8 dec 2019
The president spoke at the Israeli American Council national summit that is financially backed by one of his top supporters, the husband-and-wife duo of Miriam and Sheldon Adelson
President Donald Trump said Saturday that Israel has never had a better friend in the White House than him because, unlike his predecessors, “I kept my promises.”
Trump energized an audience that numbered in the hundreds at the Israeli American Council National Summit in Florida by recounting his record on issues of importance to Jews, including an extensive riff on his promise to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and relocate the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv.
Trump said his predecessors had promised to move the embassy but only paid lip service to the issue.
“They never had any intention of doing it, in my opinion,” Trump said. “But unlike other presidents, I kept my promises.”
Trump also highlighted his decision earlier this year to reverse more than a half-century of U.S. policy in the Middle East by recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the strategic highlands on the border with Syria.
In his speech, the president also claimed that there are some Jewish people in America who don’t love Israel enough.“We have to get the people of our country, of this country, to love Israel more, I have to tell you that. We have to do it. We have to get them to love Israel more,” Trump said, to some applause. “Because you have Jewish people that are great people — they don’t love Israel enough.”
Aaron Keyak, the former head of the National Jewish Democratic Council, denounced Trump’s remarks as anti-Semitic.
“Trump’s insistence on using anti-Semitic tropes when addressing Jewish audiences is dangerous and should concern every member of the Jewish community — even Jewish Republicans,” Keyak said.
Trump has been accused of trafficking in anti-Semitic stereotypes before, including in August, when he said American Jews who vote for Democrats show “either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
A number of Jewish groups noted at the time that accusations of disloyalty have long been made against Jews.
The Israeli American Council is financially backed by one of Trump’s top supporters, the husband-and-wife duo of Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate.
Both Adelsons appeared on stage to introduce Trump, with Miriam Adelson asserting that Trump “has already gone down in the annals of Jewish history, and that is before he’s even completed his first term in office.”
The Adelsons donated $30 million to Trump’s campaign in the final months of the 2016 race. They followed up by donating $100 million to the Republican Party for last November’s congressional elections.
Trump’s entourage at the event included Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, along with Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Michael Waltz, whom he described as “two warriors” defending him against “oppression” in the impeachment inquiry.
Trump criticized Israel’s sworn enemy, Iran, saying he withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal with other world powers because Tehran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
But Trump voiced support for Iranian citizens who have been protesting a decision by their government to withdraw fuel subsidies, which sent prices skyrocketing.
Trump said that he believes thousands of Iranians have been killed in the protests and that thousands more have been arrested.
“America will always stand with the Iranian people in their righteous struggle for freedom,” he said.
The president introduced his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who has played a leading role in helping the administration craft its Mideast peace plan.
A self-described deal-maker, Trump said he had long been told that achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians would be the hardest deal of all.
But ″ïf Jared Kushner can’t do it, it can’t be done,” Trump said.
The White House has said its Mideast peace plan is complete and had promised to release it after Israeli elections in September.
The long-delayed plan remains under wraps, and Israel appears headed for its third round of elections this year.
The plan also is facing rejection by Palestinian officials, who object to the pro-Israel leanings of the Trump administration.
During his speech, Trump also name-dropped Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., criticizing her for supporting the “BDS” movement against Israel: boycott, divest and sanction.
In August, at Trump’s urging, Israel denied Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. — the first two Muslim women elected to Congress and outspoken critics of Israel over its treatment of Palestinians — entry to the country over their support for the BDS movement.
“My administration strongly opposes this despicable rhetoric,” Trump said. “As long as I am your president, it makes no difference. It’s not happening.”
Before addressing the Israeli American Council summit, Trump spoke at the Florida Republican Party’s Statesman’s Dinner in nearby Aventura. The state GOP closed the event to media coverage.
President Donald Trump said Saturday that Israel has never had a better friend in the White House than him because, unlike his predecessors, “I kept my promises.”
Trump energized an audience that numbered in the hundreds at the Israeli American Council National Summit in Florida by recounting his record on issues of importance to Jews, including an extensive riff on his promise to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and relocate the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv.
Trump said his predecessors had promised to move the embassy but only paid lip service to the issue.
“They never had any intention of doing it, in my opinion,” Trump said. “But unlike other presidents, I kept my promises.”
Trump also highlighted his decision earlier this year to reverse more than a half-century of U.S. policy in the Middle East by recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the strategic highlands on the border with Syria.
