situation – maybe partial-no-go zones? – they represent a great danger.
Following the November 13 attack on the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, the Islamic State (ISIS) released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, and noting that it was a response to France's war on Islam and its insult to Muhammad. The attack against France, it said, was a warning, and only the "first rain." It also revealed that eight men wearing explosive belts and carrying machine guns had raided "carefully chosen" targets in the heart of the French capital, including, in addition to the concert hall, the Stade de France national stadium and a number of targets in the 10th, 11th and 18th districts of the city.Europe Unafraid? NYE Celebrations Set To Be Cancelled In Paris, German MP Working On Fireworks Ban
About the Bataclan concert hall, where the majority of the attack's victims were attending a concert by the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal, ISIS wrote that the place had been packed with hundreds of "polytheists" at a party of "fornication and debauchery." Thanks to Allah, it said, the simultaneous attack had succeeded in shaking Paris and its streets, and killing more than "200 Crusaders."
The choice of the Bataclan is in line with ISIS's hatred for the West. It included an American band, a packed concert hall with intermingled sexes, women in Western dress, alcohol, and live music – all things it considers un-Islamic and forbidden.
As some parts of the world prepare to enjoy the festive season, terror-scarred Europe awaits the prospect of large numbers of people gathered for fireworks with grave concern about the possibility of mass-casualty terror atrocities.PreOccupiedTerritory: Fistfight At Elders Of Zion Over Whose Turn To Enslave Muslims Today (satire)
The Parisian new year’s eve party last year attracted crowds of more than 600,000, but as the city remains in an official state of emergency it now seems likely the annual sound and light show may be cancelled, with civilians encouraged to stay at home.
Under the state of emergency, gathering in large groups is already forbidden, with police empowered to break up meetings. Deputy mayor of Paris Bruno Julliard has spoken out on the potential cancellation, reports TheLocal.fr, as he remarked: “From a symbolic point of view, it would leave us with heavy hearts if we had to cancel it.
“But if the prefecture of police asks us to cancel it, then we will”.
Rival members of the International Zionist Conspiracy came to blows this morning over who had reserved today’s session overseeing the subjugation and enslavement of the world’s Muslim population, witnesses reported.The Syrian Cauldron – A View from Israel
Steven Spielberg, who happened to be visiting a colleague at Elders of Zion regional headquarters, was called upon to manage Thursday’s enslavement efforts, forcing him to cancel meetings with various other Hollywood figures. “I was supposed to have lunch with Jeff Katzenberg and Dave Geffen, but they understood when I canceled,” he said. “Jeff and Dave took turns here last week, and they know how important it is to contribute to ongoing corruption, weakening, and conquest of the Muslims as only we media types know how, so it wasn’t a big deal.”
Administrators stressed that no plans were compromised as a result of the fracas, and both parties to the fistfight had been disciplined. “We made it clear that continued world domination cannot be achieved through petty confrontations,” explained Inner Council Secretary Evelina de Rothschild. “That is the kind of behavior we aim to produce in Muslim groups, the better to distract, divide, and emasculate them. In an Elder of Zion it is quite unbecoming.”
De Rothschild declined to specify the disciplinary measures imposed on the rival Elders, but an aide to one of them let slip that his boss’s predatory lending privileges had been suspended for two months.
Meanwhile, it is highly important to prevent Iran and its proxies, as well as Sunni jihadists, from establishing a foothold in the south of Syria, which could threaten Israel and Jordan. Israel is alert to this danger and is likely to take independent action to protect its interests if necessary. However, ways should also be sought to enable the more moderate local rebel groups to consolidate and maintain control in that sector.Syrian media: IAF hit Scud shipment by Damascus
Urgent humanitarian solutions must also be provided, including enhanced assistance to neighbouring countries, especially Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and the establishment of safe zones for the displaced in Syria, so as to mitigate the human tragedy and its destabilising impact. Liberating Raqqa and other parts of northern Syria from ISIS could enable the creation of a safe zone in that region, since the liberating forces will be able to maintain and protect it from attacks, but there is also potential for a safe zone in southern Syria.
