Chit Chat

By Ted Belman

From now on comments on every post must relate to the content of the post.

Comments that don’t relate to the post must go here.

Any person who contravenes this demand will be put on moderation. Also their offending comment will be trashed.

The reason for this demand is so that people who want to read comments which pertain to the post, don’t have to wade through the chatter.

Everyone will be happier.

April 16, 2020 | 7,631 Comments »

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50 Comments / 7631 Comments

  1. @Reader

    My point is that certain abilities always decline with age, and this decline is especially dangerous in politicians

    So, if your issue is with mental decline, and actual ability, stick with that. Measure this for every person at any age entering public service (mind you I do not agree with this either, but at least this would be representative of your stated goal). At least that would be consistent. Instead you choose the issue of age and arbitrarily pick the age of 65. Why? Would 64 1/2 yrs be mentally copesthetic and 65 be mentally dysfunctional? Based on what? You could just as easily pick the descriptor of people with white hair, or no hair or using a walker or a cane.

    This whole premise of 65 yrs or any specific age as being representative of mental decline is not supportable. As Edgar described it well, it is completely arbitrary. It is intended to achieve a goal (mental decline) by simply picking something loosely associated and which you can easily measure (age) and then arbitrarily choosing the cutoff (65yrs). The last student I tutored some years ago was aged 19 and his mental capacity was about 99 cents short of a dollar.

    Age is not a disease. It is true that it is associated with diseases, many diseases, and mental decline is one of these, but there is easily no basis demarcating 65yrs as the age limit of mental incapacity or you could just as easily excise them from any other parameter of society on the same basis – too old to drive, too old to work…

    Furthermore, such a suggestion as you propose is the very definition of discrimination, and it is deeply disrespectful towards a group of people who have spent their entire lives supporting and creating the society to be left to the next generation. There is no reason they should be excised from any part of the society they helped fund, build and generally engineer. As having created the society in which they live, they should be accepted to perform in it as best they can at any level, just like you or I, without an expected expiration date of public service or anything else. Otherwise, you are setting up a caste system, an arbitrarily two-tiered system based on age without an equitable basis for doing so. I really find this concept deeply disturbing the more I consider it.

  2. Golda was a very sick woman during much of her premiership which she assumed at age 76.

    Golda Meir wanted to retire WAY BEFORE she turned 76, they kept talking her into staying.

    Competition is actually healthy and part of the political process.

    In politics, there shouldn’t be competition for competition’s sake, political parties are not a bunch of competing businesses, and even good things stop being healthy in politics when they negatively impact a country’s security, well being, etc.

    At this point, Netanyahu is using his party members as his attack dogs against the people he personally hates.

    Maybe he is just trying to ruin everything because he is being ruined?

    Most people are getting sick of him, including the members of his party.

    Netanyahu is comparatively young[@73?! compared to what? 120?], and has shown NO diminution of mental powers.

    In terms of his mental powers, follow the link to the JPOST article, read the comments under the article, and see how many people think that he’s lost it.

    You keep arguing that old people can be just as or more competent as the young ones.

    I am not arguing with that.

    My point is that certain abilities always decline with age, and this decline is especially dangerous in politicians because their decisions and actions affect too many people and even countries, and deserve closer scrutiny.

  3. @ READER-

    If you accept that Torah scholars are more learned in their old age, why should it be different for politicians. The saying and decisions of our Sages that we Orthodox Jews live by, were made when they well over your retirement age.

    So I think that you are far too arbitrary. Netanyahu is 73, and was betrayed not by age, but by baseless hatred and devious Bennett and Sa’ar.

    As for Barkat, Katz etc . there’s no real threat there. Competition is actually healthy and part of the political process. You know all this so why ignore it. He is not, never was a dictator like Ben Gurion.

    Golda was a very sick woman during much of her premiership which she assumed at age 76. She far preferred to be Minister of Labour, or even the Histadrut Head. We all know that she was basically an “accidental” PM” and didn’t like it.

    And you also say, “no matter how accomplished he may be”. Well, my answer is that if you accept his accomplishment at his work, say, a politician, why is it not satisfactory to you.

