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The discussions on the creation of platforms such as BRICS+ that would bring together some of the regional integration blocks of the BRICS economies into a common platform of “integration of integrations” have progressed slowly at best

The Occupation and Jewish Values

By Prof. Alon Ben-Meir, July 11, 2023

The intensifying violent encounters between the two sides since the beginning of the year have claimed the lives of 147 Palestinians and 23 Israelis. The vicious cycle …

The post Selected Articles: The Occupation and Jewish Values appeared first on Global Research.

The defense minister has already gone on record saying that terror organizations are not influenced by Israel holding on to their dead.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has nixed a colleague’s bill that would prohibit the return of terrorists’ bodies without specific permission from the prime minister, Israel Hayom reported Wednesday.

MK Eliyahu Revivo, a Likud backbencher, had proposed that corpses of those killed during or following their terrorist attack would be buried in the cemetery Israel has for its enemies.

The purpose of the bill, says its explanatory note, is to prevent the mass incitement to terror that the subsequent public funerals become, with calls for more anti-Israel attacks emanating from the crowds.

“In recent years, we have witnessed a growing phenomenon in which, after terrorist attacks, expressions of support, encouragement, or identification with the act of terrorism, the threat, the organization to which he belonged, or the ideology in whose name he committed the act of terrorism are heard. In particular, this is expressed during the burial rites,” the note reads.

Although these events have escalated into “a phenomenon that actually endangers the peace and security of the public,” it continues, the political echelon has been pressured by “international or legal authorities” to return the bodies.

However, it did give an out, whereby the prime minister could decide to give the body to the family “for special reasons.”

Revivo requested that it be submitted for approval by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday, with an eye to bringing it to the Knesset plenum for a preliminary vote next Wednesday.

“The bodies of terrorists do not constitute an asset that affects the terrorist organizations in prisoner and missing persons deals, except in exceptional cases related to Hamas terrorists,” Gallant’s office said in a statement. “We prepare for these circumstances in any case, so there is no need for this law.”

The defense minister said the same thing in May, when he released four bodies of terrorists to the Palestinian Authority and was criticized for doing so by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. It “does not interest” the terror organizations and “won’t affect the decisions of [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar in Gaza,” Gallant said.

He attacked Ben-Gvir’s assertion that returning bodies is a sign of weakness to the Palestinians and a concession for which Israel gets no return. “These statements erode the souls of the families of the missing and create in them the wrong feeling that not enough is being done for them, which of course is not true,” he said.

With Gallant’s veto, Revivo withdrew the bill from the committee’s agenda, saying that he knows it won’t pass without the defense minister’s support.

The proposal has been floated before, having been submitted by the Religious Zionism party in the last Knesset. Several members of the Opposition support it as well, with MKs Ze’ev Elkin and Sharren Haskel from the National Unity party having already submitted it in the current term.

The post Gallant nixes bill prohibiting return of terrorists’ bodies appeared first on World Israel News.

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Operation Underground Railroad founder Tim Ballard reacts to media outlets smearing ‘Sound of Freedom’ on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’ Who are they protecting?

The post WATCH: Pedophiles ‘salivating’ at media outlets ripping film exposing child trafficking appeared first on World Israel News.

Preferring to make cash payments to terrorists and their families, PA refuses Israeli offer to rescue entity from the brink of collapse.

By World Israel News Staff

The embattled Palestinian Authority, which analysts and security officials fear is teetering on the brink of collapse, refused an offer from Israel to help shore up its power because the support mandated that the body stop paying salaries to terrorists and their families.

The PA has long maintained a “pay-for-slay” policy, which sees the entity pay out millions of dollars in stipends annually to Palestinians convicted of murdering Jews, along with their dependents.

These payments are often more than the average Palestinian earns in a month, and investigations have found that international aid from foreign countries and NGOs may be illicitly used for the salaries.

For years, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to hold elections, cracked down on his opponents, including killing political critics, and engaged in security cooperation with Israel – all moves that are extremely unpopular among his constituents.

Multiple polls have found that the vast majority of Palestinians want Abbas to resign and believe that the PA is an irredeemably corrupt institution. Some surveys have found that they would prefer to be governed by the Hamas terror group.

Following a recent Israeli counter-terror raid on Jenin, public anger against the PA has continued to mount. Due to its inability to effectively push back against the Israeli incursion into its territory, the PA has lost legitimacy in the eyes of many Palestinians.

Due to the potential for widespread instability in PA-controlled territory in Judea and Samaria should the institution collapse, Israeli cabinet officials recently voted to approve a number of measures that could strengthen the PA.

But one of the conditions for the support was a suspension of the pay-for-slay program, which was vehemently rejected by PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh.

