It was made clear to us at the sites of these massacres that these attacks were extremely well-planned and designed to kill as many Israelis as possible. Gazans who worked in southern Israel gathered intelligence on how to conduct the attacks. Meticulous steps were taken to destroy and blind security cameras and sensors at the border. It was also stressed to us that after Hamas fighters breached border fences, they were followed by civilians from Gaza who committed their own atrocities and looted Israeli homes and stores.
We were told that Hamas believed negative news coverage of an Israeli invasion of Gaza and the hostages would lead weak Western leaders to pressure Israel to end the war before Hamas was defeated. The Israeli officials said they were right about weak Western leaders pressuring Israel in response to negative media coverage about the war, but they were dead wrong that Israel would ever give in to this pressure.
General Kellogg and I met with several senior Israeli officials who all told us the same two things.
First, Israel must and will destroy Hamas. They stressed it is crucial to defeat the remaining four Hamas battalions in southern Israel, near Raffa. We were told that although Israel may agree to a temporary cease-fire to win the release of the remaining hostages, after a cease-fire, the war will resume until the Hamas battalions are defeated. The Israeli officials politely but firmly rejected repeated calls by President Biden and European officials for a permanent cease-fire before Israel had taken Raffa and destroyed these battalions.
Second, the Israeli officials told us in no uncertain terms that the two-state solution peace plan is dead and that no peace plan with the Palestinians is possible without major generational reforms.
We were told it is impossible for Israel to strike a peace agreement with an enemy that is determined to destroy it, and Israeli and Western leaders made a grave mistake for decades of believing otherwise. The officials insisted that Israel cannot give its enemies an independent state that it will use to arm and train fighters to destroy their country like Hamas did over the past 20 years in Gaza. They added that Israel cannot make peace with an enemy that trains its people, starting in kindergarten, to kill Jews and destroy the state of Israel.
The Israeli officials said no peace plan with the Palestinians is possible until they are deradicalized. This must include reforming Palestinian schools, mosques, and media. They said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is doing this in Saudi Arabia and insisted that it must be done in Gaza and in the West Bank. Some officials suggested Arab states might help implement a Palestinian deradicalization project. The Israeli officials said such a project will take a generation to achieve, but they believe there is no other way to bring about a lasting peace with the Palestinians that safeguards Israel’s security and existence.
We heard disagreement, anger, and bemusement at the Biden administration’s policies and statements about Israeli security and peace plans. The Israeli officials said they do not appreciate the constant public pressure and statements by President Biden and Biden officials to end the war and implement a permanent cease-fire before Hamas is defeated. Some especially objected to the Biden administration discussing peace proposal ideas in the press that they had not raised with the Israeli government.
Several Israeli officials strongly objected to the Biden administration constantly calling for a two-state solution peace plan when they know the Israeli government has definitively ruled this out for the foreseeable future. The officials said these calls are extremely unhelpful for Israel at a time when it is increasingly isolated.
Even though I knew about the horrific violence of October 7, I was still shocked to see the evidence of these killings at the kibbutz and the music fair site firsthand. This evil is why Hamas must be destroyed and never again be allowed to govern Gaza or anywhere else.
I was not surprised but still disheartened to hear the frustration of Israeli officials at the Biden Administration’s inept and irresponsible approach to the Israel-Hamas War. And I was embarrassed for my country because the Israeli officials were fully aware that President Biden’s feckless policies on this conflict are being driven by domestic politics and the president’s low poll numbers on the left.
I came away from this trip believing more strongly than ever that the United States should be solidly standing with Israel at this critical time. And as one of America’s closest and most important allies, I believe Israel deserves much better treatment by a U.S. president and his administration.
Fred Fleitz is vice-chair of the America First Policy Institute Center for American Security. He previously served as National Security Council chief of staff, CIA analyst, and a House Intelligence Committee staff member.
+++++++++++++++++
Not even a war can stop Israel building on its 75-years of success in rebuilding a Jewish State.
Israel continues to build up its basket of subsidized medical treatments, create new remedies for global diseases, discover the secret for building bigger families, and construct medical centers for rehabilitating the injured.
