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ASEAN countries have improving ties with Russia as they look to access its markets and source cheap energy and commodities

“It’s not clear who is considered the enemy – if it’s the families [of the kidnapped soldiers] or the terror organization who holds the soldier hostage.”

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

A notorious terrorist was freed and returned to the Gaza Strip on Sunday after serving more than 20 years in an Israeli prison, sparking outrage from the family of an IDF soldier whose body was kidnapped by the man’s brother.

Hebrew-language media reported late Sunday evening that Yusuf Masoud, a senior member of Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was released from incarceration to a hero’s welcome in Gaza.

Masoud was arrested in 2003 for firing rockets at Israelis communities in the coastal enclave, before the 2005 disengagement saw all Jewish residents evacuated from the Strip.

One of Masoud’s brothers, Yassin, was killed during clashes between the IDF and Hamas.

Another brother, Walid Masoud, was the head commander of a Hamas unit responsible for the 2014 operation in which IDF soldier Hadar Goldin was killed and his body taken hostage by the terrorists.

The terror cell successfully seized Goldin’s corpse and refuses to return it to his family for burial to this day, as they plan to leverage the body as a bartering chip in a future prisoner exchange.

Tzur Goldin, the brother of the late soldier, told Walla News that the family had not been informed in advance about Masoud’s release.

“No one spoke to us until now, no one bothered to update us. Until today, we are being brushed aside, and this reflects the Israeli attitude and treatment of the families of hostages,” he told Walla News.

In recent years, Goldin’s family has been vocal about their feelings that the Israeli government has treated them with contempt during their quest to return their loved one’s body for burial.

“It’s not clear who is considered the enemy – if it’s the families [of the kidnapped soldiers] or the terror organization who holds the soldier hostage,” Tzur Goldin said.

By releasing Masoud, he added, Israel is emboldening the terror organization.

“Hamas is the one who sets the prices, who defines the language, and we are playing into their hands,” he said

As a result, he said, “Either we pay a heavy price and free terrorists, or we destroy our mutual solidarity, a supreme value and interest, without which our society will be destroyed.

“There is a supreme principle that we don’t leave a soldier behind. If you want to change this, go ahead, but there is a supreme principle [at stake.]”

The post ‘Playing into Hamas’ hands’ – Kidnapped IDF soldier’s family slams terrorist’s release from prison appeared first on World Israel News.

During largest-ever military drill simulating multi-front war, Netanyahu implies that Israel can take on Iranian threat, even without support from Washington.

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted that Israel is prepared to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat, even without the support of the U.S., during a major military drill simulating war with the Islamic Republic.

In late May, the Israeli army launched its largest-ever exercise, called Operation Firm Hand, to prepare for a multifront military clash. The drill saw active-duty soldiers and reservists from nearly all units of the military prepare for a war involving aerial, naval, and ground attacks.

As part of the drill, the air force practiced mock strikes on military sites in enemy territory – presumably simulating an airstrike on an Iranian nuclear site.

“We are confident we can handle any threat on our own,” said Netanyahu from the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening, where the security cabinet met as part of an exercise simulating a decision-making scenario during wartime.

“The reality in our region is changing rapidly. We are not stagnating. We are adjusting our war doctrine and our options of action in accordance with these changes, in accordance with our goals which do not change,” Netanyahu was quoted by Hebrew-language media as saying.

Israel is “committed to acting against the Iranian nuclear program, against missile attacks on the State of Israel and against the possibility of the convergence of the arenas, what we call a multi-front campaign,” he added.

“We are sure and confident that we can deal with any threat on our own, and also with other means.”

Netanyahu’s comments appeared to address rumors that the U.S. is currently seeking an interim nuclear deal with Iran, brokered by the Gulf country of Oman.

According to recent reports, Washington has floated the idea of lifting many of the sanctions currently crippling Iran’s economy in exchange for a promise from Tehran that they will freeze aspects of their nuclear development program – much to the chagrin of Israel.