“Abbas has expressed this position on more than one occasion,” Shtayyeh said in a media statement. Shtayyeh was pointing to a previous statement by Abbas, who pledged that even if the PA “only a penny left, we will give it to the martyrs [terrorists], the prisoners, and their families.”

The post Bankrupt PA rejects Israeli support, no end to pay-for-slay appeared first on World Israel News.

One positive outcome of China’s growing influence in the Western Hemisphere is a glimmer of renewed interest in US-Latin American relations. Since the end of the Cold War, there’s been little in the way of coherent US strategy for this region. Engagement has usually been ad hoc, crisis-driven, and Latin American allies have noticed. But the US is about to pay a high price for classifying Latin American policy as an indulgence and needs to pivot before it’s too late.  

Just as President James Monroe made clear to European powers in 1823 that they were not welcome in the Western Hemisphere, President Biden needs show Beijing he will not accommodate their colonization of Latin America. A new foreign policy for Latin America, one with couture tailoring for individual countries, is needed for the US to remain competitive in a second Cold War.   

But the US is skeptical of engaging abroad. Voters have a hard time pointing to the tangible benefits partnerships bring. This is particularly but most ironically true when it comes to their southern neighbors, even as flows of illicit drugs rise and the US looks to near-shore critical manufacturing.  

However, the real reason for US hesitancy to prioritize Latin America is an underlying sense that engagement is immoral.  Guilt abounds over past foreign policy blunders. Engagement is now confused with military intervention, cultural insensitivity, and the very type of colonization China is pursuing through its Belt-and-Road initiative. The US craves assurance that she is acting in pure and responsible ways. This is precisely why moral arguments are essential to sell any new strategic approach for the Western Hemisphere to Americans, no matter how vital the strategy is for America’s national interests and security and no matter how much Latin American leaders petition for US involvement.     

The good news is there is plenty of space for making a moral argument for US engagement, especially when it comes to Latin America.  

The heart of this moral argument lies in just intentions to preserve a world order that promotes self-government, individual rights, and human dignity. A new world order run by Beijing will not even pretend to respect anyone’s liberties. China is not melting into the liberal international order and softening on human rights as elites predicted decades ago. Rather, Beijing has continued to be blatantly authoritarian and has been committing genocide against the Uyghurs for close to ten years. It has embarked on a campaign to intimidate civil society groups, rock the widely-held consensus on human dignity and impose a collectivist definition of rights in the highest international forums. If successful, Beijing’s redefining of human rights will leave billions of people around the world with far fewer basic protections than they enjoy today.  

The US has not wielded power perfectly. Certain choices have complicated and fueled human rights problems. But the US at least strives to use her position to advance fundamental rights and liberties. Absolute purity of intention will never exist on this earth so Americans must stop letting the perfect become the enemy of the good.

Another factor in the lack of appetite to confront China in Latin America is the seemingly slim chance of success. Countering Beijing’s influence appears expensive, difficult, and abstract, and hazardous. It feels wrong to divert scarce resources towards foreign policy goals when success looks far-fetched and domestic challenges abound.

But the costs of good strategy are often overestimated. When the Monroe doctrine was created, the US did not have the means to enforce it. John Quincy Adams cleverly banked on the British navy for enforcement, and avoided any formalized agreement that could entangle the States in European power rivalries. Today, an equally creative, cost-effective approach can be developed by fostering private-sector activities. The Biden Administration can use existing trade architecture to build investment and private sector growth in the region. Latin American countries want foreign investment and with the right support from DC, Biden can deliver it. This type of positive engagement is a far cry from interventionism.  

Fresh approaches toward Latin America may, however, be difficult in the sense that building good strategy takes careful planning and clear-headed leadership to implement. This has been the piece missing since the Cold War. But with approaches grounded in economic incentives and crafted on a country-by-country basis, we can expect modest success. 

Take US foreign policy on human trafficking as a small example. In the 2000’s, a carefully fashioned diplomatic strategy harnessed economic incentives to press Mexico into passing legislation that aligned with United Nations anti-trafficking standards. Simultaneously, the US offered customized training to Mexican law enforcement and worked side-by-side with them to dismantle major trafficking rings. Similar stories are evident across a number of countries in Latin America in the 2000’s. Incentives, rather than threats, worked well in contexts where there was a preference for democracy. The US shouldn’t engage in Latin America unless there is a reasonable chance of success. But the Monroe has worked before and, with thoughtful modification, can work again.  

Finally, any moral enterprise is hazardous. They take courage to pursue and elicit criticism. The key is to remain focused on end goals. 

