$40 billion aid to Israel is ‘largest ever’ to any country, says Susan Rice

U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice said the proposed military aid package to Israel is larger than any the United States has ever offered to any country. The 10-year aid program would give Israel up to $40 billion to upgrade its military aircraft and missile defense systems, and to defend against militants in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, and al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates in Syria and Egypt.

Dread and Donald in the wake of Orlando

Tel Aviv University and an Honors Bachelors degree from the University of Toronto in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, Jewish Studies, and English. [Less] Just a few days have passed since Tel Aviv was rattled by terrorists' gunfire slaying innocents who were enjoying an evening out, and again a bloody spectacle is the front page story in the Hebrew press.

With moral force, Germany calls the Armenian massacres a genocide

The Boston Globe, MA June 9 2016 With moral force, Germany calls the Armenian massacres a genocide When the German parliament recently adopted a motion labeling as "genocide" the mass murder of more than a million Armenian Christians by the Ottoman Turks a century ago, the Turkish government reacted the way it usually does: It threw a tantrum. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's autocratic president, warned that the vote will have "serious repercussions" for German-Turkish relations.

Daughter of American rep. returns state award to Hungary

The daughter of the late Rep. Tom Lantos is returning a state award to Hungary to protest the same award being presented to a nationalist journalist described as racist and anti-Semitic, JTA reported Monday. Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett joins about 100 other Hungarians or people of Hungarian heritage in returning the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit, to protest the recognition last month of the right-wing journalist and columnist Zsolt Bayer for his writings.

Israel Wants a Peace Process, But Only If It’s Doomed to Fail

In a familiar muddying of the waters, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spent the past week talking up peace while fiercely criticising Friday's summit in France - the only diplomatic initiative on the horizon. As foreign ministers from 29 nations arrived for a one-day meeting in Paris, Netanyahu dusted off the tired argument that any sign of diplomatic support for Palestinians would encourage from them "extreme demands".

Gov. Cuomo Decrees Boycott & Blacklist to Silence Global BDS Movement for Palestinian Rights

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signs a first-in-the-nation Executive Order directing the divestment of public funds supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel during a breakfast meeting at the Harvard Club. Afterwards, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stirred the immediate ire of human rights campaigners around the world on Sunday by signing an executive order calling for the creation of a "blacklist" that would track groups and individuals who support Palestinian rights through the international Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement known as BDS.

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Announces Executive Order Against Anti-Israel BDS Movement

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday that the state will be taking firm stance against the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions movement. Rather than pursuing legislation, Cuomo signed an executive order directing state agencies to cease doing business with any group that associates itself with BDS protesters.

US-backed forces open major front in Syria war

Female Kurdish Peshmerga walk with their weapons in a village to the east of Mosul, Iraq Photo: Reuters/Azad Lashkari THOUSANDS of U.S.-backed fighters opened a major new front in Syria's war, launching an offensive to drive Islamic State out of a swathe of northern Syria it uses as a logistics base and appearing to make swift initial battlefield advances. The operation, which began on Tuesday after weeks of quiet preparations, aims to choke off the group's access to Syrian land along the Turkish border that the militants have long used to move foreign fighters back and forth to Europe.

Trump said planning Israel trip before July GOP convention

According to New York Magazine, four sources linked to the Trump campaign confirmed the Republican White House hopeful is considering a trip to the Jewish state in the next six weeks, though nothing has been finalized. In May, Trump said he believes he enjoys "massive" support from Israelis as he announced he would visit Israel before the presidential election, in an interview published by the Adelson-owned Israel Hayom daily.

Global Threat of Jihad Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

With Donald Trump having wrapped up the Republican nomination and Hillary Clinton almost across the Democratic winning line, attention turns to the next president's policy agenda. Restoring American prestige and global leadership must rank high on the list.