The latest news includes the Israeli woman who oversees the building of Israel's missile defense system; an Israeli app that rebuilds broken speech into coherent conversation; and 30 Israeli NGOs rebuilding lives in Africa. Israeli startups are restoring the environment, while building efficient EV batteries, hydrogen-powered flying cars, and creating sustainable aviation fuel.
Meanwhile, many Jewish citizens of Europe and the US are realizing that now it is the time to build a new life in Israel.
The photo (TY Sharon) is of Jerusalem's Hurva and the Tiferet synagogues, rebuilt and being rebuilt, after being blown up by the Jordanian army in 1948.
If this email arrives in your spam / junk folder, please mark it as "NOT SPAM".
Please recommend www.verygoodnewsisrael.
In the 3rd Mar 24 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
- An IDF veteran drove over 130 miles to take charge of Oct 7 rescue operations.
- Israeli sunshine can help grow large families.
- A mother of 3 secretly oversees the development of David’s Sling.
- An Israeli pesticide makes weeds infertile.
- A war cannot stop Israelis from starting new companies.
- More sports gold medals for Israelis.
- A brave rescued Israeli female hostage has returned to army service.
- Click here to see the 25th Feb newsletter on (TY Steve) IsraelSeen, (TY Aviva) United With Israel and (TY Ted Belman) IsraPundit. Also (TY Sandra) for translating it into German here. (TY Mireille) into French here. (TY Barbara) into Spanish here. Please forward this newsletter to German-speaking, Spanish-speaking, French-speaking and Hebrew-speaking contacts. Also please visit my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/
verygoodnewsIL.
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POSITIVE NEWS DURING A WAR
He lied to his wife to rescue survivors. On Oct 7, IDF veteran Eran Masas, from Haifa lied to his wife that he had been called up by the army. He put on a uniform, took his sidearm and drove 220km to the Gaza border. He then coordinated multiple search and rescue operations as survivors thought he was an on-duty IDF officer.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Have a nice flight! IDF reservist Itay returned to Israel on an overbooked El Al flight from Bangkok with a seat in a washroom. The other 14 washrooms also seated IDF reservists, plus 10 in the cockpit and elsewhere. Luckily, he had a pre-flight massage. Two days later he was dodging terrorist bullets in Huwara, near Nablus.
https://www.jns.org/idf-
US mission for volunteer doctors in Israel. (TY Yanky) Israeli Doctors in America, together with the Israeli Ministry of Health and Israel’s Economic Mission to the USA – East Coast, have launched the IL-USDocAID Initiative. It brings US medical professionals to work either in Israeli hospitals or with Magen David Adom.
https://www.ilusdocaid.org/
1,000 hugs. Operation Hug (see here previously) has now brought over 1,000 parents from over 50 different countries to visit their children who are lone soldiers serving in the IDF. Thanks to Nefesh B'Nefesh, JNF-USA, and FIDF (Friends of the IDF). Watch some of the recent reunions here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Former US Envoy donated an ambulance. Former US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and his family donated a mini-lance (mini-ambulance) emergency response vehicle to Israel’s United Hatzalah. He requested that will be specifically driven by a female Arab volunteer and deployed in eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
https://www.jns.org/wire/
Displaced Israeli kids learn and play in mobile tech lab. More about the work of the charity Machshava Tova (see here previously), which uses funds from CJP in Boston to purchase computers, projectors, 3D printers, VR goggles and other equipment for children evacuated from Sderot.
https://www.israel21c.org/
Displaced boy finds 2,000-year-old coin. 11-year-old Nati Tokiyar from Kibbutz Magen was evacuated to the Dead Sea to avoid Hamas rockets from Gaza. As he was exploring the area, he found a coin of Hasmonean king and high priest Alexander Jannaeus (104-76 BCE). The Israel Antiquities Authority gave him a certificate.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/
We will still sing. Some 7,000 Netanya children came to the city stadium to demonstrate unity and solidarity and express their desire to see the return of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. See other videos of adults and children displaying that Israelis will never surrender to those that hate us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
“I survived for a reason”. Watch an example of the incredible spirit of Israeli soldiers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
110 new medications and technologies. Israel’s 2024 subsidized health basket will see an expansion of genetic testing, treatment for adult ADHD, innovative diabetes management, and new treatments for cancer and chronic and rare diseases. The 110 additions will help 317,000 more people at a cost of NIS 650 million to the State.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Hope for Huntington’s disease patients. Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have identified two small molecules capable, in the laboratory, of penetrating the blood-brain barrier and reducing the levels of a defective protein that causes Huntington’s disease.