In his speech, the president also claimed that there are some Jewish people in America who don’t love Israel enough.“We have to get the people of our country, of this country, to love Israel more, I have to tell you that. We have to do it. We have to get them to love Israel more,” Trump said, to some applause. “Because you have Jewish people that are great people — they don’t love Israel enough.”
Aaron Keyak, the former head of the National Jewish Democratic Council, denounced Trump’s remarks as anti-Semitic.
“Trump’s insistence on using anti-Semitic tropes when addressing Jewish audiences is dangerous and should concern every member of the Jewish community — even Jewish Republicans,” Keyak said.
Trump has been accused of trafficking in anti-Semitic stereotypes before, including in August, when he said American Jews who vote for Democrats show “either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
A number of Jewish groups noted at the time that accusations of disloyalty have long been made against Jews.
The Israeli American Council is financially backed by one of Trump’s top supporters, the husband-and-wife duo of Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate.
Both Adelsons appeared on stage to introduce Trump, with Miriam Adelson asserting that Trump “has already gone down in the annals of Jewish history, and that is before he’s even completed his first term in office.”
The Adelsons donated $30 million to Trump’s campaign in the final months of the 2016 race. They followed up by donating $100 million to the Republican Party for last November’s congressional elections.
Trump’s entourage at the event included Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, along with Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Michael Waltz, whom he described as “two warriors” defending him against “oppression” in the impeachment inquiry.
Trump criticized Israel’s sworn enemy, Iran, saying he withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal with other world powers because Tehran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
But Trump voiced support for Iranian citizens who have been protesting a decision by their government to withdraw fuel subsidies, which sent prices skyrocketing.
Trump said that he believes thousands of Iranians have been killed in the protests and that thousands more have been arrested.
“America will always stand with the Iranian people in their righteous struggle for freedom,” he said.
The president introduced his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who has played a leading role in helping the administration craft its Mideast peace plan.
A self-described deal-maker, Trump said he had long been told that achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians would be the hardest deal of all.
But ″ïf Jared Kushner can’t do it, it can’t be done,” Trump said.
The White House has said its Mideast peace plan is complete and had promised to release it after Israeli elections in September.
The long-delayed plan remains under wraps, and Israel appears headed for its third round of elections this year.
The plan also is facing rejection by Palestinian officials, who object to the pro-Israel leanings of the Trump administration.
During his speech, Trump also name-dropped Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., criticizing her for supporting the “BDS” movement against Israel: boycott, divest and sanction.
In August, at Trump’s urging, Israel denied Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. — the first two Muslim women elected to Congress and outspoken critics of Israel over its treatment of Palestinians — entry to the country over their support for the BDS movement.
“My administration strongly opposes this despicable rhetoric,” Trump said. “As long as I am your president, it makes no difference. It’s not happening.”
Before addressing the Israeli American Council summit, Trump spoke at the Florida Republican Party’s Statesman’s Dinner in nearby Aventura. The state GOP closed the event to media coverage.
7 dec 2019
The trade mission would have taken place from the 8th to the 11th of December, will not go forward, due to criticism from the political opposition and several activist organizations, leading to its discontinuation, the Palestine News Network (PNN) reported.
The delegation would have consisted of representatives from the Walloon and Brussels governments, which are separate political entities in Belgium, and numerous companies from the respective regions.
The Walloon government had already withdrawn from the delegation at an earlier stage, but now the Brussels government has done the same, effectively leaving the rest of the mission without political representation.
In the last couple of weeks, the general criticism towards the trade mission has grown. Specifically Israel’s disregard for international agreements concerning the blockade of the Gaza Strip, sparked the opposition’s distaste for the mission.
“We’re talking about participating in the Israeli colonization policy,” said Stéphanie Koplowicz, member of the Flemish left-wing PVDA-party.
“The UN Human Rights Comittee has complained that over 200 companies do business in these illegal settlements. Does the government want to encourage Brussels’ companies to participate in this?”
Violations of the Geneva Convention
Former Belgian prime minister, Elio Di Rupo, of the Walloon socialist Party stated that the reason for the withdrawal from the trade mission was
“the lack of progress in the peace process, the lack of progress on the ground and the violations of important parts of the Geneva Convention by Israel”.
The Brussels government is now following this line of reasoning.
Joel Rubinfeld, a former leader of Belgian Jewry and president of the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism, said the move was discriminatory in light of Belgium’s trade relations with nations accused of major human rights violations, including Iran and China.
Companies who were going to partake in the mission can still travel to the Middle-East on their own, however, they will have to cover their own expenses.
The delegation would have consisted of representatives from the Walloon and Brussels governments, which are separate political entities in Belgium, and numerous companies from the respective regions.
