OPINION - Brooks and Capehart 5/21/2021

"Brooks and Capehart on Israel-Hamas cease-fire, Jan 6 commission" PBS NewsHour 5/21/2021

SUMMARY:  New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week in politics, including cease-fire in the Middle East and the Senate’s chances of establishing a commission to look into the Jan 6 insurrection.

Amna Nawaz (NewsHour):  From the impact of the Mideast cease-fire on U.S. policy, to a potential commission looking into the January 6 Capitol attack, it's a good time for the analysis of Brooks and Capehart.

That's New York Times columnist David Brooks, and Jonathan Capehart, columnist for The Washington Post.

Good to see you both.  Welcome back.  Happy Friday.

David, I want to start with you.

The President was just speaking at the White House, actually, and was asked about this latest cease-fire, asked also if there's been a shift in Democratic Party politics when it comes to the approach in Israel.

This is what he had to say:  "There is no shift in my commitment to the security of Israel, period."

David, what do you make to have the way the President has handled these last 11 days and this cease-fire?

David Brooks, New York Times:  I think he's handled it pretty well.  He's kept the U.S. out of being the center of the story.  He's learned from some of the mistakes we made in 2014, ending that Gaza war.

He was pressured to lean on Bibi and Israel to do the cease-fire or to condemn them publicly.  But, if he does that, then Bibi has to push back.  So it actually delays the cease-fire, just so Bibi can show his independence.  And if he does that, Hamas thinks, oh, Israel — U.S. is leaning on Israel, so Hamas gets more aggressive.

So, this was a case in which being a little passive and doing things in private was much more effective than they would have been to do anything in public.  And so I think the administration was wise, basically, to handle it as they did.

Amna Nawaz:  Jonathan, he was asked that question, though, because there's been growing pressure from within the party, right, from progressives like Bernie Sanders and others, to do more, in the way of standing up for the human rights of Palestinians.

But if you take a quick look at where the country is today, I want to point to some quick numbers we looked up from Gallup.  This is from a February poll, so it's before this latest conflict.  But it does show that 75 percent of Americans do have a favorable opinion of Israel.  That is up in the last 20 years by 10 points.

That same poll, though, when you're looking at the number of people saying who they think the U.S. should put more pressure on, 35 percent now think that the U.S. should put more pressure on Israel.  That number is also up; 44 percent say they should put more pressure on Palestinians.

Are you seeing any of that, Jonathan, show up in the Biden approach?

Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post:  Well, I think — I would love to see what a poll would show today.

I think that the bombing, the Israeli Defense Forces' bombing of that high-rise building in Gaza that also housed international news organizations was a pivot point in all of this, where the private conversations that were happening took on even more urgency, and then forced the President to go even more public in terms of putting pressure on the Israeli government to do something to curb the violence.

But where — when it comes to the Democratic Party and the forces pulling back and forth, I bring up that pivot point, because Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who is the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is known in Washington as being a stalwart ally, if you will, within the United States Senate, supporter of Israel and Israel's right to defend itself.

After that bombing of that building in Gaza, Senator Menendez put out a statement that caught the White House by surprise and a lot of people by surprise by condemning or raising very serious questions about what Israel had done.

And so I think that made it possible for President Biden to be a little more, how shall we say, forceful in his conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Amna Nawaz:  Well, David, let me ask you more broadly about President Biden's approach, not just on this one issue.

You had a good chunk of time to sit down with him for a fascinating interview.  It's the subject of your latest column that's called "Has Biden Changed?  He Tells Us."

And, in it, you write right at the top:  "What happened to Joe Biden?  Many people thought he was a moderate incrementalist, but now he's promoting whopping big legislative packages that make many on the progressive left extremely happy.  The answer seems to be, it's complicated."

David, tell us about that conversation with him.  How is it complicated?

Jonathan Capehart:  Oh.

Amna Nawaz:  Oh, I believe we have lost the connection with David Brooks.  We will try to get him back in just a moment.

In the meantime, Jonathan, let me bring you back in here.

Jonathan Capehart:  Sure.

Amna Nawaz:  You have certainly read this column.

Jonathan Capehart:  Yes.

Amna Nawaz:  It's a long assessment of where President Biden is and faces this criticism of no longer being a moderate incrementalist many accused him of.

What do you make of it?

Jonathan Capehart:  Well, David's column was terrific, in being able to sit down with the President, particularly this President, who he wears everything on his sleeve.

And I have been on a phone call between the President and opinion writers, including — including David, so I have — I can pretty much imagine how that conversation went.

