Fwd: ZOA Praises IDF for Stopping Hamas’s Violent Attempted Invasion of Israel

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From: Zionist Organization of America <info@zoa.org>
Date: Mon, Apr 2, 2018, 6:18 PM
Subject: ZOA Praises IDF for Stopping Hamas's Violent Attempted Invasion of Israel
To: faigerayzel@gmail.com <faigerayzel@gmail.com>

Zionist Organization of America  ZOA in the News   DONATE NOW

ZOA Praises IDF for Stopping Hamas's Violent Attempted Invasion of Israel ZOA Thanks Amb. Haley/Trump Admin. for Blocking Draft Anti-Israel UNSC Resolution. We Condemn Those Criticizing Israel Share       For more information contact Morton A. Klein 212-481-1500 Follow @mortonaklein7 on Twitter. Website: www.zoa.org NEW YORK, April 2, 2018 Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Morton A. Klein released the following statement: The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)'s necessary, carefully targeted, defensive response to hordes of Hamas-sponsored terrorists and rioters attempting to charge through the Gaza-Israel border has once again demonstrated that, in the words of British Commander Colonel Richard Kemp, the IDF is "the world's most moral army."  However, frighteningly and horrifyingly, a cabal of leftists – Sen. Bernie Sanders, J Street and other hostile-to-Israel NGO's, the Pope, the UN, etc. have all attacked Israel for defending herself.  It is painful and frightening that in 2018, irrational Jew-hatred still remains so strong that although the Jewish state is fighting against the Nazi-like Arab terrorist group Hamas, whose charter and proclamations call for the murder of Jews and Israel's destruction, the world and U.S. politicians show sympathy and support for the Hamas terrorists. What country on earth would not use military force against an avowed terrorist enemy who comes to their border, 40,000-strong, with guns, bombs and burning tires, to infiltrate their country in order to kill innocent civilians and damage their security infrastructure, after warning the terrorists to refrain from such terrorist actions?   And, Hamas openly stated this was a riot to promote the policy of bringing millions of so-called "Arab refugees" to Israel in order to destroy the Jewish State. This was not a peaceful protest for better living conditions! This terrorist action also makes it even more clear that Israel dare not give any more land to the Palestinian terrorist dictatorship. They will only be used as enclaves for more terrorism and rockets against Israel. This terrorist action also makes it even more clear that Israel dare not give any more land to the Palestinian terrorist dictatorship. They will only be used as enclaves for more terrorism and rockets against Israel.  Fortunately, the Trump administration understands the situation.  ZOA thanks U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley and the administration for blocking a draft UN Security Council wrongly blaming Israel, urging "investigations" of the IDF, and reaffirming a supposed "right of peaceful protest" – when the acts of Hamas and the Hamas-sponsored hordes were anything but peaceful.  (See "US blocks UN Resolution Condemning Israel for Deaths in Gaza Clashes," by AFP and Khaled Abu Toameh, Times of Israel, Apr. 1, 2018.) U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization Hamas is once again engaging in its favorite tactic of using civilians as human shields for terror activities aimed at carrying out Hamas's stated goals of invading Israel, destroying the Jewish state, and murdering every Jew.  This past weekend, Hamas bussed paid mobs of 30,000 to 40,000 Palestinian-Arab rioters to six locations on Israel's border.  Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh announced in a speech at the scene that this marked the beginning of the Palestinians' "return" to all of "Palestine."  At Hamas' urging, the amassed rioters hurled Molotov cocktails (burning bottle-bombs filled with gasoline and other flammable materials), burning tires, boulders, and other projectiles at Israel, and made coordinated attempts to storm the border.  Hamas also sent children, including a seven-year-old girl, into the line of fire.  Meanwhile, armed Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terrorists shot guns and rockets into Israel, and attempted to infiltrate into Israel.  Hamas also reiterated the tenet of the Hamas Charter that Hamas will never make peace with Israel, and stated that its violent attempted terror invasion (misnamed "the Great Return March" or "Gaza Return March"), timed to begin on the Jewish holiday of Passover, will continue for six weeks, through the 70th anniversary of Israel re-establishment in mid-May, and will include additional actions afterwards, plus worldwide "supporting" actions led by Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood affiliates in Turkey, Europe and elsewhere.  Hamas and its parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood – which cry "poverty" when it comes to taking care of civilian needs such as water purification and electricity repairs – have reportedly spent over $10 million on this campaign to storm Israel's borders and thwart peace.  ("Are Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas Mobilizing to Take Over the PLO?," by Ehud Rosen, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, JNS, Mar. 26, 2018.)  Journalist Bassam Tawil aptly summed it up, noting: "the 'March of Return' is nothing but a declaration of war on Israel and the Trump administration."  ("Palestinians: A March to Destroy Israel," by Bassam Tawil, Gatestone Institute, Apr. 2, 2018.) The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has responded admirably.  Israel issued multiple warnings to Palestinian-Arabs to not approach the border.  At great risk to themselves, IDF soldiers rescued the 7-year-old Palestinian-Arab girl whom craven Hamas operatives had placed in the line of fire.  The IDF returned the child to her family.  Israel stopped Hamas infiltration attempts, and Israeli snipers specifically targeted terrorists and those in danger of breaching the border, leaving the mass of Hamas-instigated rioters completely unharmed – even based on Hamas's vastly overstated injury claims of 750 injuries.  A total of only approximately 17 Palestinian-Arabs were killed.  The IDF and Shin Bet confirmed that at least 10 of those killed were armed, known terrorists, including Hamas commanders and Nuchba special forces (usually famous for sub-terrain activities).  Further confirming this, Hamas' Al Qassam Brigades published photos of five of its terrorists who were killed in the violence this past weekend.  Further, a picture of 10 "Terrorists of the Violent Riots," with basic information about each of them, can be viewed on Prime Minister Netanyahu's Facebook page.  (The deceased terrorists included a Hamas commander, 7 other elite Hamas military operatives, a global jihad operative and a Fatah al Aqsa Martyrs brigade operative.)  Moreover, the remaining 7 fatalities were all men of military age.    The IDF's restraint in the face of this mass provocation and danger is remarkable.  Any other nation facing hordes of terrorists' and violent rioters' efforts to storm its borders would have used far greater force.  Yet, appallingly, Israel and Jew-haters are once again encouraging the terrorists and condemning Israel for defending herself.  For instance: Fatah (the ruling party in the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas) demanded to know why Hamas had not successfully shot Israel's snipers.  ("Fatah to Hamas: Why Didn't You Shoot the IDF Snipers?" By David Israel, Jewish Press, Apr. 2, 2018.)  Abbas also declared a national day of mourning, denounced Israel for protecting her border, and claimed that Israel was solely to blame for casualties.   Far left-wing socialist Senator Bernie Sanders refused to accept that accurate statement that Hamas and its henchpersons were engaged in "violent terror demonstrations."   Instead, Sanders falsely insisted that "tens and tens of thousands of people engaged in a non-violent protest" and "I think it's a difficult situation, but my assessment is that Israel overreacted."    ("Bernie Sanders Unhappy with IDF's Performance in Gaza Clashes," by David Israel, Jewish Press, Apr. 2, 2018.)   In his Easter address, Pope Francis claimed that the Gaza conflict "does not spare the defenseless" – and shamefully failed to place the blame squarely where it belongs – on Hamas and its companion terrorist groups.  ("Pope, After Gaza Violence, Says 'Defenseless' Being Killed In Holy Land," Reuters/Jerusalem Post, Apr. 1, 2018.)   UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called for an "independent" inquiry into the deaths of Palestinians – sure to be another UN kangaroo inquiry.  Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman properly rejected these hypocritical one-sided calls for inquiries, noting that the UN has yet to perform an independent inquiry into the large-scale killings of half a million Syrians and other groups.  ("Liberman Rejects Calls For Investigation Into Gaza Deaths," by Tovah Lazaroff, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 2, 2018.)   Anti-Israel, European and Soros-funded NGOs such as B'Tselem falsely blamed Israel and claimed that it was a "crime" for Israel to shoot at "demonstrators."    The hostile-to-Israel J Street falsely claimed that "the vast majority [of Palestinian-Arabs] marched and protested non-violently," portrayed such demonstrations were "legitimate and important," mourned the death of the "17 Palestinians" (while failing to properly identify them as armed terrorists); falsely claimed that there "were a disturbingly high number of casualties," and demanded investigations and restraint by Israel.  This is, alas, J Street's typical response whenever Israel must defend herself from violent attacks by Hamas from Gaza.  (See "ZOA Report: J-Street Sides with Israel's Enemies & Works to Destroy Support for Israel," Executive Summary and Full Report.) ZOA is proud of Israel and the IDF for handling this dangerous situation so well.

