America needs an 'America First' foreign policy

"Americans elected Donald Trump in part for his promise to put America first at home and overseas. He promised a war-weary America that he would start no new wars and would get us out of the existing ones. Eight months into his second Administration it appears his promise remains to be fulfilled," 

 

President Trump Should Return to an ‘America First’ Foreign Policy | Ron Paul Institute | Ron Paul:

August 25, 2025 - "After four years of unnecessarily confrontational foreign policy under President Biden, Americans elected Donald Trump in part for his promise to put America first at home and overseas. He promised a war-weary America that he would start no new wars and would get us out of the existing ones. Eight months into his second Administration it appears his promise remains to be fulfilled, as his approval rating continues to slip.

"On Ukraine, President Trump wisely observed coming into office that the conflict is 'Joe Biden’s war' not his own. Unfortunately he could not resist the temptation to get involved in the conflict, even under the guise of 'peacemaker.' I’ve often said that getting out of conflicts overseas is not that complicated: we should just come home. Even when there are no troops involved, 'just come home' means disengage from the conflict. But President Trump wants to play referee in the war while arming and supporting one side. Is it any wonder he is making no progress in ending the war?

"Likewise with Israel and Gaza, Trump’s promise to put America first has faltered. President Biden put Americans on the hook for additional billions of dollars to support Israel’s actions in Gaza without even a word about the slaughter and destruction. As more Americans become disgusted by Israel’s obliteration of the property and population of that tiny strip of land, Trump shows no signs of shifting from Biden’s approach. More money and more weapons are sent as starvation claims more and more children each day. Trump has reportedly remarked to a donor that his own base is turning against him because of his Israel policy. Yet he refuses to alter course and 'just come home.'

"Trump has even returned to the failed Latin America policy of his first Administration, in last week’s move toward a military confrontation with oil-rich Venezuela. Trump sent two warships and 4,000 US troops to the waters near Venezuela under the highly suspect accusation that the country’s president is actually head of an international drug cartel. He should have learned from the almost comical recognition of Juan Guaido as the real president of Venezuela in his first term that meddling in that country is not in America’s interest. It seems the neocons around him, including warhawk Marco Rubio, are sucking him into another unnecessary conflict.

"Add in Trump’s military attacks on Yemen and Iran and the balance sheet thus far does not point to an 'America first' foreign policy.

"There is still time for President Trump to change course and fulfill his promises to the American people. 

• Put Ukraine and Russia on notice that from this point the US is withdrawing from any role in the conflict. Let the Europeans work it out if they feel it is in their interest. Getting us out of NATO is also a good idea.
• End US financial and military support for an Israel that cannot seem to get along with its neighbors. Perhaps without the US backstopping Israel’s warmongering, the country and its leadership would start to reflect on the wisdom of starting wars with multiple countries in its neighborhood.
• Stop trying to overthrow Venezuela’s Maduro and everyone else the neocons have placed on the 'hit list.' End all sanctions and open up trade instead. Maduro’s failed socialist economic policies will be his undoing, not American sanctions or saber-rattling.

"America first above all means 'just come home.' It’s that simple."

Copyright © 2025 The Ron Paul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

https://ronpaulinstitute.org/president-trump-should-return-to-an-america-first-foreign-policy/

Trump revisits a changed Middle East

President Donald Trump's return visit this week is to a Middle East that has changed dramatically since his first-term trip seven years ago. 

Trump plane 001, 2011, courtesy IowaPolitics.com. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

What Will Trump Find in the Middle East This Week? | Ron Paul Institute | Ron Paul:

May 12, 2025 - "President Trump’s return to the Middle East this week, the first since his first-term 2017 visit, will take place amidst great turmoil. It is a region that bears little resemblance to  the Middle East of 2017 and it appears, at least from media reporting this past week, that the Trump Administration has some understanding of this reality.

"Syria has been over-run and is now controlled by the same al-Qaeda that the US government supposedly spent 20 years fighting in the 'war on terror.' Violence against religious and ethnic minorities has, predictably, exploded under the 'rule' of a self-proclaimed Syrian president who until very recently was on the US 'most wanted' terrorist list.

"After the October 7, 2023, Hamas raid [on Israel], Gaza has been reduced to rubble and turned into a humanitarian catastrophe. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed and perhaps another million face starvation. US bombs and financial aid have facilitated the utter destruction of Gaza.

"Iran has made peace with Saudi Arabia thanks to Chinese mediation and is deepening its ties with the Kingdom. Thus, the US has little leverage in talks with the two former enemies.

"Israel is conducting military operations against several countries in the region simultaneously as the world increasingly condemns its aggression against its neighbors.

"After tearing up the JCPOA nuclear deal with Iran in his first term, President Trump is pushing for a new deal with Iran while threatening to attack if negotiations do not produce the results he demands.

"Massively increased US military action against the Houthis in Yemen starting in March did not result in their capitulation to US demands. Despite attempting to put the best spin on things, it is clear that the US retreated from the region in the face of a series of successful Yemeni actions in defense of their homeland. Biden and then Trump launched attacks against Yemen on behalf of Israel, but in the end the US president wisely removed US military assets from the area and called off the bombing.

"In short, President Trump will be wading into a minefield this week, but it is a peril that the US government has largely brought upon itself. Decades of US interventionism, from at least the 2003 Iraq war, have not produced the peaceful transformation of the region, as promised by the neocons and their mentor, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. From the unnecessary Iraq war – based on lies – to the destruction of Libya and Syria and countless other interventions, the Middle East is a basket case.

"And it turns out none of it actually helped Israel at all! Having ignited the tinder box of the region with US backing, Israel has now found itself friendless in a region increasingly hostile to its policies and even its very existence. Now there are indications that the Trump Administration is tiring of this entangling alliance as the MAGA base looks more warily on foreign interventionism.

"The lesson that President Trump should take with him is that to a large degree it has been US interventionism in the Middle East that has produced these poisoned fruits. His wise military disengagement from the Houthis in Yemen should serve as a US model for the region. Ties forged by trade and friendship produce peace and prosperity and are far preferable to endless neocon war cries."

Copyright © 2025 The Ron Paul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

Read more: https://ronpaulinstitute.org/what-will-trump-find-in-the-middle-east-this-week/

Block and Futerman make case for Israel

A small excerpt from Marco den Ouden's review of The Classical Liberal Case for Israel by Walter Block and Alan Futerman. 

A New Book Makes a Solid Case for Israel and Zionism | Savvy Street | Marco den Ouden:

May 30, 2024 - "I was asked to review a new book supporting both Israel and Zionism, The Classical Liberal Case for Israel by Walter Block and Alan Futerman.... I had a review of well over 5000 words divided into a discussion of Block and Futerman’s book followed by a critique based on ... elements they chose to ignore. I opted to publish the critique as a stand-alone essay called The Battle for Israel’s Soul without mentioning the book. Now I am presenting the other side of the story: Block and Futerman’s compelling case for the moral right of Israel to exist and the moral right of the Jewish people to have a homeland, namely Zionism.... 

courtesy Amazon..com.

"The authors argue forcefully for the legitimacy of the state of Israel as a Zionist enterprise. They provide considerable documentation to support their charges.... The basic thesis of their book, they state, is that 'The Land of Israel was built up and developed by Jews who were unjustifiably expelled from their homeland thousands of years ago and are now back to reclaim their lost property and add to it by building and developing otherwise virgin land. It is really as simple as that.” (xxvi)....

