BREAKING: Israeli Army Court Case Making Global Headlines

What mother would prefer to send her child to the ‘front lines’ rather than at home playing with her friends – or doing her homework? What responsible society ​incites young palestinian arab girls to spit and push and bully, no matter who is on the other side, unresisting. I personally would have called social services to remove her from their custo​d​y. Kudos to the soldiers – who are our children too – resisting the temptation to lash out or respond in any way. It is hard to see these young soldiers as the victims of this violence. Something inside wants to see our uniformed boys respond, repel, to somehow send these palestinian arab kids home and put an end to the verbal and sometimes physical abuse they are hurling at our soldiers.

But no, Ahed Tamimi would have the world believe that her green eyes and blond curls belie a positive spirit. Her distorted defiance is the result of irresponsible parents who encourage terror rather than educate their children to seek peaceful resolutions with their neighbors. And now the family, including Ahed, is on trial. Some of you have visited the Israeli military courts with us here in Israel. You have seen the system work – its Arabic-speaking interpreters making sure the accused understand. The defense attorneys who are allowed access to their clients (accused terrorists) and their full files. Freedom of speech. The right to a fair trial.

And yet the news would have you believe we Israelis are the bad guys. Take a look at this article, taken from an AP story widely circulating ​in today’s news cycle​​​.

​You may know some of the people quoted here, including the judge himself. I’ll refrain from personal comments except to say​:​ I’m worried. A palestinian arab family that disregards their own children’s right to their childhood, to their safety, to their education and upbringing – lashes out at anyone they perceive as the enemy​, inciting terror​. And that worries me.

Praying for the safety of everyone involved in this case and for the achieving of justice.

Meanwhile, you’ll know what to tell people when they show you this breaking news out of Israel today.
With wishes for a rainy day and a brighter future here in Israel for all of us,

Ruthie

Israel advocates mobilize to defend Arizona’s anti-BDS law following setback in Kansas

During the last few years, more than 20 U.S. states have targeted the BDS movement with legislation aimed at preventing state entities from doing business with companies that seek to boycott Israel. Many pro-Israel advocates view the enactment of these state laws as a broader response to the multifaceted threat posed by BDS, including on college campuses and among mainline Protestant churches.

But this success in pro-Israel advocacy has been met with some pushback, as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and some pro-Palestinian legal groups have argued that anti-BDS legislation violates the Constitution. In a first, a Kansas federal judge recently agreed with this sentiment, issuing a preliminary injunction against an anti-BDS law in that state that went into effect last July.

DAMNED IF YOU DO . . . AND TRUMP AND NETANYAHU ARE CERTAINLY DOING

Day in and day out, two men—two crucial world leaders—remain under a constant barrage of verbal attacks. They are subjected to an obsessional, unhinged and unprecedented stream of abuse, distortion, character assassination and malicious fantasies.

If you haven’t guessed, they are Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald J Trump. The campaign against them signifies a cultural disorder in the West that borders on the pathological.

Please share comments and upcoming Middle-East focused activity so we can weigh in and provide insight that can help better inform and advocate for our joint interests…