Author: Micha Gefen

Micha is a government policy analyst for Israel Rising.
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TERROR IN ISTANBUL: Is Turkey Safe Anymore?

Last night’s terror attack at an Istanbul night club is only the latest terror attack against Turkey. With 35 dead from the attack on New Years eve, the 45 killed in Ataturk airport last month, and a failed coup, it has become apparent that Turkey is increasingly growing unstable. Erdogan would like us to believe he has everything under control, but the pressures growing against his rule from within as well as pressures pushing against him from Russia and infuriated NATO members, his rule is growing far more unstable than previously believed.

In the Istanbul attack, CNN Turk reported the two attackers were dressed in Santa costumes. Some witnesses claimed they were speaking Arabic (not Turkish).

“Unfortunately, at least 35 of our citizens lost their lives. One was a police officer. Forty people are receiving treatment in hospitals,” Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin told reporters, according to the AFP news agency. “What happened today is a terror attack.”

Playing with ISIS is Like Playing with Fire

With Turkey working with Russia to shut down the Syrian war, ISIS (its once loyal proxy) is now turning on Erdogan and his government.  When Erdogan opened the flood gates into northern Syria for ISIS to cross in order to destabilize the country, he never imagined Russia coming into the war.  The plan was always for Erdogan to insert Turkey into Syria and Iraq as the great stabilizer.  He won this role from Obama and NATO.

The Russian intervention has caused Turkey to pull back its support of ISIS and other Jihadist groups and make peace with Putin.  This of course makes Erdogan into an apostate as far as ISIS is concerned and makes anything in Turkey a target for Jihadists.

Kurdish Rebellion in the Works

Russia has a very real interest in making sure Erdogan stays on the defensive.  One gives time for Syria to finish reasserting its sovereignty throughout its country and second Turkey has less reason to interfere with Russian aspirations in the region, including northern Iraq and the eastern Mediterranean.  Putin always works in two spheres of influence.  One is overt, like we saw in Crimea and Syria.  The other is a page ripped from the KGB cold War playbook and that is covertly funding and inspiring revolution.  This we see in the Donbass region of the Ukraine.  We are about to see it in southern Turkey, which has a solid Kurdish population itching for freedom.

Russia’s interests in the region intersect with Kurdish aspirations.  It’s only a matter of time until Turkey feels these aspirations in a far more serious way.

Whether its ISIS, Russia, or Kurdish Independence, Erdogan’s Turkey is a country which is no longer safe or secure.

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Was Donald Trump Behind Theresa May’s Searing Attack on John Kerry?

The day after John Kerry essentially blamed Israel for almost everything to do with the century old conflict in the Land of Israel, Theresa May, Britain’s PM took him to task, essentially breaking diplomatic protocol in a searing attack on John F. Kerry.

“We do not believe that it is appropriate to attack the composition of the democratically elected government of an ally,” he said. “The government believes that negotiations will only succeed when they are conducted between the two parties, supported by the international community.”

Of course, May had to make her own excuse of what prompted her to vote in favor of UN Resolution 2334.

“We continue to believe that the construction of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is illegal, which is why we supported UN security council resolution 2334 last week.

“But we are also clear that the settlements are far from the only problem in this conflict. In particular, the people of Israel deserve to live free from the threat of terrorism, with which they have had to cope for too long.”

Why Is May Changing Her Tune After 2334?

One word: Trump.

None of the countries that voted for the resolution expected such a strong negative response from Trump, the US Congress, or the Israeli government. In fact millions of Israel supporters around the world immediately made it clear to their governments that they did not approve of Resolution 2334.

May cannot take back the Resolution, but knowing she will have to deal with a very assertive US President, one who owes no allegiances to anyone means her actions will be in check from now on. May wants to be on the right side of Donald Trump’s Middle East moves and if that means castigating Kerry, then so be it.

The White House Attacks Back

May’s attack was not lost on the outgoing administration. The State Department issued a statement:

A spokesperson said: “We are surprised by the UK Prime Minister’s office statement given that Secretary Kerry’s remarks—which covered the full range of threats to a two state solution, including terrorism, violence, incitement and settlements—were in-line with the UK’s own longstanding policy and its vote at the United Nations last week.”

The statement also said: “We are grateful for the strongly supportive statements in response to Secretary Kerry’s speech from across the world, including Germany, France, Canada, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and others.”

May’s attack is a precursor to what many sources are saying, will be a sustained attack from the incoming Congress against the Obama’s administration’s parting attack on the only Jewish State.

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Congress Readies for War with Obama Over Israel Vote

The Washington Free Beacon is reporting that Congress is quietly preparing a string of measures when they come back in session next week as a counterpunch to Obama and Kerry’s onlaught against the State of Israel.