"In Chapter 1 they argue that some parts of ancient Judea are demonstrably of Jewish origin.... They also contend that there are Jews alive today who can be genetically traced to these ancient Jews.... In Chapter 2 — Zionism — they argue that Zionism, the political movement promoting a Jewish homeland state, namely the country of Israel, is justified on a number of counts. They point out that emigration to Palestine took place long before the 1948 UN partition that created the state. 'It arose from the spontaneous actions of hundreds of thousands of Jews who returned to Zion in order to build their homes, and only much later their state.' (37) Cultural Zionism preceded political Zionism.... They challenge the idea that 'the Jews somehow stole the land from Arabs,' arguing that Jewish migrants to Palestine purchased land from existing owners, some of them absentee landowners. They purchased uncultivated land, and in many cases, land that had been regarded as uncultivable. And they homesteaded unowned (government-owned) land.... 

"Chapter 3 on The Palestinian Fiction Factory, the longest chapter in the book at 70 pages (excluding bibliography) argues that claims that Palestinians were expropriated and/or forced from their land are false.... Jewish land was either bought at exorbitant prices, much of it from non-resident Arab landowners, or it was homesteaded on land declared as uncultivable. Jewish entrepreneurship turned much barren land into productive farmland. As a result, there was an influx of Arabs, increasing the Arab presence in the area. They were drawn by Jewish wealth and the opportunities it presented. So, far from ethnic cleansing, Jewish settlement encouraged Arab immigration into the area.  All Jewish land was either purchased or homesteaded, they aver. None was forcibly taken.... 

"Section 4 of the chapter on The 'Expulsion' Plan discusses the immediate aftermath of the UN declaration. It argues that Israel’s Arab neighbors launched an aggressive war to destroy Israel and that Israel had the legitimate right to self-defense. The Arab aggressors warned Arabs resident in Palestine to flee for their own safety. Many did. The objective of the war was Israeli genocide, to wipe Israel off the map. Israel encouraged Arabs to stay. Arabs who opted to stay in the state of Israel now comprise twenty percent of the population.... Regarding alleged massacres of Arabs such as Deir Yassein, 'there was no policy of massacres, and Israeli authorities investigated and even condemned such incidents.' (emphasis added) (Benny Morris in Kramer et al., “Counter-Error: Separating Fact from Fiction in the Middle East,” The Washington Institute, October 27, 2016, page 95)....

"[In] Chapter 6: Critique of the Classical Liberal Case for Anti-Zionism — the authors critique Murray Rothbard’s analysis of the Israel/Palestine conflict.... Rothbard’s position is that Zionism was an offshoot of British imperialism..... But this is untrue, the authors argue. They cite Ilan Troen’s 2011 study which argues that the first forty years of Jewish migration to the area took place under the Ottomans. It had nothing to do with imperial expansion.... While they acknowledge that the Balfour Declaration supported the Zionist enterprise during the British Mandate, in fact, according to Charles Bard, the British reaction to waves of Jewish immigration in the '30s following the rise of the Nazis was to restrict such immigration to appease the Arabs.... 

"The authors argue that Rothbard is totally wrong in his analysis of events post-partition in 1948. 'Contrary to Rothbard, the Jews accepted the partition and the Arabs who already lived in Jewish areas were an integral part of the new State of Israel (and treated as such)'.... But at the time of partition, 'seven Arab armies invaded Israel after it was completed. Why should Israel be blamed for the resulting situation when it was only defending itself from outside attack?' (265) Moreover, Rothbard offers 'no explanation of why and how a new state built virtually entirely on homesteaded or purchased areas, labored on and developed by Jewish majorities, constitutes an aggression against the collective of Arabs of the entire Middle East'.... 

"As I noted earlier, I also found a lot to disagree with, points I elaborate on in my separate essay, The Battle for Israel’s Soul. But this essay looks at the positive points they make, points that should be noted and bear repeating:

1. Zionism was a cultural movement long before it became a political one. Jews started emigrating to Israel, their historic homeland, from the late 1800s on, decades before the creation of the state of Israel.
2. No land was usurped from Arabs. It was either bought, often at exorbitant prices, or homesteaded on unowned land deemed uncultivable.
3. Arab antisemitism was rife before the creation of the state of Israel. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem himself was a virulent antisemite and concluded a pact with Hitler to exterminate the Jews.
4. When the state of Israel was created, its seven Arab neighbors launched an immediate war against the new state, expecting a quick and easy victory. Israel was, from day one, a victim of aggression by its Arab neighbors.
5. Decades of peace talks and attempts at a two-state solution have been consistently rejected by Palestinian authorities, no matter how favorable the deal was for the Palestinians.
6. Israel has repeatedly been the victim of suicide bombers and rocket attacks by Palestinians.
7. The Palestinian Authority pays and incentivizes Palestinian terrorists to the tune of $300 million a year or 22% of its foreign aid budget.
8. The Palestinian Authority forbids trade with Israel and selling land to an Israeli is a capital crime.
9. Hamas uses human shields and builds missile launch sites and tunnel hideouts under and near schools and hospitals and other areas populated by civilians. It uses its citizens to create martyrs.
10. Anti-Zionism in the form of BDS is completely one-sided. Only Israel is targeted. Egregious tyrannies and dictatorships are completely ignored.
11. There are double standards in the treatment of Israel, even by its parent and creator, the United Nations. Israel has been condemned by the UN more often than every other country in the world combined. The violent, fascist, repressive, misogynistic state of Iran has been censured a mere six times by the UN compared to 68 times for Israel. Russia the invader of Ukraine, Cuba the operator of extensive repressive political prisons (See Against All Hope by Armando Valladares), and China the largest mass-murdering regime in the history of the world, have never been censured by the UN. Not once!

"These are just a few of the points that Block and Futerman make. Despite some drawbacks that I pointed out in my other essay, this book deserves a hearing."

Read more: https://www.thesavvystreet.com/a-new-book-makes-a-solid-case-for-israel-and-zionism/

Is Zionism a libertarian movement? | גלעד אלפר | October 1, 2023:

Eight countries defund UN's Palestine aid agency

The U.S. Germany, the UK, Finland, Australia, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland have paused funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Paletsinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), following reports that UNRWA staff were involved in October's terrorist attack on Israel. 

Eight countries join U.S. in pausing funding to UN aid agency in Gaza | Axios | Barak Ravid:

January 27, 2024 - "Germany, Canada, the U.K., and six other Western nations have joined the U.S. in pausing funding for UN Palestinian refugee agency after Israel alleged 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack..... UNRWA has fired the accused staffers and launched an investigation. The head of UNRWA warned on Saturday that 'lifesaving assistance is about to end' due to nine countries' decision to suspend funding....

"A senior Israeli official said the Shin Bet and Israeli military intelligence provided information that pointed to the active participation of UNRWA staffers and the use of the agency's vehicles and facilities during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. 'This was strong and corroborated intelligence,' the official said. 'A lot of the intelligence is a result of interrogations of militants who were arrested during the Oct. 7 attack.'

"The U.S. on Friday became the first country to pause its funding to UNRWA over the allegations. It was the first step by the Biden administration against UNRWA since renewing U.S. funding to the agency after the Trump administration completely cut it off. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the ... the administration has 'temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them.'

"Germany, UNRWA's second-largest donor, joined the U.S. in pausing funding on Saturday. The U.K., Finland, Australia, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland also temporarily suspended their funding....

[UNRWA chief Philippe] Lazzarini said on Friday he terminated the contracts of the accused staff members and launched an investigation .... 'Any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution," Lazzarini said.... The UN will conduct an 'urgent and comprehensive independent review of UNRWA,' Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said on Friday. Guterres ... has also asked Lazzarini to 'investigate this matter swiftly and to ensure that any UNRWA employee shown to have participated or abetted what transpired on 7 October, or in any other criminal activity, be terminated immediately and referred for potential criminal prosecution,' he added.