Finally, Western policy makers should take into account the importance of preventing the empowerment of the Iranian-led axis. These actors do not share the West’s vision for an inclusive system in Syria and Iraq and might exacerbate sectarian tensions in these countries to benefit the jihadi camp and further destabilise the region. Ultimately it is the job of Sunnis – rather than Iran and its Shia proxies – to beat and eventually replace Sunni jihadists.
Whilst a comprehensive solution for Syria looks beyond reach in the foreseeable future, the situation nonetheless demands urgent and far-reaching action guided by a long-term view. Without such action, the threat to the stability of states in the region as well as security in the West will only continue to grow. One can only hope that the political will for such action will not be generated by further terror attacks in the West.
Syrian state media on Friday reported that overnight the Israeli Air Force (IAF) conducted an airstrike on a regime army base just outside of Damascus, apparently striking a shipment of Scud missiles.Report: Israel practiced defeating S-300 Russian defense system in Greece
The Syrian sources, including those identified with Bashar al-Assad's regime, said the target on Thursday night was a convoy from the base of the Syrian Army Brigade 155 in Al-Katifa, a northern suburb of Damascus, according to Channel 2.
A convoy of four trucks loaded with ballistic missiles was hit in the strike, and according to the report, the base houses long-range Scud missiles that are shipped from there to northern Syria as part of the civil war.
IAF jets struck after midnight when the truck convoy set out from the base as it passed through the mountains adjacent to Al-Katifa, heading for an unknown destination. It would seem likely the trucks may have been a Scud shipment to the Iran terror proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is fighting for Assad.
Israel has quietly tested ways of defeating an advanced air-defense system that Russia has deployed in the Middle East and that could limit Tel Aviv's ability to strike in Syria or Iran, military and diplomatic sources said.Top IDF officer: In our nightmares, we never saw Russia’s S-400 in Syria
The sources said a Russian S-300 anti-aircraft system, sold to Cyprus 18 years ago but now located on the Greek island of Crete, had been activated during joint drills between the Greek and Israeli air forces in April-May this year.
The activation allowed Israel's warplanes to test how the S-300's lock-on system works, gathering data on its powerful tracking radar and how it might be blinded or bluffed.
One defense source in the region said Greece had done so at the request of the United States, Israel's chief ally, on at least one occasion in the past year. It was unclear whether Israel had shared its findings with its allies.
A senior IDF officer has delivered a somber assessment of the presence of the Russian anti-missile defense system currently stationed at Moscow’s Latakia airbase in Syria, which has a range that extends over half of Israel’s airspace.Gallup: Syrians Don't Want to Come to America
“In our worst nightmares, we never dreamed we would have the S-400 system in our backyard with Syria, or that there would be cruise missiles here,” the member of the General Staff told Israeli defense correspondents at a briefing this week, the Walla website reported.
But, he qualified, the IDF “does not currently view the S-400 as a threat to Israel.”
Russia moved into the Syrian airbase earlier this year, sending dozens of warplanes and planning to deploy thousands of troops in its move to target Islamic State as well as support embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has spent more than four years fighting opposition forces sworn to topple his regime
According to a poll conducted by Gallup, 46% of Syrians say they would leave their home country if they could, but most would not just to resettle in the United States, preferring Europe or the Middle East.EXCLUSIVE: State Dept., UN Funded Group Behind 1,000 Rabbis Urging U.S. Refugee Intake
The survey, released Monday, was taken at the beginning of 2015 with just over 1,000 people participating. The results showed that nearly half wanted to leave, and 43% said they would likely do so over the next 12 months.
Thirty-percent said they would like to stay in Syria. But for those who want out, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia were the preferred destinations. North America was last:
The news media has been spotlighting a letter signed by 1,000 U.S. rabbis urging elected officials to welcome refugees into America.Islamic State Threatens New York, Moscow in Post-San Bernardino Video
Missing from the coverage is that the organization that arranged and sponsored the letter, HIAS, specializes in refugee resettlement and last year received 65.3 percent of its annual $25 million budget from government grants.
Those grants include funds from the State Department and the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Department of Health and Human Services. Another major donor is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Guidestar documented that in 2013, HIAS received $16,261,661 from government and intergovernmental agencies and it took in a total of $31,218,870 in revenue.
