Susan Stamper Brown: With U.N. Abstention, Barack Obama Proves He’s No Friend of Israel
America's "Wreck it Ralph" is at it again. This time, President Barack Obama decided to give Israel one last kick in the behind before he leaves office.
Category Archives: Middle East
Friends tell friends hard truths
For 68 years the cardinal rule of U.S. policy in the Middle East has been to speak no ill of Israel and defend it always. Such unwavering support was forged in the Holocaust and fueled by the guilt of democracies that didn't stop Germany's extermination of 6 million European Jews during World War II.
Bolton blasts Obama as ‘vindictive’ for abstaining from UN vote
John Bolton, an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, blasted President Obama Sunday as "vindictive," a week after the U.S. abstained from voting on a UN resolution declaring Israeli settlements in occupied territories illegal. "President Obama has very negative views on the state of Israel.
LETTERS: Real Christians get the message; thanks for Woody Paige
David Beattie of Denver in the Dec. 28 Gazette chastises the Christians of the Springs, implying most are not helping the needy. He laments the cancellation of the Miracle of Tejon Street, which was a holiday meal provided by the former Old Chicago downtown restaurant.
Investigation? Ain’t no prime minister got time for that
By now it's become a truism that 2016 was one stinker of a year for most, and from the looks of the first newspapers of the new year from the Israeli press, not much will change in 2017. While front pages are emblazoned with pictures of fireworks and wishes for a great 2017, the news offerings give a picture of a more melancholy and bizarro state of play - and that's without the deadly Istanbul attack making the morning papers.
Robbins: Mideast reset a vital goal for Trump, U.S.
NEW DIRECTION: President Obama's strained relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is giving some loyal Democrats a positive outlook of President-elect Donald Trump. "Lame duck periods," the late former U.S. Rep. Al Lowenstein once said, "are ones where lame ducks quack and lame quacks duck."
The Top Eight Mideast Stories of 2016 That Shaped Our World
In 2016, the Middle East continued to be a major focus of the US public, and it often came up in the primary and presidential debates. Alas, the Middle East referenced by US politicians and many pundits does not actually exist, and the American fixation on this region has a creepy stalker-like quality to it.
With clock ticking, Palestinians pin hopes on Paris summit
After a pair of diplomatic victories, the Palestinians are now setting their sights on a Mideast peace conference in France next month in a bid to rally support as they prepare for the uncertainty of the Trump administration. The Palestinians are hopeful that a strong international endorsement in Paris will insulate them from what they fear will be a close alliance between President-elect Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Letter: U.S. veto an insult to Israel
Letter: U.S. veto an insult to Israel President Obama did not just "rebuke" Israel, but metaphorically spit in the face of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Check out this story on northjersey.com: http://northjersy.news/2iKOS85 When the United States abstained on United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, President Barack Obama did not just "rebuke" Israel, but metaphorically spit in the face of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israelis and supporters of Israel everywhere.
Ministers clash over call to annex West Bank in wake of UN resolution
Housing Minister Yoav Galant and Education Minister Naftali Bennett at the cabinet meeting at PM Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem on June 7, 2015. Housing Minister Yoav Galant, from the center-right Kulanu party, rebuffed a call this week by Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the pro-settler Jewish Home party, to annex the West Bank in the wake of a Security Council resolution last week denouncing settlements on territory claimed by the Palestinians for a future state, including East Jerusalem.
‘We see the hope of peace slipping away’; Relations between …
It took eight years of backbiting and pretending they got along for relations between President Barack Obama's administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to finally hit rock bottom. Though they've clashed bitterly before, mostly notably over Iran, the two governments seemed farther apart than ever after a speech Wednesday by Secretary of State John Kerry and last week's United Nations resolution.
In parting shot at Israel, Kerry warns Middle East peace in jeopardy
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday said Israel's building of settlements on occupied land was jeopardizing Middle East peace, voicing unusually frank frustration with America's longtime ally weeks before he is due to leave office. In a swiftly issued statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Kerry of bias.
Thursday’s Morning Email: Putin Announces Cease-fire In Syria
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU THROWS HIS SUPPORT BEHIND DONALD TRUMP The Prime Minister of Israel called Secretary of State John Kerry's speech renouncing Israeli settlements " almost as unbalanced as the anti-Israel resolution passed at the U.N. last week." The top candidates for DNC have dodged the debate on where they stand on President Barack Obama's vetoing of the U.N. Israel resolution .
Relations between Obama, Netanyahu camps hit rock bottom
Secretary of State John Kerry speaks about Israeli-Palestinian policy, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016, at the State Department in Washington. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks about Israeli-Palestinian policy, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016, at the State Department in Washington.
Why I Call BS On US Claims “Gang-Up On Israel” Meeting Never Took Place
The White House vehemently denied a report Wednesday morning claiming Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice discussed the controversial U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlements with a top Palestinian official days before Friday's Security Council vote. An Egyptian news site first published what it claimed to be details of the meeting with Palestinian official Saeb Erekat and others.
Erdogan vows to ‘destroy threats’ after Istanbul gunman kills 39
Turkey's president vowed to "destroy threats" targeting the nation after a gunman opened fire inside a popular Istanbul nightclub, killing at least 39 people, including 15 foreigners - an act of terrorism that has become grimly familiar in Turkey. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a string of assaults that have multiplied as Turkey steps up its war against Islamic State and Kurdish militants.
Donald Trump credits impending administration for return of 8,000 jobs from Sprint
After weeks of giving only brief comments to the media, Donald Trump made a series of public statements Wednesday, applauding the return of 8,000 jobs to the U.S. and hailing his discussions with President Barack Obama. In one of his cameos on the front steps of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump touted plans by a Japanese mogul to bring those jobs to the United States.
Cats and dogs: Readers share their love stories
Fluff is "the cat's meow," a suitable phrase from a century ago. A black, long-haired Hemingway with paws like catchers' mitts, she is our sweet princess kitty girl.
Kerry Attacks Israeli Government, Defends UN Resolution
Lame-duck Secretary of State John Kerry blasted the Israeli government at the State Department on Wednesday, and attempted to defend the Obama administration's decision to let an anti-Israel resolution pass at the UN Security Council last week. Kerry delivered his remarks in the midst of a diplomatic fight with Israel, in which President Barack Obama stands accused of working with Palestinians secretly to undermine Israeli security, overturning decades of American foreign policy precedent in the process.
a CNN: – Missed the Mark’a
CNN's correspondent in Israel, Oren Liebermann , reported Wednesday that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's speech at the State Department had "missed the mark" if Kerry's intent had been to reach Israeli viewers and convince them that lame duck President Barack Obama was serious about peace. Libermann reported from Jerusalem that none of the Israeli television networks had carried the speech live, though it was held during prime viewing time.