Author: Gavriel Dan

Gavriel Dan spent a number of years covering social movements in Israel, the wider middle east and Europe. He is considered an expert in embedding himself with various groups and causes in order to get accurate and rich information.
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[watch] Ambassador Danny Danon: Kerry Not Telling Truth

Israel’s Ambassador Danny Danon swung back at John Kerry yesterday for fabricating details of the US involvement in crafting the UNSC Resolution which made it illegal for Jews to live in the Old City of Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, the cradle of Jewish civilization.

MSNBC ANCHOR: Ambassador, do you accept what Secretary Kerry has to say?

DANNY DANON: No. Absolutely not. When you —

MSNBC: So he’s lying in your view? You don’t believe what he’s saying?

DANON: Let’s review the facts. In 2011 there was a very similar resolution. The U.S. vetoed it. In 2014, another similar resolution to the one passed on Friday, the U.S. blocked the vote without using the veto power. Recently in the last resolution we know the U.S. unfortunately was involved with the resolution.

At the security council the U.S. is a pen holder on every resolution regarding Israel and the Middle East. You can ask other ambassadors who sit at the security council. No one would have supported such a resolution without the support of the United States.

Even ambassadors approached me before the vote and told me we wanted to abstain but the minute we saw what the U.S. was doing and got the signal, we would support the resolution.

MSNBC: To be clear and I’m going off what you are saying, do you believe secretary Kerry is lying to your government and lying to the American people?

DANON: I don’t know what to tell you about that. I can only tell you the facts. If the U.S. was not supporting this resolution it wouldn’t have passed. That’s a fact.

We have seen it in the security council in the past. How many times in the U.N. people are trying to gang up against Israel and pass resolutions against Israel?

I have seen in the last year for dozens of times. The U.S. stood by us, but now think about the timing. Three weeks before the change of guard in the white house, all of the sudden it’s happening? It’s not a coincidence.

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Knesset Responds to UN Resolution, Inaugurates Jerusalem Jubilee Celebration

Yesterday (Tuesday), the Knesset Education Committee held the inauguration of “Jerusalem Now & Forever,” a photo exhibition celebrating the 50th year of the reunification of Jerusalem.

The exhibition features photos from the renowned “Photographer of Jerusalem,” Sharon Gabay, which capture the beauty, diversity and tolerance of the Holy City. The exhibition will be displayed in the Knesset over the next two weeks, and will then be exhibited throughout the world in 2017, providing people everywhere with the opportunity to celebrate Jerusalem’s 50th year of reunification.

The exhibition is the initiative of Israel’s largest grassroots Zionist movement, Im Tirtzu, which has teamed up with Sharon Gabay to bring the beauty of Jerusalem to the world. According to Im Tirtzu, the exhibition will serve not only as a tribute to the City, but an answer to those that will use the 50th year of Jerusalem’s reunification to attack the city and the State of Israel.

Members of Knesset from all sides of the political aisle attended the exhibition, including Yehuda Glick (Likud), Ilan Gilon (Meretz), Yakov Margi (Shas), Haim Jelin (Yesh Atid), Zouheir Bahloul (Zionist Camp), Oded Forer (Yisrael Beitenu), Meirav Ben-Ari (Kulanu), and Benny Begin (Likud).

MK Glick, who invited the exhibition to the Knesset, delivered the opening remarks: “A picture, as is known, is worth a thousand words. These pictures deliver a clear message that Jerusalem is a beautiful city, alive and well. A city in which millions of residents of different colors and beliefs live in harmony. Jerusalem at its essence, and as evidenced by its name, is a city of peace. In the words of Isaiah the Prophet, ‘for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.’”

Sharon Gabay said: “There are many people here who see the photos and are surprised. I am not surprised – whoever would take a camera and walk around the city – this is what he would see. When they talk about Jerusalem in the news we only see wars, checkpoints, fire and smoke. But I want to photograph the truth, and the truth is that Jerusalem is a pluralistic city that accepts everyone.”

Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg talked about the deep connection between the Jewish People and Jerusalem:

“The Jewish nation is the only nation in history that under the wedding canopy makes a declaration to remember their eternal capital. ‘If I forget thee, O Jerusalem’ is not just a territorial promise, but part of the very essence of the nation. Displaying this exhibition throughout the world will enable the Jewish People to experience the joy of Jerusalem.”