The Walloon government had already withdrawn from the delegation at an earlier stage, but now the Brussels government has done the same, effectively leaving the rest of the mission without political representation.
In the last couple of weeks, the general criticism towards the trade mission has grown. Specifically Israel’s disregard for international agreements concerning the blockade of the Gaza Strip, sparked the opposition’s distaste for the mission.
“We’re talking about participating in the Israeli colonization policy,” said Stéphanie Koplowicz, member of the Flemish left-wing PVDA-party.
“The UN Human Rights Comittee has complained that over 200 companies do business in these illegal settlements. Does the government want to encourage Brussels’ companies to participate in this?”
Violations of the Geneva Convention
Former Belgian prime minister, Elio Di Rupo, of the Walloon socialist Party stated that the reason for the withdrawal from the trade mission was
“the lack of progress in the peace process, the lack of progress on the ground and the violations of important parts of the Geneva Convention by Israel”.
The Brussels government is now following this line of reasoning.
Joel Rubinfeld, a former leader of Belgian Jewry and president of the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism, said the move was discriminatory in light of Belgium’s trade relations with nations accused of major human rights violations, including Iran and China.
Companies who were going to partake in the mission can still travel to the Middle-East on their own, however, they will have to cover their own expenses.
5 dec 2019
European Union (EU) countries’ are taking steps towards boycotting the Israeli apartheid system, using its legal, legislative and parliamentary institutions to oppose the occupation, Palestine News Network reported.
The EU condemned the Trump administration’s positions and policies carried out in the Palestinian Territories, occupied by Israel since 1967, especially in Jerusalem regarding the Israeli settlements, and the two-state solution.
Within this context, the EU’s Supreme Court has approved labeling Israeli goods produced in settlements built in the Palestinian territories, and exported to the EU. It should also be noted that the EU always asserts that settlements are “illegal, and are an obstacle for achieving peace.”
At the international level, events and activities highlighted the growing international determination to end the Israeli occupation, condemning its ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people, as well as its denial of their legitimate rights recognized by many UN resolutions.
Within the framework, Harvard Law School students left a conference hall in New York soon after the Israeli Consul, Danny Dayan, started his speech about the legality of the Israeli settlements.
A video was aired showing the students leaving the hall, but the students went on their stand of solidarity outside the hall, holding up banners that read “Israeli settlements are illegal”, and “settlements are war crimes.”
In Canada, scores of students and demonstrators, in solidarity with Palestinian, protested at the York University Campus in Toronto, as it hosted Israeli Occupation Army’s reservist soldiers, who came to talk about their experiences while serving in the Army. They also organized campaign anti-hosting such soldiers, and chanted slogans such as “no for hosting killers,” and “Free Palestine.”
In Switzerland, the Algerian National Deaf Team withdrew from the International Futsal Championship, held in Switzerland vis-a-vis the Israeli Occupation National Team, stressing that Algerians reject normalization of relations with Israel.
In Turkey, former UN rapporteur in Palestine, Richard Falk announced the formation of an international coalition to encounter and dismantle the Israeli apartheid system in the Palestinian Territories, using all possible legal means, including boycott activities.
In the Netherlands, the Dutch government announced in Parliament that it would continue to carry out the European policy of labeling the Israeli settlements’ goods, in line with the Luxemburg Court of Justice’s resolution.
In Sweden, the new Foreign Minister, Anne Linda, said that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is a legitimate movement, and that her country’s government “doesn’t see a similarity between its activities and any other activities of anti-Semitism.” Stating that BDS is a non-violent movement concerned with human rights, democracy, freedom of expression, and ending occupation.
In the US, 107 lawmakers of the democratic members at the US House of Representatives signed a petition calling on Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo to reverse the decision to legalize Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The petition came days after Pompeo’s announcement that his country no longer considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to violate the International Law.
Lawmakers expressed their strong rejection of the State Department’s decision.
Within the same context, 5 EU countries rejected the new American position on Israeli settlements; France, Germany, Britain, Belgium and Poland in a joint statement, made it clear that “every settlement activity is illegal under international law, undermining the possibility of a two-state solution, and the prospect of lasting peace. Thus, we call on Israel to ban all settlement activities.”
Moreover, a recent poll on the BDS movement showed that, most democrats view it as a legitimate movement, with aims to pressure Israel to comply with international resolutions and laws, to stop settlements and end the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Israeli Authorities deported director of Human Rights Watch, Omar Shaker from Israel and the Palestinian territories, claiming that he is pro-BDS and participates in its anti-Israel activities.
