Israel: Beware of Obama

by Michael Goodwin

First he comes for the banks and health care, uses the IRS to go after critics, politicizes the Justice Department, spies on journalists, tries to curb religious freedom, slashes the military, throws open the borders, doubles the debt and nationalizes the Internet.

He lies to the public, ignores the Constitution, inflames race relations and urges Latinos to punish Republican “enemies.” He abandons our ­allies, appeases tyrants, coddles ­adversaries and uses the Crusades as an excuse for inaction as Islamist terrorists slaughter their way across the Mideast.

Now he’s coming for Israel.

Barack Obama’s promise to transform America was too modest. He is transforming the whole world before our eyes. Do you see it yet?

Against the backdrop of the tsunami of trouble he has unleashed, Obama’s pledge to “reassess” America’s relationship with Israel cannot be taken lightly. Already paving the way for an Iranian nuke, he is hinting he’ll also let the other anti-Semites at Turtle Bay have their way. That could mean American support for punitive Security Council resolutions or for Palestinian statehood initiatives. It could mean both, or something worse.

Whatever form the punishment takes, it will aim to teach Bibi Netanyahu never again to upstage him. And to teach Israeli voters never again to elect somebody Obama doesn’t like.

Apologists and wishful thinkers, including some Jews, insist Obama real­izes that the special relationship between Israel and the United States must prevail and that allowing too much daylight between friends will encourage enemies.

Those people are slow learners, or, more dangerously, deny-ists.

If Obama’s six years in office teach us anything, it is that he is impervious to appeals to good sense. Quite the contrary. Even respectful suggestions from supporters that he behave in the traditions of American presidents fill him with angry determination to do it his way.

For Israel, the consequences will be intended. Those who make excuses for Obama’s policy failures — naive, bad advice, bad luck — have not come to grips with his dark impulses and deep-seated rage.

His visceral dislike for Netanyahu is genuine, but also serves as a convenient fig leaf for his visceral dislike of Israel. The fact that it’s personal with Netanyahu doesn’t explain six years of trying to bully Israelis into signing a suicide pact with Muslims bent on destroying them. Netanyahu’s only sin is that he puts his nation’s security first and refuses to knuckle ­under to Obama’s endless demands for unilateral concessions.

That refusal is now the excuse to act against Israel. Consider that, for all the upheaval around the world, the president rarely has a cross word for, let alone an open dispute with, any other foreign leader. He calls Great Britain’s David Cameron “bro” and praised Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood president, Mohammed Morsi, who had called Zionists, “the descendants of apes and pigs.”

Obama asked Vladimir Putin for patience, promising “more flexibility” after the 2012 election, a genuflection that earned him Russian aggression. His Asian pivot was a head fake, and China is exploiting the vacuum. None of those leaders has gotten the Netanyahu treatment, which included his being forced to use the White House back door on one trip, and the cold shoulder on another.

It is a clear and glaring double standard.

Most troubling is Obama’s bended-knee deference to Iran’s Supreme Leader, which has been repaid with “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” demonstrations in Tehran and expanded Iranian military action in other countries.

The courtship reached the height of absurdity last week, when Obama wished Iranians a happy Persian new year by equating Republican critics of his nuclear deal with the resistance of theocratic hard-liners, saying both “oppose a diplomatic solution.” That is a damnable slur given that a top American military official estimates that Iranian weapons, proxies and trainers killed 1,500 US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Who in their right mind would trust such an evil regime with a nuke?

Yet Netanyahu, the leader of our only reliable ally in the region, is ­repeatedly singled out for abuse. He alone is the target of an orchestrated attempt to defeat him at the polls, with Obama political operatives, funded in part by American taxpayers, working to elect his opponent.

They failed and Netanyahu prevailed because Israelis see him as their best bet to protect them. Their choice was wise, but they better buckle up because it’s Israel’s turn to face the wrath of Obama.

Ribnitzer Rebbetzin Dies!

Ribnitzer Rebbetzin, Frayda Milka Milka Abramowitz A”H, the wife of the Ribnitzer Rebbe ZATZAL, passed away on Shabbos after an illness.

The Levayah will take place on Sunday morning at 10:15AM, in front of the Ribnitz Cheder at 50 South Main Street, Spring Valley, NY. The Kevura will be in Monsey.