Look, I think President Biden is sort of the President who — the man who is meeting the moment.  A lot of people wonder whether progressives have pulled the party farther to the left or are pushing the party farther to the left.  And I counter that.

And I think President Biden, by doing what he's doing, it's really that the party is catching up to the country.  You tick off any issue and ask where the American people are — and let's just take raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.  The American people want that done.

The Democratic Party has been pushing for that for a long time.  The President now, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, is pushing for that.

And so the beauty of David's column and what I loved about it is that it takes sort of the policy issues that we're talking about now, whether it's the American Jobs Act — the American Jobs Plan, the Families Plan, the American Rescue Plan, and broadens it out in the way that only — that David famously does to the 35,000-foot level and shows that Joe Biden — it's the last line in the column — Joe Biden hasn't changed.  It's just that he's gone bigger.

The price tags on these things that he's pushing have gone bigger than what he pushed for when he was in the Senate for 36 years.  The policies that he championed when he was Vice President, with President O — yes, with President Obama.

So, I don't know if it's right to call President Biden incrementalist.  I think he is incrementalist when it suits his purposes to get something done right away.

But I think, if you look at everything that he's trying to do, he's going big.  And he's going big because the problems facing the country are large, but, also, he views it to the international prism, which I think David puts in his column, because of his time on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that the problems that America is facing, they are impacting not just America at home, but America's standing abroad.

Amna Nawaz:  For anyone wondering why David Brooks isn't weighing in on his own column, we just lost the connection with him.  We are trying to bring him back into the conversation.  And we will do so as soon as that connection is reestablished.

But, Jonathan, while I have you, I also wanted to talk about this vote on the potential commission to look into the January 6 Capitol attack.  There was a proposal that came before the House.  They voted on it.  It passed there; 35 Republicans, 35 Republicans joined Democrats to back that commission.

Did that number surprise you?

Jonathan Capehart:  Well, Amna, here's the thing that surprised me.

It's — what surprises me is that it was only 35.  Leave aside the politics of everything of why it was just 35.  This — the January 6 commission should not be a partisan issue.  This should be a patriotism issue.

What happened on that day was horrifying, people trying to rush the Capitol, invading the Capitol, while the United States Congress was certifying a free and fair and legitimate, a small-D democratic election, certifying the election, and making it official that Joe Biden would be the president of the United States.

Those people tried to stop that.  The people who voted against the commission, the other Republicans who voted against the commission, they were there that day.  How they could not vote to approve a commission that would look into what happened, so that we find out what happened, but also so that we can learn things that we could do to ensure that it doesn't happen again, the fact that they voted — only 35 Republicans have voted for it, I think, is a shame.

Amna Nawaz:  I need to ask you as well, Jonathan, because this is right now with the Senate.  Ten Republicans there would need to back it for that commission to move forward.  Do you see that happening?

Jonathan Capehart:  I'm really having a hard time seeing that happening.

I mean, if memory serves, seven Republicans voted with the Democrats to vote to come to convict then-President — well, at that point, he was former President Trump, during impeachment.  I don't see where the other three votes to get to 10 come from.  That's assuming that those seven vote for the commission.

Amna Nawaz:  Jonathan Capehart joining us tonight.

I apologize to David Brooks.  Tonight's Brooks and Capehart is mostly just Capehart.

(LAUGHTER)

Amna Nawaz:  But, Jonathan, it's always good to talk to you.  Thanks for being here.

Jonathan Capehart:  Great to see you too.  Thanks.

THE NEVER ENDING WAR - Updates

PERSONAL COMMENT: As I said in the past, the Never Ending War between Israel and Palestinians will never end UNTIL the Palestinian People tell their governments to stop AND the People of Israel tell their government to stop.  No one outside, no outside government, can really do anything.  Although outside governments can make things worst.

"Families faced with death, destruction amid Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza" PBS NewsHour 5/17/2021

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SUMMARY:  The battle between the Israeli military and Hamas militants has now entered a second week, as calls mount for an immediate cease-fire.  So far, the violence has killed more than 200 Palestinians in Gaza, and another 10 people in Israel.  That comes as the United Nations estimates more than 38,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee the airstrikes.  Stephanie Sy reports.

 

 

"Palestinians strike to protest Israeli military action in Gaza, but no cease-fire in sight" PBS NewsHour 5/18/2021

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SUMMARY:  John Yang reports on the ongoing crisis in the Middle East as calls for a ceasefire are ignored and destruction spreads as Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli artillery attacks continue on day nine with no let-up in sight.

