Israel-Bashing Malaysian PM Unrepentant After Losing Hosting Rights for International Swimming Event

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, unrepentant after an international sports federation removed his country’s rights to host an event because it banned Israelis, has branded the country a “criminal state.” Read

CIA Chief: Iranians ‘Making Some Preparations’ to Enable Resumption of Nuclear Activities

A spat over President Trump’s reaction to intelligence officials’ assessments regarding Iran risks diverting attention from the regime’s menacing behavior which those same officials did highlight during testimony this week – including the judgment that the Iranians are making preparations to facilitate a return to their suspect nuclear activities, should they decide to go that route. Read

Pelosi: If Asylum-Seekers Illegally Cross Border into US, ‘That’s Okay Too’

Foreign nationals who enter the United States – even crossing the border unlawfully between ports of entry – have the right to seek asylum, “under international law and any sense of decency,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Wednesday. Read

Pompeo to Davos Forum: US Not ‘Isolated,’ Many Countries Support What Trump Is Doing

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo disputed Tuesday that the U.S. is “isolated on the global stage,” but said others are perhaps not ready to confront problems in the way President Trump is. Besides, he added, privately he hears a lot of support around the world for what the U.S. is doing. Read

Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez Get Seats on House Oversight Committee

Two of the most high-profile – and controversial – congressional freshmen, Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), have been handed seats on the main investigative committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Committee on Oversight and Reform. Read

Israeli Military Taunts ‘Lost’ Iranians After Striking Qods Force Sites in Syria

Airborne confrontations between Israel and Syria-based Iranian forces are growing increasingly serious, but that didn’t stop the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) from posting a mocking message on Twitter Monday, suggesting the Iranians were “lost” and needed help to find their way home. Read

ISIS Suicide Bomber Targets US Forces in Syria Again; No Casualties Reported

Just five days after four American personnel were among 16 people killed in an ISIS suicide bombing in northern Syria, the terrorist group claimed responsibility for another bombing targeting U.S. troops in the same part of the country, although this time no casualties were confirmed. Read

Code Pink Pressing E.U. to Boycott Pompeo’s Iran-Focused Meeting in Poland

Iranian state media outlets are giving credit to Code Pink amid indications of a lukewarm European Union response to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s planned Iran-focused ministerial meeting in Poland next month. Read

Women’s March Leader Sarsour Rejects Any Deals on Funding Trump’s ‘Damn Wall’

Women’s March leader Linda Sarsour had a message Saturday for President Trump and members of Congress, relating to deal he is trying to strike over funding to secure the southwest border: “Absolutely not!” Read

Al-Qaeda Terrorists Try to Link Kenya Attack to Trump and Jerusalem

The al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists who claimed responsibility for a brazen terror attack on a hotel complex in Kenya’s capital this week want the world to know that, whatever President Trump may say, “Jerusalem will never be Jewish.” Read

GOP Leaders Slam Appointment of Boycott-Israel Supporter to House Foreign Affairs Committee

The House Democratic caucus has appointed, to a committee chaired by one of its most pro-Israel members, a Muslim freshman lawmaker who supports the boycott-Israel movement and has come under fire for anti-Israel tweets. Read

Cuban Regime Bristles After US Signals Prospect of Lawsuits Over Seized Assets

In a move described as “ominous” by supporters of U.S. businesses in Cuba, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signaled Wednesday that the administration is considering paving the way for foreign entities to be sued for “trafficking” in private property confiscated by the Castro regime decades ago. Read

Pence Vows US ‘Will Never Allow the Remnants of ISIS to Reestablish Their Evil and Murderous Caliphate’

Paying tribute to the four American killed in a reported suicide bombing in northern Syria on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence declared that, as the U.S. withdraws its troops from that country, it “will never allow the remnants of ISIS to reestablish their evil and murderous caliphate – not now, not ever.” Read

British Gov’t Faces No Confidence Vote After Historic Defeat For May’s Brexit Plan

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government faces a vote of no confidence on Wednesday after the House of Commons Tuesday night rejected her deal for withdrawing from the European Union – by 230 votes, reportedly the biggest loss for a sitting government in the country’s modern history. Read