Full story can be found here:  https://zoa.org/2018/04/10377842-zoa-praises-idf-for-stopping-hamass-violent-attempted-invasion-of-israel/

Follow ZOA    About the ZOA The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is the oldest and one of the largest pro-Israel organizations in the United States. With offices around the country and in Israel, the ZOA educates the public, elected officials, the media, and college/high school students about the truth of the ongoing Arab war against Israel. The ZOA works to strengthen U.S.- Israel relations through educational activities, public affairs programs and our work on Capitol Hill, and to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias in the media, in textbooks, in schools and on college campuses. Under the leadership of such presidents as Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, and current President Morton A. Klein, the ZOA has been - and continues to be - on the front lines of Jewish activism. www.zoa.org. For more information contact Morton A. Klein 212-481-1500.

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This Passover Reflect How Did Israelites End up in Egypt? They Threw Joseph in the Pit. Think of Elisha Odess This Seder Night!

bs"d

It is 2 days left to Passover and Elisha Odess and Amiram ben Uliel are in jail to the best of my knowledge.  

Will we be sitting free at our Seder Table while these boys will be locked up in jail as was Joseph the Tzadik when he was 17 years old,  because his brothers threw him into a pit? 

At the very least we must tell their story... if only to remind ourselves how we all ended up in Egypt.  

The brothers of Joseph slandered him.  They said he was a sinner.  Yet he loved them in his heart.  

The hilltop youth are the Joseph of today.  They love the Land of Israel. They love the people of Israel.  They settle the hilltops of Ephraim and Menashe the inheritance of Joseph.  They are shepherds and farmers.  They want a Jewish court based on Torah.  Their ideology, their religious fervor threatens a secular Israeli society intent on a State of Jews and not a Jewish State. 

Our Joseph of today, Elisha Odess, was 16 years old when it started and he and others in his Chevra were accused of starting a fire in an Arab Village called Duma.  There were no credible witnesses, no video footage, no evidence of substance other than Hebrew graffiti.  Graffiti that anyone could have scribbled,  especially those who wanted to frame these  "Jewish Terrorists" aka the Hilltop Youth.. 

An Arab mother and father died and so did their baby.  

Nobody sincerely Jewish really wants to see innocent people die in a tragic fire. Nobody here gloated about these Jihad moments of glory for the honor of Israel as typically do the Mothers of Palestinian terrorists. Palestinian Mothers in contrast are so proud of their Jihadist children who are willing to sacrifice their lives for Allah and for Palestine.  They are promised great rewards in heaven for this supreme sacrifice.  They have been educated to be Jihadists from a very young age.  Their heroes whom their schools and streets are named after, are so greatly admired and honored for their Jihadist acts of heroism.  Those who succeed in murdering the greatest number of innocent Jews are the ones most admired and the ones to emulate. 

Let's get back to the topic at hand.  Duma

All the heads of State, the IDF, the Prime Minister the President of Israel and the head of the Yesha Council, the Minister of Defense, the Deputy Minister rushed to condemn the "Jewish Terrorists". Again,  No eye witness, no video no evidence. Baseless condemnation. Oh yes.  There was Hebrew graffiti.

So who are the "Jewish Terrorists".  Everyone knows who they are. They are the  Hilltop Youth settling the hilltops of Samaria the Biblical Inheritance of Joseph. They are the ones connected to Kach and Kahane Chai.  The Israel Government designated them as a terrorist Organization in 1994.    "Cabinet Communique - March 13, 1994". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 23 June 2015. See below.  