    The 65 Mandatory age retirement, was instituted by Bismark, at a time when comparatively very few reached that age, and those who did, lived only a few years longer. He was over 75 when he instituted his social programmes, well over -and at the height of his mental powers. D’Israeli and Gladstone the same, and hundreds or thousands the very same.

    Painters, writers, politicians, lawyers, judges, composers, the list is endless.

    Netanyahu is comparatively young, and has shown NO diminution of mental powers.

  4. @Edgar

    I believe you are confusing old age with Senility (such as Biden)

    No, I don’t.

    I also don’t confuse the physical and mental/cognitive abilities of a healthy and educated, say, 40 year old with those of a 75 year old, no matter how accomplished the 75 year old happens to be.

    I am not talking about the Torah world where the older you are the more knowledge and analytical skill you acquire (at least when you are an acknowledged Torah genius or scholar) – even then – aging generally equals decline.

    It’s just that the people who exercise inordinate amount of power over people’s lives and over the fate of their country should be under much stronger control and supervision by their voters, otherwise the system may degenerate into a (not necessarily enlightened) dictatorship.

    BTW, in Israel the mandatory age of retirement for college professors is, as I remember, 69 years – no exceptions.

    Is this also because in Israel they confuse old age with senility?

    I don’t know about Churchill, maybe he was an exception, I won’t argue about this.

  5. @ READER-

    We often agree to disagree…don’t we?? But surely there can be no dispute between us regarding the appointment of Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of Britain in 1940.

    He was then 66..over your arbitrary age limit, and at a time when people averaged shorter lifespans. And he was not alone.

    Lucky that the “old dog had NOT lost the tricks” his common sense, and high intellect, but seemed to intensify them..

    I believe you are confusing old age with Senility (such as Biden)

    Churchill was also an accomplished artist, and magnificent writer into old age, As have and do, very many others..

    I would say that many on this site are well past 65, and the high quality of their posts refutes your arbitrary 65 limit. Politicians in particular seem only to come into full bloom when older.

    People lose the ability to do the 100 yards in 10 secs, but NOT normally intellectual capabilities, assuming that they had them before becoming 65.

    As Peloni hints, very many are only reaching their maximum intellectual capabilities at that age, and beyond. I agree, and FACTS bear me out.

  6. @Reader

    Why do you think (as an example) the US keeps using the same methods in its foreign policy that worked 40 years ago with no success

    This is NOT why the policy doesn’t change between administrations. It is not because of old politicians sticking it out another year or ten. It is because of the Bureaucratic State that I keep speaking of – the non-elected members of the State Dept, the HHS, etc.

    How do you think the criminal minds of Fauci and Collins remained at their posts since the age of Reagan. They aren’t elected. They were grandfathered in, no pun intended, from one administration to the next, and neither the former nor the latter administration had the impetus or the gall to fire them.

    The policy maintained by these bureaucrats is the policy that Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump fought against, but these elected politicians represented the challengers against the will of the existing policy supported and held fast by these non-elected bureaucratic posts within the Bureaucratic State. It was they who held the ship of state steady for 40yrs by manipulating the elected officials into supporting the existing policy. Til Trump, and for his chutzpah, they played out a concocted coup against him.

    Churchill fought against the same form of bureaucratic behemoth when he was PM in England.

    I addressed the matter of Bibi and agism below in your first attempt at this post.

  7. @Bear

    because he is very powerful in the Likud and has driven out numerous potential leaders out of the party.

    Come now. Does this make sense? Katz and Barkat are brave enough to challenge the vengeful King Bibi for leadership, but not brave enough to publicly address their support for supporters when King Bibi is presumably labeling them as J-street contenders? Tell me truthfully, do you believe this, because it makes no reasonable sense to me. There is obviously something unpleasant about this faction beyond them being anti-Bibi, else one or the other of the contenders would champion the rights of the faction and claim the faction as their supporters while crying foul. Their supporters would expect no less, as would I, as would you.

  8. This is what I actually posted after I edited my post.
    My edits disappeared.

    Reader

    December 22, 2021 at 11:25 pm

    @peloni

    Regardless of how wise someone becomes or remains in old age, many cognitive abilities simply go away or become frozen, i.e., “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”.