Ex-Ambassador Haley Calls ‘Coddling’ of Palestinians ‘The Reason the UN Is Not Taken Seriously’

The bloc of developing nations at the United Nations on Tuesday handed its presidency to the “State of Palestine,” with the U.N.’s top brass applauding the elevation of an entity that is neither a sovereign country nor a U.N. member-state, but which enjoys strong support across the world body. Read

Defending Women’s March Leaders, Farrakhan Media Outlet Slams Jews and White Women

As the Women’s March continues to suffer defections over its leaders’ associations with Louis Farrakhan, the controversial preacher’s Nation of Islam has been hitting back, accusing “Jewish and white women” of trying to undermine the movement ahead of its planned march this weekend. Read

Malaysia’s 93-Year-Old PM, a Strident Critic of Israel, Says Israelis Can’t Compete in World Paralympic Championships

Six months before Malaysia hosts the world para swimming championships, its 93-year-old prime minister says Israelis are not welcome – and if the organizing body doesn’t like it, it can hold the event somewhere else. Read

Erdogan Aide Hits Back After Trump Warns US ‘Will Devastate Turkey Economically if They Hit Kurds’ in Syria

President Trump appears to have upset Turkey’s notoriously prickly Islamist president with a tweet Sunday warning that the U.S. “[w]ill devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds.” Read

Joe Lieberman: Asking Pentagon for Strike Options Against Iran ‘Very Reasonable and Rational Thing’ to Do

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to comment Sunday on claims that the White House National Security Council asked the Pentagon last fall for options for a military strike against Iran, but a former Democratic senator said doing so would have been “very reasonable and rational thing” to do, given the circumstances. Read

In Cairo, Pompeo Rebuts Obama’s 2009 Speech: ‘The Age of Self-Inflicted American Shame is Over’

Almost a decade after President Obama delivered a widely-hailed address “to the Muslim world” in Cairo, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo returned to the Egyptian capital Thursday to give a speech that amounted to a rebuttal of Obama’s – and a repudiation of the previous administration’s policies across the region. Read

Muslim Rep. Andre Carson Envisions Muslim Rep. Rashida Tlaib Becoming Speaker of the House

Welcoming his two fellow Muslim newcomers to Congress, Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.) on Thursday evening envisioned a future with 30-35 Muslim members serving by 2030, and with Muslims holding posts ranging from committee chairs to the presidency of the United States. Read

Turkish Foreign Minister: Our Offensive Against Kurdish Fighters is Unrelated to US Troop Pullout

Turkey’s planned military offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria is unrelated to President Trump’s plans to withdraw U.S. forces who have been supporting those fighters and will happen according to Turkey’s own timeline, the country’s foreign minister said on Thursday. Read

World’s Worst-Scoring Country For Gender Equality Gets Leadership Post in UN Women’s Agency

For the past 13 years, a comprehensive annual report has given Yemen the lowest ranking in the world for gender equality. This week Yemen was handed the vice presidency of the executive board of the United Nations gender equality and women’s empowerment agency, UN Women, for 2019. Read

Human Rights Groups, EU Officials Silent as Dual US National Who Sold Property to Jews Remains Behind Bars

As a U.S. dual citizen sentenced by a Palestinian court to life imprisonment for selling a house to Jews remains behind bars, an Israeli legal advocacy group says it has found virtually no interest in its attempts to alert international human rights groups and European politicians to take up his case. Read

Citing Terror Plots, EU Imposes First Sanctions on Iran Since Nuclear Deal

The Trump administration on Tuesday welcomed a European Union decision to impose its first sanctions against the Iranian regime since the 2015 nuclear deal, in response to terrorist activity in Europe. Read

Rubio: Senate Democrats Put ‘Shutdown Politics Ahead of Support for Israel’

In the first Senate vote of the 116th Congress, 44 Democrats on Tuesday stalled movement on a pro-Israel bill which critics argue variously should not proceed amid the government shutdown and/or tramples on the First Amendment by seeking to counter boycotts of Israel. Read