https://www.jns.org/israeli-
https://wis-wander.weizmann.
https://www.embopress.org/doi/
Hi-tech medical analysis. Tel Aviv University Prof Noam Shomron digitizes human DNA and uses AI to discover genetic diseases. That’s his day job – in evenings and weekends he helps the IDF identify fallen soldiers. He explains how functional genomics and AI can help make better medical decisions.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-
Israeli sunshine increases fertility. Women wishing to expand their family might consider making Aliyah. Researchers at Tel Aviv University have found for the first time that exposure to the sun in women aged 30-40 can increase fertility. Their ovaries secrete more Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) due to higher UV levels.
https://www.aftau.org/news_
https://safrabio.cs.tau.ac.il/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/
Migraine? You’re covered. US non-profit health insurer Highmark has added, to the items covered by its insurance policies, the Nerivio Remote Electrical Neuromodulation (REN) migraine band, developed by Israel’s Theranica (see here previously). Highmark covers around 7 million people in the Pennsylvania area.
https://nocamels.com/2024/02/
New rehab center. (TY Yanky) Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality has approved the construction of the Reuth TLV Rehabilitation Hospital - the largest and most advanced rehabilitation facility in Israel. It will take 7 years to build, contain 450 beds, clinics, hydrotherapy pool, hyperbaric chamber, etc., and cost some NIS 850 million.
https://www.reuth-mc.org.il/
Walk-in, walk-out surgery. Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center has opened 10 underground operating rooms for ambulatory surgeries. Costing NIS 100 million, they are expected to shorten the waiting periods for operations that do not require general anesthetic, or pre- or post-operative overnight hospital stays.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Easier admissions policy. Students who serve in the IDF reserves may be able to study for a bachelor’s degree at Tel Aviv University (excluding medicine) without a psychometric exam. Only high school matriculation grades will be considered. The policy may be extended for other students adversely impacted by the war.
https://english.tau.ac.il/
https://www.jpost.com/israel-
The female force behind David’s Sling. For the last 3 years, Anat (no surname, no photo) has been Rafael’s head of the launch and interceptor system project for Israel’s David’s Sling. She also updates it for constantly evolving threats. Anat has been 20 years at Rafael; she has 3 children including an IDF combat unit daughter.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Giving voice to speechless Australians. Israeli speech recognition startup Voiceitt (see here previously) has teamed up with Australia’s Superyou Tech, which helps people with disabilities access innovative assistive technologies. Voiceitt’s powerful AI addresses a diverse linguistic landscape, including accents and dialects.
https://nocamels.com/2024/02/
Safer trucking in South Carolina. Israel’s SaverOne (see here previously) is to run a pilot program with South Carolina trucking company Motor Supply. SaverOne prevents drivers from accessing distracting apps such as instant messaging, while allowing others (such as those for navigation) to run without user intervention.
https://nocamels.com/2024/02/
Christian parliamentarians visit Israel. More than 20 parliamentarians from around the world are gathering in Jerusalem in the largest political solidarity mission to Israel since Oct 7. They will be attending the annual Israel Allies Foundation Chairman’s Conference.
https://www.jns.org/christian-
Israeli NGOs working in Africa. (TY Dr Salem) Israel21c’s latest article lists 30 Israeli-linked NGOs saving or improving lives in Africa. Nine of them are new to this newsletter, including GYE Nyame Mobile Clinics in Ghana, Bilu Uganda, CultivAid, Africa 2030, HelpUp, Shanita, HalevAfrica, Brit Olam, and CoCuD.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-
https://www.gn-mobileclinics.
https://helpup.org.il/ https://www.shanita.org/en https://halevafrica.com/ https://www.britolam.org/
https://www.cocudi.org/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
More patents than Europe. Israel’s Technion Institute of Technology registered 48 patents in the US last year – more than any European university. The Technion was ranked 66th on the National Academy of Inventors list of Worldwide universities. It highlights the important role that the Technion plays in the innovation ecosystem.
https://israfan.com/2024/02/
https://academyofinventors.
