Thursday, August 20, 2020
Karl Rove condemns QAnon as 'a group of nuts and kooks,' says Trump 'ought to disavow them'
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/karl-rove-trump-disavow-qanon-nuts-kooks\
President Trump should disavow QAnon conspiracy theorists, Fox News contributor Karl Rove stated bluntly on "Special Report" Wednesday.
"I don't know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate," Trump said earlier Wednesday in response to a question at a White House news briefing.
But I don't know much about the movement -- I have heard that it is gaining in popularity and from what I hear, these are people that, when they watch the streets of Portland, when they watch what happened in New York City in just the last six or seven months ... these are people that don't like seeing what's going on in places like Portland, and places like Chicago and New York ... and I've heard that these are people who love our country and they just don't like seeing it."
"Big mistake," Rove said of the president's response. "This is a group of nuts and kooks and he ought to disavow them. They might like him, but they like him because they think he is fighting an incredible war against forces of [pedophilic] evil, and it’s just ridiculous --
The baseless theory centers on an alleged anonymous, high-ranking government official known as “Q” who shares information about an anti-Trump “deep state” often tied to satanism and child sex trafficking.
disavow them, get done with it."
Biden campaign disavows Linda Sarsour after she speaks at Democratic convention forum
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/285564
Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, disavowed Palestinian Arab-American activist Linda Sarsour after she appeared at an online meeting of Muslims who will be campaigning for Biden for president.
“Joe Biden has been a strong supporter of Israel and a vehement opponent of anti-Semitism his entire life, and he obviously condemns her views and opposes BDS, as does the Democratic platform,” Andrew Bates, a Biden campaign spokesman, said in a statement Tuesday to CNN, referring to Sarsour’s embrace of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. “She has no role in the Biden campaign whatsoever.
Yamina MK: What is the price we paid for normalizing ties?
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/285580
MK Ofir Sofer (Yamina) spoke at the Knesset on Wednesday and wondered what is the real price Israel was required to pay as part of the peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates.
"Peace with the UAE is important but is also very disturbing," Sofer said.
White House adviser Jared Kushner, continued Sofer, “has been saying in a clear voice that the issue of the sovereignty is completely off the table and there is already a map for a Palestinian terrorist state. That is very disturbing.”
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
A self-described 'proud Islamophobe' banned from social media just won a GOP nomination
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/19/politics/laura-loomer-donald-trump-florida/index.html
If you've paid attention to the rise of the radical right on the internet over the last few years, you know the name Laura Loomer.
And as of Wednesday morning, Loomer is the Republican nominee in Florida's 21st District, which happens to include President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
She won a six-way primary for the right to face Rep. Lois Frankel (D) in the general election, raising more than $1 million thanks to support from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, pardoned Trump ally Roger Stone and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. Loomer campaigned as the Trumpiest candidate in the field, touting her belief in the President's "law and order" message. (Loomer is very unlikely to come to Congress; the 21st District is strongly Democrat.)
Team Trump Activist Whose Brother Died at Sandy Hook Breaks With POTUS Over Laura Loomer
https://www.newsweek.com/parkland-trump-supporter-breaks-president-over-hoaxer-laura-loomer-1526093
A gun-rights advocate who recently announced he had joined President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign team appeared to split with the president Tuesday over his support for Laura Loomer, who claimed victory in her Republican congressional primary in Florida.
Tweeting out against Trump's endorsement, JT Lewis, a gun rights advocate who lost his brother in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, said he believed Loomer has no place in the GOP.
"Laura Loomer is a Parkland and Sandy Hook hoaxer. She has no place in the Republican Party I know!" Lewis wrote on Tuesday.
Loomer has worked with Infowars, which has spread false claims about the shooting, asserting it was a hoax, in addition to making similar claims about the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.
McEnany defends Trump’s congratulatory tweets for candidates with history of racist remarks
President Donald Trump has recently come under fire for backing far-right House candidates with histories of racist remarks. But White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday defended Trump’s support, saying the president hadn’t done a “deep dive” into the candidates’ pasts.
Trump congratulated Laura Loomer, an internet personality and self-described Islamophobe, on Wednesday for winning the Republican nomination in Florida’s 21st Congressional District. He also voiced his support last week for Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon conspiracy theorist caught making racist rants, who secured the party’s nomination in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.
Dershowitz: Is the ‘Black Lives Matter’ Platform Antisemitic?
https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/07/09/dershowitz-is-the-black-lives-matter-platform-antisemitic/
In 2016 I wrote an op-ed demanding that Black Lives Matter rescind the portion of its platform that describes Israel as an “apartheid state” involved in “genocide … against the Palestinian people.” I pointed out that the platform refers to no other country but Israel, despite the egregious records of many foreign countries with regard to police brutality. It is now four years later and these provisions of the platform remain intact. Defenders of Black Lives Matter argue that the inclusion of this critique against Israel in not antisemitic; it is merely anti-Zionist.