Israeli officials are worried that Iran will not keep to its end of the bargain and leverage the sanctions relief as an opportunity to continue funding its proxies in the region.

The post Israel can handle Iran threat on its own, says Netanyahu during drill appeared first on World Israel News.

Preparing to Wage a Nuclear War? Nuclear Attack F-16 Fighters to Ukraine

By Manlio Dinucci, June 03, 2023

The United States has begun a training programme for the Ukrainian Air Force in the use of F-16 fighters. Several European …

The post Selected Articles: Preparing to Wage a Nuclear War? Nuclear Attack F-16 Fighters to Ukraine appeared first on Global Research.

Joe Biden’s problem is not his age per se but his deteriorating mental and physical capacity. This is not a distinction without a difference since the two often diverge.

Of course, this is not to deny that they often go together, as I can affirm from my own experience. I am younger than the President but notice my own deterioration, and not only my knees. Ideas and arguments still come easily, but remembering names, which are usually disconnected from any analytical threads, is much harder, something my friends of similar age also report.

In an academic discussion I can quote verbatim from Why Liberalism Failed or some other volume and discourse on the themes of that book by, by, by … that guy, whatshisname? If someone nudges me with “Deneen” then that is enough to jar the old synapses and I can quickly add “Patrick Deneen” and further drone on about why I found the book unpersuasive, mainly because it is too rationalistic, as though politics is the unfolding of abstract ideas.

In other respects, my memory is still excellent. I can even remember things that never actually happened—or at least never happened as my memory says they had. I remember on the morning of 9/11 being evacuated as part of a remarkably disciplined crowd from the Capitol itself, where we were about to hold a much long-planned event on Sudan. But, later, I have been corrected by many other participants that we were not exiting the Capitol but the adjacent Rayburn House Office building. This was a mere block away, so the key themes are true but, still, there was something important which my memory had blurred, perhaps to increase the drama of the occasion. This latter seems to be a widespread malady, especially among politicians and senior journalists who recount amplified or even false versions of their adventures under fire.

So, yes, of course our mental powers usually do deteriorate with age.

What was I saying….?

Ah yes, but age itself is only one dimension and is not per se determinative. 

I am working on a book about John Perkins, who is 93-years-old, born a sharecropper in Mississippi in 1930. He’s slowed down a bit but he has still been turning out almost a book a year, a lot more than I have.

Konrad Adenauer served in a key and demanding role when in 1949 at the age of 73 he became the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, tasked with rebuilding a country that had become a pariah and that had been devastated a mere four years before. He inherited from its foreign military governors a broken, divided, and vilified country. He bore this load for fourteen years, stepping down only in 1963 at which point he was 87. He served a further three years, until he was 90, as the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a party he co-founded, and which was the dominant force in the country under his leadership. Whether you agree with his politics or not, by nearly every account, he was on top of the job—indeed, his critics charged that he tended to make most of the major decisions himself and treated his ministers as mere extensions of his authority. Whatever he may have been, he was not a fading political force.

Or take Andy Marshall, the long-time head of the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment. This is a think tank in the Department of Defense. It was not merely one of such many outfits but was a core one—hence the “net” assessment—a place where to draw on many, many resources to reach an integrated overview of the world situation we face. He was a genius at this, the Yoda of the Defense Department. In an interview in 2012, Major General Chen Zhou, the main author of four Chinese defense white papers, stated that Marshall was one of the most important figures in changing Chinese defense thinking in the 1990s and 2000s. The Washington Post obituary was the one that referred to him as the “Yoda” of defense policy. He retired in 2015 at the age of 94.

On May 27, Henry Kissinger had his hundredth birthday, and I still read eagerly anything he writes. You can disagree with what he says, but he is certainly not past it. I wouldn’t put him in a position that requires energy in the executive, but even now he would be a wonderful advisor.

Nancy Pelosi was until January 2022 the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Born in 1940, she is older than the President by about two years, but in office until she was 81, did not appear to have lost a step. To borrow a CNN phrase, she was in her prime. Many Republicans, stymied by her political abilities, would perhaps have wished fervently that she had shown more of Biden’s deficiencies, but she did not seem to.