What’s happened to gummies? Israel’s TopGum was last reported here in Dec 2022. It has since launched Gummiccino, coffee flavored gummies shaped like espresso pods; also, three “Gummiceuticals” - calcium and magnesium, full-spectrum, and high-dose calcium. TopGum is building a second factory to cope with demand.
https://nocamels.com/2024/02/
Extending the shelf life of strawberries. Bar-Ilan PhD student Belal Abu Salha’s family owns a strawberry farm. So, it was in his interest to develop an edible nano-coating that extends the shelf life of strawberries by 15 days. He uses sonification (ultrasound in liquid) to create the nano-coated particles from natural polymers.
https://www.israel21c.org/
Destroying weeds with kindness. Israel’s WeedOut (see here previously) is eliminating the Palmer amaranth weed, which poses a serious threat to crops in the United States, Brazil, (yes!) and Argentina, including corn, cotton, soybean, and sugar beet. WeedOut’s innovative pollen makes the weed infertile.
https://nocamels.com/2024/02/
Climate-tech startups win funding. The Climate Solutions Prize Organization has awarded $1.3 million to 7 Israeli climate-tech startups. New to this newsletter include BaTTeRi (robotic EV charging) and Filo Systems (data compression). Previously reported here: Electriq, Biotic, Nemo Nanomaterials, Envomed, and TIGI.
https://www.jns.org/1-3-
https://batteri.energy/ https://web.filo.systems/
The EV battery of the future. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s StoreDot (see here previously) has unveiled its concept battery pack for Electric Vehicles (EVs). Its new I-BEAM XFC resolves the main problem with car batteries – cooling! Each cell has its own cooling system – so no hotspots, and a 5-minute charge will get you 100 miles.
https://www.store-dot.com/
Eco-friendly aviation fuel. The CarboNGV Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF – see here previously) from BGN Technologies and Israel’s Ralco Energy is far more environmentally friendly than SAF produced elsewhere. The process converts more waste into fuel and generates less pollutants and greenhouse gases.
https://nocamels.com/2024/02/
Israeli flying car to get an engine. Israel’s AIR together with US-based Nidec Motors are designing a motor for the new AIR ONE eVTOL (electric Vertical TakeOff and Landing) vehicle.
https://nocamels.com/2024/02/
Israeli startups launch more AI products. Israeli AI products launched recently include Lightricks’ LTX Studio; AI21 Labs’ Summarize Conversation solution; and D-ID’s Agents AI avatars (see here previously).
https://www.calcalistech.com/
https://docs.ai21.com/docs/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
A great time to invest. Michael Eisenberg, VC fund Aleph co-founder, said on CNBC that now is “one of the greatest opportunities to invest in Israel. Israeli companies deliver.” Israeli tech startups are undervalued and offer significant upside potential. Hamilton Lane CEO Juan Delgado-Moreira gave similar advice to CTECH.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Founding new companies during a war. Being evacuated or having a spouse in the reserves hasn’t stopped Israeli entrepreneurs from starting new companies. Gal Admati launched two (Qortein and HarvestR) from his hotel room. Dr. Hadas Ziso founded EndoCure despite her husband and a key employee being called up.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Pitching up in Florida. The State of Florida recently hosted 30 Israeli tech companies for a “pitch day” in the state’s capital Tallahassee. The Israeli companies represented areas such as healthcare, water treatment, energy, and cybersecurity. Each presented ideas to help strengthen Florida’s resources and capabilities.
https://southfloridatribune.
