Tag Archive for politics

The Evangelical Christian vote will be major influence in US midterm elections

 

Two different surveys show Evangelicals are supporting Republican candidates that are pro-Israel & will defend & promote common interests of America’s closest mid-East ally.

By ARIEL COHEN

 

Religious influence on the American public sphere is steadily decreasing, but the vote of the Christian political right  is gaining momentum,according to polling. Traditionally, this active religious group has continually placed supporting Israel at the forefront of their political agenda.

United States Capitol building in Washington, DC

United States Capitol building in Washington, DC. – Photo: REUTERS

Today, Americans head to the polls to cast their vote in the 2014 midterm elections. This year, it looks likely that the American Senate will gain a Republican majority, thus completely shifting the focus of the government and derailing much of the current Democratic agenda.
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PayBack: White House rejected Ya’alon request to meet ranking gov’t officials

Tit for tat: Obama administration declined Ya’alon request for meetings with top figures, an act of political punishment for Israel’s defense minister calling John Kerry ‘obsessive & messianic’.

By Yitzhak Benhorin

 

 

WASHINGTON – The US administration prevented Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon from meeting with key officials during his visit to Washington, DC, American sources told Ynet on Friday.

Ya'alon and Power (Photo: Defense Ministry)

Ya’alon and Power – Photo: Defense Ministry

The defense ministry did not comment, though sources close to Ya’alon said “the aim was to meet with the security echelon, and that was what happened.”

Ya’alon arrived on Tuesday to meet his counterpart, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and American intelligence officials. Continue Reading »

Israel’s Operation Protective Edge’ redraws Mideast alliances

Shifting powers may bring about newfound cooperation since Gaza war with moderate Sunnis expert says ‘conflict is pitting Turkey, Qatar & Iran against Saudi Arabia & Egypt.’

By The Media Line


What do Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait all have in common? They see the Islamist Hamas movement as the biggest danger to regional stability, and have allied themselves, as least tacitly, with Israel.

Saudi King Abdullah ibn Abdilazīz - Hassan Rouhani President of Iran

Saudi King Abdullah ibn Abdilazīz – Hassan Rouhani President of Iran

While the public in many Arab countries is angry about the loss of life and growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, their governments are demonstrating that their revulsion of Hamas is stronger than their dislike of Israel. Continue Reading »

South Africa Muslim leader accuses rival party’s pro-Israel stance as ‘paid-for’

 

Al Jama-ah leader asked whether South Africa’s second largest political party’s pro-Israel position was based on donations.

 

 

A month ahead of national elections, a question is being asked: Does the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second largest political party, smile on Israel because it’s funded by pro-Israel sources?

James Selfe, leader of the DA.

James Selfe, leader of the DA. – Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

That’s the question asked by the leader of a rival party, Al Jama-ah, a shopkeeper named Imraahn Ismail-Mukaddam, according to Independant Online, which aggregates the websites of the country’s largest media group.

The DA for its part said it doesn’t have to answer his questions, and didn’t comment on his allegations.

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Al-Quds medical doctors caught in fight over Jerusalem

 

While Israeli court ruling allows Al-Quds medical school graduates to take qualifying examinations enabling them to practice medicine in Israel, Health Ministry does not promise decision will become policy.

By Associated Press

 

ABU DIS, West Bank – Since graduating from a local medical school nine years ago, Basel Nassar has been barred from serving his community in east Jerusalem, despite a shortage of doctors there.

Hamas rally at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem. - Photo: Facebook

Hamas rally at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem. – Photo: Facebook

Like dozens of other Palestinian doctors, Nassar has been caught in the political battle between Israel and the Palestinians over east Jerusalem. The Palestinians seek the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip – territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War – for a future state. Continue Reading »

Exiled Fatah leader Mohammad Dahlan aspires to replace Abbas

 

Fatah officials deny rumors that ousted Dahlan is vying to replace Palestinian President, but Palestinian voters may welcome him.

By Abdullah H. Erakat,  the Media Line

 

RAMALLAH – Mohammad Dahlan, the former leader of Fatah in Gaza who was expelled from the party three years ago, has quietly begun his campaign for president of the Palestinian Authority, a political analyst says.

Mohammed Dahlan during an interview with The Associated Press - Photo: Majdi Mohammed

Mohammed Dahlan during an interview with The Associated Press – Photo: Majdi Mohammed

A spokesperson for Fatah, the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has called the news “rumors.”

“He’s a fact that nobody can ignore in the daily political life,” Khalil Shaheen, a Palestinian political analyst, told The Media Line. Continue Reading »

Gaza patients denied entry into Israel over ‘State of Palestine’ letterhead

 

IDF official says Israel denied entry to 50 Palestinians because unrecognized paperwork were marked ‘State of Palestine’.

Urgent cases were allowed entry into Israel.