"Miller said Secretary of State Tony Blinken spoke to Guterres on Thursday.... Miller welcomed the UN's announcement of a comprehensive and independent review of UNRWA.... 'UNRWA plays a critical role in providing lifesaving assistance to Palestinians, including essential food, medicine, shelter, and other vital humanitarian support,' Miller added. 'Their work has saved lives, and it is important that UNRWA address these allegations and take any appropriate corrective measures, including reviewing its existing policies and procedures.'

"Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday thanked the Biden administration for 'taking an important step in holding UNRWA accountable.... Terrorism under the guise of humanitarian work is a disgrace to the UN and the principles it claims to represent," he added."

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2024/01/26/unrwa-gaza-hamas-israel-attack

Why are some countries suspending funding from the UNRWA? | Analyst explains | CTV News | January 29, 2024: 

Gaza protestors play Grinch at Ottawa mall

A mob of anti-Israel protesters descended onto a Christmas display at Bayshore Mall in Ottawa Sunday, chanting and making loud banging sounds as children waiting for Santa ran away screaming in terror.

Palestine supporters swarm Santa, send children screaming at Ottawa mall | Western Standard | Jen Hodgson:

December 18, 2023 - "A mob of anti-Israel protesters descended onto a Christmas display at Bayshore Mall in Ottawa Sunday, chanting and making loud banging sounds as children waiting for Santa ran away screaming in terror. 

"The demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and shouted, 'Gaza, Gaza' repeatedly, followed by shouts of 'While you’re shopping bombs are dropping.' They held signs with slogans about 'genocide.'

"The mall was crowded with Christmas shoppers, many with small children waiting in line to visit Santa. Footage shows parents placing their children on Santa’s lap as the chanting and banging gets louder and more chaotic. Children can be heard screaming and Santa sat in his chair clearly uncomfortable as protestors aggressively swarmed the staging area. 

"Toward the end of the video, the protestors chant, 'Jesus was Palestinian.'"

Read more:  https://www.westernstandard.news/news/watch-palestine-supporters-swarm-santa-at-ottawa-mall-send-children-screaming/51132

Pro-Palestinian Protesters Rally Outside Zara | VOA News | Voice of America | December 17, 2023:

Israeli gov't letting citizens arm themselves

In the wake of last weekend's terrorist attacks, Israel's National Security Minister has "directed the Firearms Licensing Division to go on an emergency operation, in order to allow as many citizens as possible to arm themselves."

Israel Eases Guns Restrictions Amidst Security Failures | Reason | J.D. Tuccille: 

October 13, 2023 - "In the wake of the Hamas terrorist organization's murderous attacks on Israel, the country's government is admitting — not for the first time — that even Israel's extensive security apparatus can't be everywhere to protect everyone. Under the pressure of bloody events, officials are again making it easier for civilians to acquire and carry firearms for self-defense. 'Today I directed the Firearms Licensing Division to go on an emergency operation, in order to allow as many citizens as possible to arm themselves," announced National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. 'The plan will take effect within 24 hours.'

"By no means does the order eliminate the country's tight restrictions on guns. But it's an acknowledgment that too many Israelis were  caught with limited access to the means of self-defense when Hamas terrorists crossed the border from Gaza and attacked civilians.... Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were caught flat-footed and scrambled to catch up with events.

"This is actually the second time this year that Israel's government loosened gun rules in response to attacks on the public. 'Israel's security cabinet has approved measures to make it easier for Israelis to carry guns after two separate attacks by Palestinians in Jerusalem over the past two days,' the BBC reported in January. That followed an earlier reform allowing more civilians to carry defensive weapons in 2018. 'Trained citizens who hold weapons in the public sphere contribute to the feeling of security,' then-Security Minister Gilad Erdan said at the time. 'They are an important line of defense against "lone wolf" actions and are used in a sense as a temporary force multiplier, thereby strengthening public safety.'

"As sophisticated as Israel's security apparatus is, it's not omnipotent. The failures of intelligence services and military forces have led to recrimination and will undoubtedly result in changes. But human institutions are flawed and even the best are vulnerable to enemies capable of probing for weaknesses and planning around them. That's an ongoing problem for officials challenged with protecting the public from criminals and terrorists. Then-Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble wrestled with that dilemma after a 2013 terrorist attack at the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya. 'Societies have to think about how they're going to approach the problem,' Noble told ABC News. 'One is to say we want an armed citizenry; you can see the reason for that.... You have to ask yourself, "Is an armed citizenry more necessary now than it was in the past with an evolving threat of terrorism?" This is something that has to be discussed,' Noble added.

"Israel is making a choice now after Hamas terrorists penetrated the 'extraordinary security' around Gaza with explosives, boats, and paragliders. With that barrier penetrated, too many Israelis proved to be soft targets for assailants who butchered their way through communities.

"Ukraine made similar choices after Russia invaded at the beginning of 2022, putting many civilians on the front lines in their own homes. 'We will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country,' President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced. 'Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities.' Ukrainians anticipated that necessity, flocking to arm themselves in the days before Russian troops crossed the border.... Polling later found that 58 percent of Ukrainians supported wider civilian gun ownership....

"The hard truth is, no matter how well-funded and trained law enforcement agencies and military forces may be, they're imperfect. The only people guaranteed to be at the site of any attack are the perpetrators and those positioned to be either victims or survivors. If those people don't have the means to defend themselves and are stuck waiting for rescue, they're more likely to be relegated to the victim category than to emerge as survivors....

"Best wishes to the people of Israel, and elsewhere, who have suffered threats in the past, face them now, and will experience them in the future. All people have an absolute right to defend themselves and that right, and access to the means to exercise it, should be respected by law everywhere."

Read more: https://reason.com/2023/10/13/israel-eases-guns-restrictions-amidst-security-failures/

Israel Now Wants As Many Citizens Armed As Possible Reversing Their Strict Gun Control | Colion Noir | October 10, 2023:

CUPE under fire for pro-Hamas statements

Canadian Union of Public Employees criticized for pro-Hamas statements after last weekend's terrorist attack on Israel.

CUPE official 'sickened' by Ontario president's posts after attack on Israel | Toronto Sun | Joe Warmington:

October 10, 2023 - "Most people thought it was just a rogue Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local that didn’t speak for the whole 700,000-member union. Wrong.... Just moments after Israeli children had been slaughtered, people were stunned by CUPE, Local 3906’s public support for those behind the genocide. 'Palestine is rising, long live the resistance,' they callously posted on X.... 

"It was followed by CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn liking that post and later going to social media with a 'From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free' meme. He also tweeted about being 'thankful' for 'resistance.' Tweeted Hahn: 'As we all think about reasons to be thankful this #thanksgiving2023, I know I’m thankful for the power of workers, the power of resistance around the globe. Because #Resistance is fruitful and no matter what some might say, #Resistance brings progress, and for that, I’m thankful'....

"Jewish groups say any support for these actions is support for Hamas. Premier Doug Ford also expressed his outrage. 'The comments by the president of CUPE Ontario glorifying and celebrating the rape, abduction and murder of innocent Israeli people are disturbing, and I denounce them wholeheartedly,' said Ford Tuesday.... Hahn has also upset many CUPE members. 'I have never been so sickened as I am today by the comments of fellow union officers,” said CUPE 416 Paramedic Services Unit chair Mike Merriman.' He is calling for Hahn to resign.... 