Assess the damage. OPENLANE, a US-based international digital marketplace for wholesale used vehicles, is now using Israel’s Click-Ins to detect and assess vehicle damage. OPENLANE’s Visual Boost AI creates visual overlays of detected exterior damage directly within the vehicle condition report.
https://www.israel21c.org/car-
Saving billions in FX. Swiss-Israeli okoora (see here previously) says it has achieved cumulative savings of more than $3 billion for its customers through international foreign exchange transactions to date. Okoora’s Automated Business Currency Management (ABCM™) manages global payments, banking, and risk.
https://blog.okoora.com/
https://blog.okoora.com/3-new-
Safeguarding the Australian army. Despite waning support from the Australian government, it is still happy to purchase military protection systems from Israel. Elbit has announced it was awarded a 5-year, $600 million contract, to supply mission-critical systems to Hanwha Defense Australia for use by the Australian army.
https://finance.yahoo.com/
Increasing corn yields in the Mid-West. Agriculture giant Syngenta has an Israeli seeds R&D center (see here). Syngenta is deploying sensors from Israel’s CropX (see here previously) to improve its irrigated corn fields across Mid-West USA. In multi-vendor trials last season, Syngenta ranked CropX as the top performer.
https://www.ourcrowd.com/
Exits, takeovers and mergers – to 3/3/24: Israel’s Deel has taken over Germany’s Zavvy for $20 million. US IT giant Workday has acquired Israel’s HiredScore for “hundreds of millions of dollars”. Ausralia’s Octopus Deploy has acquired Israel’s Codefresh for $40-50 million.
Startup investment – to 3/3/24: Exodigo raised $75 million; WeedOut raised $8.1 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Zubin Mehta returns. (TY Yanky) Although he retired in 2019 after 50 years of conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (see here previously), he has returned as guest conductor for eight concerts. But be quick – the last one is on March 5. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/
https://www.ipo.co.il/en/
White rainbow and green-horned gazelle. Employees of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel have reported seeing some rare phenomena. Nadav Israeli spotted a white rainbow in the Galilee on Feb 8, and then Amir Balaban noticed a green-antlered Dorcas gazelle in the Negev. Both have logical explanations, but ..
https://newsrnd.com/life/2024-
https://www.newsrael.com/
Golda wins Dove award. (TY Yanky) Israeli director Guy Nattiv and British actor Helen Mirren received a Dove Award from the Cinema for Peace Foundation for their joint work in the 2023 biopic “Golda,” in which Mirren stars as Golda Meir, the fourth prime minister of Israel. Nattiv and Mirren received the awards in Berlin.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Singles and doubles tennis champion. (TY Hazel) Unseeded Israeli Lina Glushko won both the singles and doubles titles at the WIPHOLD International tennis tournament in Pretoria, South Africa. In the doubles Lina partnered Czechia’s Gabrielle Knutson and upset the number 3 seeds.
https://www.sasportspress.co.
They hit the spot. (TY Hazel) Israeli archers won 2 individual golds, a team gold and 3 silvers at the European Indoor Archery Championships. Israel’s four young fencers won the Team Cadet European Championships in foil. And gymnast Artem Dolgopyat won silver in the floor exercise at the World Cup event in Germany.
https://www.instagram.com/
https://www.eurofencing.info/
THE JEWISH STATE
Rescued hostage returns to IDF service. Ori Megidish, the IDF lookout kidnapped on Oct 7 and rescued 23 days later, will return to military service - at her own request. She told US donors, "I believe in G-d, I felt that He would save me. When I was kidnapped, I prayed every day." (See also here about her family’s activity.)
https://www.
Biblical Kings on display. The “King David and Solomon Discovered” exhibit currently in Oklahoma USA includes many items from Jerusalem excavations by the late Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University (see here previously). One of them, a Phoenician pendant, is the earliest gold artifact ever discovered in Jerusalem.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
https://armstronginstitute.
What’s new in Jerusalem. (TY Sharon) New events and sights in the timeless capital of Israel include the upcoming Jerusalem Marathon, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations National Leadership Mission, the Taub Center Conference at Shalva, and the Dome of the Tiferet Israel synagogue.
https://rjstreets.com/2024/02/
Aliyah Fair. Take the next steps of your Aliyah journey with Nefesh B’Nefesh at the NBN Aliyah Fair on Mon Mar 11 in New Jersey. Join the thousands of American Jews making Aliyah in 2024.
https://www.nbn.org.il/aliyah-
How to help Israel. Here are some sites where newsletter readers can donate to Israeli organizations that provide vital help to Israelis at this difficult time. Many thanks to those who have already contributed and to those who are helping by donating their own valuable time and resources.