From a moral perspective, US citizens should consider how a clear Latin America policy would serve not just their own interests, but also the interests of Latin American countries. Beijing’s goals in the region are entirely selfish. Forced private sector investment, infrastructure projects, and energy lending are the means China is using to exploit economies, extract natural resources, coerce governments, and buy support for its nefarious Taiwan reunification policy. Beijing wants to upend the world order and does not care about the tremendous instability it is causing worldwide.  

By pushing great power rivalries out of geographic proximity, the Monroe Doctrine was intended to not just serve American interests but also to create the political stability needed for self-government. This was not only true in the 1820’s, when the Monroe emerged, but also in the twentieth century. Even Theodore Roosevelt, often believed to hold an overtly imperialist interpretation of the Monroe, observed in 1917 how the Americas were growing in their abilities to protect and govern themselves. But under Beijing’s eye, self-government will become even more of a dream for Latin Americans than it is today.  

Optimists believe China’s investments will result in better quality of life for Latin Americans. But in the long-term, Beijing’s apathy over corruption, good governance, and human rights will only stoke organized crime and cultivate quasi-sovereign states, stripping citizens and elected leaders of their political autonomy and repelling the very foreign investment the Western Hemisphere yearns for.  Conversely, good governance will attract US businesses looking to near-shore, a once-in-a generation opportunity that should not be squandered. 

The US must be frank with herself. She must realize that now is not the time to put too many strings on Latin American relations. To do so would jeopardize US security, by making it easier for Beijing to win contracts and solidify its hold on the region. At the same time, the US should not shy away from articulating how US partnerships equate to better deals in the short-run, and higher quality of life for Latin Americans in the long-run.

The need to prioritize Latin America policy is nothing new. Europeans colonized the region in the 19th century, there was concern over Nazi influence in the aftermath of WWII, and now China is seeing how many allies it can win through economic coercion.

The US thinks it is avoiding problems by staying out of Latin American affairs. But she has never truly been isolationist, and should reflect on the practical and moral reasons why. 

The post The Morality of a Revised Monroe appeared first on Providence.

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Troy Mitteness, 56, from Burnsville, Minnesota, is facing second-degree murder charges after prosecutors claim he confirmed to the police that he stabbed and killed his 82-year-old mother, Sandra Mitteness, recently last summer.

The incident began in June with a search for money orders and check thefts from the past year. When The police went to question Sandra, they stumbled upon Troy. His original story of his mother being in South Dakota was soon altered. Police contacted the funeral home that allegedly provided services for Sandra, and they reported having no record of her death. Catching wind of this, other family members spoke up and told officers that Sandra hadn’t been seen in some time.

The police then sought to execute a search warrant for the Mitteness home. During the search, officers discovered blood. Upon further questioning from the police, Troy admitted that he murdered his mother. The criminal complaint reads that Troy “told the detectives he killed the victim in June of 2022, in his Burnsville, Dakota County home, by stabbing her in the neck with a large kitchen knife. After she had been dead for a couple of days, he dismembered her body and placed her body parts in multiple different large plastic tot bins. Troy then drove west toward Appleton, Minnesota, discarding the body parts in ditches along the way.”

Troy’s actions lead to a horrifying reminder of the effects of violence and the prominence of mental health care, but the process began with the police’s search for money orders and check thefts. Troy initially lied about his mother’s whereabouts before he confessed to the murder, which led to his arrest.

The Dakota County Attorney, Kathy Keena, expressed that this was one of the most horrific cases she has ever seen, resulting in Troy being detained and a bail set of $2 million. His first court appearance was on Monday, with a return to court on July 20.

After several tense hours at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip, police have safely taken a man into custody following a domestic disturbance report. The incident began Tuesday morning when officers responded to the scene and found a man barricaded inside the hotel room, claiming to be armed. Witnesses reported seeing the window smashed open and objects thrown out onto the nearby pool area.

As a result of the disturbance, the pool area was immediately evacuated to ensure the safety of its guests, and the Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) was quickly dispatched to bring the situation under control. Crisis negotiators and SWAT units were also called to the scene to enforce a peaceful resolution. After several hours of negotiations, SWAT’s plans to gain entry into the hotel room were successful, and the suspect was taken into custody without further incident. The woman who was inside the room with the suspect is also now safe.

LVMPD has stated that there would be a significant police presence with multiple police vehicles at the scene while investigations are conducted, and units disperse. Caesars Entertainment noted that it is working closely with law enforcement and has referred further questions to the LVMPD. Fortunately, no weapons were found during the incident.

This incident not only highlights the need for police to respond quickly and responsibly to reports of domestic disturbances, but it serves as a reminder to individuals of the potential dangers of these situations. It’s, therefore, essential for police to take any necessary safety precautions to ensure the safety of all parties involved.