These condemnations of "Jewish Terrorists" from the heads of State stem from the same source, namely, 

The Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, the Inspector-General of the Israel Police and the Coordinator of Operations for Judea, Samaria and Gaza.  In accordance the proposal of the Prime Minister and Defense Minister and in conformity with the opinion presented by the Attorney-General, defense and police officials, the Government decided as follows:
"In accordance with its authority under Clause 8 of the Order for the Prevention of Terrorism, (1948), and supplementing the announcement published in the Official Gazette (No. 3305, Page 1436), the Government declares that the groups designated hereunder are terrorist organizations:
(a) The Kach Movement, whose central activists are today Baruch Marzel, No'am Federman and Tiran Pollak;
(b) The Kahane Chai Movement, whose central activists today are Binyamin Kahane, David Axelrod and Yekutiel Ben-Yaakov.

I personally know some of these so-called terrorists and if they are terrorists then so is the rest of the country. Let's not leave out U.S.Ambassador David Friedman who according to Abbas also falls into this categorization especially since he too is a Settler . [Robin]

This same group, heads of the State of Israel condemned these Duma suspects, innocent youth, before any investigation.  They are quick to point a finger at these youth who are now denied all civil rights legally under the laws of Administrative  Detention, namely since they are terrorists, based on that they were designated as such, years ago in 1994, by the same group that condemn them now, years later in 2015. 

What is going on here is baseless hatred.....

According to Wikipedia

In many non-democratic countries, administrative detention is used by the ruling regime to suppress dissent and sanction opponents of the government. In Asia in particular, administrative detention was first introduced by the British and French colonial authorities prior to and during World War II. Created as a mechanism to control political dissent, it has ironically survived and made its way into the law books of the now-independent former colonies, who legitimized its use against their own political opponents in their constitutions.^[6] In many cases, they were and codified as "emergency measures" or "internal security" acts.

Being that they are heads of State, who would question their authority, their expertise?  If facts and evidence is of no importance to them now, nor even necessary, it brings to question the validity of the original designation as per whether it was based on fact or based on political considerations of the time and as a mechanism to control political dissent. 

Since there was no real evidence to speak of, Shabak had to fabricate evidence to justify the condemnations and designation of them being Jewish Terrorists.  These kids were warned by their mentors not to speak when interrogated since whatever they say may be used against them.  The Shabak then had to get special permission from the Attorney General to torture them to force confessions.

After E spent three months under house arrest, with no break in the case, the Shin Bet requested approval from then-attorney general Yehuda Weinstein to use coercive interrogation techniques. That kind of permission is normally granted only when authorities believe the suspect is a "ticking time bomb," someone who has direct knowledge of an imminent terror attack. http://www.mishpacha.com/Browse/Article/9880/Rose-Report-Parents-of-Duma-Suspect-Speak-Out

They were denied access to an attorney and they were tortured.  

Here is just one example of the type of torture they endured.

Torture of Duma Boys. Article in Arutz Sheva: Torture of a Jewish Child by Boaz Shapira

https://www.inn.co.il/Articles/Article.aspx/17300 (h)  

translated https://shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com/2018/03/re-torture-of-duma-boys-article-in.html

I would like to focus on the harsh tortures suffered by several Jewish youths, the vast majority of whom were released without charge, while two others were prosecuted in a mini court for the admissibility of "confessions" given after severe torture of the Jewish youths.
One of those interrogated testified that they had placed him on a low chair with no backrest, shackled to a chair, and his legs were bent back under the chair and tied to a chair. In this situation, the interrogators forcibly bent his back until his head touched the floor and his back formed an "opposite arc" and held it for long periods of time for a whole night, and for three nights. The pain caused by torture to him was unbearable. The interrogators screamed at him that he must confess to the murder and crimes that the interrogators dictated (and he had nothing to do with them) in order to stop the torture. 
The interrogated was willing to admit to everything in order to stop the inferno pain of the torture.  

Two and a half years later, March 15, 2018. 