Friends of the IDF (US donors): https://www.fidf.org/
or IDF Soldiers Fund in Israel: https://www.ufis.org.il/en/
American Friends of Magen David Adom (US donors): https://afmda.org/
or Magen David Adom (Israel): https://www.mdais.org/en/
Zaka (US donors): https://donate.zakatelaviv.
or (Canadian donors): https://www.canadahelps.org/
United Hatzalah: https://israelrescue.org/
Leket Food Israel: https://www.leket.org/en/
JNF USA - https://my.jnf.org/gaza-
Orthodox Union - https://www.charidy.com/
Schneider Children’s Hospital: https://www.fos.org.il/en/
https://system.smartgiving.
https://chaischneider.org/
Hadassah Hospital Israel: https://www.hadassah.org/
Laniado Hospital (Netanya) https://my.israelgives.org/en/
And many more charities here:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Buy Israel Bonds to support the Jewish State. (TY Larry B)
https://www.
USA - https://www.israelbonds.com/
Europe - https://israelbondsintl.com/
Canada - https://www.israelbonds.ca/
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Democrats and Republicans go hard against Biden
regulation
“ Alas for the workers affected, the issue has received too little media attention to pressure decision-makers in the White House and at the Energy Department, who feel no urgency. Yet 20 years ago, even 10, a Democratic administration would have danced on hot coals to make this right.
Union leader Jamie Sychak is fighting hard, however. The president of the UAW Local 3303 is sitting in his office with his vice president, Ray Pflugh, financial secretary, Mark Earley, and contracting chairman, Steve Gilliland, in the building where the Pullman Standard railcar facility used to stand.
“This was a steel mill that was known as the wheel works that made the steel railroad car wheels for Pullman Standard,” Sychak explained, referring to steel manufacturing in this same spot for more than 150 years.
Like the Cleveland Cliffs Butler Works, Pullman Standard funneled millions into the local Butler economy that paved the roads, bettered the schools, and filled the bankrolls of local charities. According to historical data compiled by the Butler Historical Society, Pullman Standard manufactured more than 7 million artillery shells and bombs in addition to rail cars for the Allies and American forces in World War II. Post-war, it employed 4000 people in both the factory and offices; when it closed in 1980, it crippled the local economy.
The historical society notes a Butler Eaglearticle dated Feb. 17, 1982, in which Mayor Fred Vero estimated a $60 million loss to the county. School districts lost significant portions of their budgets; suppliers and contractors laid off employees. Approximately 2000 jobs outside of Pullman Standard were lost due to the plant’s closure. County unemployment skyrocketed to 17.5% practically overnight. Census data shows that since that closure in 1982, the city of Butler has consistently lost significant percentages of the local population.
Pullman’s demise had to do with changing American habits. People no longer flocked to passenger trains for transportation. They used cars. That is not the case today with Butler Works. People across the country desperately depend on a reliable, affordable electrical grid. Killing the local plant would not be an organic side effect of changing habits but instead a government-created disaster, all in reaction to pressure from the Sierra Club and other heavily bankrolled and powerful climate justice entities.
Sychak said it was last March that his team was shown a draft letter about a rule proposal on efficiency standards for distribution transformers.”
Click for full story: https://www.
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The rich got soaked under Trump if statistics do not lie?
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Data prove it: The Trump tax cuts soaked the
rich
Donald Trump speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) meeting on Feb 24, 2024.
When Donald Trump entered office in 2017, the richest 1% of tax filers ($675,000 income and above) paid a little more than 40% of the income taxes collected.
The latest IRS data on who bears the income tax burden demonstrate yet again the benefits of lower tax rates over higher rates.
Bernie Sanders should pay attention.
When President Donald Trump entered office, the richest 1% of tax filers ($675,000 income and above) paid a little more than 40% of the income taxes collected.
The 2017 Trump tax cut reduced the effective highest federal tax rate to 37% from 42%.