 

 

"Egypt indicates a truce agreement between Israeli and Hamas forces" PBS NewsHour 5/19/2021

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SUMMARY:  Israel and Hamas forces in Gaza may be edging closer to a cease-fire after 10 days of open war.  Egyptian mediators say there's a truce agreement, in principle.  A top Hamas official said he expects fighting to stop in a day or two.  Pressure to end the conflict built today, with 227 Gazans and 12 Israelis killed so far.  John Yang reports.

 

 

"Can Biden walk the line between support for both Israel and Palestine?" PBS NewsHour 5/19/2021

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SUMMARY:  For decades, the U.S. has supported Israel, backing up its defense policy and supplying tens of billions of dollars in aid and weapons.  Now, some within the Democratic party are questioning that support, and challenging President Biden's handling of the Gaza conflict.  John Yang speaks to Daniel Brumberg, director of democracy and governance studies at Georgetown University about the matter.

 

 

"A look at the US role and reaction to cease-fire in the Middle East" PBS NewsHour 5/20/2021

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SUMMARY:  A cease-fire is at hand in the war between Israel and Hamas.  Word of the truce came Thursday from Israel, and Hamas quickly agreed.  If it holds, it would end 11 days of fierce fighting that killed at least 230 Palestinians and 12 Israelis, and wrecked Gazan cities.  John Yang begins the report, and Yamiche Alcindor joins Amna Nawaz to discuss the Biden administration's role and reaction.

 

 

"A look at the humanitarian crisis wrought by Israel-Hamas war" PBS NewsHour 5/20/2021

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Correction:  In this segment, we referred to Refaat Alareer as “Refaat Aljareer” on first mention.  We also mistakenly referred to Diana Mushtaha as attending the University of Houston, instead of the University of Texas.  NewsHour regrets the errors.

SUMMARY:  John Yang reports on life on the ground for Palestinians and Israelis caught in the crossfire of war, and how US pressure on the region’s leaders has affected civilians, and Middle Eastern immigrant communities in the US.

 

 

"Both Israel and Hamas claim victory after truce, bringing prospect of peace into question" PBS NewsHour 5/21/2021

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SUMMARY:  The shooting has stopped, but the war of words goes on as Israel and Hamas offered sharply different appraisals Friday of who won and who lost their fourth conflict in just over a dozen years.  John Yang reports on day one of the ceasefire.

 

 

"The fragile ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas seems to be holding" PBS NewsHour 5/22/2021

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SUMMARY:  The cease-fire between Israeli forces and Hamas held for a second day.  Meanwhile, Gazans returned to their homes to survey the damage as UN humanitarian relief officials said rebuilding health facilities was a high priority because of the coronavirus pandemic.  NPR correspondent Daniel Estrin joins to discuss.

ISRAEL - Netanyahu's Magic?

"With failure to form political coalition, has Israel’s Netanyahu lost his ‘magic’?" PBS NewsHour 5/30/2019

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SUMMARY:  Israel’s legislature, the Knesset, has voted to dissolve itself barely a month after forming due to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to establish a coalition government within the given timeframe.  An unprecedented second election will occur in September -- shortly after Netanyahu faces a hearing related to corruption charges.  John Yang talks to The Washington Institute’s David Makovsky.

COMEDY - Stand-Up for Peace

"This Jewish-Palestinian couple offers a comedic cure for Middle East conflict" PBS NewsHour 5/22/2019

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SUMMARY:  Jess Salomon and Eman El-husseini, a Jewish-Palestinian lesbian married couple who perform standup comedy together, have gained new audiences at a moment when the political debate in Washington over U.S. support for Israel has heated up.  Hari Sreenivasan reports on how this couple is using humor to tackle conflict.

TURKEY - Tense Allies

"Turkish foreign minister slams U.S. for having ‘no clear strategy’ on Syria" PBS NewsHour 4/3/2019

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SUMMARY:  Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu slammed the United States’ Syria strategy and Middle East peace plan, saying Wednesday that one was underdeveloped and the other might not exist.

“It seems that there is no clear strategy yet” by the U.S. to dial back its military presence in Syria, Cavusoglu said in an interview with PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff.

Cavusoglu said Turkey was getting different signals from President Donald Trump and other U.S. departments, including the military.  Trump tweeted last December that the United States was withdrawing all of its troops from Syria, but since then he has gradually dialed back that declaration and committed to keeping a residual force in the country.

Turkey’s foreign minister also said he doubted the existence of a U.S. peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians — an effort that Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner has been leading for the U.S..  “Until today, there is no peace plan,” Cavusoglu said.  “We are not sure whether there will be.”

