“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122: 6
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Daniel Taub—Blaming Israel for Gaza’s Reconstruction Delays is Wilful Ignorance:
Golda Meir, the former Israeli prime minister, said: “We will only have peace when our enemies love their children more than they hate ours.” I could not help being reminded of this bitter truism this week when I read a chorus of “pro-Palestinian” voices squarely blaming Israel for the repeated delays to reconstruction in Gaza.
While both the UN and the Arab League have identified the real obstacle to reconstruction as intra-Palestinian violence and intimidation, these voices choose to remain in their traditional comfort zone of pointing at Israel, and Israel alone, as the culpable party.
By electing to obscure the real challenges to reconstruction, these voices are not addressing the problems of Gaza, but instead helping to perpetuate them.
The simplistic narrative presented by numerous NGOs and observers from afar is that Israel is refusing to allow building materials to be imported into the Gaza Strip, and as such is the main barrier to reconstruction in Gaza. Thirty international agencies, in a joint statement issued last week, identified Israel as “the main duty bearer”.
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SnyderTalk Comment: “Willful ignorance”? That’s possible, but I believe it’s too kind.
The only people who blame Israel for Hamas’ corruption and belligerence are anti-Semites and fools. Ignorant fools maybe, but fools nonetheless.
Hamas is pouring money into rockets and tunnels. That’s why reconstruction is on the back burner.
Bottom line: honest people blame Hamas and anti-Semites blame Israel.
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Ophir Falk: The effects of a strong speech—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 3 delivered arguably one of the strongest speeches ever given on American soil. Certainly before Congress. Surely by a foreign figure. The question is what effect it will have. Will the speech have an impact like Washington’s 1796 Farewell Address had on forming America’s foreign policy for centuries to come? A speech still recited in the Senate every year to commemorate the first president’s birthday? Will the speech live up to Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address, which set the stage for ending slavery? Will it compare to Franklin Roosevelt’s 1933 inaugural address, that helped rally the ranks from recession saying that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”? Will sound bites, like “when it comes to Iran and ISIS [Islamic State], the enemy of your enemy is your enemy” stand the test of time, like Kennedy’s 1961 referral to his countrymen, saying they should “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”? Will the speech serve as a defining moment, like Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I have a dream” speech had on the Civil Rights Movement? If the speech slightly enhances the struggle against a nuclear Iran by shifting the approval of a few American decision makers from signing a dangerous deal with Iran, then Netanyahu’s speech will justifiably be included in the orators’ hall of fame alongside the monumental speeches mentioned above. No less.
Bob Schieffer Face the Nation: Netanyahu: Iranian Nuclear Deal “a Matter of Survival” for Israel—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told “Face the Nation” on Sunday: I respect President Obama. I expressed appreciation in my speech in Congress, as I do now, for the many things that he’s done for Israel. We share the same goal of preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, but we disagree on how to do it. I do not trust inspections with totalitarian regimes. It didn’t work with North Korea. It didn’t work with Iran. Under the nose of inspectors, they built two underground bunkers that the inspectors didn’t know about for years. What I’m suggesting is that you contract Iran’s nuclear programs, so there’s less to inspect. It’s a matter of survival, really, for the State of Israel, for the security of the Middle East, for the security of the world, and also for the United States. The current proposal enables Iran to have a vast nuclear infrastructure, which means a very short breakout time to the bomb. The better deal is to increase the breakout time, to limit Iran’s infrastructure, and to condition the lifting of restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program to a change in Iran’s behavior, to have it stop instigating aggression against its neighbors and stop threatening the annihilation of Israel. Schieffer: A Saudi newspaper, Al-Hayat, reported that the U.S. plans to offer some Arab states a so-called nuclear umbrella as protection against Iran. Netanyahu: If it’s true, it raises two troubling questions. The first is, it means that Iran has a nuclear weapons program. Otherwise, why offer Gulf states nuclear protection? And the second is, it signals a shift in U.S. policy from preventing a nuclear Iran to containing one.
Majid Rafizadeh: Iran’s Nuclear Sunset: A Strategically Fatal Deal—The Iranians have obtained an unprecedented level of compromises from the White House, removing crucial restrictions against Iran’s nuclear program, ensuring the lifting of sanctions as well as the ultimate legal right and international legitimacy to become a nuclear threshold state. More fundamentally, the objectives of halting Iran’s nuclear program permanently have altered into limiting Iran’s nuclear ambitions for a period of time while removing the sanctions, and ultimately rewarding Tehran with a sunset period which will ensure that Iran will be a nuclear state after 10 years. The primary objective of the nuclear talks was to halt Iran’s nuclear program permanently, hence eliminating the possibility of a nuclear arms race in the region, and removing the strategic threat that a nuclear armed Iran might pose in the region through its regional hegemonic ambitions. The argument that Iran’s political system will change dramatically and fundamentally within 10 years is totally unrealistic. In fact, a nuclear deal with a sunset clause is but a temporary deal thoroughly rewarding Iran, ensuring a nuclear arm race in the region, and further destabilizing the region.