"While the Local 3906 pulled its tweet and Hamilton’s McMaster University, where the union represents 3,000 workers, distanced itself from the sentiment, Hahn and CUPE National have doubled down. Instead of calling out the terrorists and their evil carnage, the union that represents health care, emergency services, education, early learning and child care, municipalities, social services, libraries, utilities, transportation and airlines across Canada are pushing [a] neutrality approach, but also admitting they actually back the Palestinian side....

"'CUPE grieves the loss of life brought by the recent escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine,' said a release sent to the Toronto Sun in response to a request for comment from CUPE National President Mark Hancock. 'We are horrified by the Hamas attack on Israel and the retribution by the state of Israel on the people of Palestine and condemn all acts of violence against innocent civilians'....

"CUPE blames Israel. 'CUPE has long recognized the need for the Israeli government to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories and abide by UN resolutions and international law,' said the release. 'The full siege that has now been declared on Gaza by Israel will worsen conditions for residents who are already struggling and deny the population of food, water, electricity and other necessities for life. It will not hasten a peaceful resolve.'

"CUPE wants Trudeau to push back on Israel’s defence plans. 'We urge the government of Canada to call for a ceasefire, for the enforcement of international law and to work toward a peaceful resolution that upholds the rights to life and freedom of Palestinians and Israelis'....

"Merriman said Hahn and Local 3906’s comments 'have no place in the Canadian labour movement' and are not representative of the 'decent, hardworking and humanitarian CUPE members.' But they are the views of some within the union brass."

Read more: https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/warmington-cupe-official-sickened-by-ontario-presidents-posts-after-attack-on-israel

Liberal staffer condones Hamas violence

While Canada's Liberal government, including  cabinet minister Gary Anandasangaree, has condemned recent Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, Anandasangaree's senior legal staffer has been sharing social media posts defending the "revolutionary violence" and cheering "Go Palestine". 

Senior Liberal staffer shares post defending Palestinian “revolutionary violence” | True North | Elie Cantin-Nantel:

October 8, 2023 - "A senior advisor to a Liberal cabinet minister shared an Instagram post condoning Palestinian 'revolutionary violence' and using a hashtag calling for the destruction of Israel. Brandon Montour, who is listed as a senior legal affairs advisor to Liberal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree on the federal government’s employee directory, also shared a post supporting Palestinian liberation through 'whatever means necessary.' The sharing of the posts came amid unprecedented Hamas attacks on Israel that have so far killed more than 600 Israeli soldiers and civilians and kidnapped 100 hostages, including children and seniors – with one senior Israeli official calling it 'our 9/11.'  

Screenshots courtesy True North.

"Terrorists fired thousands of rockets and dozens of Palestinian gunmen infiltrated Israeli territory on Saturday.  The same day, Montour shared an Instagram post saying 'revolutionary violence is not terrorism. It’s a fight for liberation.' The post was shared from a 'Marxist-Leninist, Proletarian feminist' account. The post contained three other images, including one of Hamas terrorists capturing Israeli soldiers and one that read 'resistance doesn’t happen only by violence, but violence is the mainstream.' The post had the caption 'Go Palestine' and the hashtags #destroyisrael, #destroyimperialism, #destroycolonialism, #freepalestine and #revolution.

"Montour also shared a post from a Palestinian liberation group that called for people to 'support Palestinian Resistance from Al-Quds [Jerusalem] to Gaza.' Behind the text is an image of rockets being launched. 'Supporting Palestinian liberation is supporting whatever means necessary it takes to get there,' the post said. 'Freedom has only ever been achieved through resistance. After over 75 years of ongoing ethnic cleansing and genocide, how could anyone expect anything else from Palestinians but resistance?'...

"Montour did not respond to several requests for comment by True North. However, shortly after True North reached out to him, his LinkedIn page was deleted.

"The views expressed in the posts shared by Montour are contrary to the position taken by Canada’s Liberal government, which has denounced Hamas’ attacks on Israel as terrorism. Anandasangaree, as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, issued statements condemning Hamas and showing solidarity with Israel following the attacks....

"Anandasangaree’s office did not respond to a request for comment."

Read more: https://tnc.news/2023/10/08/liberal-staffer-palestinian-violence/

Covid and the Psychology of Totalitarianism

Never Again? Israel’s mask mob echo the Holocaust | The Conservative Woman - Donna Edmunds:

June 30, 2022 - "In January this year, a young woman went to the opera.... The woman, known only as M, has a medical mask exemption and arrived with her face uncovered. Soon after, she was violently turned upon by her fellow opera-goers. ‘There were about 400 attendees, about 100 of them were shouting at me (people physically blocking my way to my seats and not letting me through) people telling me not to stand near them and shooing me away,’ she wrote in her Telegram post. ‘A woman hit me on the head. I didn’t speak a single word to all these people, I was literally cowering in place and at no point did I speak or reply or gesture to any of them, after the initial blow up I just went straight to security.’

"Thankfully, the security staff were supportive of M, moving away the more aggressive among the crowd and threatening to evict them. Some of the staff seemed shaken by what they had witnessed. They escorted M to her seat and stood guard at the end of her row throughout the performance. This scene would be shocking enough had it taken place somewhere like Berlin, which has seen this sort of irrational out-group persecution by supposedly enlightened citizens before. It’s all the more disturbing that it actually took place in Tel Aviv, Israel.

"Israel is a country awash with Holocaust memorials.... Yet when Covid struck in March 2020, Israel was among the countries that most enthusiastically embraced the harshest of public health measures. Its citizens suffered months of lockdowns, business closures, school closures, mask mandates and the most insulting policy of all: the ‘green pass’ – a vaccine passport which segregated society into the ‘clean’ and the ‘unclean’. Deckchairs appeared on Tel Aviv beach labelled ‘reserved for vaccinated people only’. The parallels with our history, only eight decades behind us, were striking and alarming, yet astonishingly the majority were content to sit inside warm restaurants during the winter of 2021, watching those who were unwilling or unable to be vaccinated turned away or shivering outside under inadequate patio heaters without a murmur of dissent....

"We know that nearly 400,000 Jews died in the Warsaw Ghetto, but how many of us know why the ghetto was created? That it was a public health policy? When the Germans invaded Poland in 1939 and bombed Warsaw, the city’s sewerage system was damaged and typhus quickly spread. German propaganda already blamed Jews for spreading disease, so, although typhus was found throughout the city, it was the Jewish neighbourhoods that became ‘restricted epidemic areas’. Although by the summer of 1940 typhus cases were falling, German doctors persuaded the authorities to create a ghetto to prevent further spread. The creation of the ghetto, where overcrowding and lack of food were rife, caused a spike in cases.

"Fast-forward to 2022, and not everyone was content to go along with the narrative. Some of us wondered how so many could be so blind to the history repeating in front of their eyes. What did those Tel Aviv opera-goers think they were doing when they mobbed M?

"A Belgian psychologist and academic gives us the answer. Mattias Desmet has spent the last few years studying the rise of totalitarian regimes and was already uncomfortable with the direction Western societies were headed in when Covid hit.... In his book The Psychology of Totalitarianism, Desmet explains that societies in which a large number of people have anxious, lonely lives lacking in meaning are ripe for totalitarianism to set in. In those conditions, people are looking for a narrative that creates purpose and a sense of shared endeavour. Many people found exactly that in the Covid era. If left unchecked, the false narrative of mass formation descends into violence and persecution. It descends into the Holocaust.

