Monday, February 17, 2020
Trump’s deal highlights the great Jewish rift
One of the less remarked upon, but nevertheless most painful series of reactions to President Donald Trump’s long awaited “Deal of the Century” has been the response of the organized American Jewish Left, which I will refer to here as AJL.Dore Gold: "We Presented the Americans with What Most Israelis Believe In"
That there has been relatively little focus on this facet of the announcement’s aftermath might be because we have gotten used to the critical-unto-condemning tone adopted by many of these groups toward Israel.
However, the deal and its copious details have provided a unique platform for those attitudes to play out. AJL reactions focus overwhelmingly on the plan’s accentuating and enabling increased Israeli “occupation” (J Street and The New Israel Fund), “annexation” (Israel Policy Forum), and “apartheid” (Jewish Voice for Peace).
There are numerous lamentations about the negative implications for Palestinians and the manifest injustice being paid to them.
Nowhere, though, is there any sense of balance, nuance or understanding.
What comes through overwhelmingly clearly is the profound lack of empathy of these left-wing American Jews for their Israeli brethren. There is no recognition of the conditions that have kept the region in its current limbo state; no understanding of the vulnerability, fragility and tenuousness that even a stronger and more successful Israel lives with daily.
During a briefing last week on the U.S. peace plan at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman expressed his thanks to former diplomat and Jerusalem Center president Dore Gold "for the three years of terrific collaboration and advice. Dore and I have spoken countless times about these issues....He played a very important and significant role in this process and one that I would say was irreplaceable."The ‘Deal of the Century’ – changing the borders
Gold would occasionally brief Netanyahu on the content of the talks he was holding with the U.S. administration and got a green light from the prime minister to continue. "Most of the meetings were held in Israel, but quite a few were held at the White House," he said.
"We presented the Americans with what most Israelis believe in," Gold said. "For example, they read the book Jerusalem: Delusions of Division by Israel Hayom columnist Nadav Shragai, which detailed the many dangers that the partition of the city would entail. It's not that they actually wanted to divide the city, but the book gave them the ammunition they needed and the rationale for why it would be problematic."
"I felt like the librarian who had to find the Americans the relevant material so that they could make decisions. But I also felt that I was carrying out an important job and fulfilling my duty to my country and people."
Gold makes it clear that not all of Israel's requests were met. He would have preferred that the plan gave the Palestinians less territory and he is less than thrilled about the prospect of establishing a Palestinian capital in the eastern part of Jerusalem.
"This plan comes with costs, but we look at the cost-benefit analysis. Would anyone have imagined such a plan being rolled out by an American administration several years ago? And a plan that endorses Israeli sovereignty in the Jordan Valley?"
Despite the expected resistance of the Palestinian leadership, January 28, 2020, will be remembered as a historic date in the longstanding conflict. The “Deal of the Century” is the most detailed plan ever presented and it showcases a much-needed strategy shift for the region. The plan redefines the psychological borders of the conflict, which will enable the physical borders to be fixed at a later date.
The continuous Palestinian rejection of any type of resolution since the days of the Oslo Accords has imbued them with a false feeling of strength that has harmed both them and the chances of a realistic settlement. From a historical perspective, their reluctance to reconcile themselves with the concept of a Jewish national home caused them to lose land. Every time they refused to share the land “between the river and the sea,” their proposed state shrunk in size. A look at the maps from the Peel Commission in 1937, the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947, and the eventual cease fire border lines in the 1948 War of Independence show this graphically.
When the Palestinians reached the conclusion that rejection does not pay, they recognized Israel’s statehood and signed the Oslo Accords. Not long after, though, the Palestinians reversed track with the intuition that their rejection would benefit them and increase the size of their eventual state. This theory was supported by empirical facts. The Israeli offers improved in each round of negotiations – from Camp David, to the Taba summit and later to the offer from Olmert to Abbas. So, rejection was deemed worthwhile and serious compromise was delayed.
The “Deal of the Century” reverses this dynamic. The plan changes the psychology of the conflict and its resolution. Palestinian rejectionism will no longer benefit them. Rather, we have returned to the logic of the “Iron Wall” of Ze’ev Jabotinsky. Peace will only be achieved when Israel’s neighbors internalize that the nation-state of the Jewish people is here to stay. This has happened with Egypt and Jordan, and now comes the Palestinians turn to play ball as well.