Court to determine admissibility of Duma arson defendants' confessions.  Meanwhile these kids have been sitting in jail waiting for a trial. This alone is outrage and against Rabbinic Law according to Rabbi Mordechai Tendler[Robin]. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B86sGl9yfinjNGtTdzY1VTBpOEgxc2NYa21KUnJvSFE3X1VJ/view

Court to determine admissibility of Duma arson defendants' confessions

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5166185,00.html

"To show that torture is not so terrible, the prosecution dares to write to the court that while torturing, they stuck to the rules, used judgment, and the most outrageous thing—they write that everything has been done while 'maintaining the defendants' dignity as much as possible.' 

All this is public knowledge https://shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com/2018/03/while-we-are-sitting-at-our-seder-will.html! 

The public condemnations by the heads of State were carried by all mainstream media. Following the indictment, four months later with no evidence other than forced confession, there was a chain reaction so that many influential Rabbis of Judea and Samaria condemned their own and turned their backs on these kids (probably to save their own skin so that they too wouldn't be designated as terrorist organizations). . 

רות איזיקוביץ ה' ניסן תשע"ח March 21, 2018

J'Accuse. Will the Land continue to be Silent? by Ruti Itzkowitz posted on Kol Yehudi On the Slander of the Hilltop Youth

https://shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com/2018/03/will-land-continue-to-be-silent-by-ruti.html

     

We are trying to to publicize Elisha's, the modern day Joseph's, side of the story.  We need each and every individual, leader and organization each according to their capacity, to stand up against the Slander against these vulnerable youth.  

Read the articles  in the link above, published in 

Arutz7, Ynet, Times of Israel, ShemittahRediscovered, Mishpacha Magazine, Jewish Press, vosiznaies, etc. Cry out in pain because it hurts.  Please read what the Lubavitch Rebbe wrote "When Silence is a Sin". http://www.sichos-in-english.org/books/when-silence-is-a-sin/08.htm

Because if we don't take a stand,  we have only ourselves to blame if and when we ourselves end up in the pit we might have dug for ourselves, slandered by the world with false accusations.  No one is immune.  Not even the strong and powerful as Netanyahu and President Trump can attest nor the State of Israel in the United Nations subject to resolution after resolution of condemnation.  

Maybe had we not thrown our own into the pit, nor stood by in silence as they suffered,  (when we could have done something), we too would merit never to be treated in such a manner.  

Something to reflect on this Passover.

ref:  See Wikipedia on Jewish religious Terrorism  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_religious_terrorism

Terror Kach and Kahane Chai, a banned far-right party in Israel. Today, both groups are considered terrorist organisations by Israel,^{[33] http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/AboutIsrael/State/Law/Pages/Cabinet%20Communique%20-%20March%2013-%201994.aspx} Canada,^[34] the European Union^[35] and the United States.^[36]

33: 

Cabinet Communique - March 13, 1994

At its weekly meeting of Sunday, March 13, 1994, the Cabinet made the following decisions:

A. The Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, the Inspector-General of the Israel Police and the Coordinator of Operations for Judea, Samaria and Gaza, reviewed current events in the framework of the Ministerial Defense and National Security Committee.

B. In accordance the proposal of the Prime Minister and Defense Minister and in conformity with the opinion presented by the Attorney-General, defense and police officials, the Government decided as follows:

"In accordance with its authority under Clause 8 of the Order for the Prevention of Terrorism, (1948), and supplementing the announcement published in the Official Gazette (No. 3305, Page 1436), the Government declares that the groups designated hereunder are terrorist organizations:

(a) The Kach Movement, whose central activists are today Baruch Marzel, No'am Federman and Tiran Pollak;

(b) The Kahane Chai Movement, whose central activists today are Binyamin Kahane, David Axelrod and Yekutiel Ben-Yaakov.

This announcement applies to the terrorist organizations detailed above as well as to any group of people acting to achieve aims of that nature, which the above-mentioned groups have been working to achieve, through means similar to those which the above-mentioned groups have used, even if they bear different names or designations, whether permanently or from time to time. In addition, this announcement will apply to factions or groups attached to the above-mentioned organizations."

C. The Government of Israel made the following decisions:

1. The Government of Israel reaffirms that at present, as in the past, it is solely responsible, by means of the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Police, for the security of all inhabitants, both Jewish and Arab, of the territories of Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The Government of Israel intends to continue taking all measures necessary to ensure security, within the boundaries of the law. It reaffirms its commitment to promote maximum security to all residents, and to act with its full authority to prevent a repetition of any acts of murder. Also, it will continue to act to prevent harm to Jews and Arabs.