"Desmet explained what is required to avert this dismal fate. ‘It’s really crucial that the people who are not in the process of mass formation continue to speak out, because if they don’t, the mass hypnosis becomes deeper and deeper, and typically reaches the point where the masses become so fanatically convinced of the narrative they believe in, that they believe it is necessary to eliminate the people who don’t go along with it,’ he said. ‘This is because once someone is in mass formation he feels an overwhelming solidarity, and he’s convinced that people who don’t share the solidarity, who don’t go along with the masses, lack solidarity, lack citizenship. Consequently they are not human any more and have to be destroyed.’

"He added: ‘If dissident voices stop speaking out, then the process that happened in the Soviet Union around 1930 and in Germany around 1935 will typically start to happen [again]. Once the dissident voices, the opposition, stop speaking out within the public space, within a period of six months to one year, the cruelty starts.’

"When I heard about M’s experience, I knew I had to speak out. And I wasn’t the only one. Along with my partner and a few others, most notably historian Andrew Barr, we set about writing a declaration – a warning – from the Jews to the world. We have been here before. We know where division, demonisation and mass psychosis lead. We cannot let it happen again.

"Some have said that we are insulting those who died in the Holocaust by highlighting the clear parallels between Covid policies and the events leading to the Holocaust. We say the opposite: that only by learning from history and ensuring that nothing of the sort ever happens again can the memories of those who died truly be honoured.... Others have said that our declaration has been made redundant by the apparent rollback of Covid policies. Flights are taking off again, people are unmasked, the world is returning to a semblance of normality. To those people I say two things: first, in May, Joe Biden stated frankly: ‘Covid isn’t over.’ Second, our governments have had a taste of absolute power. They now know they can lock us up at the drop of a hat. If they’ve done it once, they will do it again, unless we make it abundantly clear that we won’t be so meek the next time....

" I invite you to sign the Isaiah 62 Declaration here. https://isaiah62declaration.com/"
                For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent
                For Jerusalem’s sake I will not be still
                Isaiah 62:1

Read more: https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/never-again-israels-mask-mob-echo-the-holocaust/

Israeli data shows vitamin D efficacy vs Covid

Israeli study offers strongest proof yet of vitamin D’s power to fight COVID | Times of Israel - Nathan Jaffay:

3 February 3, 2022 - "Israel scientists say they have gathered the most convincing evidence to date that increased vitamin D levels can help COVID-19 patients reduce the risk of serious illness or death. Researchers from Bar Ilan University and the Galilee Medical Center say that the vitamin has such a strong impact on disease severity that they can predict how people would fare if infected based on nothing more than their ages and vitamin D levels.

"Lacking vitamin D significantly increases danger levels, they concluded in newly peer-reviewed research published Thursday in the journal PLOS One. The study is based on research conducted during Israel’s first two waves of the virus, before vaccines were widely available, and doctors emphasized that vitamin supplements were not a substitute for vaccines, but rather a way to keep immunity levels from falling.

"Vitamin D deficiency is endemic across the Middle East, including in Israel, where nearly four in five people are low on the vitamin, according to one study from 2011. By taking supplements before infection, though, the researchers in the new Israeli study found that patients could avoid the worst effects of the disease.

"'We found it remarkable, and striking, to see the difference in the chances of becoming a severe patient when you are lacking in vitamin D compared to when you’re not,' said Dr. Amiel Dror, a Galilee Medical Center physician and Bar Ilan researcher who was part of the team behind the study. He noted that his study was conducted pre-Omicron, but said that the coronavirus doesn’t change fundamentally enough between variants to negate vitamin D effectiveness. 'What we’re seeing when vitamin D helps people with COVID infections is a result of its effectiveness in bolstering the immune systems to deal with viral pathogens that attack the respiratory system,' he told The Times of Israel. 'This is equally relevant for Omicron as it was for previous variants.'

"Health authorities in Israel and several other countries have recommended vitamin D supplements in response to the coronavirus pandemic, though data on its effectiveness has been sparse until now. In June, researchers published preliminary findings showing that 26 percent of coronavirus patients died if they were vitamin D deficient soon before hospitalization, compared to 3% who had normal levels of vitamin D. They also determined that hospitalized patients who were vitamin D deficient were 14 times more likely, on average, to end up in severe or critical condition than others. 

"While the scientific community recognized the importance of the results, questions arose as to whether recent health conditions among the patients might have been skewing the results. The possibility was raised that patients could have been suffering from conditions that both reduce vitamin D levels and increase vulnerability to serious illness from COVID-19, meaning the vitamin deficiency would be a symptom rather than a contributing factor in disease severity.

"To zero out that possibility, Dror’s team delved deeper into the data, examining each of its patients’ vitamin D levels over the two-year stretch before coronavirus infection. They found that the strong correlation between sufficient vitamin D levels and ability to fight the coronavirus still held, and the level of increased danger in their preliminary findings remained almost identical....

"A flood of dubious claims about natural remedies to the coronavirus, including a theory that Israelis had immunized themselves with lemons and baking soda, have left some skeptical about claims of vitamins warding off the virus. But Dror insisted that his team’s research showed that the importance of vitamin D was not based on incomplete or flawed data. 'People should learn from this that studies pointing to the importance of taking vitamin D are very reliable, and aren’t based on skewed data,' he said. 'And it emphasizes the value of everyone taking a vitamin D supplement during the pandemic, which, consumed in sensible amounts in accordance with official advice, doesn’t have any downside.'"

Read more: https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-study-offers-strongest-proof-yet-of-vitamin-ds-power-to-fight-covid/ 

Read study: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263069

Natural immunity outperforms Pfizer in new study

Another Study Finds That Natural Immunity Protects Better Against Infection Than the Pfizer Vaccine | Daily Sceptic - Noah Carl:

December 10, 2021 - At the end of August, a study was published showing that natural immunity provides much better protection against infection than the Pfizer vaccine. It was described by  UCL[University College London]'s Francois Balloux as 'a bit of a bombshell'.... However, as I noted in my write-up of the 'bombshell' study, its findings still needed to be replicated. After all, certain datasets or methods of analysis can sometimes yield quirky results, which don’t survive independent empirical tests. Encouragingly, the findings now have been replicated – by another team of Israeli researchers, using a different dataset.

"In the latest study, Yair Goldberg and colleagues tracked all the individuals in their dataset (of people in Israel) who had tested positive or received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine before 1st July, 2021. They then compared the number of infections in previously infected versus vaccinated individuals from August to September of 2021. The researchers also examined the number of infections among those with so-called ‘hybrid immunity’ – i.e., previously infected individuals who got vaccinated.  

"For each of the three groups, they counted the number of infections and the number of days ‘at risk’ (i.e., the total number of people multiplied by the number of days on which they were ‘at risk’ of becoming infected). Adjustments were made for age, sex, ethnicity, calendar week and a measure of risk exposure.

"Results are shown in the chart below. Each bar corresponds to the infection rate per 100,000 ‘risk days’. The reason the researchers used ‘risk days’, rather than just ‘people’, is that the composition of each group changed over time. For example, some previously infected people chose to get vaccinated.

"Notice that the labels for the horizontal bars are not the same for each group. Since we want to compare apples with apples, look at the bars labelled 'Recovered 6–8 months' and 'Vaccinated 6–8 months'.... 6–8 months after the corresponding event, infection rates were more than six times higher among vaccinated individuals – 89 per 100,000 versus only 14 per 100,000 among previously infected individuals.

"The chart also shows that infection rates were lower still among those with hybrid immunity, which is consistent with what the earlier study found. However, the difference between the hybrid group and the recovered group was relatively small. For example, infection rates at 6–8 months were only 20% higher in the recovered group.

"Goldberg and colleagues’ study confirms that natural immunity does wane, though much more slowly than vaccine-induced immunity. Anyone claiming the contrary now has to contend with not one, but two, high quality studies."