In a slightly related matter, several of the more scurrilous tweets that regularly cross my desk intimate that she drinks a lot. I do not say that this is true but, if it were, I would have advised Democrats to follow Lincoln’s advice. The New York Times reported in 1863 that “When someone charged Gen. Grant, in the President’s hearing, with drinking too much liquor, Mr. Lincoln, recalling Gen. Grant’s successes, said that if he could find out what brand of whiskey Grant drank, he would send a barrel of it to all the other commanders.”

Where was I…?

Oh yes, it is not President Biden’s age per se that is key, but the fitness of his mind and body. He may at times be sharp and alert, but perhaps only for a limited period each day. His official schedule is reportedly very light–little in the early day or after the late afternoon. But what if one of the newly released to Ukraine F-16s attacks Russian territory and Putin responds with a tactical nuclear strike on a relatively unpopulated area? This would require an horrifically difficult decision from any American President. FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Reagan, even at the top of their game, would be very hard pressed in knowing how best to respond. But it is much more terrifying yet if the question of proper response were to land on the desk or phone of a tired and befuddled President.

We should avoid the common American infatuation with youth and a tendency to exclude the old because they are old, as if this world were created yesterday and we hubristically believe that we can learn little or nothing from what has come before. The young can learn from the experience of the old just as the old can learn from the novelties created by the young.

There are people much older than we who function very well, in politics as elsewhere. And older people can also bring vast practical experience unavailable to the young. We need experienced Yodas who have actually “been there.” If not, fail we shall and regret we will.

The worries about President Biden should not be focused on his age: the world is full of older energetic, talented people. The key issue is the reported deterioration of his faculties. We should focus not on age but on ability.

The post It’s Not the President’s Age, But His Failing Faculties appeared first on Providence.

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A source told World Israel News that Angel Bakery, the largest bread chain in the country, is shutting down branches in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, where it is no longer worthwhile to remain open.

By World Israel News Staff

A boycott by the Haredi community against Angel Bakery, Israel’s largest bakery chain, is taking its toll.

Angel Bakery, which is headquartered in Jerusalem but provides baked goods to restaurants, supermarkets, and stores throughout the country, sells price-controlled and government-subsidized products that are a staple in millions of homes in Israel. But sales plummetted tremendously since the start of the boycott a month ago.

Ultra-Orthodox lawmakers called for the boycott at the beginning of May after its chairman, former public security minister Omer Bar-Lev, protested outside the home of 100-year-old Ashkenazi scion Rabbi Gershon Edelstein in Bnei Brak.

Bar-Lev had posted a photo of himself with the “Brothers in Arms” protest group on Twitter, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yariv Levin of bribing the Haredi parties to “vote in favor of the coup d’état,” referring to the government’s plans for judicial reform, in exchange for the the Draft Law, exempting young ultra-Orthodox men from the army.

Several lawmakers and religious community leaders slammed Bar-Lev. MK Limor Son Har-Melech (Religious Zionism), for example, told Kan News, “It cannot be that the chair of Angel’s Board of Directors goes to protest at the home of one of the greatest [rabbis] of this generation. Bar-Lev’s remarks are very problematic, hostile, deeply hateful, and ignorant of this world.”

“The boycott will end when Omer Bar-Lev faces judgment. The boycott needs to continue until he is fired,” she added.

The Haredi community demanded that Bar-Lev be fired for disrespecting the Torah and the revered spiritual leader.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Edelstein – head of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community in Israel and head of the renowned Ponovezh yeshiva – passed away last week after a sudden deterioration in health. Tens of thousands of people from all walks of life attended the funeral.

A source who requested anonymity told World Israel News that Angel is suffering tremendously due to the boycott, despite the fact that the company had tried disregarding it.

“Every day,” the source said, “they have tons of unsold goods. Their business is seriously impacted, to the point where they are shutting down branches in Haredi neighborhoods because it’s not profitable for them.”