Boruch Dayan HaEmmes

Sassoon Family Funeral at 3:00 PM at Shmrei Hadas in Boro Park

Eleven-year-old Rivkah (l.) and 16-year-old Eliane (c.) Sassoon died in the devastating Brooklyn fire early Saturday. Siporah (r.), 15, is fighting for her life.

A spokesperson for Misaskim tellsaid that the Levaya for the seven children of the Sassoon family will be held at 3:00PM today in afternoon in Shomrei Hadas Chapels in Boro Park.

The Chapel is located at 39th Street and 14th Avenue.

A large NYPD detail has been arranged to assist the expected large crowd, but being that it is a large shopping day before Pesach, with major stores nearby, people should expect heavy traffic in the area.

Police have asked to announce that people attending the Levaya should try and come together in cars to alleviate as much congestion as possible to ensure that the funeral proceed smoothly.

The Levaya will proceed to the airport following the Levaya.

The Kevura (burials) will be at Har HaMenuchos in Yerushalayim.

Sassoon Family losses 7 children in Friday Night Fire

Seven siblings from a Syrian Orthodox Jewish family were killed early Saturday when a fire tore through their two-story Brooklyn home after they had gone to bed, a tragedy that authorities believe was caused by a malfunctioning hot plate left on during the Sabbath.

The blaze took the lives of three girls and four boys - ages 5 to 16 - and left their mother and another child in critical condition. Fire officials said the flames would have prevented the mother, who escaped out a window, from trying to rescue her children.

“This is an unbelievable tragedy,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said after touring the charred residence. “Every New Yorker is feeling this pain right now.”

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro called it the city’s worst fatal fire in recent memory.

“It’s a tragedy for this family, it’s a tragedy for this community, it’s a tragedy for the city,” he said.

Fire investigators believe a hot plate on a kitchen counter ignited flames that raced up the stairs, Nigro said.

Many religious Jews do not use electricity on the Sabbath, along with refraining from work and observing other prohibitions meant to keep the day holy. As a result, some families may leave them on so they are usable without violating any religious laws or traditions.

The fire broke out shortly after midnight while the children were asleep inside the home in Midwood, a leafy section of Brooklyn known for its low crime and large Orthodox Jewish population.

Firefighters arrived less than four minutes after receiving the call to find the mother, badly burned and distraught, outside and pleading for help. When they broke the door, they encountered a hopeless situation - a raging fire that had already spread through the kitchen, dining room, common hall, stairway leading upstairs and the rear bedrooms.

“Unfortunately, the outcome may have been determined before they arrived,” Nigro said.

After making their way through intense smoke and heat, firefighters found the young victims motionless in three of the four bedrooms in the home, officials said.

“It’s difficult to find one child in a room during a search,” Nigro said. “To find a houseful of seven children that can’t be revived ...”

New York Police Department officials identified the victims as members of the Sassoon family: three girls - 16-year-old Eliane, 11-year-old Rivkah and 6-year-old Sara - and four boys - 12-year-old David, 10-year-old Yeshua, 8-year-old Moshe and 5-year-old Yaakob. All victims are from a nice Syrian Jewish family.

Nigro said authorities believe the father was away at a conference at the time of the fire. Neither his name nor those of the survivors were released.

Fire investigators found a smoke detector in the basement of the home. But none were found elsewhere in the house, Nigro said, adding, “To hear a smoke detector two floors below is asking a lot.”

By Saturday afternoon, the fire department had set up a table on the corner of the block and distributed pamphlets reminding residents they should have smoke detectors.

Karen Rosenblatt said she called 911 early Saturday morning after seeing the flames. Her husband Andrew said he heard a girl’s voice screaming, “Help me!”

Many other neighbors who spoke to reporters declined to give their names, but expressed great sadness over the fire.

The last residential blaze with a similar death toll happened in 2007, when eight children and an adult were killed in a fire in a 100-year-old building in the Bronx where several African immigrant families lived. Fire officials said an overheated space heater cord sparked that blaze.‎‎

overheated space heater cord sparked that blaze.‎‎

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (C) speaks to community members after arriving to the site of a home fire in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York March 21, 2015. In one of New York City’s deadliest fires in years, seven children from the same Orthodox Jewish family died early on Saturday when flames ripped through their Brooklyn home, officials said. The blaze, which erupted just before 12:30 a.m. (0430 GMT), appeared to have been started accidentally by a hot plate, which are used by many Orthodox families to warm food on the Sabbath, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.  (Credit: REUTERS)