Read more: https://dailysceptic.org/2021/12/10/another-study-finds-that-natural-immunity-protects-better-against-infection-than-the-pfizer-vaccine/ 

Read study: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.04.21267114v1
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.24.21262415

Redefining "fully vaccinated"

 COVID boosters: Is the definition of 'fully vaccinated' about to change to 3 vaccine doses? | Euronews - Julie Gaubert: 

November 21, 2021 - "Across Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of abating with several countries announcing further restrictions in recent days to contain a surge in new cases. As well as a new lockdown, Austria announced this week that vaccination will be made compulsory from February 1, making it the first EU country to issue such a mandate. But ... it is now becoming apparent that a third dose, or booster, will now be needed to keep COVID-19 cases numbers down. 

"On Monday, British prime minister Boris Johnson admitted that to be fully vaccinated no longer meant having two COVID jabs but rather three doses in order to prevent pandemic restrictions from being reinforced in the UK.... In the UK, the third dose has already been authorised for the over-50s and frail people since the beginning of September, with the goal of administering '10 million booster doses before Christmas,' Johnson said.

"Many European countries have launched their booster campaigns in recent weeks, but only 3.7 per cent of the continent's population has received a third injection, according to AFP.... Iceland is leading the way. Nearly 1 in 5 people have already received a booster dose in a population that is already 90 per cent vaccinated. Faced with the resurgence of cases, the Icelandic government announced last Friday new health measures for its citizens, including the wearing of masks and the third dose for all those over 16.

"Further to the east, Hungary and Serbia are in second place with 14 and 16 out of every 100 inhabitants respectively being triple vaccinated, according to data compiled by the OurWorldinData website.

"The United States announced on Friday health authorities have given the green light for a third dose of COVID vaccine for all adults who were fully vaccinated at least six months ago.

"In France, the over-65s have been called upon since September to receive a third jab or risk having their ‘passe sanitaire’, or COVID health pass, suspended in mid-December.... Is making a third dose a condition for obtaining a health pass becoming widespread? In France, the Academy of Medicine rejected the idea. The organisation said on October 29, that it was opposed to the possibility, which it said 'goes beyond' the objective of the document. This measure 'transgresses the role of the health pass, which was to limit the risk of transmission of the virus and to encourage the population to be vaccinated', the institution said in a statement.

"In Israel, on the other hand, unless you received your second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine within the last six months, you will now need a third dose to become eligible for a green pass, which allows entry to gyms, restaurants, and other venues.

"World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was 'a scandal' that six times more booster shots are being administered around the world daily than primary doses in low-income countries, adding that 'it must stop now'. 'It makes no sense to give boosters to healthy adults, or to vaccinate children, when health workers, older people and other high-risk groups around the world are still waiting for their first dose,' the WHO chief warned at a media briefing on November 12.

"For Dr David Nabarro, the WHO's special envoy on COVID-19, relying only on a full vaccination strategy is a gamble for rich countries. 'It has never been done before and it would really be an inappropriate public health strategy to do so,' he told the UK parliament’s All-Party Group on vaccines. The main threat is the reliance on existing vaccines, Nabarro warned." [stress added]

Read more: https://www.euronews.com/next/2021/11/21/covid-boosters-is-the-definition-of-fully-vaccinated-about-to-change-to-mean-3-vaccine-dos

We may soon need a fourth COVID vaccine dose because of the Omicron outbreak, says Pfizer CEO | Euronews - Pascale Davies: 

December 10, 2021 - "People may need a fourth COVID-19 shot sooner than expected, Pfizer’s CEO said on Wednesday. Albert Bourla told CNBC that preliminary research shows the new Omicron variant can undermine protective antibodies generated by the vaccine developed with BioNTech. The comments come after the company released the results from an initial lab study on Wednesday that showed a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine could significantly protect against the new variant and said they could deliver an upgraded vaccine in March 2022 if needed.

"'When we see real-world data, it will determine if the omicron is well covered by the third dose and for how long. And the second point, I think we will need a fourth dose,' Bourla told CNBC, adding, it was still unclear when a fourth dose would be needed....

"As countries scramble to rollout COVID-19 vaccine boosters, a World Health Organization (WHO) advisory group on Thursday decided against endorsing a broad-based rollout of booster shots. The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) said poor countries are subject to vaccine inequality and that the first dose should be the priority. The WHO has endorsed third vaccines or booster shots for those who are immunocompromised or received an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine. But WHO experts have said there is not enough data on the Omicron variant to demonstrate that boosters are necessary."

Read more: https://www.euronews.com/next/2021/12/10/we-may-soon-need-a-fourth-covid-vaccine-dose-because-of-the-omicron-outbreak-says-pfizer-c

Pfizer vaccine efficacy drops below 40% in Israel

Israel says Pfizer Covid vaccine is just 39% effective as delta spreads, but still prevents severe illness | CNBC - Berkeley Lovelace, Jr.:

July 23, 2021 - "Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine is just 39% effective in Israel where the delta variant is the dominant strain, but still provides strong protection against severe illness and hospitalization, according to a new report from the country’s Health Ministry. The efficacy figure, which is based on an unspecified number of people between June 20 and July 17, is down from an earlier estimate of 64% two weeks ago....

"However, the two-dose vaccine still works very well in preventing people from getting seriously sick, demonstrating 88% effectiveness against hospitalization [down from 93% two weeks ago - gd] and 91% effectiveness against severe illness, according to the Israeli data published Thursday. 

"'We have to be mindful that, with time, the effectiveness of these vaccines may wane,' said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease professor at the University of Toronto. He stressed that the shots are still highly effective in preventing severe infection, helping hospital systems not get too overwhelmed heading into the colder months. That being said, 'we’re still in the Covid era and anything can happen,' he said. 'We have to be prepared and we have to be nimble that people may need a booster at some point,' he added.... 

"The delta variant, already in more than 104 countries, is concerning health officials in the U.S. as they see more breakthrough infections, which occur in fully vaccinated people, even though they are more mild."

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/23/delta-variant-pfizer-covid-vaccine-39percent-effective-in-israel-prevents-severe-illness.html

Health officials predict thousands of seriously ill COVID patients within month | Times of Israel:

August 11, 2021 - "Israeli hospitals have to prepare for an influx of nearly 5,000 coronavirus patients within weeks, half of whom will need acute care to deal with severe bouts of COVID-19, health officials have warned Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, according to reports Wednesday. The dire predictions came during a Tuesday meeting between Bennett and senior health experts ... prompting the premier to back a plan to expand hospital capacity, a signal that the government will look to absorb the crush of severe cases head-on rather than attempt to swerve out of its way.

"Senior Health Ministry officials and other experts presented Bennett with data forecasting some 4,800 coronavirus patients requiring hospitalization by September 10. The experts expect half of the patients to be seriously ill, putting a major strain on Israel’s health system, according to Hebrew-language media reports on the closed-door meeting.

"Israel has seen new case numbers skyrocket in recent weeks from a few dozen a day to over 6,000 on Monday. Another 5,755 were diagnosed on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said Wednesday morning, bringing the number of active cases to 38,942. Ministry numbers showed 694 patients hospitalized as of Wednesday morning, 400 of whom were listed in serious condition."

Read more: https://www.timesofisrael.com/health-officials-predict-thousands-of-seriously-ill-covid-patients-within-month/

Covid reinfection rate under 1/10,000 in Israel

Natural infection vs vaccination: Which gives more protection? | Arutz Sheva 7 - David Rosenberg:

July 13, 2021 - "Health Ministry data on the wave of COVID outbreaks which began this May show that Israelis with immunity from natural infection were far less likely to become infected again in comparison to Israelis who only had immunity via vaccination.

