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Democrats will be challenged and facing the nomination of a demented piece of flesh Just about everything Biden sought to accomplish has been driven by antipathy toward his rival and his former running mate.
As for the GOP, they are most likely to be challenged by a candidate who has a "uge," probably justified, chip on his shoulder and the question is do they want to win or do they want to shoot at each other. In both cases, the nation's interests will be subsumed.
Can America afford to do this at at s time when China looms on the horizon as the emerging giant dedicated to ruling the entire world.
Time will tell.
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Andrew Cuomo Urges Progressives To Passionately Embrace Israel
'Silence is not an option.' At least in some cases.
By Victorino Matus
Former governor Andrew Cuomo may not be one of the Chosen, but that's not stopping him from giving the State of Israel a big wet kiss. The New York Democrat on Monday announced he is spearheading a group called Progressives for Israel. "It's time for our officials to condemn anti-Semitism not just with their words, but with their actions," said Cuomo in a video shared by a Jewish Insider reporter. And though the legendary politician has yet to specify what needs to be done, those familiar with his tactics expect his actions to be swift, firm, and perhaps unexpected.
"You can't denounce anti-Semitism but waver on Israel's right to exist and defend itself," said Cuomo, who stepped down from office in 2021 to spend more time with his family. He then urged progressives to take a more hands-on approach: "It is time to turn on the lights. … And I'm going to call the question for Democrats. Do you stand with Israel or do you stand against Israel, because silence is not an option?"—at least with regard to the Jewish state.
The ex-governor is clearly tired of progressives groping for answers to the Israel question. And now he is going to effectively stiff them. By contrast, Cuomo has never shrunk in the face of anti-Semitism. And when it comes to a crisis, there's probably no other politician who can do a better job of identifying the source of tension and massaging that tension until it is relieved.
Israeli officials have yet to comment on this new initiative, though it seems to have rubbed some the wrong way. Critics say the ex-governor's presence is both unhelpful and unwanted. But unwanted advances will not stop Andrew Cuomo, at least when it comes to wrapping his arms around Israel in a loving hug. And those progressives who resist him may very well find out the hard way that he means business. When it comes to Israel.
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My assessment of where the Israel Supreme Court issue stands at this time:
A democrat vote was held, a decision was rendered, then the commentary became counter to the thrust of the vote. There is agreement reform is needed. Israeli's never stop shooting themselves in their feet. Israel's President is trying to produce a will of the people resolution so progress within the desire to move forward is acceptable.
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As distressed as anyone about the civil (or lack of civil) discourse surrounding the government's judicial reform plan, last Thursday's terror attack in Tel Aviv demonstrates we all have one thing in common - an enemy that wants to push us out of our homeland. Here's my column in the Jerusalem Post. https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-734116
Israel is divided, but Palestinian terrorists target all Jews
Palestinian terrorists don’t care if an Israeli Jew is more religious or less religious. They don’t care if he or she lives in Tel Aviv or in a hilltop outpost.
By STEPHEN M. FLATOW
Israelis are angry and divided. They’re yelling at each other and staging furious demonstrations. Accusations and name-calling abound. But once again, Palestinian Arab terrorists have reminded us that at the end of the day, what Israelis have in common is more important than the disagreements over this or that policy proposal.
On Thursday evening, a Palestinian Arab terrorist walked up to a cafe in Tel Aviv and started shooting. He wasn’t shooting at soldiers or “settlers.” He was trying to massacre unarmed Israeli civilians sitting at an upscale cafe in the heart of secular, politically left-wing Tel Aviv.
That same evening, 72 km. away, another Palestinian Arab terrorist was trying to massacre Israeli civilians. He boarded a bus in the Orthodox (haredi) town of Beitar Illit, near Jerusalem, and planted a bomb. Smoke began to come from the bomb but, in one of those countless miracles that Israelis experience every day, the device did not immediately detonate. That gave bomb disposal experts the crucial minutes they needed to neutralize it
If the would-be murderer in Tel Aviv had sharper aim, countless secular Israelis would have been slaughtered. If the would-be murderer in Beitar Illit had more expertise in bomb construction, countless Orthodox Israelis would have been slaughtered.
Consider, for a moment, how vastly different those two segments of Israeli society are: What they wear. What they eat. How many children they have. The books they read. The movies they watch (or don’t watch). Where they go on vacation. What they do on Shabbat. By these measures, secular Israeli Jews and Orthodox Israeli Jews are as different as night and day.
But Palestinian Arab terrorists couldn’t care less about those differences. Like other violent enemies of the Jewish people throughout history, they never try to kill only a certain type of Jew. They don’t care if an Israeli Jew is more religious or less religious. They don’t care if he or she lives in Tel Aviv or in a hilltop outpost.
The automatic weapons that the terrorists shoot, the bombs they plant, the rocks they throw, the knives with which they stab, are aimed at all Jews.
That’s why, despite all the overheated social and political controversies that consume the country these days, Israelis remain remarkably united on the most important issue of all: life and death.
On the need to take strong action against Palestinian Arab terrorism, there is a wall-to-wall, Right-to-Left consensus. On this crucial topic, there is a degree of unity that is difficult to find in any other country, including the US.
Consider how members of Knesset voted on the recent legislation authorizing the deportation of convicted terrorists who are receiving financial subsidies from the Palestinian Authority.
The New York Times described the bill as “harsh,” “hardline,” and the product of a “far-right” government. In fact, the new legislation represents the centrist, not right-wing, position in Israel today. It passed by an astonishing margin of 94 to 10.
The supporters included the major left-of-center opposition parties, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid and Benny Gantz’s National Unity.
MKs from the left-wing Labor Party were absent from the vote, but not because they opposed the bill. “We supported the bill when it was first proposed,” a Labor spokesman explained. But they decided to absent themselves from the voting as a protest against some of the government’s domestic policies
Consider, too, the widespread public support for the Israeli army’s “Operation Break the Wave,” the strategy of sending the security forces into Palestinian Authority-governed cities in hot pursuit of terrorists. After the wave of Palestinian Arab shootings, bombings, and stabbings that left 19 Israelis dead in early 2022, the left-of-center government headed by Naftali Bennett launched the operation. Bennett’s successor, Yair Lapid, continued the action – with the support of his left-wing allies, Labor and Meretz, because chasing terrorists has never been a “right-wing” or “left-wing” position.
An Israeli military spokesman said recently that in the first eight months of Operation Break the Wave (from March to November 2022), the security forces “thwarted some 500 terror attacks.” They captured “at least 250 weapons” and “$785,000 in cash” that was to be used to finance terrorist attacks. And more than 2,500 terrorists were arrested.
The only critics of the army’s operation are the champions of the Palestinian cause who are prominent in academia, the media, and extremist advocacy groups. They don’t like Operation Break the Wave because their side is losing.
It may be distressing to see Israelis arguing so vehemently about differences in domestic policy. But it’s heartening to remember that when it comes to the issue that counts the most – stamping out terrorism and ensuring the survival of the Jewish state – Israel’s national consensus is holding strong. It shouldn’t take Palestinian Arab terrorist attacks in Tel Aviv and Beitar Illit to remind us of the ties that bind.
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