Netanyahu Says Work on Annexation Map Has Begun: ‘We Are Turning Parts of the Homeland in Judea and Samaria Into Part of the State of Israel Forever’
Israel’s government has established a team to map out areas of the West Bank that it will annex in accordance with President Donald Trump’s recently released peace plan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.New York Times’ Deceptive Maps Mislead on Trump Plan
Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said, “In recent weeks, we brought enormous news for the State of Israel and the Land of Israel. My friend President Trump clearly stated that he would recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea, and all Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, as well as a broad area encompassing them.”
“We have formed an Israeli team to work with the American team on the work of mapping, which has already begun — it is underway,” Netanyahu announced.
The team, he said, includes Minister of Tourism and Aliyah and Integration Yariv Levin, National Security Council chief Meir Ben-Shabbat, and the Prime Minister’s Office Director-General Ronen Peretz, with assistance from the Israeli Ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer.
“This team will work closely with settlement and, of course, security officials in order to complete the work quickly,” Netanyahu said.
“For their part, the Americans will work with us,” he added. “We will complete the work as quickly as possible.”
“We are turning parts of the homeland in Judea and Samaria into part of the State of Israel forever,” the prime minister declared.
The title “Trump’s Proposal for a Palestinian State” sits above two maps. The map on the right shows the “Proposed” Palestinian state under Trump’s plan. The map on the left is labeled “Current” and shows the geographic territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but gives no indication as to whom controls what in these territories.'PA committed to peace, but only on our terms'
The juxtaposition of these two mismatched maps (one which shows strictly geographic boundaries, but not political control, versus another which shows the delineations of the proposed Palestinian state) leaves the following false impressions: 1) Palestinians now control the Gaza Strip and West Bank in their entirety. 2) Under the Trump plan, Palestinians will controllessland than they currently do, when in fact the opposite is true. Indeed, Palestinians now control 40 percent of the West Bank (Areas A, under full Palestinian control, and B, which is under Palestinian civil control but Israeli security control). Under Trump’s plan, Palestinians will have control of some 70 percent of the West Bank, as The Times has repeatedly reported.
A juxtaposition which would accurately show the impact of Trump’s plan would be the plan’s proposed map (which currently appears on The Times graphic’s right side) next to a map which shows the areas that Palestinians now control. See, for instance, thisB’Tselemmap (screenshot below) which shows parts of the West Bank controlled by Israel versus parts controlled by the Palestinians. (In this map, parts controlled by Israel appear in red.)
CAMERA has brought the gross misrepresentation to the attention of Times editors. As of this writing, the paper has yet to revise its misleading graphic.
The Palestinian Authority is committed to the regional peace process but it will not strike peace unless its terms are met in full, something for which it cannot find a partner, a senior Palestinian official said Sunday.Palestinian Mayor Forced to Quit for Meeting Israelis Who Opposed U.S. Peace Plan
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a top adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, told Israeli journalists that the Palestinians were interested in peace negotiations but "we have no Israeli partner for that."
The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been deadlocked since 2014, and various attempts by Israel, Arab powers and the United States to reignite it have failed.
Last month, the Trump administration released its long-awaiting plan for regional peace, but the Palestinians rejected it outright, saying the outline, plan, dubbed the "deal of the century," was grossly biased in favor of Israel and was therefore doomed to fail.
Speaking with reporters in Ramallah, Rudeineh asserted that the Palestinians were not to blame for the stagnated peace talks, but rather it was Israel and the US that are at fault.
"The Israeli government does not want a peace agreement with us. If there really was an interest in having real negotiations based on our demands, it could have been finalized in two weeks. There is also the American plan that, instead of helping to achieve peace, actually hurts the odds [of achieving it]," he said.
Abbas' adviser further claimed that while the PA does not interfere in Israeli elections, they would like to see a regime change in Israel.
A Palestinian mayor was forced to resign Saturday after facing public criticism for participating in a conference with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv.The history of nonaggression pacts in Islam
Hamdallah Hamdallah, mayor of the West Bank town of Anabta, was one of some 20 Palestinian Authority officials to attend Friday’s gathering to express support for the two-state solution and opposition to the peace plan unveiled last month by US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Israeli officials at the conference, titled “yes to peace, no to annexation,” were mainly left-wing ex-politicians and Arab Israeli public figures.