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio surveys the aftermath of home fire in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York March 21, 2015. In one of New York City’s deadliest fires in years, seven children from the same Orthodox Jewish family died early on Saturday when flames ripped through their Brooklyn home, officials said. The blaze, which erupted just before 12:30 a.m. (0430 GMT), appeared to have been started accidentally by a hot plate, which are used by many Orthodox families to warm food on the Sabbath, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.  (Credit: REUTERS)

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (R) embraces New York City Fire Department ( FDNY) Commissioner Daniel Nigro after arriving to the site of a home fire in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York March 21, 2015. In one of New York City’s deadliest fires in years, seven children from the same Orthodox Jewish family died early on Saturday when flames ripped through their Brooklyn home, officials said. The blaze, which erupted just before 12:30 a.m. (0430 GMT), appeared to have been started accidentally by a hot plate, which are used by many Orthodox families to warm food on the Sabbath, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.  (Credit: REUTERS)

A firefighter surveys the aftermath of a home fire in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York March 21, 2015. Seven children died as flames ripped through a house in New York’s Brooklyn borough early on Saturday, an emergency official said. More than 100 firefighters turned out to battle the blaze in Brooklyn’s Midwood neighborhood just before 12:30 a.m. local time and brought it under control within an hour, he added.  (Credit: REUTERS)

New York’s Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro speaks to reporters during a news conference in front of the scene of a fatal fire in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, March 21, 2015. The fire raged through a residence early Saturday, killing seven children and leaving two other people in critical condition, authorities said.  (Credit: AP)

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, right, speaks to firefighters who responded to a fatal fire in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, March 21, 2015. The fire raged through the residence early Saturday, killing seven children and leaving two other people in critical condition, authorities said. (Credit: AP)

Debris lay scattered behind the house at the scene of a fire in the Brooklyn borough of New York Saturday, March 21, 2015.  The fire raged through the residence early Saturday, killing seven children and leaving two other people in critical condition, authorities said. (Credit: AP)

Community affairs police officers speak to women who say they are close friends of the family near the scene of an overnight fire in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, March 21, 2015. The fire raged through a residence early Saturday, killing seven children and leaving two other people in critical condition, authorities said. (Credit: AP)

Community members stand at the site of a home fire in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York March 21, 2015. Seven children from an Orthodox Jewish family died early on Saturday when flames ripped through their Brooklyn home in one of New York City’s deadliest fires in years, officials said. The blaze erupted in the single-family dwelling around 12:30 a.m. (0430 GMT). It apparently was started accidentally by a hot plate, used by many Orthodox families to warm food on the Sabbath, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.  (Credit: REUTERS)

Community members stand outside a home which caught fire in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York March 21, 2015. In one of New York City’s deadliest fires in years, seven children from the same Orthodox Jewish family died early on Saturday when flames ripped through their Brooklyn home, officials said. The blaze, which erupted just before 12:30 a.m. (0430 GMT), appeared to have been started accidentally by a hot plate, which are used by many Orthodox families to warm food on the Sabbath, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.  (Credit: REUTERS)

New York City firefighters enter the house where a fire hours earlier ripped through the home leaving seven children dead and two other people in critical condition in Brooklyn in New York , USA, 21 March 2015. It is believed the fire was caused by a malfunctioning hot plate left on for the Sabbath. New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the deceased children range in ages from 5 to 15 years old. (Credit: EPA)

New York City firefighters enter the house where a fire hours earlier ripped through the home leaving seven children dead and two other people in critical condition in Brooklyn in New York , USA, 21 March 2015. It is believed the fire was caused by a malfunctioning hot plate left on for the Sabbath. New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the deceased children range in ages from 5 to 15 years old. (Credit: EPA)

A New York City firefighter (L) inspects the debris at the rear of the house where a fire hours earlier ripped through the home leaving seven children dead and two other people in critical condition in Brooklyn in New York , USA, 21 March 2015. It is believed the fire was caused by a malfunctioning hot plate left on for the Sabbath. New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the deceased children range in ages from 5 to 15 years old. (Credit: EPA)

Firefighters leave the scene of an overnight fire in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, March 21, 2015. The fire raged through a residence early Saturday, killing seven children and leaving two other people in critical condition, authorities said. (Credit: AP)

Firefighters walk near the scene of a fire, center left, in which seven children died in the Brooklyn borough of New York Saturday, March 21, 2015. (Credit: AP)

JAMES BAKER ADVISING JEB BUSH, KEYNOTING J STREET CONFERENCE

Oh Oh ... tzuris! 