Some of the actions reportedly being considered are:

  • Freezing funds to the UN
  • Expelling Palestinian representatives from the USA
  • Scaling back ties with foreign nations that voted in favor of the controversial measure

“The disgraceful anti-Israel resolution passed by the UNSC was apparently only the opening salvo in the Obama administration’s final assault on Israel,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) told the Free Beacon. “President Obama, Secretary Kerry, Ambassador Power, and their colleagues should remember that the United States Congress reconvenes on January 3rd, and under the Constitution we control the taxpayer funds they would use for their anti-Israel initiatives. The 115th Congress must stop the current administration’s vicious attack on our great ally Israel, and address the major priorities of the incoming administration.”

Ted Cruz and other Senators are aware that Obama, Kerry, and Powers plan on continuing with harsher resolutions against Israel in the days to come, with a possible declaration of final borders of a Palestinian State just before Trump takes over.

Can Obama Be Stopped?

Yes.  If the congress goes as far as withdrawing funds from the UN, it would lack the ability to function.  According to Fox News the USA covers 22% of the UN’s budget.

In 2015, 35 countries will be charged the minimum regular budget assessment of 0.001 percent which works out to approximately$28,269 each. Twenty countries will be charged the minimum peacekeeping assessment of 0.0001 percent or approximately $8,470 apiece.

By contrast, the U.S. is assessed 22 percent of the regular budget (approximately $622 million) and over 28 percent of the peacekeeping budget (approximately $2.402 billion).

Put another way, the U.S. will be assessed more than 176 other member states combined for the regular budget and more than 185 countries combined for the peacekeeping budget. Who says America isn’t exceptional!

Right now congressmen are quiet, but if some of the rhetoric being leaked is an indication of anything, expect some serious salvos thrown at the outgoing administration in the weeks ahead.

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John Kerry Wants to Divide Jerusalem and make the Old City Judenrein

John Kerry laid out six points he believes any future Israeli/Arab peace plan must be based on.  Most of them are not new to American policy, but two are and if they are adopted by a follow up UNSC Resolution will constitute a division of Jerusalem. Everyone knows these points mean that Jews who have lived continuously in Jerusalem for thousands of years would be expelled.

The six are:

1. Provide for secure and recognized international borders between Israel and a viable and contiguous Palestine, negotiated based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed equivalent swaps.
2. Fulfill the vision of UN General Assembly Resolution 181 of two states for two peoples, one Jewish and one Arab, with mutual recognition and full equal rights for all their respective citizens.
3. Provide for a just, agreed, fair and realistic solution to the Palestinian refugee issue, with international assistance, that includes compensation, options and assistance in finding permanent homes, acknowledgment of suffering and other measures necessary for a comprehensive resolution consistent with two states for two peoples.
4. Provide an agreed resolution for Jerusalem as the internationally recognized capital of the two states, and protect and assure freedom of access to the holy sites consistent with the established status quo.
5. Satisfy Israel’s security needs and bring a full end to the occupation, while ensuring that Israel can defend itself effectively and that Palestine can provide security for its people in a sovereign and non-militarized state.
6. End the conflict and all outstanding claims, enabling normalized relations and enhanced regional security for all as envisaged by the Arab Peace Initiative.

What John Kerry and Barack Obama have done has gone against the the very international agreements the USA has signed onto when they started the “peace process.” All American governments have always followed the idea that none of the issues would be resolved outside of face to face negotiations and no outside power could dictate these to the parties.

With Kerry reopening the way peace is handled, the incoming Trump administration and Israel should be able to reopen the entire “peace process” including trashing it completely.

What to Expect in the Waning Days of the Obama Administration

Expect the International Community to Submit Another Resolution to the UNSC based on these points and perhaps include even more specifics.  Also do not be surprised if Obama abstains once again right before he leaves.

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[watch] Bibi Needs To Do These Three Things in Response To UN Resolution 2334

In the wake up America’s failure to veto UN Resolution 2334, which declares that all Jewish residents living beyond the 1949 armistice line are actually breaking international law, Bibi Netanyahu should do the following three actions.

  1. Leave the UN: This needs to be coordinated with the incoming Trump administration and the senators that are moving in this direction in order to create serious momentum.
  2. Expel all UN workers (including UNRWA) from Israel immediately: This should have been done a long time ago, but was not.  Now there is opportunity get rid of the UN once and for all.
  3. Annex Area C:  Although Naftali Bennett’s plan names the Stability Initiative has flaws, it is the best next move and Bibi needs to immediately use it to annex Area C in Judea and Samaria  as a preparation fo complete annexation.


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