Following reports in Israeli media about the conference, many Palestinians opposed to “normalization” with the Jewish state protested against Hamdallah on social media.
Hamdallah and other officials said they had participated at the invitation of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party.
In a lengthy Facebook post Saturday, Hamdallah explained that he had taken part in the conference as a Fatah member rather than as Anabta mayor, but concluded that “because I am the son of this beautiful country, which I love from the bottom of the heart… I leave it to the people of my town to choose someone else to lead the municipality.”
So, what does the above tell us about any possible nonaggression pacts between Israel and Arab countries? The Arab countries in question are all ruled by Sunni Muslims. All are authoritarian. All are in the same boat as the Arab leaders in the examples mentioned above. They cannot agree to permanent peace with Israel. Almost all Muslim scholars agree that once a territory is conquered by Muslims, it must remain under Muslim rule forever. Non-Muslims – i.e., Christians, Jews and others who received a revelation from God prior to Islam can live under Islamic rule, but do not have the right to rule any territory that has ever been conquered by Muslims.Britain Criticizes UN Move to List Companies Operating in West Bank
Today's Israel was conquered by Muslims in 637-38 CE, and thus according to Islam must be ruled by Muslims forever. The Saudis, Morocco and any other Arab Muslim countries therefore cannot sign permanent peace agreements with Israel. Neither, for that matter, can Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas's charter explicitly calls all of pre-1948 Mandatory Palestine a Muslim waqf – which means it belongs to Allah forever.
No Muslim can recognize Israel's permanent right to exist because it is a Jewish state, ruled by Jews, which contradicts Islam. Any Muslim that recognized Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state on Muslim land would be labeled a "traitor" and suffer the same fate as Sadat. So the best we could hope for is a temporary non-aggression pact between Israel and its Muslim neighbors.
Does it matter that the Muslim Arabs cannot sign a true peace agreement with Israel? As long as Israel recognizes that it must remain militarily strong and resolute in defending its culture and borders, it should be fine.
Nonaggression pacts or peace treaties notwithstanding, as long as the Muslims realize that Israel is here to stay and will defend itself at whatever cost, non-aggression pacts or truces will be fine. But no one should delude himself into believing that any agreement between the Arabs and Israel will ever be like the peaceful relationship between, say, the United States and Canada. That could only happen if there is a thought revolution in Islam, something that seems unlikely for the foreseeable future.
So, what does the above tell us about any possible nonaggression pacts between Israel and Arab countries? The Arab countries in question are all ruled by Sunni Muslims. All are authoritarian. All are in the same boat as the Arab leaders in the examples mentioned above. They cannot agree to permanent peace with Israel. Almost all Muslim scholars agree that once a territory is conquered by Muslims, it must remain under Muslim rule forever. Non-Muslims – i.e., Christians, Jews and others who received a revelation from God prior to Islam can live under Islamic rule, but do not have the right to rule any territory that has ever been conquered by Muslims.Israel Asks UK to Include Judea, Samaria in Future Free Trade Agreement
Today's Israel was conquered by Muslims in 637-38 CE, and thus according to Islam must be ruled by Muslims forever. The Saudis, Morocco and any other Arab Muslim countries therefore cannot sign permanent peace agreements with Israel. Neither, for that matter, can Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas's charter explicitly calls all of pre-1948 Mandatory Palestine a Muslim waqf – which means it belongs to Allah forever.
No Muslim can recognize Israel's permanent right to exist because it is a Jewish state, ruled by Jews, which contradicts Islam. Any Muslim that recognized Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state on Muslim land would be labeled a "traitor" and suffer the same fate as Sadat. So the best we could hope for is a temporary non-aggression pact between Israel and its Muslim neighbors.
Does it matter that the Muslim Arabs cannot sign a true peace agreement with Israel? As long as Israel recognizes that it must remain militarily strong and resolute in defending its culture and borders, it should be fine.