He added that Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem showed the President’s bias towards Israel.  Trump’s recent policy change recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria during the Six-Day war in 1967, was another decision that “everybody has been concerned about,” Cavusoglu said.

“Everybody believes the U.S. is no longer a balanced or objective” leader on the world stage, he said.

ANTISEMITISM IN AMERICA - Fault Lines

As I've said before, the UNCONDITIONAL support of Israel is NOT warranted, considering that their over-retaliation policies are 50% of the problem in the Middle East's 'Never Ending War.'  Yes, the Palestinians are the other 50% of the problem, but it IS the retaliations by both sides that is the problem.  So Israel SHOULD be criticized for their part.

Also, no outside entity (including the U.S.) can solve this problem.  Only the people (Palestinian and Israeli) can solve the problem by telling their governments to just stop.

"What the firestorm over Rep. Omar’s remarks says about anti-Semitism in America" PBS NewsHour 3/7/2019

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SUMMARY:  Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn) faced a firestorm recently after suggesting political support for Israel might entail "allegiance to a foreign country."  After critics slammed her remarks as anti-Semitic, the freshman congresswoman apologized, and House Democrats wrote a resolution condemning bigotry.  Nick Schifrin talks to The Israel Project’s Josh Block, and J Street’s Jeremy Ben-Ami.

NEVER ENDING WAR - Israel & Hamas

"Israel and Hamas seem to pull back from the brink of war after violence flares" PBS NewsHour 8/9/2018

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SUMMARY:  Israel and militant group Hamas have agreed to a tentative truce to calm tensions that have risen dramatically in recent days and the last 24 hours.  Militants have fired rockets and mortars toward Israeli towns, while Israeli jets pounded targets in Gaza.  Foreign affairs correspondent Nick Schifrin reports that when wars in Gaza start, it’s often civilians who pay the biggest price.

ISRAEL - A Controversial Law

"‘This is our country.  This is our language’: Controversial law deems Israel homeland of the Jewish people" PBS NewsHour 7/19/2018

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SUMMARY:  A controversial new law enacted overnight by Israel's parliament has again stirred deep emotions about the identity of the nation.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the new law for enshrining the basic principle of Israel's existence -- that it is the national state of the Jewish people.  But critics called it cruel, fearing what it means for the Arab minority.  Nick Schifrin reports.

TRUMP AGENDA - Jerusalem Embassy, Scuttling Peace Process

"Carnage and celebration mark U.S. Embassy opening in Jerusalem" PBS NewsHour 5/14/2018

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SUMMARY:  As the United States opened its new embassy in Jerusalem, Israeli security forces shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters in Gaza, and reportedly wounded more than 2,000 others.  Blanket denunciations are sweeping across the Arab and Muslim world, blasting both the embassy move and the killings.  Special correspondent Jane Ferguson joins Judy Woodruff for more.

"How the world is reacting to Gaza border bloodshed" PBS NewsHour 5/15/2018

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SUMMARY:  It was a day for burying the dead in Gaza, with nearly 60 funerals in 24 hours, while the wounded continue to overwhelm hospital staff and supplies.  Monday became the deadliest day since the 2014 war as Americans opened the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.  And there was more violence along the border on Tuesday, where at least two Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire.  Nick Schifrin reports.

"Harsh living conditions in Gaza fuel little-to-lose mentality" PBS NewsHour 5/15/2018

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SUMMARY:  Palestinians have been protesting for weeks for the right to leave Gaza; in the last two days, tens of thousands have joined in.  Under an 11-year blockade by Israel and Egypt, life there has become a painful struggle.  Unemployment stands at 40 percent, with few prospects for the young, and most Gazans cannot afford a generator during lengthy power cuts.  Special correspondent Jane Ferguson reports.

"Would alleviating Gaza humanitarian concerns ease violence?" PBS NewsHour 5/15/2018

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SUMMARY:  U.S. officials are blaming Hamas for the deadly violence on the Gaza border.  Daniel Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to Israel, says the group has long squandered its resources in trying to attack Israel, leading to "horrific" humanitarian concerns in Gaza.  Shapiro joins Nick Schifrin to discuss whether the clashes could fray alliances, and the decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

ISRAEL - Interference With American Politics

"Report: Israeli private security firm tried to discredit Obama officials tied to Iran nuclear deal" PBS NewsHour 5/7/2018

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SUMMARY:  Nearly three years since the Iran deal was sealed, The Guardian reports that top Obama White House national security officials Ben Rhodes and Colin Kahl were the targets of elaborate efforts to delegitimize the agreement.  An Israeli private intelligence firm allegedly tried to dig up information that might discredit the men.  John Yang learns more from Julian Borger of The Guardian.