Chairman of the Education Committee MK Yakov Margi also blessed the exhibition: “The exhibition expresses the message of Jerusalem: coexistence and peace. This is an exhibition that needs to travel the country and the world, and go to places that only receive a very selective Israeli experience.”

Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Ofer Berkovitch and MK Haim Jelin were also among the speakers at the exhibition.

 

 

Photo credit Ezra Landau
Photo credit Ezra Landau

 

Photo credit Ezra Landau

 

Photo credit Ezra Landau

Information provided by Im Tirtzu

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The Republicans are Angry: Obama is on a Crazy Race

As the Obama administration nears the end of its reign, the outgoing president has done a slew of measures that not only hurt the United States, but has also made things very difficult for Donald Trump and his staff.

In this past week alone Obama blocked futures contracts in oil and gas drilling in parts of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans and established a new high in number of pardons given.  Worse than all those was the removal of a dormant database of names of immigrants most of whom were from muslim countries. Fox News has learned that the White House is also promoting the removal of 22 other detainees at Guantanamo Bay military prison, the same compound that Obama has failed to close despite his previous pledge to do so.

The steps already taken and the ones that are rumored to be on the way before January 20 are designed to further anger many of the Republicans, just as they are preparing to regain control of the White House. “Obama’s legacy is just like a doll that is filled up with air.  When the air comes out the doll shrinks and shrinks,” said former House Speaker, Republican Newt Gingrich.  What he did last week will be reversed. He apparently is in the midst of a state of despaired madness.”  Despite his anger, Gingrich, one of the biggest supporters of President elect Donald J. Trump insisted, “almost all the measures instituted by the lame duck president will be eliminated by President Elect Donald J. Trump.”

The Democrats are actually encouraging Obama to continue and take additional steps before January 20.  Over 60 Democratic Congressmen recently asked Obama to use his authority to pardon millions of illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children. The White House has been preparing the ground for further pardoning of nonviolent drug offenders.  In the past few days alone, 78 prisoners were pardoned while over 150 had their sentences reduced.

It seems that the outgoing administration is preparing another “surprise” against Israel.  Former President Carter has called for the recognition of palestine as an independent state before President Elect Trump is sworn into office.  Carter is reported to have written in an article recently in the New York Times stating that the simple but necessary step for the outgoing administration to do now is to declare US diplomatic recognition of palestine.

The White House has rejected Republican claims about what the outgoing administration is preparing and said that all the measures that have been taken recently and are being discussed now were planned long before the November victory of Donald Trump.

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Senator Cotton Slams Obama For Masterminding the Anti-Israel UN Resolution

After the US abstained from UNSC Resolution 2334 on Friday, which condemned Israel’s continued building in Judea and Samaria as well as deeming Jerusalem’s Old City off limits to Jewish residents, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) said the following:

“President Obama is personally responsible for this anti-Israel resolution. His diplomats secretly coordinated the vote, yet he doesn’t even have the courage of his own convictions to vote for it. This cowardly, disgraceful action cements President Obama’s richly deserved legacy as the most anti-Israel president in American history.

“This resolution hurts the prospects for a secure and just peace by targeting Israel for building homes in Jerusalem, its own capital, while not specifically addressing Palestinian incitement of and financial support for terrorism. That’s why President Obama vetoed a similar, but less anti-Israel resolution in 2011-back when he still needed pro-Israel voters for his reelection. Moreover, as a Security Council resolution with the imprimatur of the United States, this resolution surpasses even the infamous “Zionism is Racism” General Assembly resolution in its irrational obsession with the Jewish state.

“The United States provides considerable financial assistance to the United Nations and Security Council members. The UN and nations supporting this resolution have now imperiled all forms of U.S. assistance. I look forward to working with President-elect Trump and members of both parties in Congress to decide what the consequences for this action will be.”

Tom Cotton and a slew of other Senators are beginning to fight back against Obama’s use of the UN to create another avenue outside the US government to establish binding international law against the only Jewish State.

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