Nonaggression pacts or peace treaties notwithstanding, as long as the Muslims realize that Israel is here to stay and will defend itself at whatever cost, non-aggression pacts or truces will be fine. But no one should delude himself into believing that any agreement between the Arabs and Israel will ever be like the peaceful relationship between, say, the United States and Canada. That could only happen if there is a thought revolution in Islam, something that seems unlikely for the foreseeable future.
PM Netanyahu and Economy Minister Eli Cohen appealed to the British government to include Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights and Jerusalem in the free trade agreement between the two countries, which will come into effect with the completion of Brexit – Britain's withdrawal from the European Union – in 2021.IDF: Troops find body of gunman suspected of recent attack on soldiers
The draft trade deal, drawn long before London finalized Brexit, states that the new bilateral agreement would include the same terms as the free trade agreement between Israel and the EU. But the latter excludes Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights from the agreement, and Israel is seeking to correct the situation.
Economy Minister Eli Cohen has approached his British counterpart colleague, Conor Burns, and asked him to revise the trade agreement.
In the letter, obtained by Israel Hayom, Cohen writes, "I seek to raise an issue that is of personal importance to me. Most of Israel's free trade agreements, such as the agreement with the United States, apply to the State of Israel, which is wherever the law applies. Meanwhile, the EU makes territorial distinctions as to what it considers the State of Israel.
"Given the friendly relationship between the countries, I would like to suggest that we adopt the wording that applies to most of Israel's trade agreements, rather than the wording of the agreement with the EU. "
Cohen also spoke with Burns on the issue, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to have discussed the subject with British Premier Boris Johnson.
Israeli soldiers on Monday found the lifeless body of a Palestinian man in the central West Bank whom the military believes is the gunman who opened fire at troops earlier this month, injuring one of them, the Israel Defense Forces said.Palestinian attempts to stab cop in Hebron, is arrested – police
In the February 6 attack, the gunman opened fire at Kfir Brigade soldiers stationed along a highway near the Parsa Junction outside the Dolev settlement, northwest of Ramallah. A bullet grazed one soldier’s head, lightly injuring him.
The IDF troops opened fire at the suspect in response and launched a manhunt to find him, which ended Monday with the discovery of the body.
It appeared as though the man was fatally wounded when the Israeli soldiers fired back at him, though this was not immediately confirmed by the IDF. The military said it would provide more information about the matter in the future.
The Israel Defense Forces said the body was found among some bushes in a valley in the Binyamin region of the central West Bank, with an M16 assault rifle and a pistol nearby.
The injured soldier was hospitalized with light injuries to his head and later released, according to authorities.
A Palestinian man was arrested Monday after attempting to stab an Israeli police officer at Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs holy site, police said.IDF Cancels New Measures for Gaza after Rocket Fire
“A short time ago an apparent terrorist attempted to stab a Border Police officer of the Israel Police during a security check at one of the security posts at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron,” the police statement said.
The suspected assailant was quickly apprehended by other officers.
“It appears no harm came to our forces and the assailant was arrested without shots being fired,” the statement added.
A video of the incident, which was later released by the police, shows the man brandishing a large kitchen knife, repeatedly trying to stab the Border Police officer. The border guard grapples with the assailant, who tries to run out the front door.
In a recorded statement, the Border Police officer, Staff Sgt. Shadi Kheir, says he had patted down the assailant and did not initially find the knife on him, but suspected that the man may have been hiding something as he was trembling nervously during the check.
The expected improvement in humanitarian conditions following an informal agreement between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip has been cancelled following the continuation of rocket fire, according to a report from Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).PMW: "Let them taste instant death" - Terrorist's poem on Facebook prior to his car ramming attack
Some of these humanitarian measures include the expansion of the fishing zone for Gazan fisherman and the transfer of infrastructure supplies into Gaza.
COGAT said that trade permits would be reduced by 500 and that cement shipments can no longer enter the Strip.
"Hamas is responsible for what is happening in and out of the Gaza Strip," COGAT said in a statement. "Unless the peace is maintained, the State of Israel will act accordingly."
COGAT is the unit in the Defense Ministry that manages coordinating civilian issues between the State of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces, international organizations, diplomats and the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinian terrorist Sanad Al-Turman decided earlier this month to carry out a terror attack and rammed his car into a group of Israeli soldiers, wounding 12 of them.