SYRIA - War Keeps Raging

"Syria’s war keeps raging, amid threats of a new Hezbollah-Israel conflict" PBS NewsHour 3/15/2018

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SUMMARY:  What began seven years ago as an uprising against the Assad regime has become a regional proxy war.  Now there is talk of another war in the offing, one between Hezbollah and Israel.  What would that look like, and how would it differ from the 2006 conflict?  Special correspondent Jane Ferguson joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the growing fears, Iran’s influence, and the bombardment of Eastern Ghouta.

ISRAEL - Campaign of Assassination

"The inside story of Israel’s campaign of assassination" PBS NewsHour 1/26/2018

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SUMMARY:  The state of Israel has a history of great violence, visited on it by its enemies and in return by Israel's own intelligence services and military.  In "Rise and Kill First," journalist and author Ronen Bergman writes about the nearly century-long campaign of targeted killing.  He joins Nick Schifrin to discuss the secret history of these strikes.

TRUMP DIPLOMACY - Killing Middle East Peace

"The long-term global consequences of Trump’s Jerusalem move" PBS NewsHour 12/12/2017

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SUMMARY:  When President Trump declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel and promised to move the U.S. embassy, the immediate response was relatively muted.  What are the long-term, strategic consequences?  Nick Schifrin talks to former U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Paul Salem of the Middle East Institute.

"UN Security Council to vote on resolution voiding Trump's Jerusalem announcement: report" by Brandon Conradis, The Hill 12/17/2017

The United Nations (U.N.) Security Council on Monday will vote on a draft resolution that would nullify President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, according to Reuters.

The resolution, which was drafted by Egypt, doesn't specifically name Trump or the U.S. in its text, the news agency reported on Sunday.

But the one-page draft, which diplomats told Reuters's enjoys broad support among the council, comes less than two weeks after Trump announced the U.S. would formally recognize the contested city as Israel's official capital.

In order to pass, the resolution would need the votes of nine of the 15 members of the council.  It also cannot be vetoed by the U.S., France, Britain, Russia or China.

The U.S. Mission to the U.N. did not respond to Reuters's request for comment.

According to the news agency, the draft text "affirms that any decisions and actions which purport to have altered, the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council."

Arab leaders have criticized Trump's move, warning the decision could spark further unrest in the region.

Palestinians have long called for the eastern part of Jerusalem to serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.  Israel annexed that part of the city in 1967.

TRUMP AGENDA - Killing the 'Two State' Solution

In the 'Never Ending War' between Israel and Palestine, Jerusalem is one of the keys to peace, and Trump just killed the possibility of peace.

MY SOLUTION:  Make Jerusalem an independent City State like the Vatican.  Run by a city government made up of heads of ALL religions that have holy sites in the city, and independent law enforcement that does NOT include Israelis, Palestinians, nor Americans, and with it's own security force (again, like the Vatican).  The City State of Jerusalem would NOT be part of Palestine nor Israel.

VATICAN DEFENSE AND SECURITY:  "As the Vatican City is an enclave within Italy, its military defense is provided by the Italian armed forces.  However, there is no formal defense treaty with Italy, as the Vatican City is a neutral state.  Vatican City has no armed forces of its own, although the Swiss Guard is a military corps of the Holy See responsible for the personal security of the Pope, and resident in the state." --Wikipedia

"How moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem could threaten peace prospects" PBS NewsHour 12/5/2017

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SUMMARY:  President Trump signaled Tuesday that he is on the verge of a major announcement, calling Middle East leaders to tell them he's considering moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem -- a move to that could cause unrest.  Judy Woodruff gets reaction from David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Shibley Telhami of the University of Maryland.

"How Israelis and Palestinians see Trump’s Jerusalem move" PBS NewsHour 12/6/2017

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SUMMARY:  While Israeli leaders praised President Trump’s decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as their capital, many Palestinians are upset by the announcement.  For both perspectives, Judy Woodruff gets reaction from Danny Danon Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N., and Husam Zomlot of the Palestinian National Authority.

"Warning of dire consequences, key allies blast Trump’s Jerusalem announcement" PBS NewsHour 12/6/2017

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SUMMARY:  While Arab and Muslim leaders are warning of disaster, Israeli leaders are hailing President Trump's major policy shift on Israel.  In a long anticipated move, the President officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced his intent to move the embassy from Tel Aviv, drawing condemnation from world leaders.  John Yang reports.