Arafat, buddy of James Bake

Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III is to deliver the keynote at this weekend’s J Street conference, a gathering of left-wing, self-hating Jewish activists opposed to the Israeli government and to recently re-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Baker, who served under President George H.W. Bush, is also advising Gov. Jeb Bush on foreign policy in his presidential effort–at Bush’s invitation. Baker is considered hostile to Israel and is controversial among Jewish voters.

As the Algemeiner notes:

Baker is of course infamous for reportedly saying in private conversation, while George HW Bush’s secretary of state, “F**k the Jews, they didn’t vote for us anyway.”

But his antipathy towards Israel is well documented. He wanted the US to punish Israel for destroying Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor. He hated Netanyahu as early as 1990, barring him from entering the State Department’s building. And last but not least, he co-wrote the Iraq Study Group’s 2006 paper that recommended (among other things) that the US tilt its foreign policy away from Israel and towards Syria and Iran, advice that President Obama seems to have taken to heart.

The J Street conference will also feature Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, a firebrand who propagated the lie that Israel committed a “massacre” during counter-terror operations in Jenin in 2002. The Obama administration is sending White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough to headline the conference. J Street actively opposes Benjamin Netanyahu and the conference is expected to provide an opportunity for his American critics to vent.

Baker told Larry King earlier this week on that he is on “Team Jeb”: “Frankly, I have talked to Governor Bush a little bit about foreign policy, and he talked to me about listing me as one of his advisors, and I said I’d be honored to be listed.”

He also criticized the Republican Senators who had signed a letter to the leaders of Iran warning them that any nuclear deal would have to be ratified by the U.S. Senate to have lasting effect. “I’m a creature of the executive branch,” Baker said.

Obama forcing Israel to 67' borders thru UN Security Council

After years of blocking U.N. efforts to pressure Israelis and Palestinians into accepting a lasting two-state solution, the United States is edging closer toward supporting a U.N. Security Council resolution that would call for the resumption of political talks to conclude a final peace settlement, according to Western diplomats.

The move follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decisive re-election Tuesday after the incumbent publicly abandoned his commitment to negotiate a Palestinian state — the basis of more than 20 years of U.S. diplomatic efforts — and promised to continue the construction of settlements on occupied territory. The development also reflects deepening pessimism over the prospect of U.S.-brokered negotiations delivering peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Shortly before this week’s election, the United States informed its diplomatic partners that it would hold off any moves in the U.N. Security Council designed to put Israel on the spot at the United Nations in the event that Netanyahu’s challenger, Isaac Herzog, won the election. But U.S. officials signaled a willingness to consider a U.N. resolution in the event that Netanyahu was re-elected and formed a coalition government opposed to peace talks. The United States has not yet circulated a draft, but diplomats say Washington has set some red lines and is unwilling to agree to set a fixed deadline for political talks to conclude.

“The more the new government veers to the right the more likely you will see something in New York,” said a Western diplomat.

Netanyahu’s government will likely be made up of right-wing and Orthodox parties adamantly opposed to making concessions to Palestinians. According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli leader has already consulted with party leaders he plans to add to his coalition, including Naftali Bennett of the pro-settlement Jewish Home party, Avigdor Lieberman of the far-right nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, and leaders of the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties.

On Wednesday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki did not rule out the possibility of the United States supporting a U.N. resolution on Israel-Palestine.

“We’re currently evaluating our approach. We’re not going to prejudge what we would do if there was a U.N. action,” she told reporters.

For decades, Democratic and Republican administrations have resisted a role for the U.N. Security Council in dealing with the Middle East crisis. They have argued consistently that an enduring peace can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties. Israeli leaders have also strongly opposed giving the world body a greater role in bringing about a deal.

However, the prospect of direct negotiations appeared to evaporate with Netanyahu’s pre-election declaration that he would never allow the creation of a Palestinian state. The comment completely reversed the Israeli leader’s previous support for an independent Palestine as part of a permanent peace deal between the two sides.

