Mike Pence To Keynote AIPAC Conference

WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence and a bipartisan slate of top members of Congress are scheduled to address AIPAC’s upcoming annual conference. An American Israel Public Affairs Committee official confirmed to JTA that Pence will keynote the conference scheduled for March 26-28 in Washington, D.C. Pence, who enjoyed a long relationship with the pro-Israel lobby as a congressman and later as Indiana governor – but as a local congressman in 2009, told AIPAC that he didn’t know of the three synagogues in his district – spoke last month at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual confab and has taken a lead in condemning recent anti-Semitic incidents.

First 100 days

If his nomination is confirmed, Gottlieb, 44, will oversee America’s largest regulator of medical and consumer products. He served as an FDA deputy commissioner during the George W. Bush administration.

White House Suggests It Hired a National Security Adviser Without…

When Donald Trump named Michael Flynn as his national security adviser last November, liberals had good cause to raise their eyebrows. The retired general had established himself as a proud Islamophobe – one who believed that ” fear of Muslims is rational ,” and that Democrats had tried to impose Sharia law on the state of Florida.

GOP-run committee backs Trump’s pick for US envoy to Israel

A Republican-led Senate committee on Thursday narrowly approved the nomination of the combative lawyer selected by President Donald Trump to be ambassador to Israel, setting aside concerns that David Friedman lacked the temperament for such a critical diplomatic post. Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted largely along party lines, 12-9, to recommend that the full Senate consider Friedman’s nomination.

ISIS Trading in Antiquities and People

With the Jewish holiday of Purim approaching, it is incumbent upon all decent people — whatever their religious persuasion — to fully understand that ISIS jihadists are the lineal descendents of the cruel and ancient Amalekites with their bestial destruction of people. In fact, “[i]n rabbinic literature , the reasons for the unusual eternal remembrance of Amalek are the following: Amalek is the irreconcilable enemy and it is forbidden to show mercy foolishly to one wholly dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

Iran under increasing isolation

With each passing day Iran is experiencing further international and regional isolation, with a growing number of countries voicing concerns about Tehran’s policies. Barack Obama leaving office signaled the beginning of the end of a “golden era” for Iran, and a major shift in the balance of power and political tones.

Former Trump aide Flynn says lobbying may have helped Turkey

In this Feb. 13, 2017 file photo, Mike Flynn arrives for a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, who was fired from the White House last month, has registered as a foreign agent with the Justice Department for work that may have aided the Turkish government in exchange for $530,000.

Former Trump aide Flynn says lobbying may have helped Turkey

In this Feb. 13, 2017 file photo, Mike Flynn arrives for a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, who was fired from the White House last month, has registered as a foreign agent with the Justice Department for work that may have aided the Turkish government in exchange for $530,000.

ZOA Praises FBI for Arresting Islamist, Anti-Israel, Anti-Trump Bomb Threatener

The ZOA praises the FBI for its investigation and arrest of Juan M. Thompson, a fired former reporter for a left-wing online newspaper and hate-filled, pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel, anti-white, anti-Trump, pro-Bernie Sanders, anti-western society, anti-American, Communist, anti-police radical Islamist, for allegedly perpetrating at least eight of the recent bomb threats against Jewish institutions. The ZOA also appreciates federal and local authorities’ continuing investigation of other recent anti-Semitic threats and vandalism.

Trump Signs New Order Blocking Arrivals From 6 Majority-Muslim Countries

President Trump has signed a new executive order blocking visas from being issued to citizens of six majority-Muslim countries to replace a controversial, now-suspended executive order known as the travel ban. Like the initial order signed Jan. 27, the new executive order blocks arrivals from specific majority-Muslim countries and suspends the entire refugee program for 120 days.

Family Pushes Trump to Bring Back Ex-FBI Agent From Iran

The family of a man who went missing in Iran 10 years ago is calling on President Donald Trump to provide answers, The New York Times reports. Robert A. Levinson, private investigator, part-time CIA consultant and former FBI agent, went to Iran in March 2007 on a secret, unauthorized attempt to meet a possible informant on an island of the Iranian coast.

U.S.-backed Iraqi forces capture al-Hurriya bridge in Mosul, spokesman says

The al-Hurriya bridge is the second to be secured by the Iraqi forces in the city, after securing one located further south, in the offensive that started on the western part of Mosul on Feb. 19. “We control the western end of the bridge,” said a senior media officer with Rapid Response, the elite unit of the interior ministry leading the charge through the districts alongside the Tigris river. All of Mosul’s five bridges over the Tigris have been destroyed but their capture and repair would help the offensive against the militants, who have controlled the northern Iraqi city since 2014.

Read St. Charles doctor’s letter to patients

Editor’s note: This is the letter Rany Jazayerli posted for his patients at his offices in St. Charles, Sycamore and Oak Park. It was written before a federal judge put a hold on President Donald Trump’s initial executive order banning immigrants from seven mainly Muslim countries.

Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 5 Mar 2017

Donald Trump has been urged to provide evidence to support his sensational claim that Barack Obama ordered his phones to be tapped during the election campaign. Republican senator Ben Sasse said the US President’s allegations were “serious” and he should explain the alleged wire-tapping and how he came to know about it.

World News Schedule at 2200 GMT/1700 Et

A spokesman for Barack Obama rejects claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that the then-president had wiretapped Trump in October during the late stages of the presidential election campaign, saying it was “simply false.” , moved, by David Shepardson, 917 words) WASHINGTON – The White House budget director confirms that the Trump administration will propose “fairly dramatic reductions” in the U.S. foreign aid budget later this month.