"In Jerusalem, Palestinian perception that Trump favors Israel boils over into protest clashes" PBS NewsHour 12/8/2017

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SUMMARY:  The anger on the streets of Jerusalem was clear on Friday as Palestinians confronted Israeli security forces.  Already frustrated by decades of struggle for a country of their own, protesters’ anger boiled over against President Trump's recognition of the city as the true capital of Israel.  Special correspondent Jane Ferguson reports.

NEWSHOUR INTERVIEW - Ehud Barak, former Israeli Prime Minister

"U.S. doing ‘a lot of work’ behind the scenes on Israeli-Palestinian relations, says Ehud Barak" PBS NewsHour 11/30/2017

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SUMMARY:  Ehud Barak, former Israeli Prime Minister, says Israel is still waiting for the Trump administration to offer its plan on how to move forward with the Palestinians.  Barak joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the deadline for changing the location of the U.S. embassy, why he doesn’t think pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal would be helpful, and the threat for Israel of a post-war Syria.

50 YEARS LATER - The 6-Day War

aka "The Never-Ending War"

"50 years later, a reporter recalls the 6-Day War – and the Israeli-Palestinian tensions that remain" PBS NewsHour 6/2/2017

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SUMMARY:  Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War, a 1967 battle between Israel and neighboring Arab nations.  The war created a stalemate between Israel and the Palestinians that continues today.  It's the same standoff that confronted President Donald Trump on his recent visit to the Middle East.  Fifty years later, former NewsHour correspondent Terence Smith reflects on his coverage of the war.

MIDDLE EAST - Jewish Settlements

"What growing Jewish settlements in the West Bank mean for Mideast peace efforts" PBS NewsHour 4/4/2017

COMMENT:  This is one of the many things Israel does that makes things worst.  As I've said before, Israel leadership is driving drunk on religious doctrine, and this 'never-ending-war' will continue unless they change their attitude.

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SUMMARY:  More than a half million Israelis live in Jewish settlements in the West Bank -- land they see as a biblical birthright, but that international law contends is occupied territory, and that Palestinians hope will comprise a future state.  Special correspondent Martin Seemungal reports.

TRUMP AGENDA - Israel

IMHO:  I have a philosophy that 'friends don't let friends drive drunk' taken from MADD and applied to the Israel-Palestinian issue.  Israel's policy and actions in regard to Palestine will NOT end the world's longest war.  Israel is 'drunk' on religious doctrine, and if the USA is truly a friend we should not be enablers to their drunkenness.

This issue can ONLY be ended when the PEOPLE of both Israel and Palestine tell their respective governments to STOP.

"Will Trump's affinity for Israel translate into new policy?" PBS NewsHour 2/14/2017

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SUMMARY:  President Trump talked during his campaign of moving the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, seeming to favor Israel in his policy stances.  But more recent comments suggest the administration could be more in line with long-standing American policy based on the two-state solution.  What's ahead for Mideast policy?  Special correspondent Martin Seemungal reports from Jerusalem.

MARTIN SEEMUNGAL, special correspondent:  Jerusalem's Old City is defined by divisions, four quarters, Armenian, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish, a legacy of conquests and occupations dating back thousands of years.

Israeli soldiers captured East Jerusalem and the Old City from Jordan in the Six-Day War of 1967.  Today, Israeli soldiers still control the streets of the Old City and the thousands of Palestinians who live here.  It is a tense, often volatile place.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  I love Israel.  I love Israel.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

MARTIN SEEMUNGAL:  Enter Donald Trump:

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  We will move the American Embassy.

MARTIN SEEMUNGAL:  Promising to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem during his campaign.

Jerusalem's mayor, Nir Barkat, welcomes the news with open enthusiasm.

His vice mayor, Yitzhak Pindrus, says it is long overdue.

YITZHAK PINDRUS, Vice Mayor of Jerusalem:  Jerusalem is the capital, capital of Israel, the capital of the Jewish nation.  It was that for thousands of years.  It's not something that's going to change.  And I'm comfortable with that, and I would be very happy if the embassy will move here.

MARTIN SEEMUNGAL:  No nation on Earth officially recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.  To understand why, you have to go back beyond the '67 war.

The United Nations' 1947 partition created Jewish and Arab states, putting Jerusalem under international control.  Israel captured a large part of Jerusalem in 1948, and divided Israeli West Jerusalem from a Palestinian East Jerusalem with a Green Line.