William J. Broad and David E. Sanger: What Iran Won’t Say about the Bomb— OVER the course of a dozen years, ever since atomic sleuths from the United Nations began scrutinizing Iran’s nuclear program, hundreds of inspections have uncovered a hidden world of labs and sprawling factories, some ringed by barbed wire and antiaircraft guns, others camouflaged or buried deep underground. Yet despite that progress, Iran has so far managed to evade a central question — whether it knows how to build an atom bomb. With negotiators from six world powers facing a deadline later this month to cut a basic agreement with Iran on the fate of its nuclear program, much of the public discussion has focused on curtailing Iran’s uranium plants and plutonium complex, its pathways to atomic fuel. In short, the buzz centers on brawn, not brains. But quietly, the United States and its allies are also discussing whether a final deal should compel Tehran to reveal the depth of its atomic knowledge. That inner debate, as one European official in the midst of the negotiations put it, turns on “whether to force Iran to explain its past” — especially before 2003, when American intelligence officials believe Iran operated a full-scale equivalent of the Manhattan Project — “or whether to focus on the future.”
Robert Satloff: Israeli Intelligence Questions Washington’s Claim on Iran Nuclear Breakout Time—Achieving a year’s warning about Iran’s effort to break out is the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s argument in defense of the emerging deal. Yet conversations with two long-time Israeli defense officials confirmed that Israeli intelligence disputes the claim that the proposed deal’s collective elements will provide one year of warning. They not only questioned how U.S. analysts can know with certainty that warning time will remain intact in year five or year ten of an agreement, but also suggested that Israel believes warning time could be considerably less than claimed. Since Israel’s security and intelligence establishment has not been viewed as a cheerleader for the prime minister’s overall Iran policy, its analysis of the breakout issue will not be easily dismissed; instead, it is likely to be given substantial credence in U.S. policy and political circles. For the administration, a fight against Israeli intelligence poses a very different set of challenges than a fight against Israeli political leaders.
Adrian Croft: Iran nuclear commitments do not go far enough: France— Commitments offered by Iran in talks with six world powers on its nuclear program do not go far enough and more work needs to be done, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Friday. Fabius said he had invited U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and the foreign ministers of Germany and Britain to Paris on Saturday to review the state of the Iran nuclear negotiations. “We are in favor of a solid agreement … for now there remain difficulties,” he told reporters in Riga where he was taking part in a European Union foreign ministers’ meeting. “There has been progress but as far as the volume, checks and duration of the envisaged commitments are concerned, the situation is still insufficient, so there is more work to be done,” he said. The participants in Saturday’s talks in Paris – Kerry, Mogherini, Fabius, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond – are the Western members of the six powers negotiating with Iran.
Khaled Abu Toameh: The Palestinians Want… Peace?— The latest PLO and Fatah campaign is not directed only against settlement products. Rather, it is targeting anything made in Israel, as apart of an “anti-normalization” movement, whose goal is to thwart any encounters between Israelis and Palestinians, including peace conferences. While some Israelis, Americans and Europeans are talking about the need to revive the peace process after the March 17 elections in Israel, the Palestinians are clearly moving in a different direction. “We are headed for confrontation with Israel.” — Mahmoud Aloul, senior Fatah official. The Palestinian Authority’s strategy now is to intensify its campaign to isolate and delegitimize Israel in the international community, and promote all forms of boycotts of Israelis and Israeli goods; to force Israel to make concessions through international pressure and through campaigns of boycott and divestment. These campaigns are further radicalizing Palestinians, driving many of them into the open arms of radical groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. If Abbas is interested in returning to the negotiating table (as he sometimes declares he is), then he needs to prepare his people for that and not incite them even more against Israel. Those who are opposed to the presence of Israeli products in their villages and cities will be the first to oppose the resumption of peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis.
SnyderTalk Comment: People who believe that Palestinians (both Hamas and Fatah) want peace with Israel will believe just about anything. They are the kinds of people that P.T. Barnum was referring to when he said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
Cassandra Vinograd: What Does Boko Haram’s Pledge of Allegiance to ISIS Really Mean?— When Boko Haram pledged official allegiance to ISIS in an audio statement this weekend, the Nigerian militant group’s message came as no surprise to most analysts. What the move means — and who stands to gain — is far less clear. Here’s a look at what we know and what questions remain unanswered. WHY IS NO-ONE SURPRISED? Boko Haram has been signalling a shift towards the ISIS model for jihad — and group itself — for months, from displaying the militants’ black flags in videos to mirroring their rhetoric and tactics. “The signs have been leading up to this for awhile now,” said Matthew Henman, manager of IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center. “It all points to an emulation of ISIS if not indicators of contact between the two groups and an attempt to build linkages.”