In 2012, $14,707,399 in government grants was donated to HIAS and the organization produced $27,677,240 in revenue.
“France was the beginning, tomorrow will be Washington, it will be New York, and it will be Moscow,” two English-speaking Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists declare in the first video message published by the terror organization since last night’s jihadist massacre in San Bernardino, California.Islamic State Spreads Flesh-Eating Disease by Filling Streets with Corpses
“Allah, he will revenge [sic],” a jihadist says in the video, speaking sitting down next to a colleague with an accent that indicates English is not his first language. “His revenge has started and the blood will flow,” he continues, warning the three aforementioned cities and issuing a specific threat to Russia. “You Russians, don’t you think that we forgot you… your time is coming and it will be the worst.”
The jihadist later proclaims that France has “seen the thunderous action of the lions” and that any who “violate” the rights of the Islamic State – and “it is a state,” he insists – “are bound to get burned.” He advises all non-Muslims to “start paying jizya, a punitive tax proscribed by Sharia law to non-Muslims, and “turn their hands” towards ISIS. In between his two short monologues, video shows two jihadists handing out candy to a small girl.
According to an interview with the head of the Kurdish Red Crescent at Rudaw, the latest horror unleashed by the Islamic State is a plague of flesh-eating bacteria, spreading rapidly through rural Syria due to the jihadis’ habit of littering the streets with corpses.German parliament approves military action in Syria
“As a result of abominable acts by ISIS that included the killing of innocent people and dumping their corpses in streets, this is the leading factor behind the rapid spread of Leishmanisis disease,” said the Red Crescent’s Dilqash Isa.
Another Kurd deployed in Syria claimed the disease was unknown before the rise of ISIS, and specifically cited the bloody fields of Tal Hamis, Hon, and Qosa as sources of the outbreak.
“The first case of the disease, caused by protozoan parasites and usually carried by flies, was reported in September 2013,” writes Rudaw. “By mid- 2014, 500 people had been affected, according to activists reporting on Syria.”
Lawmakers on Friday approved plans for Germany to take on a direct role in the battle against the Islamic State group in Syria, answering France’s appeal for help.IsraellyCool: Israel Arrests Jewish Terrorists As Leftist And Arab Parties Freak Out
Parliament voted for the mandate for the deployment of Tornado reconnaissance jets, a frigate and up to 1,200 troops by an overwhelming majority of 445 votes in favor and 146 against. Seven lawmakers abstained.
Earlier this week, the German chief of staff said Berlin had plans to deploy 1,200 soldiers to help in the fight against the Islamic State.
The troops would not take part in combat operations and would only be involved in reconnaissance and support roles, according to a report in The Telegraph.
“From a military point of view, some 1,200 soldiers are expected to be needed to operate the planes and ships,” Bundeswehr Chief of Staff Volker Wieker told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
Today was a good day for Israeli justice as the police finally announced the arrest of several Jewish terrorists who officials say carried out the attack on the Dawabshe family in Duma back in July that killed four month old Ali and his two parents.
However, not everyone in Israel welcomed this news. No, it wasn’t the “right-wing extremist settlers” of the Yesha Council, who condemned “the heinous crime,” saying, “The acts committed were immoral and harmed the values of the state of Israel and the settlements.”
Rather, the anger came from the Left who are convinced that, despite not having any information yet due to the continuing gag order, clearly Israel is racist since it often arrests Arab terrorists quickly but it took longer to arrest these Jewish terrorists. Apparently, according to the Left, arresting someone in the middle of a stabbing attack is just as easy as arresting a secret group of people who attacked a house in the middle of the night leaving almost no clues as to who they were or where they came from. They are also forgetting that the police arrested the Jewish terrorists behind the murder of Muhammad Abu Khedir within a matter of days. No matter, according to them Israel is racist against Arabs so they have to force the facts to fit their preconceived worldview.
Did Meretz Chairwoman Zahava Gal-on, who said it was”very bad that it took so long” to make the arrests had access to evidence the Israel Police and Shin Bet did not? If so she should be investigated and if not she should not get in the way of police investigations.