    This cannot be avoided.

    Why do you think (as an example) the US keeps using the same methods in its foreign policy that worked 40 years ago with no success?

    The “government by the elderly” is always detrimental to a country.

    I am not concerned with Netanyahu’s presumed vices or virtues, or political or English skills, or his “magic” baritone, etc.

    His presence in politics at this point is helping to destroy the country.

    Things could be very different were he to retire several year ago.

    If not for him, Israel could have a government which would not require the support of the Arabs or even the religious whose presence in the government is conditional on getting “their” slice of the pie no matter what it does to the country, and the Likud party wouldn’t have degenerated into a Bibi’s puppet.

    My post had nothing to do with the size of the American government (which is, incidentally, the “government by the elderly”, just like in the late USSR).

  9. @Reader
    Regarding Bibi, the hysteria against him and Trump, both, is equally unbalanced and similarly illegitimate, and well exposed as such. The suggestion that Bibi is to be criticized for his allies acting in poor faith and forming a govt with the left to avoid his participation denies the fact that it was Saar who did this, not Bibi. Could Bibi have stepped aside and ended the madness against him, of course he could. But it is a libel to suggest that it was his action that brought Saar or Liberman to refuse to enter into a coalition with them. Remember, Saar and Lieberman have each partnered with the Brotherhood. They paid the Brotherhood in land and in treasure. They did this within hours of the rockets exploding midair in support of the Arab riots in the streets. The rich consequence of them finding greater trust and confidence in Abbas than Bibi will not soon be removed from Israeli politics. Why would they pursue an Arab, much less the Brotherhood, over the soft silliness claimed as crimes. It was a faux charge and they not only knew this to be true, they used it to leverage their support for the Brotherhood. That is a rank choice, in my opinion.

    Bibi did make moves to partner with Abbas as well based on some unknown promise – yet the Brotherhood either found the promise of Lieberman and Saar to be more lucrative or more trustworthy or more politically appealing – yet, none of these reasons speak well of the deal or those who struck it. Whatever the reason, it should not be celebrated by any of us, nor should it be seen as a result of Bibi’s efforts. Also, Bibi made his offer to Abbas because Leiberman and Saar would not join him. Lieberman and Saar made the choice, for themselves, for Bibi, for Israel, to raise up Abbas based on Mandleblit’s lawfare case.

    Be honest here and lay the blame of those partnering with anti-Zionists and Brotherhood Arabs at the feet of those who are actually partnering with anti-Zionists and Brotherhood Arabs and who are actually gaining the political windfall for doing so. It is a foul deal and should never have been pursued for more reasons than I have time to list.

  10. @Reader
    Well, we do disagree on this limit of agism as a requirement of public service. It is unbalanced by law and reason. The elderly, regardless of their declining or not declining facilities should be asked to successfully compete for their term in office. If they become suddenly dull-witted the day after election or the year after election, well, there are procedures to remedy these matters and if the public choose a dullard to be their voice, who should have the authority to say the public should be denied their chosen candidate because of age. So, as I say, we disagree, but your suggestion would likely fail a judicial challenge in any case, I believe.

    “government by the elderly”

    LOLOLOL I love it. Very true, but if the vote were true, it might be something else. If not, it would still be the public’s choice and who are you or I to say the public should not be able to offer their consent to the “government by the elderly”.

  11. Can you name how many party heads or top leaders of parties in the Knesset refused to join a coalition with Bibi? Here I will assist you.

    Saar (plus other in his party who are also former Likud members
    Bennett (would have if Bibi could have formed a majority) -Former Likud
    Lieberman – Former Likud
    Gantz – Former Partner in rotation government who was deceived

    This is why the Likud could not lead the country under Bibi not any criminal charges. These people refused to join him after 4 elections in a coalition and he could not get to 61 seats. Barkat would be able to do this.

  12. They hold their tongue for the most part because he is very powerful in the Likud and has driven out numerous potential leaders out of the party. Hence he now has many enemies who are the heads of other parties or top people in other parties who are no longer willing to partner with him in a government.