Al-Monitor: Syrian Kurds prepare for new Middle East—The Syrian Kurds — in particular, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) — claim to be fully aware of the scheme that is being plotted for the region. The Ayn al-Arab (Kobani) battle did not change their perspective, as they still believe that international powers seek to change the map of the Middle East and eliminate the border drawn by the Sykes-Picot agreement. This is why the PYD is getting ready to step up and play its role in this game, stressing that the region’s future is one for federal states. Based on this position, the Kurdish party is engaging in a battle to defend the “self-management” model, noting that the nation-state model has “expired.” This is stressed by PYD leader Salih Muslim, who is a prominent influence and a key player in the Syrian north. In an interview with As-Safir, Muslim noted that the battles to free Ayn al-Arab and its surroundings are still underway, but the direction in which they are going has now been identified. He told As-Safir, “We have already said this. [The Islamic State’s (IS)] defeat in Kobani is the beginning of a comprehensive defeat to eliminate them from all of these areas. That defeat was the preamble of their collapse and the beginning of the end for them.”
Shadi Paveh: Scene from an Execution: Iran Executing Six Sunni Men— “No one had any idea that the executions were to be taking place right away, not even the men themselves… The men were in iron cages, with shackled hands and feet.” — Sister of the Dehghani brothers, to the Roozonline News Agency. The charges against all six men were “enmity of God,” punishable by death in Iran’s penal code. They were among the 33 Sunni men currently on death row in Iran. “The Iranian authorities are executing them over charges that appear to be fabricated and after grossly unfair trials.” — Amnesty International’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Ever since the rise of ISIS, the regime has become more brazen and stepped up executions. They do not have a care in the world; not many countries are paying attention to Iran’s human rights much any more.” — Iranian activist. “We have had our own ISIS here for 36 years now.” — Iranian activist.
Liz Sly: The Islamic State Appears to Fray from Within—The Islamic State appears to be starting to fray from within, as dissent, defections and setbacks on the battlefield sap the group’s strength and erode its aura of invincibility. Reports of rising tensions between foreign and local fighters, increasingly unsuccessful attempts to recruit local citizens for the front lines, and a growing incidence of guerrilla attacks against Islamic State targets suggest the militants are struggling to sustain their carefully cultivated image. “We’re seeing basically a failure of the central tenet of ISIS ideology, which is to unify people of different origins under the caliphate,” said Lina Khatib, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. “This is not working on the ground. It is making them less effective in governing and less effective in military operations.”
Yoni Ben Menachem: How Real Is the Threat to Cut Palestinian Security Cooperation with Israel?—On March 5, the PLO Central Committee decided to end security coordination with Israel. Yet Abbas’ associates soon explained that this was merely a “recommendation.” Abbas knows that ending security coordination with Israel will harm the Palestinians most of all. Just a few months ago, Israel rescued Abbas’ rule when the Israel Security Agency apprehended an extensive Hamas network in the West Bank that had planned to destabilize the PA with a series of attacks.
Uzay Bulut: Happy Women’s Day in Turkey!— Last month, the brutal murder of the twenty-year-old university student Ozgecan Aslan, who tried to stop a man from raping her, sparked mass protests in across many cities in Turkey. The burned body of Aslan, who had been missing for two days, was discovered on February 13 in a riverbed in the southern province of Mersin. A bus driver, Ahmet Suphi Altındoken, 26, confessed that he had tried to rape her after she had boarded the minibus he drove. He said he had stabbed her to death, then cut off her hands to avoid leaving his DNA under her nails, before burning the body. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned the killing by saying, “Allah entrusted women to men, but there are feminists and such, and they come up and say, ‘What does women being entrusted to men mean’? They say that ‘this is an insult.'” Erdogan added: “You have nothing to do with our civilization, our faith, our religion.”
SnyderTalk Comment: You don’t have to make things up or exaggerate. Islamists tell you exactly what they think, so let them talk. Rational people can understand. Obama never will.