It is possible to say that “the writing was on the wall” - literally on Fatah’s Facebook wall. Before the attack, Al-Turman uploaded a video of himself reciting a poem inciting murder of Israelis, including the phrases “tear the gangs of invaders into pieces” and “let them taste instant death.” Abbas’ Fatah, which Palestinian Media Watch has shown regularly promotes terror and glorifies terrorists, also uploaded Al-Turman’s murder incitement on both their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Terrorist Sanad Al-Turman: “Stand proud and tall like the minarets.
Send your bullets like the 'stones of hard clay' [Quran, Sura 105:4].
Tear the gangs of invaders into pieces, and let them taste instant death, by [angel] Gabriel.
Burn the tyrants’ corpses and their filth, and pour gasoline on their organs.
Let them burn all the palm trees in our courtyards – we will rise like palm trees above the palm trees.
If they destroy all of the minarets above us – we [will be] like the minarets, then you will hear the call: Praise Allah.”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Feb. 6, 2020; Official Fatah Twitter account, Feb. 6, 2020]
This is another example of Facebook's double standards. Since it is Facebook’s policy to allow Fatah’s terror promotion on Facebook as PMW has documented, the terrorist’s video promoting violence is still up and viewable on Fatah’s Facebook page. So is another video he made with this poem:
Terrorist Sanad Al-Turman: “Do you think that you – when you burned me, danced like a devil on my body, and let the winds scatter me before the gaze of the sun in desolateness.
Do you think that with this you erased my right, my history, and my faith? You will try in vain. It is impossible to eradicate a revolutionary – today I am the resurrection of the dead – one day I will come!”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Feb. 6, 2020]
"Let them taste instant death" - Terrorist's poem on Facebook prior to his car ramming attack that injured 12. It is possible to say that “the writing was on the wall” - literally on Fatah’s @Facebook wall.
— Pal Media Watch (@palwatch) February 17, 2020
More here: https://t.co/83RHKcnht5 pic.twitter.com/iipVMYa4PK
Hamas Cleric Iyad Abu Funun Challenges President Trump: You Can Come over and Try to Take Away Our Guns If You Want – We Will Kill You, Give You A Lesson in Manliness and Heroism pic.twitter.com/ZsDRByuHIP
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) February 17, 2020
Egypt Builds a Wall on Border with Gaza
Tribal sources in northern Sinai told Al-Monitor that on Jan. 27, Egyptian armed forces began building a 2-km.-long barrier on the border with Gaza from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Rafah border crossing.Save me! Lebanese man caught spying on Hezbollah begs Israel not to abandon him
The 6-meter-high barrier is made of reinforced concrete and goes 5 meters under the ground.
It is designed to block the entry of gunmen from Gaza into Sinai and shut down remaining Palestinian cross-border tunnels.
Sources said the last phase involves building the barrier along segments of the border that Egyptian armed forces appraise as vulnerable or where underground tunnels are suspected.
On Feb. 3, Egypt announced having found a nearly 3-km.-long tunnel from Gaza to the heart of the Egyptian border city of Rafah, Maan News reported.
Benjamin Philip decided to help Israel and the Mossad fight Hezbollah in 2011, gathering intelligence on the Lebanese terror group’s activities and recruiting additional assets within the organization, including, he says, a member of one of its most elite units. His work, he says, has ruined his life and the lives of his family members in Lebanon.Turkey Tells Russia That Attacks in Syria’s Idlib Must Stop
After being found out as a Mossad asset and incarcerated in a Hezbollah prison for two years, Philip fled his native Lebanon in 2015, eventually winding up in East Asia, where he lived for approximately two years until he was forced to flee late last year as he was facing deportation. Now seeking asylum in Europe, he says Israel — the country he’s helped in its fight against the Iran-backed terrorist organization since 2011 — is refusing to take him in or even respond to his phone calls and emails.
The Prime Minister’s Office, which is responsible for the Mossad, refused to comment on the case.
Philip says he contacted The Times of Israel out of a sense of desperation, hoping — as a last-ditch effort — that by making his case public, he could pressure Israel and the Mossad to help him, as he says they promised to do.