  13. @peloni

    Regardless of how wise someone becomes or remains in old age, many cognitive abilities simply go away or become frozen, i.e., “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”.

    This cannot be avoided.

    Why do you think (as an example) the US keeps using the same methods in its foreign policy that worked 40 years ago with no success?

    The “government by the elderly” is always detrimental to a country.

    I am not concerned with Netanyahu’s presumed vices or virtues, or political or English skills, or his “magic” baritone, etc.

    His presence in politics at this point is helping to destroy the country.

    Things could be very different were he to retire several year ago.

    If not for him, Israel could have a government which would not require the support of the Arabs or even the religious whose presence in the government is conditional on getting “their” slice of the pie no matter what it does to the country, and the Likud party wouldn’t have degenerated into a Bibi’s puppet.

    My post had nothing to do with the size of the American government (which is, incidentally, the “government by the elderly”, just like in the late USSR).

  14. BEAR-

    You use a lot of “I believe” in many of your posts asserted to be factual. But what you are describing is just your ownbelief that the P.M should “roll over” and allow his political RIVALS (not enemies) a cleat path to a position he wants for himself.

    Moreover he’s proven success in this position, and long lasting. His recent and present travails were not bought about by him , but by his underworld enemies like MANDELBLIT. I he hadn’t “happened” Likud would have had their largest Right Wing majority perhaps in history.

    Of course I’m guessing here, and it’s just MY “I believe”..But according to polls and news articles this was their conclusion

    You don’t like him…O.k. I like him…also O.K. You like Nir Barkat for PM. I prefer Net.anyahgu . Both are O.K. This is only a blog not a sitting “official ” court.

  15. Not wishing to appear too critical regarding your criteria here, but I have some very good friends who are currently at the wisest moments of their life beyond the 65yr expiration you suggest. Personally, I would support a term limit over this criteria, and in truth, I am not very happy with limiting the choice of the public in any measure.

    But the forced retirement of politicians at 65yrs or the use of term limits does not actually reduce the bloated size or redundancy of govt civil-servants which is not the smaller issue at hand – recall that there are only 536 including congressmen and a single president among the politicians you note, and 4million among the non-elected Bureaucratic State. Eliminating the elderly or a repeated presence of selected members of the public, does not in any way reduce 4million to less than 4million. Reforms among rules accounting for politicians will not in any way diminish this number, actually.

    FYI.

  16. Politicians should be forcibly retired at the age of 65 at the latest.

    If they still want to stay in politics, they should stay as unpaid consultants without any lobbying resources (the ability to influence political outcomes using money, influence, etc. which should be regarded as a criminal offense).

    Please, don’t start about Ben Gurion and Golda, this was a totally different caliber and still they weren’t at their best when really old.

    BTW, Golda Meir really wanted to retire relatively early in her political career.

  17. He is simply trying to purge the party of people who might very well vote for new leadership.

    Of course, this would be the counter to Bibi’s public statement. I just am clueless, if this is supportably accurate, why Barkat, Katz and others facing off against Bibi do not simply, and publicly, state this as so. The backroom maneuvers (never a good look) keeps them from publicly backing or attacking the faction, but they should speak to the subject, IMHO. Seems it would only increase the value of their position that

    He is up to what he has done forever, keep leadership by any ruthless means he can get away with.

    I am curious what motivates them to hold their tongue on this topic, and it becomes all the more curious if these are, in fact, simply their supporters, ie they should be publicly supporting their supporters, right?

    I do understand you support choice of Barkat, but there does seems more to this than the faction support Barkat, or Katz…almost as if the contenders do not wish the public notoriety of having an association with this faction, which seems bizarre if they are simply anti-Bibi. Just an observation.

  18. I and others do not believe his point of contention is accurate. He is simply trying to purge the party of people who might very well vote for new leadership.

    He is up to what he has done forever, keep leadership by any ruthless means he can get away with. It is not a force for good in Israel.

    I personally hope Nir Barkat becomes the leader of the Likud and becomes the next Prime Minister after the current government’s term runs its course or folds. Barkat has the leadership tools, experience, bravery and intellect to form a strong right wing Zionist government.

