Tag Archives: Jordan

Any lingering thought that the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) would have any role to play in President Trump’s soon to-be-released peace plan has vanished – after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that $165 million had been deducted from funding to the PLO because of its continuing “pay for slay” …

Don’t underestimate Trump’s deal-making ability to end what he himself has called “the war that never ends” Creating another Palestinian Arab state – in addition to Jordan – has been seemingly consigned to the garbage bin of history following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s CNN interview on 28 September. President …

President Trump’s decision to close the PLO mission in Washington, cancel the visas of the Palestinian Ambassador and his family and order their bank accounts be closed – mark the PLO’s final humiliation for condemning Trump’s proposed peace plan before its contents have even been published. Strangely however the United …

President Trump has created a veritable diplomatic tsunami affecting the political fortunes of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), Hamas and Jordan – with his decision to cease all future donations to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) – currently US$360million per annum and comprising about 30 percent of …

Two major developments this past week could see a large part of Judaea and Samaria (West Bank) being reunified with Jordan – as existed between 1950 and 1967 – or becoming a Jordanian enclave – under President Trumps’ yet-to-be- announced “ultimate deal” intended to resolve the100 years-old Arab-Jewish conflict. Those developments …

29 July 2017 saw an anti-Israel rally in Auckland’s Aotea Square that had been billed as “Alaqsa solidarity rally” to protest against Israel’s “security measures that require Palestinians to enter through metal detectors to go pray” (sic). These measures were removed by Israel before the day of the rally, after …

There is a fair measure of dark news that must be shared. But the flip side in many instances is bright: for I see growing strength in the responses to what is ugly and threatening. We must be grateful for this and do all we can to encourage yet more …

What it is necessary to understand is that the movement known as Zionism which, beginning in the nineteenth century, climaxed in the setting up of the state of Israel in 1947, was a response to this long history of persecution. The so-called Holocaust came as the horrific confirmation of the …

No other way for us to be:  Heads up, eyes on what matters, resolve undiminished. But oh, is it tough these days. ~~~~~~~~~~ I want to return to Obama’s talk of last week, to consider a couple of additional matters. He does not simply provide a position, he attacks. And …

Summary: Almost every major media outlet refers to the Gaza Strip and the west bank of the Jordan River as “Palestinian Territories”, when in fact, those areas are actually “Israeli territories” and “Palestinian Authority Territories.” Most places in the world are part-and-parcel of a country.  However, there are situations when a …

Summary: According to Muslims, the Temple Mount is held in “trusteeship” by the Islamic Waqf, which assures its use and access as a mosque. The role of the Waqf has nothing to do with sovereignty of the land on which it resides. The most sensitive issue of the Israel-Arab conflict …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Israel as “a small country, one of the smallest”. That is true, but only part of the story. As Bibi added “Israel is strong, but it’s much more vulnerable [than the US].” Size: Israel is about 20,000 square kilometers, using the 1949 Armistice Lines, or 22,000 …

My mother used to say, “Enough is enough, and too much is plenty.”  Well…we passed the “plenty” mark a long time ago where terrorism and threats by terrorist entities are concerned. But what I see is that the excesses of terrorists are beginning to stiffen backs a bit.  In the …

The US State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs has featured a map on its website – which both rejects and corrects the misleading use of the terms “1967 boundaries” and “1967 borders” – which have never existed in relation to any territorial subdivision between Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. …

A Somber View Very somber, my friends.  The situation in the world is not worrisome – it’s terrifying.  Consider: In an interview with NPR, President Obama said that Iran could become a “very successful regional power” if it agrees to a nuclear deal.  He said things must move slowly but he …

As usual there’s a great deal to read here from Arlene and some important information too regarding Hamas, so please click on links to read further. The Chanukah week, which is now closing, was a blessing.  Now, invigorated, I see that it is time to return to the serious and …

The leadership of the Palestinian Authority (PA) is taking Shurat HaDin’s campaign to indict Palestinians officials and terrorists for war crimes very seriously. According to news reports, at the November 29, 2014 Arab League meeting, PA president Mahmoud Abbas began his speech by condemning the war crimes complaint we filed against him over the PLO’s involvement in …

I am currently preparing for the arrival of family, and so have only a brief moment to write.  The next three days I will be devoting myself to Chanukah (and Shabbat) and family – which is, quite frankly, a double lifesaver for me. Simply wanted to update my readers, with …

Editor’s note: There is some excellent material here to study and to share Please click links and read. Let us begin today by looking briefly at the historical situation that immediately followed Israel’s Declaration of Independence and the subsequent War of Independence.  At the end of the war, in 1949, …

    I start today with the link to the Dry Bones Blog of Yaakov Kirschen.  Most of you are probably familiar with Kirschen’s absolutely on-the-mark political commentary by way of cartoon.   Kirschen is convinced – and rightly so – that cartooning is a powerful way to reach out …