16 Adar 5778
3 March 2018
Picture of the Day:
Speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil: just be evil–leaders of the PLO led by Mahmoud Abbas in the middle (security guard behind him). See story below.
Ludicrous Quote of the Day:
“The Israeli government can not continue to ignore the harsh and repeated condemnations of international experts, and Israel can not continue to trample on international law, and Israel can and should be a moral light in the time of the world’s largest refugee crisis.”
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) referring to the Israeli attempt to relocate some 20,000 Eritrean and Sudanese migrants from Israel to third countries.
Aside from the lunacy of the always anti-Semitic UNHCR blathering about “a moral light”, the idea of singling out Israel for criticism while countries all over the world (especially those in Europe) are doing everything possible to deport so-called “refugees” is absurd.
As a side note, your humble servant would imagine that the above UNCHR statement will be quickly amended as soon as the Palestinians realize that their so-called “refugee” crisis has been relegated to the one currently sweeping the globe.
The News on the Israel Street
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
There have been violent terrorist clashes throughout Judea and Samaria forcused on such areas as Taqam (east of Bethlehem), Hevron, and Qalandiya.
An IDF soldier was wounded in the face during a terrorist attack at Qadum. He was evacuated to Tel Hashomer Hospital where his condition is unknown at this hour.
The coming demise of Mahmoud Abbas . . .
It is a poorly kept secret that on his recent trip to Johns Hopkins hospital in the United States, Abbas was told that he is suffering from advanced stomach cancer.
According to the Palestinian media, the PLO has appointed Mahmud Al-Muttaq to replace him for the next three months as he battles the disease.
Your humble servant imagines that Abbas will continue to make public appearances, but his demise may not be long in coming.
The utter hypocrisy of the United Nations . . .
. . . was pointed out again yesterday. You will remember that the United Nations General Assembly recently voted overwhelmingly to denounce President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and his announcement that the American Embassy is moving to Jerusalem.
Part of the official text of that denunciation called on all countries “to refrain from establishing diplomatic missions in Jerusalem.”
But guess who has established diplomatic missions in eastern Jerusalem in support of the Palestinians?
Turkey, Greece, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Sweden, France, and the United Kingdom.
Not surprisingly each one of these countries voted to condemn the U.S. move.
What in the world is going on in Syria? . . .
How many times have we had the above heading on this blog–as we attempt to figure out the incredible military quagmire in the country?
Currently much of the military action is focused in the Afrin region of northwestern Syria where the Kurdish YPG militia based in Afrin is fighting for survival against Turkish forces and Syrian anti-government militias aligned with Turkey.
Note that the Turks have the Kurds almost caught in a pincer movement–the Kurds’ only opening is to the southeast toward Aleppo.
So what happened yesterday?
In the third such attack this week, Turkish jets bombed pro-Assad Syrian government forces who were attempting to come to the rescue of the Kurds. 36 Syrian soldiers were killed.
It is fascinating to try to fathom what is going on. Apparently, Assad views Turkey as a larger source of concern than the Kurds and is trying to kick Turkish forces out of Syria. On the other hand, the Turks are obsessed with the Kurds, and do not mind invading Syria to try to get rid of them.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Is McMaster On The Way Out?
The scuttlebutt in Washington yesterday and today is that H.R. McMaster will soon resign as President Trump’s National Security Advisor.
As we have reported previously on israelstreet, McMaster is no friend of Israel.
To begin with, he appointed Mustafa Javad Ali, the former Outreach Coordinator of CAIR (the abominable Council on American-Islamic Relations), as his right hand man.
Then he purged the National Security Council of the following pro-Israel/anti-Iran members: K.T. McFarland, Ezra Watnick-Cohen, Rich Higgins, Derek Harvey, Adam Lovinger, and Robin Townley–and replaced them all with people who supported the Iranian Appeasement Agreement.
Afterwards, McMaster went on record in a White House meeting declaring that “Hezbollah poses no danger to Israel.”
And when Trump came to Israel, it was McMaster who refused to permit Trump to be photographed at the Western Wall with PM Netanyahu.
And on and on.
In short, McMaster’s departure is devoutly to be wished for.
Rumors (and that is all they are) suggest that there is already a short list of people to replace him:
Safra Catz: the Israeli-born CEO of Oracle
Stephen Biegun: head of international government affairs at the Ford Motor Company and former staff member of President George W. Bush
John Bolton: former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
You might think that your humble servant’s pick out of these three would be Catz–but you would be mistaken. Were I to rank these in order, I would first choose Bolton, then Catz, and lastly Biegun.
Why?
There are two problems with Catz.
The powerhouse Catz answering a question on stage at an Oracle meeting.
First, she is an unknown quantity in the international arena. Second, there is a long history of government officials with Israeli connections going out of their way to “prove” that they are neutral and not pro-Israel. Nevertheless, Catz is a good friend of President Trump and may have the inside track.
On the other hand, one would be hard pressed to find a better friend of Israel than John Bolton.
A seasoned diplomat and brilliant strategic thinker, Bolton would seem to be the obvious choice.
However, as silly as it sounds, Trump apparently detests facial hair–and Bolton’s mustache is rumored to have stopped him from being named Secretary of State when Trump became President.
As for Biegun, it may sound simplistic, but it is difficult for me to support anyone who works for Ford.
All of this of course is pure speculation. McMaster may not resign, and Trump may choose someone else if he does.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.