  19. @Bear

    Bibi continues to be a negative force to being able to forge new Likud leadership

    In point of fact, his role as leader in this leadership challenge process is quite pivotal. A successful contender should be capable of withstanding the scrutiny of the process and capable of succeeding in the process of pushing Bibi off his throne, if they are, in fact, capable of doing both. I don’t think it is reasonable at this point for Bibi to simply step aside and render the situation simply resolved. I would expect that the members and supporters of Likud would expect no less than this from any potential contender.

    The role played by a party leadership contest is significantly helpful for the wider public to decide if the victor of this contest, Bibi or one of his opponents, is actually deserving of wider support than just the party. The distinctions between Bibi and these challengers are likely to be greater than the fact that they are not Bibi. For instance, take this matter with this faction within Likud where it is claimed that the faction is

    supporting Labor, Meretz or the Joint List.

    If Bibi’s contention is accurate – I did note that this was not discussed in the article nor ruled on by the Likud court – it would be good to hear, openly, where Barkat, Edlestein, and Katz stand, and why. It seems Bibi has made his comments public. I am curious why the others are less clear on this matter, or at least as is reported in the article you shared. If Bibi is falsely slandering this faction, Katz etc should clearly state this fact.

    It is important for these men to be able to walk into the role of leadership, and not just assume the position without the facing the battle involved in gaining it. IMHO in any case.

  20. Bibi continues to be a negative force to being able to forge new Likud leadership that could unite the right in Israel and form a strong ALL ZIONIST government. He is all about Bibi and not Israel unfortunately.


    Netanyahu opens fire on future Likud contenders

    Netanyahu’s criticism was about a group of nearly 10,000 Likud activists called the New Likudniks, whom he has been trying to purge from the party. The former prime minister believes the group is infiltrating the party in an attempt to shift it leftward, a charge the group’s leaders deny.

    He targeted MK Israel Katz, who heads the Likud’s governing secretariat.
    “I expected all members of Likud, including the heads of the party’s institutions, to struggle with full force against them and take action to remove them from the party,” Netanyahu wrote on his Telegram account. “Everyone did it, except for Israel Katz, who until today has and is doing the opposite. Whoever thinks that for a few votes they can endanger the future of the Likud and the future of all of us will find that more than 130,000 Likud members will not forgive them.”

    Nir Barkat and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu present the Likud economic plan during a party event in Tel Aviv on February 16.

    In private conversations, Netanyahu also accused MK Nir Barkat of harming efforts to remove the New Likudniks from the party. He retweeted a tweet that accused Barkat of “lobbying” for them. Both Katz and Barkat have said they would run for Likud leader in the post-Netanyahu era but would not run against him.

    It had not been previously known that there were tensions between Netanyahu and Katz or Barkat. Katz posted a picture of himself and his wife, Ronit, eating dinner with the prime minister and his wife, Sara, on Twitter three weeks ago.
    Netanyahu called the New Likudniks “extremists who want to destroy the Likud from inside,” accusing them of supporting Labor, Meretz or the Joint List.

    But the Likud’s internal court, which is usually loyal to Netanyahu, ruled that the New Likudniks cannot be removed from the party en masse and must be dealt with individually according to proper procedure.

    full article at:
    https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-689459

  21. No it does not surprise in the least!!
    I have never liked Biden and never (back to when he first ran for POTUS in the 80s) thought he was Pro Israel.

    Biden is on course to be a worse POTUS than Jimmy Carter and Obama combined.

  22. Biden is an obstacle to a safe Israel!

    Israel just like in 1967 needs to figure out how to take care of itself in regards to its enemies. If the USA helps, so much the better but Biden is completely unreliable and a strategic problem to the security of Israel and the USA

    Biden hasn’t answered Bennett’s phone calls – for three weeks
    Jake Sullivan, US National Security Adviser, lands in Israel for talks on Iranian threat, even as US
    Pres. Biden refuses to hold phone conversation with PM Bennett.

    For three weeks already, US President Joe Biden has not answered Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s request for a phone conversation on the issue of Iran’s nuclear program, Channel 13 News reported.