Perhaps due to the company’s profound losses, Bar-Lev paid a condolence call to the family during the shiva mourning period and offered his “sincere apologies” for the insult. In a letter, he wrote:

“I view the existence of the Torah and its students as an important value in Jewish tradition, that is not what I protested against.

“If I had been made aware of the situation we found ourselves in, and the perceived offense, I surely would have refrained from this action. For this, I am sorry and apologize sincerely.”

He was accompanied by the company’s CEO Yaron Angel, who also wrote a letter of apology.

“We should have said this immediately after the protest and expressed our sorrow. In real time, we thought such a reaction would involve the firm in political matters in which, for decades, we have not wanted to get involved,” he said, although the demonstration in front of the rabbi’s home was purely political.

“But this silence was interpreted as a further insult. We are sorry for this and apologize wholeheartedly,” he concluded.

Before the rabbi’s passing, none other than Yoel Speigel, a grandson of the bakery’s late founder, defended Bar-Lev in a now-deleted Facebook post that added insult to injury.

“There is no limit to the chutzpah on the part of the ultra-Orthodox public in Israel,” he said. “They eat for free … evade army service, have dark opinions and, above all, are hypocrites!”

Spiegel’s comments triggered additional calls for yeshivas and grocery stores owned by community members to avoid stocking Angel Bakery products.

“Rabbi Edelstein is one of the spiritual giants of the people of Israel. One of the greatest righteous men of our generation. Hurting him is hurting me. It is an insult to all who love God. I’m not able to eat one bun from Angel after all of this,” said Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, one of Israel’s most prominent Religious Zionist rabbis.

“This is not revenge. This is a public campaign regarding the character of the State of Israel. Those who care about the State of Israel will not buy Angel products until they mend their ways,” he stated.

“There are enough other bakeries that know how to bake delicious challah for Shabbat. And if you don’t find it, it’s better to eat rye bread and not eat [Angel’s] challah.”

President Isaac Herzog reportedly helped coordinate Bar-Lev’s shiva visit.

The post Large Israeli bakery chain suffering huge losses; execs apologize to family of late rabbi, hoping to end boycott appeared first on World Israel News.

Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of New York City on Sunday afternoon with the Celebrate Israel parade, marking 75 years after the establishment of the State of Israel. The event, which kicked off on Fifth Avenue, included Israeli and American government officials and featured famous singer Matisyahu.

At the same time, hundreds, including many Israeli ex-pats, demonstrated in a “pro-democracy” rally against the Netanyahu government’s planned judicial overhaul.

#HappeningNow: The annual @CelebrateIsrael parade kicks off on #NewYorkCity‘s 5th Ave. pic.twitter.com/7c2dTaqaJM

— Israel National News – Arutz Sheva (@ArutzSheva_En) June 4, 2023

The post WATCH: Tens of thousands join Celebrate Israel parade in New York City appeared first on World Israel News.

On May 26, a 24-year-old, Alicia Moore of Orlando, Florida left her car parked outside the Oviedo Mall with her two little ones inside. As Moore entered the Dillard’s department store to shoplift with an unknown man, little did she know that her vehicle was about to burst into flames.

When Moore emerged from the store, her car was already a smoldering wreck. She left behind the stolen merchandise and ran to the vehicle to rescue her children. But the two kids had already been helped out the back window by passersby, who had come to their aid as the flames consumed the car.

Dashcam footage from a Tesla parked nearby shows the car’s back window and windshield shattering from the flames and smoke. Fortunately, the children only suffered minor first-degree burns on the face and ears. Following the incident, Moore was apprehended last week and charged with aggravated child neglect, arson, and petty theft and battery charges. She is presently held in Seminole County Jail on a $48,000 bond.

The origins of this fire remain murky, but the car was destroyed beyond repair. Moore’s negligent behavior puts her two innocent children in an inexcusably hazardous situation. It is a miracle that everyone escaped unscathed, and Moore should be taken to task for her decisions.