By Reuters

 

Israel has denied entry permits to some 50 Palestinian medical patients from the Gaza Strip because the words “State of Palestine” appears on the letterhead of their application, officials said on Wednesday.

Palestinian patient who was denied access to Israel.

Suhad al-Katib, a Palestinian woman patient who suffers cancer sits inside her house after she was not allowed to enter Israel, in Gaza City February 12, 2014.- Photo: Reuters

Israel does not recognize a Palestinian state, whose creation it says should stem from peace negotiations. Continue Reading »

Israel & India: 2 Great Democracies that Should Widen their Strategic Ties

India-Israel ties have been deepening for many years now, but there are still many more  common endeavors the 2 countries could be working on together.

By Noah Beck

 

At first glance, Hindu-majority India, with approximately 1.2 billion people and an entire subcontinent, would seem to have little in common with Jewish-majority Israel, which has only about eight million people living on territory that’s just roughly 15 times the size of India’s capital city. While full diplomatic relations were established between Jerusalem and New Delhi only in 1992, the two countries actually have much in common.

Both countries are homelands for ancient peoples who gained their indepndence from the British in the 1940s. Continue Reading »

Australian elections scheduled for Yom Kippur

Liberal MP protests decision saying, “disenfranchises many Jewish Australians.”
Jewish leader responds: “not a problem…”

By SAM SOKOL

 

Australia’s upcoming national elections will be held on September 14 -which is the date on which Yom Kippur falls this year, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced on Monday, arousing heated debate among politicians and Jewish community leaders.

Australia's new Prime Minister Julia Gillard - Photo by APAfter her announcement at the National Press Club in the capital Canberra, MPs from both Labor and the Liberal party were quick to attack the decision, both due to the long campaigning season that it has inaugurated and because some believe it to be insensitive to Australia’s Jewish community.

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Christians United For Israel press to block Hagel confirmation

CUFI  presence in Hagel’s opposition shows conservatives’ determination in stopping Chuck Hagel’s confirmation

By Ron Kampeas

 

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Chuck Hagel has made strides in his bid to secure Senate confirmation as defense secretary, winning the endorsement of leading Jewish Democratic senators and meeting with the leaders of major American Jewish groups.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, shown speaking to CPAC, a convention of political conservatives, in February 2012, has been key to the Republican pushback against the nomination of Chuck Hagel as defense secretary.  (Gage Skidmore/creative commons)

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, shown speaking to CPAC, a convention of political conservatives – Photo: Gage Skidmore/creative commons

But conservative pro-Israel opposition remains fierce, bolstered by the pivotal role being played by Christians United For Israel, the Texas-based group founded by Pastor John Hagee.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the first senator to come out against Hagel’s nomination, did so at Hagee’s behest, both men revealed on Monday. Continue Reading »

Netanyahu: ‘History will not forgive those who do not stop Iran’

In a meeting with bipartisan group of U.S. senators visiting Jerusalem, PM Benjamin Netanyahu says, “Building in Jerusalem is not the world’s problem; a nuclear Iran is the world’s problem”. His comments appear to be subtle message to the US president.

By Shlomo Cesana and Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

“History will not forgive those who do not stop Iran’s nuclear program,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. senators visiting in Israel over the weekend, in what appeared to be a subtle message to U.S. President Barack Obama.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro (far right) and U.S. senators visiting in Israel over the weekend discuss the need to intensify sanctions against Iran.

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Sen. McConnell: Israeli & U.S. Mideast agendas are ‘the same’

The PM’s office reports Sen. McConnell as saying, “…There’s broad bi-partisan support for Israel, & our agenda in this part of the world is the same as your agenda,”

By JTA

 

Sen. Mitch McConnell said in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. and Israeli agendas in the Middle East were identical.

Sen. McMonnellNetanyahu met Friday with McConnell, the minority leader in the U.S. Senate, who was leading a group of senators on an Israel tour.

“As everybody in Israel knows, there are a lot of things we disagree on in America, we’ve had big battles over deficit and debt, but there’s broad bi-partisan support for Israel, and our agenda in this part of the world is the same as your agenda,” McConnell said, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office. Continue Reading »

Dershowitz: Hagel appointment sends mixed signals, is green light to Iran

 

Renowned jurist Professor Alan Dershowitz says the Iranians are celebrating this appointment in Tehran but says appointment won’t affect U.S. Defense Dept policies regarding Israel’s security.

By Yoni Hirsch and Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

Regarding President Barack Obama’s nomination of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary, renowned jurist Professor Alan Dershowitz said, “I think it’s a mistake.”

Professor Alan Dershowitz: Obama is making a mistake with Hagel appointment. – Photo: Dudi Vaaknin

Dershowitz conducted an interview with The Algemeiner, a new English-language incarnation of an old Yiddish newspaper, and wrote an opinion piece for the paper.

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