The deliberations over the future of the U.S. diplomatic efforts are playing out just weeks before the Palestinians are scheduled to join the International Criminal Court, a move that is certain to heighten diplomatic tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. On Wednesday, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s top diplomat in the United States told Foreign Policy the Palestinians would move forward with plans to use the ICC to try to hold Israel accountable for alleged war crimes during last summer’s war in Gaza. (Israel says it worked hard to avoid civilian casualties, of which there were many, and blames Hamas militants for taking shelter in populated areas.)

“The fact that we have a government in Israel publicly opposing a two-state solution just reinforces our position that this conflict must be handled by the international community,” Maen Rashid Areikat said.

Ilan Goldenberg, a former member of the Obama administration’s Mideast peace team, told FP that Washington might be inclined to support a Security Council resolution backing a two-state solution as an alternative to the Palestinian effort to hold Israel accountable at the ICC.

“If it was done, it could protect Israel from a worse outcome,” he said.

Under this scenario, the United States would seek guarantees from the international community to hold off on ICC activity in exchange for a Security Council resolution outlining international standards for a final peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians.

“The Israelis will probably resist and say this is a bad idea, but they could also be convinced that this is better than the alternative,” said Goldenberg.

The window for this type of U.N. initiative is small. U.S. officials are unlikely to act during the contentious Iran negotiations, which are set to end in late June, Goldenberg said. But the administration will not want to wait until the 2016 presidential race kicks into high gear, as any Democratic nominee would likely advise the White House against upsetting the party’s influential pro-Israel supporters.

“Don’t expect anything to move until the summer,” said Goldenberg.

European and Arab governments, including France and the Palestinians, will likely want to move more quickly at the United Nations.

The Palestinians had been pressing the U.N. Security Council for months last year to adopt a resolution demanding that Israel end its occupation of Palestinian lands within three years. The United States threatened to veto the Palestinian initiative. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power called it “unbalanced” because it failed to take into consideration Israel’s security concerns. But in the end, the Palestinians were unable to muster the nine votes needed for passage in the 15-nation Security Council, sparing the United States the need to veto.

But France, which is seeking a broader diplomatic role in the Middle East, had also been pushing for a separate resolution, which calls for the resumption of political talks between Israelis and Palestinians in order to conclude a comprehensive peace settlement. In December, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Paris and other European governments that the United States would block the resolution if it were put to a vote before the Israeli election.

But one European diplomat said that there was “a broad understanding” at the time “that this was something that could be revisited post-election.” So far, U.S. talks with European allies have taken place in Washington and other capitals. There have been no substantive talks in New York among Security Council members.

France, however, recently renewed its appeal to the United States to consider taking up the issue before the council, according to diplomats familiar with the matter.

The United States, according to the diplomats, gave no firm commitment. But the administration indicated that it was willing to consider action in the council once a coalition government is put into place.

“I think they probably just want to see how it pans out,” said one U.N.-based diplomat. “But certainly the message we got back in December was that they might be able to show more flexibility after the election.”

Security Council diplomats say there remain significant differences between the U.S. approach and that of France. “There are discrepancies between the U.S. and European positions but I think they will bridge them soon,” said an Arab diplomat. “The key elements are the same: a framework for a peaceful solution that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state … plus guarantees for Israel’s long-term security.” The United States is unlikely to hit Israel or the Palestinians with punitive measures if they fail to comply.

During a recent meeting of U.S. and European officials in Washington, a senior State Department official said the United States was considering a draft resolution at the Security Council but that no decision had been made.

Of course, two other options lie before the Obama administration with regard to the Israel-Palestine issue: continuing to reflexively back Israel at the United Nations, and simply enduring the widespread criticism of the international community, or raising the pressure on Jerusalem by abstaining from a U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlements.

In 2011, the United States vetoed a resolution demanding that Israel’s settlement activity cease immediately — even though it was in line with U.S. policy. The measure was sponsored by nearly two-thirds of the U.N.’s membership and received a 14-1 vote on the Security Council.

“If there was a settlement resolution, would the U.S. abstain? I could see that as a possibility,” said Goldenberg.

In the wake of Israel’s election, U.N. and Israeli officials exchanged sharp words after U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq called on the new Israeli government to halt “illegal settlement-building in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

In response to the statement, Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., snapped back: “If the U.N. is so concerned about the future of the Palestinian people, it should be asking … why Hamas uses the Palestinian people as human shields.”