In Palestine, the Luxembourg Court of Justice’s resolution to label Israeli settlements’ goods, was considered to be a victory to be added to a series of moral attitudes that support the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, and dismiss the Israeli claims.
In its weekly report, the National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlements welcomed the Luxembourg Court of Justice’s resolution on the legality of the labeling Israeli settlements’ goods, which were established in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967.
The Bureau described the resolutions as a long-awaited moral victory, as a result of hard-work and formidable efforts, led by BDS in the EU countries to isolate the Israeli apartheid system in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Likewise, the Palestinian National Boycott Committee and BDS’ leadership worldwide welcomed the decision approved by the newly elected Oslo City’s Council led by the Socialist Left Party -SV- and the Labor and Green parties, to ban Israeli settlement goods and services.
The EU condemned the Trump administration’s positions and policies carried out in the Palestinian Territories, occupied by Israel since 1967, especially in Jerusalem regarding the Israeli settlements, and the two-state solution.
Within this context, the EU’s Supreme Court has approved labeling Israeli goods produced in settlements built in the Palestinian territories, and exported to the EU. It should also be noted that the EU always asserts that settlements are “illegal, and are an obstacle for achieving peace.”
At the international level, events and activities highlighted the growing international determination to end the Israeli occupation, condemning its ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people, as well as its denial of their legitimate rights recognized by many UN resolutions.
Within the framework, Harvard Law School students left a conference hall in New York soon after the Israeli Consul, Danny Dayan, started his speech about the legality of the Israeli settlements.
A video was aired showing the students leaving the hall, but the students went on their stand of solidarity outside the hall, holding up banners that read “Israeli settlements are illegal”, and “settlements are war crimes.”
In Canada, scores of students and demonstrators, in solidarity with Palestinian, protested at the York University Campus in Toronto, as it hosted Israeli Occupation Army’s reservist soldiers, who came to talk about their experiences while serving in the Army. They also organized campaign anti-hosting such soldiers, and chanted slogans such as “no for hosting killers,” and “Free Palestine.”
In Switzerland, the Algerian National Deaf Team withdrew from the International Futsal Championship, held in Switzerland vis-a-vis the Israeli Occupation National Team, stressing that Algerians reject normalization of relations with Israel.
In Turkey, former UN rapporteur in Palestine, Richard Falk announced the formation of an international coalition to encounter and dismantle the Israeli apartheid system in the Palestinian Territories, using all possible legal means, including boycott activities.
In the Netherlands, the Dutch government announced in Parliament that it would continue to carry out the European policy of labeling the Israeli settlements’ goods, in line with the Luxemburg Court of Justice’s resolution.
In Sweden, the new Foreign Minister, Anne Linda, said that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is a legitimate movement, and that her country’s government “doesn’t see a similarity between its activities and any other activities of anti-Semitism.” Stating that BDS is a non-violent movement concerned with human rights, democracy, freedom of expression, and ending occupation.
In the US, 107 lawmakers of the democratic members at the US House of Representatives signed a petition calling on Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo to reverse the decision to legalize Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The petition came days after Pompeo’s announcement that his country no longer considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to violate the International Law.
Lawmakers expressed their strong rejection of the State Department’s decision.
Within the same context, 5 EU countries rejected the new American position on Israeli settlements; France, Germany, Britain, Belgium and Poland in a joint statement, made it clear that “every settlement activity is illegal under international law, undermining the possibility of a two-state solution, and the prospect of lasting peace. Thus, we call on Israel to ban all settlement activities.”
Moreover, a recent poll on the BDS movement showed that, most democrats view it as a legitimate movement, with aims to pressure Israel to comply with international resolutions and laws, to stop settlements and end the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Israeli Authorities deported director of Human Rights Watch, Omar Shaker from Israel and the Palestinian territories, claiming that he is pro-BDS and participates in its anti-Israel activities.
In Palestine, the Luxembourg Court of Justice’s resolution to label Israeli settlements’ goods, was considered to be a victory to be added to a series of moral attitudes that support the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, and dismiss the Israeli claims.
In its weekly report, the National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlements welcomed the Luxembourg Court of Justice’s resolution on the legality of the labeling Israeli settlements’ goods, which were established in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967.
The Bureau described the resolutions as a long-awaited moral victory, as a result of hard-work and formidable efforts, led by BDS in the EU countries to isolate the Israeli apartheid system in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Likewise, the Palestinian National Boycott Committee and BDS’ leadership worldwide welcomed the decision approved by the newly elected Oslo City’s Council led by the Socialist Left Party -SV- and the Labor and Green parties, to ban Israeli settlement goods and services.
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