"More than 7,700 new cases of the virus have been detected during the most recent wave starting in May, but just 72 of the confirmed cases were reported in people who were known to have been infected previously – that is, less than 1% of the new cases. Roughly 40% of new cases – or more than 3,000 patients – involved people who had been infected despite being vaccinated.

"With a total of 835,792 Israelis known to have recovered from the virus, the 72 instances of reinfection amount to 0.0086% of people who were already infected with COVID. By contrast, Israelis who were vaccinated were 6.72 times more likely to get infected after the shot than after natural infection, with over 3,000 of the 5,193,499, or 0.0578%, of Israelis who were vaccinated getting infected in the latest wave.

"According to a report by Channel 13, the disparity has confounded – and divided – Health Ministry experts, with some saying the data proves the higher level of immunity provided by natural infection versus vaccination, while others remained unconvinced.

Read more: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/309762

Pfizer immunity from Covid infection down 32% in month, Israeli data shows

Israel notes decline in Pfizer vaccine efficacy against mild COVID-19: Ynet news | National Post - Alisa Odenheimer & Damian Shepherd, Bloomberg News:

July 05, 2021 - "The protection conferred by Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine against mild forms of Covid-19 appeared to wane after a few weeks in data garnered in Israel as the delta variant took hold, although the shot continued to shield users against severe illness.

"The vaccine developed with BioNTech SE protected 64 per cent of receivers against the illness between June 6 and early July as the government lifted restrictions, down [by 32% - gd] from 94 per cent between May 2 and June 5, the Ynet news website reported, citing Health Ministry numbers....

" [T]hose who were vaccinated remained far less likely to be hospitalized, with protection dropping only slightly to 93 per cent from 98 per cent [down 5% - gd] in the period. The efficacy against serious illness was similar, according to the report.

"Dervila Keane, a spokeswoman at Pfizer, declined to comment on the data from Israel but she pointed to other research that shows continued protection against new mutations — just slightly reduced in some cases. The evidence gathered so far suggests that the vaccine 'will continue to protect against these variants,' she said."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/israel-notes-decline-in-pfizer-vaccine-efficacy-against-mild-covid-19-ynet-news 

Israel, Denmark announce end to vaccine passes

With most adults vaccinated and case numbers low, Israel removes many restrictions | New York Times - Isabel Kershner:

June 1, 2021 -  "With new coronavirus cases dropping to below 20 a day, Israel on Tuesday retired its Green Pass system and will now allow equal access to restaurants, sports events, cultural activities and the like to vaccinated and unvaccinated citizens. Restrictions on the sizes of gatherings have also been lifted. The decision came less than three months after Israel, a real-world laboratory for the efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, pioneered its digitized Green Pass system and became a test case for an inoculated society.

"For now, the only remaining pandemic restriction inside the country is a requirement to wear masks in closed public spaces, although that, too, is under discussion by health officials. The main efforts to control the coronavirus are now centered on restrictions for travel in and out of Israel, based on testing and quarantine. Strict limitations remain on the entry of people who are not Israeli citizens.

"'The Green Pass project was very successful,' said Tomer Lotan, the policy chief of Israel’s national coronavirus response center, summing up the experiment of the past few months. It was particularly effective, he said, as an incentive to encourage the 16-to-40 age group to get vaccinated and to allow Israel to reopen its economy. 'But anybody who did not get vaccinated by now is probably not going to,' Mr. Lotan said. About 81 percent of Israel’s adult population has been fully vaccinated, but about 2.6 million children under 16 are still not eligible, out of a total population of just over nine million. Up to a million people have chosen not to be inoculated.... 

"Israel was among the first countries to grapple with some of the legal and moral issues arising from a two-tiered system for vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Because getting vaccinated has been voluntary, some people who chose not to or could not be vaccinated argued that the Green Pass system was discriminatory. Enforcement was also patchy.... Businesses complained about the additional burden of enforcing the rules. And movie complexes and other leisure attractions did not reopen, because it was unprofitable as long as unvaccinated children could not enter without showing a recent negative Covid-19 test, which many found impractical."
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/world/middleeast/israel-covid-restrictions.html

Denmark to scrap face masks from Monday | The Local.dk - Ritzau/The Local,de:

June 10, 2021 - "Denmark's government has struck a deal with all but one of the parties in parliament to on Monday end the requirement to wear a face mask in all areas apart from on public transport. Under the agreement, struck after 3am following marathon all-night negotiations, the requirement to wear a face mask will be scrapped completely from October 1st.

"The coronavirus health pass or coronapas will also begin to be phased out from Monday, when those visiting public libraries and participating in activities run by clubs and voluntary organisations will no longer be required to show one.

"From August 1st, a valid coronapas will no longer be needed in theaters, concert venues, indoor sports activities, and a wide range of other venues, from September 1st, you will no longer need to show one in restaurants, the hairdresser or the gym, and on October 1st the pass will be phased out completely.... The agreement also extends how long a negative PCR test provides a valid coronapas to 96 hours."
Read more: https://www-thelocal-dk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.thelocal.dk/20210610/danish-parties-agree-to-scrap-face-masks-from-monday/

Governments imposing a 2nd wave of lockdowns

Localized lockdowns show that we're in the most complex phase of coronavirus yet | CNN - Emma Reynolds:

July 9, 2020 - "From English cities to the Spanish seaside and Australian housing estates, local lockdowns are cropping up all over the world as countries ease restrictions only to encounter new coronavirus outbreaks.... Beijing re-entered a partial lockdown in mid-June after a new coronavirus outbreak linked to a food market in the Chinese capital, while at least 24 states in the US are pausing or rolling back their reopenings as cases accelerate....

"The threshold for imposing new lockdowns as well as their size and scope varies dramatically between countries, from a single building in Italy, to several Rwandan villages, to a community of 200,000 in Spain's northeast and a coastal area of 70,000 in its northwest, to the whole of Israel. There are hopes this approach could minimize the economic damage resulting from large-scale shutdowns. In Portugal, for example, 19 boroughs on the outskirts of Lisbon have shut down, while the capital's downtown area has continued its reopening, along with the rest of the country.

"The German city of Guetersloh was put back into lockdown after 1,331 workers at its Toennies meat processing factory tested positive for the virus.... Guetersloh's lockdown was lifted Monday when a court in the state of North Rhine-Westfalia ruled that the regulation was 'no longer compatible with the principle of proportionality and the principle of equal treatment'....

"In the Italian city of Mondragone, authorities sealed off a building that housed migrant seasonal workers as a 'red zone' late last month after 49 people tested positive for Covid-19. The army was sent to monitor the hotspot and a group of workers living in the building broke the quarantine to protest.... And in Serbia, police in the capital Belgrade on Tuesday fired tear gas at protesters demonstrating against the President Aleksandar Vucic after he announced a weekend-long curfew to try to combat a surge in cases....

"The English city of Leicester returned to lockdown for two weeks from July 2, with non-essential businesses shutting, people advised to minimize social contact, and schools closed for most children, after a spike in cases there. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that Leicester showed 'the virus is out there still circling like a shark in the water,' raising fears of further lockdowns in other UK areas with rising numbers of new cases....

"In the Australian state of Victoria, 6.6 million people have been isolated from the rest of the country for six weeks after Melbourne saw a record rise in daily case numbers. On Saturday, 3,000 residents of nine densely populated public housing estates were put under full lockdown and from Wednesday, residents in metropolitan Melbourne are no longer allowed to leave their homes, except for grocery shopping, caregiving, exercise or work. Victoria's border with New South Wales will close for the first time since the pandemic began....