2. The IDF and the security forces have been directed to act accordingly, using all legal and security means.

3. The Prime Minister and Minister of Defense will report to the Ministerial Committee for National Security about the measures taken and about additional measures if they are necessary.

4. With the completion of the negotiations on the Gaza-Jericho Agreement, a Palestinian police force will be established which will take responsibility for the security of the Arab residents of those areas. During the transition period, the necessary measures will be taken to ensure that a security vacuum is not created.

5. The Government calls upon all residents to show vigilance and act responsibly, in order to help establish peace and security throughout the country.

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Sincerely,

Robin Ticker

Activist emails sent to my list  are L'Ilui Nishmat Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan) and Howard Chaim Grief great activists and lovers of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichronum Baruch.  May their memories serve as a blessing. 

Most of these emails are posted on Shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com 

Personal emails to individuals will not be posted to my blog. 

Being Shadowbanned? My Statistics on ShemittahRediscovered dropped significantly for no apparent reason after posts in Defense of Duma's Jewish "Terrorist" Suspects.

bs"d

After posting substantial number of links in the last day or two that pointed to miscarriage of justice for Duma Suspect "Jewish Terrorists" my statistics drastically dropped.  Being Shadow banned? 

LATEST UPDATES and NEWS ON JEWISH DUMA SUSPECTS, ELISHA ODESS AND AMIRAM BEN ULIEL. Check out the latest links!

https://shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com/2018/03/while-we-are-sitting-at-our-seder-will.html

--

Sincerely,

Robin Ticker

Activist emails sent to my list  are L'Ilui Nishmat Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan) and Howard Chaim Grief great activists and lovers of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichronum Baruch.  May their memories serve as a blessing. 

Most of these emails are posted on Shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com 

Personal emails to individuals will not be posted to my blog. 

Fwd: ZOA Quoted as Leading Fight to Oust McMaster

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From: Zionist Organization of America <info@zoa.org>
Date: Mon, Mar 26, 2018, 9:44 AM
Subject: ZOA Quoted as Leading Fight to Oust McMaster
To: faigerayzel@gmail.com <faigerayzel@gmail.com>