Rep. Tlaib, a Boycott-Israel Supporter, Slammed for Implying Pro-Israel Lawmakers Have 'Dual Loyalty'

Freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a Palestinian-American supporter of the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, drew criticism Monday for insinuating that supporters of anti-BDS legislation in the Senate are acting in the interests of Israel rather than the United States. Read

Mexican Minister Talks About Securing Her Own Country's Southern Border, to Ensure ‘Legal and Orderly’ Entry

A day before President Trump gives a prime time Oval Office address on “the humanitarian and national security crisis” on the Southwest border, Mexico’s interior minister outlined plans to strengthen her own country’s porous southern border, where hundreds of illegal crossing points have been identified. Read

Palestinians Haven’t Voted in 13 Years; Now Abbas Casts Doubt on Elections in 2019

The Palestinian Legislative Council has been suspended for 12 years, and Mahmoud Abbas’ own four-year mandate as “president of the State of Palestine” expired ten years ago this month, but at the weekend he presented yet another reason why elections should not take place: Jerusalem. Read

Bolton Says Any Country in Doubt of US Support for Israel’s Self-Defense ‘Better Think About it Again’

National Security Advisor John Bolton, speaking in Jerusalem Sunday about Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, assured Israel of the administration’s unequivocal support for its right to defend itself. Read

US Military Kills Al Qaeda Terrorist Involved in USS Cole Attack in 2000

The long arm of the United States finally caught up on New Year’s Day with an al-Qaeda terrorist centrally involved in the suicide bombing in 2000 of the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole. The attack killed of 17 American sailors. Read

Rashida Tlaib, Who Heckled Trump in 2016, Warned She Was Bringing Her ‘Bullhorn’ to Congress

Rashida Tlaib, the new congresswoman from Michigan who last week called President Trump a “motherf****r,” said before the election that she planned to bring her “bullhorn to the floor of Congress.” Read

Invoking Obama’s Weak UN Resolution Language, Iran Plans Satellite Launches

The U.S. and Iran exchanged accusations Thursday about Iranian missile activity, a dispute that once again underscores the consequences of Obama administration decisions in 2015 that eased international pressure on the regime as part of the just-finalized nuclear deal. Read

Khamenei Appoints Hardliner to a Key Post in Iran, As Tensions With US Rise

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has appointed to a key post in the Islamic establishment a hardline cleric sanctioned by the U.S. for human rights abuses and accused by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of financial corruption. Read

U.S. Urged to Cut Aid to Palestinian Authority Until It Frees Dual American Citizen Who Sold Property to Jews

The Palestinian Authority is reportedly considering handing over to the U.S. a dual American citizen who was sentenced earlier this week to life imprisonment with hard labor for selling a property in Jerusalem to Jewish buyers. Read

Taiwan’s President Rejects Xi’s Declaration That Island ‘Must and Will Be’ Reincorporated, by Force if Necessary

Taiwan’s president responded coolly Wednesday to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s declaration that the island democracy “must and will be” united with communist-ruled China – by force if necessary – saying Xi’s stance made clear that Taiwan’s “misgivings” about Beijing are well-founded. Read

Kim Jong Un’s Jan. 1 Message to Trump: I’m Ready to Meet Again, But Stop The ‘Sanctions and Pressure’

Kim Jong Un ushered in 2019 underlining a commitment to not manufacture, use or proliferate nuclear weapons, but warned that continuing U.S. sanctions and pressure may compel him to “find a new way” to defend North Korea’s sovereignty. Read

Trump Praises Brazil’s New Leader, Who Vows to Free His Country From Socialism

Taking the helm of the world’s fifth largest country on Tuesday, President Jair Bolsonaro pledged to free Brazil from “corruption, crime, economic irresponsibility and ideological submission” and to respect its “Judeo-Christian tradition.” Read

Nikki Haley Welcomes Formal US Departure from UNESCO ‘Cesspool’

On the day after her tenure as ambassador to the U.N. ended, Nikki Haley on Tuesday welcomed the official U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO, describing the U.N. cultural agency as a corrupt and biased “cesspool.” Read