CNN has lots of eggs on its face!

by Breitbart

All day long yesterday, CNN was relentlessly beating the drum and practically celebrating the forgone conclusion that sitting Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu was about to lose the elections. Every move Netanyahu made over the past few weeks that outraged Obama and his media allies was framed by CNN today as a blunder - from the speech he made before Congress to sounding the alarm today about Israeli Leftists busing Arabs to the polls.

CNN was quite obviously setting up a Narrative to explain and gloat over what polls said was almost certain to be a Netanyahu defeat.

A funny thing happened at 4 pm ET when the exit polls from Israel came in. Netanyahu was tied or slightly ahead. An hour later news reports suggested Netanyahu had already cobbled together enough allies from other parties to form a governing coalition. This means he will remain Prime Minister. This is why he took to Twitter to declare victory.

By 6pm, the biggest story in the world, and one of the biggest electoral upsets in recent memory, was no longer the biggest story on CNN. Despite all the domestic and international ramifications of Netanyahu’s almost certain victory, despite all the backfilling CNN had done all day to “explain” Netanyahu’s defeat, Netanyahu’s upset did not lead CNN’s 6 pm hour with Wolf Blitzer. Netanyahu giving his victory speech did not lead the 7 pm hour with Erin Burnett.

At 6 pm and 7pm, CNN decided that the story of the night was … a single Air Force veteran trying to join ISIS.

At around 7:10 pm, Burnett finally decided it was time to talk about the Israeli elections, and when she did she read a chyron that read, “Is Netanyahu About to Lose?” Not “Too Close to Call.” Not “Bibi Upset Victory?” Nope. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, CNN stuck to its “about to lose” narrative.-

Things got much worse.

An obviously rattled Burnett came back from commercial and then went on to prove she knows absolutely nothing about how the Israeli government works. For some ignorant reason she is under the impression that a tie or something close to it means Netanyahu is weakened and will - this is a direct quote - “have to share a significant amount of power with Isaac Herzog.”

Apparently you can become a primetime CNN anchor without knowing anything about Israel’s coalition government system.

Does anyone have any more questions about why Fox News is now the most trusted name in news?

CNN isn’t alone. But CNN was the news outlet that had gone further out on a limb than any other in gambling big on a Netanyahu loss.

As far as the rest of our unbiased, objective media, let me put it this way: All the planned and hotly anticipated “Did Bibi’s Speech to Congress Backfire?” narratives and thought pieces will not be replaced with “Did Obama’s Meddling In the Israeli Elections Backfire?” narratives and thought pieces.

The media likely lost this one, which can only mean one thing: the world will be a better and safer place.

Now read:

read Commentary’s Jonathan Tobin:

Within moments of the announcement of the exit polls, some of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s critics were claiming his likely win in today’s Knesset election was the result of a crude, racist appeal to voters. 

The justification for this charge was a speech made by Netanyahu and released only on social media because of restrictions on campaign appeals in the media, telling the country that left-wing groups funded by foreign money were busing Arab voters to the polls in order to elect a left-wing government led by his Zionist Union rival Isaac Herzog. Netanyahu’s opponents interpreted this as an appeal to racism. The statement was unfortunate because it made it seem as if the prime minister viewed Arab voters as somehow illegitimate. But the voters likely saw it in a different light. The prospect of a left-wing government that depended on the Joint Arab List was always unlikely. But a critical mass of voters viewed the prospect with alarm not because they’re racists but because a government that relied on the votes of anti-Zionists that favor Israel’s dissolution was something they considered a danger to the future of their country…Though Western journalists mocked Netanyahu’s comments about wanting to prevent a “Hamasistan” in the West Bank, the voters in Israel largely agreed. That doesn’t make them racist or extreme. It means they are, like most Americans, realists. They may not like Netanyahu but today’s results demonstrates that there is little support for a government that would make the sort of concessions to the Palestinians that President Obama would like. They rightly believe that even if Israel did make more concessions it would only lead to more violence, not peace. Israel’s foreign critics and friends need to understand that in the end, it was those convictions have, for all intents and purposes, re-elected Netanyahu.

Netanyahu's big win shocks Liberal Media and Pollsters

Embarrassed at failing to predict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s election victory, Israeli pollsters said on Wednesday they were blindsided by reticent rightist voters and may have unwittingly prodded waverers to back the incumbent.