Despite declaring West Jerusalem as its capital, no country moved embassies there.  This is the old Green Line that split Jerusalem in two.  Israel annexed the eastern side of the city in the 1980s, illegally, according to international law.  And ever since, it's been trying to erase that sense of division.  But the reality remains West Jerusalem is predominately Jewish, East Jerusalem is predominantly Muslim.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.  And Donald Trump's promise to move the embassy to Jerusalem has angered Palestinians.

Hanan Ashrawi is a senior member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

HANAN ASHRAWI, Palestinian Liberation Organization:  This is an irresponsible and dangerous move.  Don't even think about it, because you will be inflaming feelings.  You will be turning this into a religious conflict.  You will be starting a whole new cycle of violence.  The U.S. will be seen as complicit.

OPINION - Shields and Brooks 12/23/2016

"Shields and Brooks on Trump's unprecedented transition" PBS NewsHour 12/23/2016

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SUMMARY:  President-elect Donald Trump made headlines this week for his reference to a possible arms race and his involvement in U.S.  foreign policy prior to taking office.  Judy Woodruff speaks with syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks about whether Mr.  Trump's strategy is to keep people “off balance,” as well as potential conflicts of interest within his Cabinet.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  And to the analysis of Shields and Brooks.  That is syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Gentlemen, welcome.

So let's start out talking about two major foreign policy waves, I guess you could say, that Donald Trump is making today, David.  He directly intervened with the White House as they were deciding how to handle this U.N.  resolution on Israel.  There is now an open rift with President Obama.  This is different, isn't it, from the way we see a transition normally work?

DAVID BROOKS, New York Times:  Certainly, the country can't have two Presidents at once, so the tradition has been to hang back if you're the president-elect and wait for your time in office.  Trump is not a hang-back kind of guy.

And he has shifted — President Obama has shifted American policy in a much more critical way in Israel with the settlements than the previous Presidents.  But we're about to get a head-snapping shift the other way.  President-elect Trump's Ambassador to Israel is further to the right than almost anyone in Israel, further to the right than Bibi Netanyahu on the settlements, and almost opposes the two-state solution, does in fact.

So, we are about to see a tremendous shift in American policy toward the Middle East.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  How do you see this, Mark?  Are there consequences of this or is this going to be something we look back on and say, well, that's what happened?

MARK SHIELDS, syndicated columnist:  No, I mean, I think Donald Trump is sui generis.  I mean, he is acting by president or tradition.  He's not acting as Donald Trump has throughout his entire public career of, what, a year and a half, and that is to be impulsive, be spontaneous, keep his opponents or adversaries off balance.  That's his approach.  He is not into nuance, that is not his strength.

And the President (Obama) said this week, he's (Trump) entitled to his own policies and but just hope that it's deliberate and thoughtful.  And this strikes me as anything but.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Well, in addition to Israel, what we were sitting here talking about nuclear policy because Donald Trump tweeted, as far as we can tell, out of the blue yesterday, David, that the United States needs to beef up its nuclear arsenal.  He did an interview with Mika Brzezinski of NBC this morning and I’m just reading the quote here.  He said, “Let it be an arms race, we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all.”

So, what does this say?

DAVID BROOKS:  Yes, one of the things I think about with Donald Trump is what are his words actually attached to?  With a normal President like President Obama, he says a word, and that’s because there has been some thought that he’s done and there had been policy papers and there’s been aides and there’s been advisors and then there is a connection to an actual set of policies.  And so, the words like have roots into actual stuff.

With Trump, I’m not sure the words have roots.  They are emanations of his psyche, but has he thought it through?  Is there an argument, is there a policy implication?

Even in this nuclear thing, he says we should be stronger and expand.  What does that mean?  So, what is concrete in what he’s saying?

And I think as we interpret him and frankly as the world learns to interpret Donald Trump, are these just words that are enigmatic things floating on air or are they actually shifts in policy and will they change moment by moment, day by day without any underlying connection to the actual stuff of governance?  I don’t know.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Mark, we’re talking about nuclear arms policy.  This is something that in the past, it was something that people spent time thinking about before statements were made.  You know, you said a minute ago, you think he’s keeping everybody off balance.  Is this a deliberate strategy?

MARK SHIELDS:  Well, I think that’s part of it.  The points David make I think really deserve reflection and consideration.  I think Donald Trump, we have to understand, has not had experiences like any other President we’ve ever had.  He’s never been accountable to anybody, save Donald Trump.

I mean, he has no investors.  He has — he has debtors, but he doesn’t have a board of directors.  He doesn’t have a corporate structure he’s had to answer to.  So he’s been able to kind of wing it at every stage.