Both Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, then as now, condemned this a giveaway to the rich.
But the most recent IRS tax return data (for 2021) confirm that even as these rates were lowered — not to mention the corporate tax rate cut from 35% to 21% — the share of the tax burden shouldered by the 1% rose to almost 46%.
Why is everyone always caught by surprise when this happens?
EXPLORE MORE
Dear Abby counsels a woman who's friend didn't invite her to a party, asked her to bake a cake and then broke her cake stand.
Dear Abby: My friend lacks class and it shows, I no longer feel close to her
Close up of a Tax return form with a calculator.
Time to prepare my tax returns — a monumental waste of time and money
IRS targets 125K Americans who earn over $400K a year but didn’t file tax returns
High-income earners shelter less and earn more when top tax rates fall.
That shouldn’t astonish anyone.
The chart below shows the inverse relationship between the highest tax rate applied and the share of taxes paid by the rich.
Graph of Low Tax Rate and High Revenue
When Ronald Reagan was elected president, the top income tax rate in the United States was at 70%.
When Ronald Reagan was elected president, for example, the top income tax rate in the United States stood at 70%.
The wealthiest 1% of tax filers paid roughly 19% of the income tax.
When Reagan cut that rate to 50% and then all the way down to 28% in 1987 (a tax reform that nearly every senator — including Al Gore, Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden — voted for), the share of taxes paid by the rich rose to 25%.
Think about that: When the highest tax rate was 70%, the rich paid less than 20% of the tax burden.
With today’s tax rate of 37%, the top 1% pay almost half of all income taxes.
And our data show that when the top tax rate stood at 91% in the early 1960s, before the Kennedy tax cuts, the top 1% paid only 15% of the taxes.
This inverse relationship between tax rates and taxes paid seems counterintuitive and almost mathematically impossible, but there are several explanations why high tax rates don’t raise much revenue from the rich.
First, when tax rates are high, deductions to avoid paying those high rates become far more attractive to high-income earners, and they creep into the system as sure as crumbs on the kitchen floor attract mice.
We find it highly ironic that the same Democrats who want to raise the federal tax rate to 50% or 60% and even 70% to force the rich to “pay their fair share” are also the loudest voices in Congress for bringing back the biggest tax favor for the super-rich ever devised: the deductibility of state and local taxes.
Green-energy tax write-offs provide massive shelters for the rich too
High tax rates also send economic activity and taxable income offshore to lower-tax nations.
This is how Ireland has become one of Europe’s highest-performing economies.
And finally, high tax rates act as a financial penalty on economic activity and investment, which slows growth.
When that happens, there are fewer rich people with smaller income gains to siphon off.
This election is almost a referendum on whether America should keep our lower tax rates in place (the Trump plan) or raise rates on investment to 50% or more, as President Biden has endorsed.
What do you think? Post a comment.
It’s a pretty solid bet that if the latter happens, the economy will underperform.
And if history is any guide, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Taylor Swift will end up paying less, not more, in taxes.
Arthur Laffer is president of Laffer Associates. Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. They are co-founders of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity and co-authors of the book “Trumponomics.”
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The undertaker business thanks Biden.
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Israel’s 149th Day of War
By Sherwin Pomerantz
On this 149th day of the war the IDF carried out extensive airstrikes in the Rafah area, including near the Philadelphia Corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt, according to Gaza media reports. The IDF confirmed strikes had hit Islamic Jihad operatives and terrorist infrastructure. In the north, the IDF struck a vehicle near Naqoura in southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing three operatives belonging to the Imam Hossein Division, an Iranian militia group that operates alongside Hizballah. The operatives were involved in recent rocket fire on Israel. One of the men was a weapons technician, a security source in Lebanon told Reuters. Sadly, four of our troops were killed and 14 seriously inured in Gaza on Saturday when they entered a booby trapped building they understood to be under Israeli control.
Regarding the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, the framework for a deal would include a six-week pause in the Gaza war, but it is contingent on a positive response from Hamas, a senior US administration official said Saturday.