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With eye to Israel’s election, PA trying to prevent flare-up of tensions
Abbas Orders Arrest of Dozens of Hamas Operatives in West Bank
Hamas denies offering truce to Israel in exchange for lifting Gaza blockade
Netanyahu: Likud will secure Jerusalem, Tzipi and Herzog will undermine it
‘New Iranian missile could extend Iran’s strike capability to Europe and beyond’
Erekat: Netanyahu never believed in two-state solution, always chose settlements
Arab League calls for multinational force to combat militants
WATCH: Egyptian actor calls for more nudity on TV to battle sexual harassment
Police, Shin Bet, carry out searches in Umm al-Fahm for ‘terror financing’
Republican senators warn Iran: Nuclear deal may be revoked after Obama leaves office
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Israeli-Greek-Cypriot Alliance Challenges Turkey in the Med
PA Threatens Lawsuits Over ‘Settlements’, Gaza War
Deri to Yishai: Recordings Don’t Exist, So Pipe Down
‘Jihadi John’ Issues Apology – For ‘Shaming His Parents’
SnyderTalk Comment: That takes the cake. He cut off the heads of innocent people and he’s sorry for “shaming his parents”. That man needs to be eliminated.
Kahlon Surprisingly Liberal on Non-Economic Issues
UCLA’s Jewish Problem – Trending Far and Wide
From Extreme Left: ‘Netanyahu is Right on Iran’
Che Guevara’s Face Displayed on Labor Poster
SnyderTalk Comment: Che Guevara was a cold-blooded murderer. The Labor Party should do its homework.
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In Gaza, Abbas’ Fatah Practices Attacking IDF Positions
Soldiers with autism give army rare view into intel, and disorder
Obama: US will ‘walk away’ from unacceptable Iran deal
SnyderTalk Comment: Would Obama walk away from a bad Iran deal? I don’t know, but I do know this: before Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, he wouldn’t have walked away from a bad deal. We are in Netanyahu’s debt.
Netanyahu pledges to keep fighting against Iran nukes
Liberman leaves door open to sitting in Herzog government
Netanyahu plays Monopoly in new Likud ad
Orthodox feminists say they don’t want a revolution
Khamenei makes public appearance amid rumors of failing health
Senator to push ahead with Iran bills despite graft probe
‘Dampened by Iron Dome, Hamas shifts to short-range rockets’
Poster for play ‘Bad Jews’ banned from London Underground
IS destroying Iraq’s ancient archaeological city of Hatra
New book probes the growing impact of BDS on academia
Kerry: ‘Up to Iran’ to show its nuclear program peaceful
Is a new Jewish Portland rising in the east?
PM’s ‘compromise document’ brings out the wolves
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‘There will be no concessions; it is simply irrelevant’
‘Yedioth Ahronoth’s libelous report — a disgrace to journalism’
Palestinians are no longer an Arab priority
Report: Saudi Arabia eyeing its own nuclear program
Bangladeshi taken hostage by Islamic State in Libya oilfield attack
Boston Marathon Bombing Trial Enters Second Week
Obama: I First Learned About Clinton’s Email Address ‘Through News Reports’
SnyderTalk Comment: That means Obama didn’t get any emails from Hillary while she was secretary of state. Is that likely? No.
He might argue that he doesn’t pay attention to the addresses from which he receives emails? Is that likely? No.
It also means that no Obama administration higher-ups got emails from her or they got them and didn’t tell the president. Again, it’s highly unlikely.
No-one in the Obama administration is paying attention or they don’t care, or both.
See “Obama emailed Clinton on her private address: White House”.
Republicans send letter warning Iran on nuclear deal
Obama mocks Republican letter to Iran over nuclear talks
Libyan Oil Field Hostages Include 9 Foreigners
Spending a trillion euros could prove tricky for ECB
SnyderTalk Comment: Obama threw away a trillion dollars. It can be done.
After Gaza War Losses, Islamic Jihad Bounces Back
Hamas Focuses on Rebuilding Tunnels as Gazans Suffer
Recalculating the Gaza Route: Reconstruction of an Autonomous Area with Protected Zones
Poll: 53% of public opposes unity government
Ex-Mossad chief failed to foresee rise of Brotherhood in Egypt
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Analysis: Fact-Check on Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif in NBC Interview
Russian Judge: Chechen Confesses to Nemtsov Killing
A Closer Look at Nemtsov’s Comments on Charlie Hebdo
Anti-Israel marchers in the Celebrate Israel Parade
Iran’s Cruise Missile Could Strike Targets beyond 2,000 Km.
Why does Turkey continue to deny Armenian genocide?
Turkey Struggles to Shake Its Troubles
Egypt refuses to extend agreement with Turkey on shipment by ro-ro type vessels
Anti-femicide protests dominate Int’l Women’s Day in Turkey
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Exodus 2: 5-10
5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?” 8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
SnyderTalk Comment: Read His Name is Yahweh.
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His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback. It’s also available for free in PDF format.
- God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
- “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
- “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
- Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)
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Does it matter what we call God?
Click here to download the entire audio presentation for free and with no strings attached. Share it as often as you want.
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Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now. There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
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Other Books by Neil Snyder
- Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming. Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days. Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall. Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace. With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life? Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide. It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided. They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