Russia says US infighting on Sessions hampers mending ties

As the drama over Attorney General Jeff Sessions plays out in Washington, the Kremlin is watching with a mixture of frustration and regret how the uproar is blocking progress on pressing issues on the U.S.-Russian agenda. Despite the dashed hopes for a quick thaw, however, Moscow is voicing its readiness to wait as long as it takes.

Russian FM calls Sessions uproar a replay of McCarthyism

Matryoshkas, traditional Russian wooden dolls, including a doll of U.S. President Donald Trump, top, are displayed for sale in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 2, 2017. Trump has repeatedly said that he aims to improve relations with Russia, but Moscow appears frustrated by the lack of visible progress as well as by support from Trump Administration officials for continuing sanctions imposed on Russia for its interference in Ukraine.

Temporary Turkish base established inside Syria’s al-Bab following capture

Nusret Gokce otherwise known as Salt Bae says he will open up steakhouses in London and New York’in the next few months Turkey-backed Syrian rebels opened fire Sunday on Syrian army forces and allies advancing toward opposition-held positions as the opposing factions waged parallel campaigns against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, in the country’s north. IS terrorists then reportedly withdrew to Tadif, south of al-Bab, and promptly left the town to forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad without a fight.

Trump declares US ‘ready to lead’ even as he warns of engagements’ costs

President Donald Trump said in his first address to Congress that the US was “once again ready to lead” internationally amid concerns that his ‘America First’ policy and moves to curtail the State Department budget will do the opposite. “Our allies will find that America is once again ready to lead,” Trump said in an address that was largely dominated by domestic concerns.

Here are all 53 standing ovation lines from Trump’s speech to Congress

“Tonight, as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of Black History Month, we are reminded of our nation’s path toward civil rights and the work that still remains.” “Recent threats targeting Jewish community centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week’s shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms.”

President Donald Trump denounces anti-Semitism in newly forceful…

President Donald Trump on Tuesday condemned recent threats against Jewish community centers in the U.S. as “painful reminders” of lingering prejudice and evil, his first full-throated comments on the rise of anti-Semitic venom after pressure for him to speak out forcefully. With his somewhat delayed denunciation, Trump sought to reset his relationship with American Jews, which has been strained by a recent White House statement on the Holocaust, comments by some of his supporters and his own fractious exchange with a reporter for an Orthodox Jewish publication.

Trump seeks ‘historic’ defence build-up, IS offensive

President Donald Trump is seeking what he called a “historic” increase in military spending of more than 9%, a huge rise even as the United States has wound down major wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and remains the world’s strongest military power. Also Monday, a Pentagon-led preliminary plan to defeat Islamic State was delivered to the White House and US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis briefed senior administration officials.

With Trump at helm, US takes seat at UN rights council

The US claimed its seat Monday on the Human Rights Council under the new presidency of Donald Trump, whose election has provoked deep concern over the body’s future. Over its 11-year history, the council has come in for criticism, including allegations that it has, at times, been co-opted by rights abusers who push resolutions attacking their geopolitical rivals, with genuine rights issues marginalised.

Pence: Administration backs Israel abroad, business at home

Vice President Mike Pence is assuring the Republican Jewish Coalition that he and President Donald Trump will work tirelessly on foreign and domestic issues important to the group, such as enacting business-friendly policies at home and supporting Israel abroad. “If the world knows nothing else, the world will know this: America stands with Israel,” Pence told the group Friday night.

Trump denounces anti-Semitism in newly forceful condemnation

President Donald Trump on Tuesday condemned recent threats against Jewish community centres in the U.S. as “painful reminders” of lingering prejudice and evil, his first full-throated comments on the rise of anti-Semitic venom after pressure for him to speak out forcefully. With his somewhat delayed denunciation, Trump sought to reset his relationship with American Jews, which has been strained by a recent White House statement on the Holocaust, comments by some of his supporters and his own fractious exchange with a reporter for an Orthodox Jewish publication.

Saudi Arabia ready to send ground troops to Syria

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has said the kingdom is prepared to send ground troops to Syria to fight the Daesh group, as US Senator John McCain met with the Saudi King. Adel al-Jubeir told German daily SA1 4ddeutsche Zeitung on Tuesday that Saudi forces could battle Daesh alongside US special forces assisting US-backed Kurdish-Arab fighters.

Ex-officials: Israeli leader spurned secret peace offer

Israel’s prime minister turned down a regional peace initiative last year that was brokered by then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, former American officials confirmed Sunday, in apparent contradiction to Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated goal of involving regional Arab powers in resolving Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians. Netanyahu took part in a secret summit that Kerry organized in the southern Jordanian port city of Aqaba last February and included Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

Ex-officials: Israeli leader spurned secret peace offer

Israel’s prime minister turned down a regional peace initiative last year that was brokered by then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, former American officials confirmed Sunday, in apparent contradiction to Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated goal of involving regional Arab powers in resolving Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians. Netanyahu took part in a secret summit that Kerry organized in the southern Jordanian port city of Aqaba last February and included Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

February 20, 2017: Seeking a solution

Seeking a solution With regard to “Did Trump nix the 2-state solution?” , the assertion that then-president Bill Clinton “wed the Israelis and Palestinians to the notion that the only resolution to the conflict is a two-state solution” flies in the face of historical factuality. The 1993 Oslo Accords did not require a sovereign Palestinian-Arab entity.

Iran dismisses new US pressure, calls for ‘mutual respect’

Iran’s foreign minister brushed aside new pressure from the United States on Sunday, declaring that his country is “unmoved by threats” but responds well to respect. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers, under which Tehran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions, but hasn’t said what he plans to do about it.