Netanyahu’s Likud won 30 of parliament’s 120 seats in Tuesday’s ballot, against 24 for the center-left Zionist Union - upsetting opinion surveys that as recently as Friday gave the challenger a four-seat lead.

Exit polls also proved unreliable. Israel’s top three television stations, airing first returns as voting booths closed, found the parties close or tied. Had that been borne out, either could have potentially headed the next government.

Instead, during overnight counting, Likud’s tally went from 27 seats to 30 and the Zionist Union’s from 27 to 24.

Grilled on the discrepancy, Channel 2 TV’s veteran pollster Mina Tzemach said many Likud voters declined to take part in replicating their vote in the dummy ballot boxes set up by survey-taking companies outside voting stations.

Even though exit polls are anonymous, she suggested such reticence might have cultural roots for Israelis originally from countries with different political regimes in which they worry about sharing their private voting choices.

“In certain voting stations, voting stations in places where there are a lot of new immigrants, pro-Likud ballot boxes, the percent of those who voted (in the exit polls) was especially low,” Tzemach told Israel’s Army Radio.

Fellow survey-taker Camil Fuchs agreed, saying final counts from voting stations he had monitored showed that a significant number of Likud supporters had not participated in exit polls.

If they did participate, they may also not have been honest about the way they voted and as exit polls close earlier than the real polls, a last-minute surge in Likud votes, in response to a call from Netanyahu, may have been missed, he said.

“Some people don’t say (in exit polls) what they really voted, and the exit polls close about two hours before the voting booths,” Fuchs told Israel Radio.

Israeli election forecasts have been wrong before - in 1981, when the Likud narrowly won; in 1992 about the return to left-wing Labor party rule; and in 1996, when Netanyahu toppled Labor incumbent Shimon Peres for his first term in office.

Recent reliance on Internet-based studies has thrown another spanner in the works, according to Avi Degani, an Israeli pollster who says he conducted telephone surveys exclusively. Since last month, he has been the only one consistently predicting a victory for Netanyahu.

Degani said Web-based “panels,” made up of tens of thousands of pre-selected respondents, rarely reflect Israeli society accurately as they favor the tech-savvy, educated and urbane.

“The Internet does not represent the State of Israel or the people of Israel. (It is) biased strongly toward Tel Aviv,” Degani told reporters in a conference call arranged by the Israel Project advocacy group, referring to Israel’s second largest city and financial capital.

“People who are in the periphery ... and have a stronger tendency to vote Likud are, I think, very poorly represented.”

In separate remarks to Reuters, Degani said Israeli pollsters were always bedevilled by some 30 percent of citizens whose votes are unknowable - either because they waver until the last minute or end up backing fringe parties that do not muster enough support to enter parliament and are nixed from the tally.

“We are talking about 20 parliament seats that could go either way. It is almost impossible to tackle statistically.”

Still, Degani said he anticipated Netanyahu’s win by finding that at least half of wavering voters would choose Likud, adding that some of those respondents viewed themselves as rallying against Zionist Union’s strong showing in opinion polls.

“It is a highly emotional matter in Israel, and the Likud had the added advantage of being the last party, with the possible exception of (liberal) Meretz, of having a defined ideology. The rest are just about personalities,” Degani said.

Gedoili Yisroel Voting .... Satmar Anti-voting Campaign Collapses ... "Falshe SHIT'eh"

Satmar Animals cursing Rav Shteinman, Viznitzer Rebbe, Gerrer Rebbe and the Belzer Rebbe, because they all voted!

Here see Gedoilim Voting, ignoring the Roumanian savages!

Rav Shteinman on way to vote

Rav Kanievsky Voting

Rav Dov Landau Rosh Yeshiva Slobodka

Rav Yitzchok Scheiner Rosh yeshiva Kaminetz

Rav Nissim Karlitz Rosh Kollel Chazon Ish

Rav Azriel Auerbach 

Netanyahu Stays ......

Officials close to President Reuven Rivlin told Channel 1 late Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will form the next coalition if Kulanu head Moshe Kahlon offers his endorsement of the incumbent.


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared victory after a tight national election appeared to give him the upper hand in forming the country's next coalition government.

 In a statement released on Twitter, Netanyahu says that "against all odds" his Likud party and the nationalist camp secured a "great victory." Initial exit polls showed Netanyahu's Likud Party deadlocked with the center-left Zionist Union (Labor). But the results indicated that Netanyahu will have an easier time cobbling together a majority coalition