    The disagreements are believed to stem from a recent conversation between Bennett and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken touched on the issue of construction in Judea and Samaria. During that conversation, Bennett made definite statements regarding Israel’s right to expand Jewish towns in the area.

    Full article at: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/319037

  23. Sweden Starts Microchipping COVID Passports in People –

    Truly freighting!

    People in Sweden have started getting implanted with microchips that contain their COVID-19 passports, according to Newsweek.

    The chip, developed by Epicenter, can store a covid passport under the skin.

    “Implants are very versatile technology that can be used for many different things, and right now it is very convenient to have Covid passport always accessible on your implant,” Epicenter’s chief disruption officer Hannes Sjöblad told Ruptly.

    https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/microchip-covid-passport-sweden/2021/12/18/id/1049202/

  24. @Ted, if possible an editor function (to correct ones typos) would be helpful. I for one am very sloppy as I just dash out a comment and do not bother to proof it prior to posting it.

  25. Congrats–The Jerusalem Consulate is Stopped For Now
    Stop The Consulate

    Dec 15, 2021 —

    Stop the Consulate’s petition was viewed by almost 283,000 persons, shared, and then signed by more than 9350. Now the consulate project has been cancelled–for now.

    Our voices at Stop the Consulate were among the many that clamored against this wrong-headed move. All of us were heard loud and clear by the three power centers: the Biden Administration, American Jewish leadership, and among Israeli leaders. Yes, a cautious and tenuous success has been achieved. The consulate project has been called off. For now. But the forces for acquiescence never really quit, they just recede for the moment. Israel and the Jewish people are going to have stay strong on this issue, and other issues. Share our petition once again and keep the signatures flowing. It often take a dozen passes before people sign.

    https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-jerusalem-consulate/u/29965255?cs_tk=AhRZnC-XClMMSAqBw2EAAXicyyvNyQEABF8BvBlUXwmDKcYRrayAgXKV0D4%3D&utm_campaign=34dff2db58b3444ea9a9783855ed1d99&utm_content=initial_v0_5_0&utm_medium=email&utm_source=petition_update&utm_term=cs

  26. I recently shared that the world wide death rate has been flat for 2months as the latest case wave has been rising, which you can see on the Wordometer.com site(https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/). Something new has come up. The reported daily deaths on this past Sunday was at 4,764. The cases were ~6,400 and ~7,600 on the days before and after, respectively, which are in line with the current norms. Hence, the markedly low deaths on Sunday is only a single data point, but the last date on which the daily deaths had a data point for deaths as low as 4,764 was on October 19, 2020, 14 months ago. I thought the data might adjust upward after the weekend, but this seems not to be the case.

    In any case, the deaths/day seem to be maintaining a state of disconnect with the cases after 2months, and that is very significant.

  27. @Peloni, I believe and still do that Biden will never publicly officially state that they are giving up on the consulate. That would constitute a loss of face. I also believe that they have dropped that matter because does NOT agree and legally they have no right to open such a consulate on Israeli territory without Israeli consent.

    Biden and fellow buffoon company have bigger problems.

  28. @ TED0 Why do I have a blue bird at top left corner every time I key in to Israpundit. It’s this a logo of twitter or facebook or some of the other crappers which I rigorously avoid al all costs.

  29. @Bear
    This is good to hear, but a single line renders this very much blah-blah-blah:

    No final decision has been made, and the official State Department line remains that the Biden administration “will move forward with the process of reopening the consulate in Jerusalem”

    Sounds like no change with to me. Hopefully, I am wrong, but we will see.

  30. Report: Biden Backs Off Palestinian Consulate in Jerusalem (Well done Bennett and Lapid

    President Joe Biden is reportedly backing down from plans to open a U.S. consulate in Jerusalem dealing specifically with Palestinians, after ruling into objections from Israel, obstacles in international law, and concerns about Iran nuclear talks.

    As Breitbart News noted last year, Biden had promised during the 2020 campaign to reopen a consulate in “East Jerusalem,” though the site he was referring to was in western Jerusalem, across from the city’s Independence Park. The building had once served as the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem before President Donald Trump moved the U.S. embassy to the city, located in an existing building in southern Jerusalem, whereupon the consulate was converted into an annex of the U.S. embassy.