Zionist Organization of America  ZOA in the News   DONATE NOW

ZOA Quoted as Leading Fight to Oust McMaster Share       For more information contact Morton A. Klein 212-481-1500 Follow @mortonaklein7 on Twitter. Website: www.zoa.org NEW YORK, March 26, 2018 By Celeste Katz President Trump's choice of a new national security adviser has quickly become as polarizing as many of the other dramatic choices he's made in the roller-coaster first stage of his Oval Office tenure, with conservative forces cheering the pick of the hawkish John Bolton as a muscular demonstration of U.S. support for Israel and those on the left warning of potential disaster. Bolton, who will replace General H.R. McMaster in the latest round of Trump administration shakeups, is a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations known for his aggressive stances on geopolitics, including past open discussions of possible pre-emptive strikes against both Iran and North Korea. Trump Administration policy has split the U.S. electorate, not to mention relationships abroad, with its handling of foreign affairs matters as various as intercontinental trade and climate agreements to U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state and stated plans to move the embassy there from Tel Aviv. Klein explained: "This is not warmongering. This is understanding that if other diplomatic actions and sanctions don't work, there will be no choice," he said of Bolton. "This is a rational position of an American patriot who wants to protect America." From a policy perspective, Trump's pick of Bolton fits in with his trajectory of moving his cabinet further to the right by virtue of bringing on people whose track record matches the rhetoric the president used on the campaign trail, says David Birdsell, dean and professor at the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College. Those applauding Trump's selection of Bolton, a veteran of posts at the Departments of State and Justice whose appointment could foreshadow a U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, include New York Representative Lee Zeldin, co-chairman of the House Republican Israel Caucus, who e-mailed a statement to the Forward. Bolton, Zeldin said, "knows well that America must strengthen our relationships with our friends and treat our adversaries as our adversaries" — and pointedly added that "unlike the Obama administration, we will no longer be treating Israel like Iran and Iran like Israel." Morton Klein of the Zionist Organization of America, who personally led a campaign to oust McMaster as security advisor, called Bolton a personal friend and champion of Israel. Klein called Trump's selection of Bolton "spectacular" in a Friday interview with the Forward: "This will be a great appointment that will strengthen US-Israel relations, that will strengthen this administration's interest in putting much more pressure on Iran to end its efforts to develop nuclear weapons [and to] eradicate the greatest scourge facing the world, and that is the scourge of radical Islamic terrorism." Klein dismissed critics who say Bolton has a dangerously itchy trigger finger when it comes to bypassing diplomacy in favor of martial force, saying they would do just as well — or badly — to have attached a warmonger label to those who fought to end slavery in the U.S. Civil War or advocated action against the Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s. "This is not warmongering. This is understanding that if other diplomatic actions and sanctions don't work, there will be no choice," he said of Bolton. "This is a rational position of an American patriot who wants to protect America." Other observers were hardly as optimistic about the incoming national security advisor's prospects for lowering the temperature on the international relations scene. Bolton's appointment will increase tensions in the region by tilting the United States heavily toward Saudi Arabia and away from Iran, forcing other countries to choose sides in that regional conflict, said Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, in an interview with the Forward. That doesn't bode well for peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, he added: "The risk is that the resulting anger and dissension will spiral out of control and produce a situation even worse than the current status quo." Similarly, Dylan Williams, chief lobbyist for J Street, a group which advocates for "pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans," told The Forward that Trump's promotion of Bolton is dangerous: "It's an utterly unqualified commander-in-chief getting rid of responsible adults and replacing them with extremists who validate his own dangerous belligerence." Under Bolton, Williams is particularly worried about the fate of the Iran deal, which he said has the backing of "the majority of Jewish Americans." Williams said he sees it as Bolton's "express goal to unwind a lot of the diplomatic achievements and multilateral progress that has been made in recent administrations," and warned that "an already embattled U.S. foreign service will face further isolation, neglect and even derision from a NSC run by John Bolton." Not everyone who supports a two-state solution stands opposed to Trump's decision to bring Bolton in, however. Among those: Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who said Bolton "will not sell out Israel." The president has obviously also shaken up U.S. diplomacy from the very top, canning Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (on Twitter, no less) in favor of CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who's taken much a harder line on the Iran deal. Trump "appears to be trying to create a chorus of voices that will echo his own," Birdsell said in an interview with The Forward, and he's doing it, perhaps unsurprisingly for a one-time reality-show star, with a preference for "the appointment of people who have made careers talking on television about the conservative principles they espouse." (That would include not only replacing McMaster with Bolton, but moving Larry Kudlow into the economic advisor role previously held by Gary Cohn.) Bolton's rise, Birdsell noted, coincides with — or perhaps expedites — the already shaky situation of Jared Kushner, the Trump son-in-law initially tasked with playing a major role in brokering a Middle East peace. "Plainly, those diplomatic solutions have paled, and his star has been setting for some time now. Whether there was ever a serious notion that Jared Kushner could pull off a diplomatic coup, [certainly] it is much, much more difficult to imagine — if it was ever imaginable in the first place — that he could make diplomatic progress while John Bolton is busy tearing up the landscape with both hands," Birdsell said. "We'll see how that works out. But remember, we're now of course talking about a very much diminished Kushner with no security clearance [or] access to privileged documents," the professor added. "It's just extraordinarily difficult to imagine how he could be an effective actor in an arena where he can't even read secret briefing documents on what's happening in the region." Trump's new security advisor, presumably, would not have any such obstacles to obtaining information to be used in the pursuit of peace via negotiation — if that's what he and the boss choose to pursue. "Bolton is about getting what you want by pointing a gun and demanding it," Birdsell said. "He's not a diplomatic actor in this role. He's tried on that suit. It didn't fit too well." Read more: https://forward.com/news/israel/397380/hawks-embrace-american-patriot-bolton-friend-of-israel/

Full story can be found here:  https://zoa.org/2018/03/10377794-zoa-quoted-as-leading-fight-to-oust-mcmaster/

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