A Person does not need to succeed in making all Jews religious to be b'chezkas Moshiach
וְאִם יַעֲמֹד מֶלֶךְ מִבֵּית דָּוִד הוֹגֶה בַּתּוֹרָה וְעוֹסֵק בְּמִצְוֹת כְּדָוִד אָבִיו. כְּפִי תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב וְשֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה. וְיָכֹף כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵילֵךְ בָּהּ וּלְחַזֵּק בִּדְקָהּ. וְיִלָּחֵם מִלְחֲמוֹת ה'. הֲרֵי זֶה בְּחֶזְקַת שֶׁהוּא מָשִׁיחַ. (אִם עָשָׂה וְהִצְלִיחַ וּבָנָה מִקְדָּשׁ בִּמְקוֹמוֹ וְקִבֵּץ נִדְחֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֲרֵי זֶה מָשִׁיחַ בְּוַדַּאי. וִיתַקֵּן אֶת הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ לַעֲבֹד אֶת ה' בְּיַחַד שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר כִּי אָז אֶהְפֹּךְ אֶל עַמִּים שָׂפָה בְרוּרָה לִקְרֹא כֻלָּם בְּשֵׁם ה' וּלְעָבְדוֹ שְׁכֶם אֶחָד):
Now, if a king should arise from the House of David who is versed in Torah and engages in Commandments, as did David his forefather, in accordance with both the Written and the Oral Torahs, and he enjoins all of Israel to follow in its ways and encourages them to repair its breaches, and he fights the Wars of G-d128I.e. he defends Israel., then he may be presumed to be the Messiah. If he succeeds in his efforts and defeats the enemies around and builds the Sanctuary in its proper place and gathers the dispersed of Israel, he is definitely the Messiah.
Netanyahu slams reports of 'secret clause' to sell UAE F-35s and drones as part of peace deal
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/18/politics/netanyahu-secret-weapons-deal-uae/index.html
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed reports the US will sell stealth fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates as part of the agreement to normalize relations between Israel and the Gulf nation, tweeting that they are "completely fake news."
A U.S. Sale Of F-35 Stealth Fighters To The UAE Could Be A Middle East Game Changer
"The peace agreement with the UAE does not include any clause of this kind, and the U.S. has made clear to Israel that it will always ensure that Israel has the qualitative advantage," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
In a world turned upside down, it would be no surprise if the Trump administration had secretly agreed to sell F-35s to the UAE as an incentive for a peace deal. Nor would it be surprising if Israel, despite the obligatory public protests, ultimately accepted the F-35 sale.
U.S. to sell F-35 jets to UAE as part of secret clause in Israel ties agreement
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/S15zntKGP
UAE source: Netanyahu knew about U.S. deal to sell arms to Emiratis
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/S15zntKGP
A senior source in the United Arab Emirates said Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knew about the clause in the normalization deal that would see U.S. sell F-35 fighter jets and advanced drones to the Emiratis, potentially undermining Israeli military superiority in the region.
Reported deal to sell UAE F-35 jets edges in on US promise of Israeli dominance
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, which first reported on the deal Tuesday, said the sale of the F-35 and advanced drones, and Israel’s dropping of any objections to it, was a condition of the emerging normalization agreement between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi that was brokered by Washington.
The UAE and F-35s story isn’t over just because Israel doesn’t like it
The controversy over the possibility that the United Arab Emirates could purchase F-35 jets has continued despite a very firm denial by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And that’s because, well, Netanyahu doesn’t really have the final say here.
Following reports that such arms purchases will be part of the peace deal between the UAE and Israel, the Prime Minister’s Office released an unusually detailed statement, including a timeline of the multiple times that Netanyahu and Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer raised their objections to the F-35 being sold to any other country in the Middle East, even if it has a peace treaty with Israel.
An unnamed UAE diplomat told Kan’s Amichai Stein on Wednesday that it expects Israel not to "oppose or prevent" any deals between Abu Dhabi and the US "if and when" they take place. Plus, the diplomat said, their view is Israel and the UAE face the same threats - meaning, Iran - and such sales will be good for both of them.
Senate Intel says FBI gave 'unjustified credence' to Steele dossier, Russia 'took advantage' of Trump transition team
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-intel-fbi-steele-dossier-russia-investigation-report
The committee found that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s “presence on the Trump campaign and proximity to then-candidate Trump created opportunities for Russian intelligence services to exert influence over, and acquire confidential information on, the Trump campaign.”