    The Biden administration resolved to press ahead anyway, but the Israeli government that replaced former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was adamantly opposed to the new consulate, despite early indications that it might accept one.

    Now, the Times of Israel reports, the Biden administration has shelved the idea — partly out of concern that a consulate would aggravate relations with the Israeli government, which is already upset about U.S. efforts to return to the Iran deal:

    A US diplomat, a former senior US official and another source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel this week that the Biden administration has effectively shelved its effort to resurrect the de facto mission to the Palestinians shuttered by former president Donald Trump in 2019.

    No final decision has been made, and the official State Department line remains that the Biden administration “will move forward with the process of reopening the consulate in Jerusalem,” but the three sources confirmed that no such process has begun. Moreover, even the administration’s more ardent advocates of reopening the consulate have shifted their focus to policies more likely to impact day-to-day life for Palestinians, the former senior US official said.

    The apparent about-face follows significant pushback from Israel, which would have to sign off on the move. And as Israel is already gearing up for a fight with the Biden administration over the latter’s insistence on exhausting the diplomatic route in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal, the US is not looking to open up a second front by moving forward with the consulate reopening at the moment, the source familiar with the matter said.

    The Biden administration has reversed one aspect of Trump’s policy, the Times of Israel noted: officials dealing with the Palestinians will report directly to State Department headquarters in Washington, rather than embassy personnel in Israel.

    Israeli leaders suggested that they might accept a U.S. diplomatic mission in Ramallah, the city that houses the Palestinian Authority administration. Several countries have opened “embassies” to “Palestine” there, though it is not yet a country.

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/15/report-biden-backs-off-palestinian-consulate-in-jerusalem/

  31. @ PELONI-

    For the past 6-7 years at least, I’ve been making complaints to them, but always get the message that they are fixing temporary problems, and it will shortly be working.. It never was and never will be.

  32. @Edgar
    Yeah, I had to zoom in to enlarge the type to more easily read the very fine font on the article summary, but that kind of swamps the page with enlarged photos too and fewer stories on a page. As you say, it is readable, but with an effort due to the fine font. I feel like this must be someone’s goof that will be fixed soon, or I hope it is. I much preferred the previous format. This change reminds me of the smaller stories on the DailyMail.com site back when I used to visit their site for the latest on the Brexit drama, the ones I never looked at as I scrolled down the page focusing only on the major stories they wanted you to read, but with Arutz 7 they are doing this with their headline stories. I hope this is among the bugs that they will likely address as they fix the bugs in the new site format.

    I sent a message thru their contact us page about this after our exchange about the changes on the site, as I found the tiny thin font a good bit annoying and it should be a very simple fix using a different font or just adding a bold element to the existing very fine font. Then after I sent my message, I couldn’t go back to the main page. Even after I clicked on the button menu button at the top labeled “Main” or the Arutz symbol at the top either. I had to type the page address again or navigate out and back to get the main page loaded again. So I wound up back at the contact us page with a new complaint…LOL…Hopefully they will fix things quickly….

  33. @ PELONI-

    Concerningthe “new” Arutz 7, I also noticed yesterday-and again today- that most of the synopses beside the photos are much overprinted with heavy print, making the underneath script not so easy to read, readable but not at a glance.

  34. @ PELONI-

    Thank you for the answer. Your response assures me that I am not ‘seeing things”. I must be getting dim witted, as I do not recall that they changed the format in the last couple of years. Maybe a little re-arrangement of the articles or siting the photos, but the headliner banner with the ARUTZ name etc, and the rest of it seems to me not to have
    changed.

    Perhaps I just became used to it, as the changes were easily negotiated.

    Right now, as you describe it very well, it all seems to have been separated and then tossed in a bowl, like a salad, with whatever came out placed where it fell.,,,, haphazardly.

    I had the idea that there was a foul-up, and that tomorrow, it would all be back to normal…… Mit Mazal.. Otherwise, they are crazy to spoil a well running page.

  35. @Edgar
    Yes, I had a similar experience. It appears to be up now but with several sections on the side and between the main sections are still loading as wide, blank areas. Also, you are correct, it is loading very slowly – no doubt a bug in the new site format.