"Israel has re-imposed strict limitations across the whole country, closing event halls, bars, gyms and pools after the country hit a record daily figure of 1,140 new infections. It is facing a near 40-fold increase in daily cases from mid-May, when the nation appeared to have the virus under control....

"[Alexander] Kekulé, the virology professor [of the Institute for Biosecurity Research in Germany], believes that large-scale reopening and then locking down again is a mistake, and risks causing psychological or economic damage to those affected. 'We need a reliable picture of our future [f]or the economy,' he told CNN. 'You cannot plan when you have the possibilities of lockdowns at any time. People will not do that several times, again and again.... In the United States, [and] also in Brazil, we have the situation that the people are beginning to fight against lockdowns and I understand why they are doing that,' he said. 'Instead of braking and accelerating, we needed a completely different concept.'"

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/09/health/local-lockdowns-leicester-melbourne-gutersloh-intl/index.html

Economic shutdowns ineffective, says Israeli prof

Top Israeli prof claims simple stats show virus plays itself out after 70 days | The Times of Israel

April 14, 2020 - "A prominent Israeli mathematician, analyst and former general claims simple statistical analysis demonstrates that the spread of COVID-19 peaks after about 40 days and declines to almost zero after 70 days — no matter where it strikes, and no matter what measures governments impose to try to thwart it.

"Prof Isaac Ben-Israel, head of the Security Studies program in Tel Aviv University and the chairman of the National Council for Research and Development, told Israel’s Channel 12 (Hebrew) Monday night that research he conducted with a fellow professor, analyzing the growth and decline of new cases in countries around the world, showed repeatedly that 'there’s a set pattern' and 'the numbers speak for themselves.'

"While he said he supports social distancing, the widespread shuttering of economies worldwide constitutes a demonstrable error in light of those statistics.....

"Prof. Gabi Barbash, a hospital director and the former Health Ministry director general, insisted in a bitter TV exchange that Ben-Israel is mistaken, and that the death tolls would have been far higher if Israel and other countries had not taken the steps they did. But Ben-Israel said the figures — notably from countries, such as Singapore, Taiwan, and Sweden, which did not take such radical measures to shutter their economies — proved his point. (He also released a paper to this effect, with graphs showing the trajectories.)

"When Barbash cited New York as ostensible proof that Ben-Israel was mistaken, Ben-Israel noted the latest indications from New York were precisely in line with his statistics that indicate daily new cases figures peaking and starting to fall after about 40 days.... Asked to explain the phenomenon, Ben-Israel, who also heads Israel’s Space Agency, later said: 'I have no explanation. There are all kinds of speculations. Maybe it’s related to climate, or the virus has a life-span of its own.'

"He said the policy of lockdowns and closures was a case of 'mass hysteria.' Simple social distancing would be sufficient, he said....

"Asked to explain why the virus had caused such a high death toll in countries such as Italy, he said the Italian health service was already overwhelmed. 'It collapsed in 2017 because of the flu,' he said.

"Barbash, speaking after Ben-Israel had left the studio, insisted that 'we’re going to be living with the coronavirus for the next year.' He added: 'I strongly urge that we not let mathematicians — who know nothing about biology — determine when we lift the lockdown.'"

Read more: https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-israeli-prof-claims-simple-stats-show-virus-plays-itself-out-after-70-days/

Another libertarian party launched in Israel

New Israeli libertarian party to launch next week - Israel National News 7 - David Rosenberg:

November 29, 2019 - "As Israel edges closer towards its third election in less than a year, a new center-right party is preparing to launch, joining an already crowded field of right-leaning parties. The New Liberal Party of Israel, formed by three former members of the libertarian-leaning Zehut party, is set to officially launch next Wednesday at a conference in Tel Aviv.

"Based on the principles of classical liberalism and free-market economics, the new party shares much of the ideology of Zehut, which endorsed the Likud shortly before the September 17th election, bowing out of the race due to the promise of a ministry position in the next government led by Binyamin Netanyahu, and the adoption by the Likud of some of Zehut’s positions on medical marijuana....

"[T]he new venture ... was launched by three former Zehut candidates who refused to accept the party’s endorsement of the Likud earlier this year.... Economist Gilad Alper, physics lecturer Rafael Minnes, and educator and school reform activist Libby Molad lead the nascent party, which recently released a draft of its platform.

"On security, foreign policy, and territorial issues, the New Liberal Party places itself to the right of center, opposing the establishment of a Palestinian state and placing Israel’s security at the top of its agenda....

"On socio-economic issues, the party’s platform backs reduced regulation, taxation, and government intervention in the economy and increased privacy rights, along with the separation of synagogue and state. 'We will separate religion from politics.... Government involvement with religious institutions results in unacceptable coercion, as well as discrimination against single people and people from the LGBT community in comparison to married couples, the banning of mass transportation on the Sabbath, the wasting of taxpayers’ funds, and unnecessary feelings of resentment between secular and religious Jews.'

"The platform also calls for removing Israel’s marriage registry system from state religious authorities and the establishment of civil marriages, along with ending the chief rabbinate’s administration of Israel’s kashrut certification system. Like Zehut, the New Liberal Party emphasizes the need to 'end the war on cannabis' – including recreational marijuana – and to expand access to medicinal marijuana.

"Regarding education, the party’s platform promises reforms which would decentralize and shift control of the education system from the Education Ministry to local communities. In addition, the New Liberal Party endorses the voucher system to increase parental choice."

Read more: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272456
'via Blog this'

Zionist/libertarian party may decide Israel election

Israeli election: Far-right, pro-cannabis libertarian may be kingmaker | World | News | Cape Breton Post - Maayan Lubell:

April 8, 2019 - "His political platform might be just a pipe dream - a heady mix of pot legalization and biblical temple reconstruction - but far-right candidate Moshe Feiglin could be a kingmaker in Israel's election on Tuesday. Drawing support from alienated young voters, Feiglin's new Zehut party has surged in the polls, which predict it could capture up to six of parliament's 120 seats and perhaps tip the balance in coalition-building that will follow the ballot.

"Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud nor his main challenger, centrist Benny Gantz of Blue and White, have public assurances from Zehut that it will be on their side when they try to form a government. Feiglin has said that his conditions to both men are the legalization of cannabis and control of the finance ministry, where he wants to cut corporate taxes and eliminate customs duties....

"[T]he libertarian Feiglin, 56, has showcased free markets and marijuana, with his plan for the Palestinians taking a back seat. His far-right policies call for annexation of the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, paid incentives to Palestinians to emigrate - and eventual construction of a third Jewish temple at the ... Temple Mount ... home to the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques....

"But it is the candidate's push for legalization of recreational marijuana that appears to have lit a fire under many young voters in Israel, where pot smoking is popular.... Others are drawn by Feiglin's vision of small government....

"Critics have cast Feiglin as a wolf in sheep's clothing, using the popular pot platform to get votes from bleary-eyed youngsters in order to promote an extremist agenda.... 'Joints on the Temple Mount,' was how the left-wing Israeli daily Haaretz headlined a recent editorial condemning Feiglin's 'ridiculous dreams of liberty and cannabis' and his 'ultranationalist and dangerous vision'....

"Feiglin, referring to his supporters, told Channel 12's Meet the Press on Saturday[:] 'A new generation has risen in Israel that wants its liberty and is very intelligent, and it's not the cannabis that is attracting them.'"

Read more: https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/world/israeli-election-far-right-pro-cannabis-libertarian-may-be-kingmaker-299108/
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