I just don’t think he understands — the point David was making is when a President makes a statement, Judy, it is studied around the world, the nuance and was there an emphasis here, and what was in the last statement that’s missing — perhaps overly done, maybe overly analyzed.  But because the President’s words are pretentious, they really carry with them enormous significance and are usually reflective of great consideration and even arguments within, that one side is wanted, one particular paragraph or sentence, while the other said, no, that shouldn’t be in there.

So, I just think that Trump — he has not made the transition, it seems to me, from candidate to even President in waiting.  He has been a sore winner.  He continues to in his rallies to berate Hillary Clinton.  That sense of gracious, generosity or larger vision has eluded him so far.

NEVER ENDING WAR - Israel vs Palestine

As I have said many, many times before.  The Palestine/Israel conflict will, and cannot, be solved by outsiders.  It can hopefully be solved when the citizens of Palestine AND the citizens of Israel tell their respective governments to STOP.  Issues like Palestine support of Gaza Strip and Israel settlements in Palestine, are just two problems that must be solved.

Also, to paraphrase, "Friends don't let friends drive drunk" even when they are 'drunk' on ideology.  Israel is drunk on their religious ideology.

"Why didn't the U.S. veto the UN's rebuke of Israel?" PBS NewsHour 12/23/2016

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The United States has broken with decades of diplomacy by abstaining on a U.N. rebuke of Israel, rather than vetoing it in support of its longtime ally.  The Security Council voted 14 to 0 that Israel is committing a “flagrant violation” of international law by building settlements on land Palestinians want.  Judy Woodruff speaks with Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser, about the decision.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  So, why did the Obama administration today abstain from voting on the United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem?

We ask Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications to the President.

Ben Rhodes, welcome.

It is the case that the U.S. has long opposed these Israeli settlements but, at the same time, it has protected Israel in the U.N. against these condemning resolutions.  Why the shift?

BEN RHODES, Deputy National Security Adviser:  Well, look, first of all, it's bipartisan tradition to opposed settlements, as you mentioned.  There have been many resolutions in the past under bipartisan administrations that address the Arab-Israeli conflict.  The fact of the matter is, we vetoed a resolution that addressed settlements in 2011, and look what's happened since.  We've had failed peace processes after failed peace process, and the pace of settlement construction has accelerated significantly.  And just recently, you had the Israeli prime minister saying that this is the most pro-settlement in administration in Israeli history, the Israeli government that is currently in place.

We believe that at this pace, a two-state solution could be put at risk.  We believe that would be profoundly bad for Israel and its security.  And so, that's why the president took the position that he did.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  It comes across, though, Ben Rhodes, though, as a parting shot at Israel on the part of President Obama.

BEN RHODES:  Well, look, we have a record that we'll put up next to anybody in terms of support for Israel.  In fact, we just concluded a $38 billion ten year MOU with respect to their security assistance from the United States.

The fact of the matter is, though, I think if you look at the map of the West Bank, if you look at the future of the two-state solution, these settlements are encroaching further and further beyond the separation barrier that the Israelis themselves built, thousands of new settlements are being constructed and, frankly, if these trends continue, it will be impossible to realize a two-state solution.

And the fact of the matter is, we can't just have a peace process or a two-state solution as an empty talking point.  If we really want to be able to have a prospect for peace, we have to be clear about what we're against and that includes the type of settlements and I'd say as the resolution points out, the type of incitement to violence on the Palestinian side that have been obstacles to peace.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Well, let me just read you what — among other things the comments from Prime Minister Netanyahu after this happened.  He said, “The National Security Council has disgracefully ganged up on the one democracy in the Middle East.”  The Israeli government is saying this was a shameful resolution, they're not going to abide by it.

I mean, is the President — are you comfortable with what is now a really raw opening, a sore spot in the relationship with Israel as this President leaves office?

BEN RHODES:  Look, we've taken a lot of criticism from the Israeli government over the years.  If you look at our record, unprecedented military intelligence cooperation, a significant security assistance upgrades.

But again, let's talk about what the resolution addressed — the settlement construction.  That's the conversation that the Israeli government is not having.  And, in fact, you had this prime minister say this is the most pro-settlement Israeli government in history.  Frankly, that statement is entirely inconsistent with the two-state solution that the Israeli government in the past has said they supported, that many members of Congress support.

At a certain point, we all just have to stop and look at the map and look at the facts and say, if these settlements continue, is the two-state solution impossible?  And that clearly is the trend line.  It's evident for everybody to see, and that's what we should be talking about.