The committee noted that prior to Manafort joining the Trump campaign in March 2016, Manafort “directly and indirectly communicated” with Russian national, Konstantin Kilimnik and other pro-Russian oligarchs in Ukraine.
“On numerous occasions, Manafort sought to secretly share internal Campaign information with Kilimnik,” the report stated, while noting that the committee was “unable to reliably determine why Manafort shared sensitive internal polling data or Campaign strategy with Kilimnik or with whom Kilimnik further shared that information.”
“The Committee obtained some information suggesting Kilimnik may have been connected to the GRU's hack and leak operation targeting the 2016 U.S. election,” the report stated.
The committee found that “after the election, Manafort continued to coordinate with Russian persons, particularly Kilimnik and other individuals close to Oleg Deripaska, in an effort to undertake activities on their behalf.”
“Manafort worked with Kilimnik starting in 2016 on narratives that sought to undermine evidence that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election,” the report found.
The committee added: “Taken as a whole, Manafort's high- level access and willingness to share information with individuals closely affiliated with the Russian intelligence services, particularly Kilimnik and associates of Deripaska, represented a grave counterintelligence threat.”
Chris Wallace calls Bill Clinton's DNC speech a 'cogent argument' against Trump's coronavirus response
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/chris-wallace-bill-clinton-cogent-argument-coronavirus
Despite former president Bill Clinton's diminished role in the Democratic Party, he made a "cogent argument" against President Trump's handing of the coronavirus pandemic on the second night of the Democratic National Convention, "Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace said Tuesday.
"It was only five minutes. As I say, it was pre-taped," Wallace said. "But I thought he made a more cogent argument ... about how Donald Trump has mishandled the coronavirus than any I've heard from anybody."
Why the U.S. Is Losing the War on COVID-19
https://time.com/5879086/us-covid-19/
It is a frightening time to live in the United States. COVID-19, a novel disease as ruthless as it is seemingly random, is picking us off by the thousands; even many of those who “recover” may never truly be the same again. The pandemic has exposed the gulf between what this country promises for its citizens and what it actually delivers. And as the U.S. barrels toward Election Day, the outbreak is sure to complicate the voting process, with potentially disastrous results.
The U.S. is surely losing the war on COVID-19, but it did not have to be this way. Of the G-7 countries—the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, Japan, Germany and Italy—only we have an outbreak that continues to spin out of control. Some other nations, like New Zealand, have even come close to eradicating COVID-19 entirely (a somewhat easier feat in a less populated and more isolated country, to be sure). Depressingly, in the months before the pandemic, the U.S. was considered to be among the countries best prepared to handle a major outbreak.
Editorial: GOP convention taps the McCloskeys to speak. A celebration of recklessness.
No, it’s not the setup of a Saturday Night Live skit. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who recklessly waved guns at protesters marching past their home in June, are actually slated to speak at the Republican National Convention next week. What does it say about today’s GOP that leaders would elevate this couple as representative of Republican values?
The McCloskeys are the personal-injury lawyer couple who stood barefoot outside their gated-street Central West End home brandishing firearms as protesters walked by en route to Mayor Lyda Krewson’s house. He cradled a semi-automatic rifle; she held a small handgun. Their muzzle awareness was so sloppy, they pointed their guns at times directly at the crowd or at each other.
Our anti-showboating stance applies equally to the McCloskeys, who no one should mistake as role models. As the Post-Dispatch has reported, these confrontation junkies have sued neighbors, employers, tenants, their own relatives. They’ve sued their neighborhood trustees because, neighbors allege, they wanted to bar gay couples. Mark McCloskey once destroyed a beehive placed near his home by Jewish school children as part of their curriculum, leaving a note threatening to sue. “The children were crying in school,” a rabbi told the Post-Dispatch.
UAE official reportedly rebuffs Netanyahu denial he okayed F-35 sale
https://www.timesofisrael.com/report-uae-official-says-netanyahu-approved-us-sale-of-advanced-jets/
A United Arab Emirates official on Tuesday night reportedly pushed back at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s denial that last week’s normalization agreement included a provision green-lighting a US sale of advanced weaponry to the Gulf nation, claiming the Israeli leader was aware of the multi-billion-dollar arms deal and signed off on it.
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Rabbi Zalman Nehemiah Goldberg, leading Israeli rabbi, hospitalized after stroke
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/285318
Over more than 50 years, Rabbi Goldberg has given hundreds of Torah lectures at Religious Zionist institutions, and he served as president of dozens of Religious Zionist institutions.
Rabbi Goldberg also served as the yeshiva dean of the Lev Academic Center, and the head of the Shevet Mechokek yeshiva for rabbinic judges.
The public is asked to pray for the complete recovery of Rabbi Zalman Nehemiah, the son of Freidel.