“Right now, the ball is in Hamas' court and we are continuing to push as hard as we possibly can,” a US official told reporters during a background briefing on a deal the US hopes will be in place by the start of the holy month of Ramadan on March 10. “The Israelis have accepted .. a six-week cease-fire” as part of a “phased deal” that would “enable a significant surge of the humanitarian work that has to be done,” a US official said. The sticking point now, the US official said, is the hostages, especially those who are vulnerable, such as women, the sick, and the elderly who would be freed in the first phase. His words echoed other statements indicating not all of the remaining 134 hostages would be freed during the six-week pause in the war (and probably a significant number of them may no longer be alive). In the background briefing, the US official said, this deal is more complex than the one carried out in November. Representatives of Israel and Hamas were scheduled to meet today in Cairo with the other partners to the discussion.
The IDF confirmed on Sunday morning it had completed its review and found no drone strike had occurred during an incident last week when Palestinians were trampled to death while attempting to charge an aid convoy. “The IDF concluded an initial review of the unfortunate incident where Gazan civilians were trampled to death and injured as they charged the aid convoy. Our initial review confirmed no strike was carried out by the IDF towards the aid convoy,” the IDF published statement read. The IDF spokesperson, R-Adm Hagari, also claimed the IDF had fired warning shots in an attempt to disperse the stampede and that IDF troops had begun retreating from the scene when looters began posing an immediate threat.. Hagari explained it was due to this threat why IDF soldiers were forced to respond.
The IDF also confirmed on Saturday, the US Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Gaza.
Additionally, over the past few weeks,, in cooperation and coordination with several countries; Jordan, France, the UAE and Egypt, more than 450 pallets of food and medical aid were distributed via 21 airdrops to the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is calling for the holy month of Ramadan to be a “month of terror” and seeks to escalate attacks in the West Bank and Gaza, a spokesperson for the group said. Abu Hamza, the spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, also said he wants Arab countries in the region and pro-Iran groups to continue to “unify” various arenas and fronts against Israel. The speech is the latest indication terrorist groups will seek escalation over the next month. The statement by Abu Hamza was published by Al-Mayadeen media, which is pro-Iran and frequently highlights Hamas and Hezbollah attacks. Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a proxy of Iran. It has armed men in Gaza and the West Bank and its leaders often reside in Damascus which they sometimes leave to meet with their Iranian handlers in Tehran or to coordinate with Hamas and Hezbollah.
As many are saying now, the war slogs on with no reasonable end in sight.
Future Leadership
Nevertheless, for an example of what one person can do to address a community need, it is worth meeting Shari Greenwald Mendes. She is an architect who lives in Raanana with her husband, David, and their four children. They came to live in Israel from the US in 2003.
In 2010 Shari was diagnosed with breast cancer, and after treatment, is doing well. She was inspired by her experience to start an NGO (Israel Breast Cancer Emergency Relief Fund) for needy, newly-diagnosed women, to help them cope with the substantial out of pocket expenses that inevitably come with a serious illness such as breast cancer. Many of these women are desperately poor, often single parents, and IBCERF, by alleviating extreme financial hardship during the first few months after diagnosis, allows these women to focus on the important work of getting well.
In her own words….”Upon recovery, our mission can be to understand what leads to devastation, whether as a nation or in one's body. In both cases, for real recovery and reconstruction, compassion is needed. We need to work to SEE the other, and to reach out to them. As a nation, when we are tolerant of each other, we are united and strong. Likewise, when people are ill they are weak and in need of support. The most fragile among us cannot help themselves and it is our duty to help them. With medical, communal or financial help, we gift them the fortitude to get treatment and heal.”
Shari is also an IDF army reservist who serves in the unit responsible for preparing the bodies of female IDF soldiers through all the steps in advance of burial. She was one of the people who testified at the UN about the mutilation of women that occurred during the Hamas attack on October 7th. Clearly, Israel needs people like her in a post war government.
May the post war period come soon and may our troops return safely.
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Our Fifth Column in Congress?
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'Squad' members secretly visit Cuba
Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Ilhan Omar condemned by Republicans for leading secret delegation to Communist dictatorship Cuba.
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Why can't the IDF send robots in first?
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TRAPPED: 3 IDF soldiers killed, 14 wounded in
booby-trapped Gaza building
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