Benjamin Philip is not his real name; it is a pseudonym. The Times of Israel is legally barred from publishing his true identity or any identifying details, despite Philip explicitly requesting that we name him, believing that it will help him in his effort to seek asylum, and despite the fact that Hezbollah and the Lebanese government already know who he is, having incarcerated him and indicted him, respectively.
Philip has tried to contact any Israeli official possible, emailing virtually all public email addresses for the Prime Minister’s Office, the Mossad, the military, the Foreign Ministry and nearly every other government office. In December, he received a response from the office of Israel’s ombudsman, saying, “We brought your complaint to the attention of the security forces.”
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday he told his Russian counterpart that attacks in Syria’s northwestern Idlib region must stop immediately and that a lasting ceasefire had to be achieved there.Rouhani Says Iran Will Never Yield to US Pressure for Talks
Turkey and Russia have collaborated on a political solution to the Syrian conflict but back opposing sides, and a Syrian government offensive in Idlib has raised tensions between them.
“We told (Russia on Saturday) … that the aggression in Idlib must stop and that a lasting ceasefire has to be achieved now,” Cavusoglu told reporters in Germany after the Munich Security Conference.
Turkish and Russian officials will discuss the issue in Moscow on Monday, he added.
Russia supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey backs Syrian rebels looking to oust him in a nearly nine-year war.
The Russian-backed offensive marks a major strategic accomplishment for Assad, having driven insurgents from the main highway between Aleppo and Damascus to reopen the fastest route between Syria’s two biggest cities for the first time in years.
Recently, Syrian forces have turned their focus to an area northwest of Aleppo where they are trying to seize more ground to push rebels away from the city. Russian warplanes mounted heavy air strikes in the area on Sunday, bombing towns including Anadan, activists reported.
Iran will never hold talks with the United States under pressure, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, adding that Tehran’s help was essential in establishing security in the Middle East.
Relations between Tehran and Washington reached crisis point in 2018 after US President Donald Trump abandoned a 2015 pact between Iran and world powers under which Tehran accepted curbs to its nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions.
Tensions spiked further following the killing of Iran’s most prominent military commander Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3 by US drone attacks at Baghdad airport. In retaliation, Iran attacked US targets in Iraq in January.
Trump has adopted a policy of “maximum pressure” to force Tehran to negotiate a broader deal that further curbs Iran’s nuclear work, ends its missile program and its involvement in regional proxy wars.
“Iran will never negotiate under pressure … We will never yield to America’s pressure and we will not negotiate from a position of weakness,” Rouhani said in a televised news conference.
Although the reimposed US sanctions have crippled Iran’s economy, slashing its oil exports, Tehran has repeatedly dismissed talks over any new deal, saying they are possible only if the United States returns to the pact and lifts trade curbs.
“America’s ‘maximum pressure’ toward Iran is doomed to failure … our enemy (the United States) is very well aware that their pressure is inefficient,” Rouhani said.
Senior Hizbullah MP Mohammad Raad Sobs While Congratulating Soleimani on His “Blessed Martyrdom” pic.twitter.com/C2DsaghTCu
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) February 17, 2020
In Dubai, Ivanka Trump lauds Saudi Arabia, UAE over women’s rights reforms
Ivanka Trump lauded Sunday a handful of Mideast countries, including close US allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, for embarking on “significant reforms” to advance women’s rights, while speaking at a gathering of women entrepreneurs and regional leaders in Dubai.
The daughter of US President Donald Trump was delivering the keynote address at the two-day Global Women’s Forum held in an opulent resort overlooking the city’s Persian Gulf coastline.
“We know that when women are free to succeed, families thrive, communities flourish and nations are stronger,” Trump said.
The theme of the forum in Dubai was “The Power of Influence.” It was an apt theme for Trump, whose loyalty and support for her father’s presidency saw her and her husband, Jared Kushner, take up formal roles in the White House as his advisers.
The 38-year-old mother of three has positioned herself as an Oval Office confidante while spearheading initiatives that broadly back women’s empowerment. Her husband has become a top adviser on US Mideast policy. (h/t NormanF)
Global Women’s Forum Dubai: UAE effort on empowerment of women is laudable: Ivanka Trump https://t.co/Rq6ZFLyEyS pic.twitter.com/YaUMi5WTAP
— Gulf Today (@gulftoday) February 16, 2020