    It seems that they change their format about once every six months or a year, and then it takes a great deal of time to work out the bugs. The current format does seem to have the Op-eds listed about 4 sections down or you can hit the button labeled “Op eds” on the top banner-menu. Also, the news is loading currently, but it is still buggy and I have to reload the main site sometimes to get the site to respond correctly.

    Not sure why they keep having to change their site format. I wouldn’t mind but the last time it took a ridiculously long time for them to resolve their issues. I became frustrated with the many bugs at the time and took a moment to describe the many issues I was having at the time in an email, and the email bounced back….LOL…

  36. HAS-anyone had a problem getting Arutz Sheva today. I couldn’t get it at all for a couple of hours, the scree said it was unavailable. Then much later I did get it…sort of. A very peculiar format, and just a couple of pictures at a time, but almost no news nor Op-eds.

    It’s whole appearance was nothing like it’s usual …

  37. @Edgar
    Yes, Jovan the Great is a unique character and impressive personality, and he has offered many nuanced approaches towards investigating and exposing the fraud in the 2020 election. He was secretly involved in the AZ audit, held as something of a secret weapon, working unencumbered by the public attacks which the Cyber Ninja’s faced during the audit process. Following the report of the Cyber Ninja’s, Jovan’s role in the AZ audit was announced and he had 13(I think) additional sections of the report which were still to be completed. The AZ AG, shortly thereafter, took up the investigation of the fraud and requested Jovan’s reports and materials to add to his investigation, as well as those of Dr. Sheva and the Cyber Ninjas.

    More recently, Jovan and Patrick Byrne determined that the time and expense involved in the AZ audit was both wasteful and excessively detailed. The fraud was neither small nor was it limited to anything approaching the election margin. Therefore, they deduced that they could cut the cost significantly, and determine a similar analysis with less time and less manpower. They proposed to Michigan that they could complete the investigation for the price of a million dollars using Jovan’s re-envisioned procedures. When the Michigan legislature did not respond to their proposal, Byrne proposed that he would pay the million dollar fee and Michigan would only need to offer their consent to the audit. They said no….The gall of these prostitutes posing as statesmen is never ending and they asked if Byrne would donate the million dollars to their control so that they could put it to good use…LOL, this is really what happened. The whole political system is not only corrupt, the corruption is so unhinged that it rolls like a river through ever aspect of our lives with a current that only seems to be increasing.

    In any event, I haven’t heard of anything recently relating to Jovan, but, in fairness, I have had my head pretty far into the weeds of the medical and scientific inquiries on the vaccine tragedy, so I could easily have missed his more recent activities. He also has a radio show that is likely available online at one of the podcast sites. A remarkably talented man, brilliant inventor and exceptional communicator. I was quickly won over by him the first time I heard him, very impressive personality, as I stated.

  38. @ PELONI_

    Thank you indeed My description was far better tha my essay at his name…but…. how much out is “Jason” with “Jovan”??….. with the “a” and “o” reversed, plus a “v” instead of an “s”….Oh …I give up……! Not to mention Sulzberger for Pulitzer.
    Hmm, not much difference there….????

    Thank you indeed. A very interesting guy, and I want to find out what he’s been doing lately.

  39. @ TED-

    No,nothing exotic. He’s the guy who, when the Georgia legislature was having a closed. secret meeting, where he was a witness, he absented himself for 10 minutes, and came back telling them everything they’d been transmitting, during that 10 mins. He had hacked the whole unhackable system in that time.

    He is famous for cyber security and forensic investigations. He has much wealth from hundreds of patents. Usually works with his own small staff.

    He looks short, about 40-42, a little chubby, receding thin black hair and glasses. The second name may not be “|Sulzberger”, but it’s not “Hamburger” or anything like that. First name Jason.

    He was conducting a forensic exam into , I think into maybe Michegan or Penn, at one time, and his patented unique method was able to show exactly how much and where, fraud occurred. In a matter of hours. One of a kind.
    Someone on the site-perhaps READER- should remember.

    Known to be very brilliant and no nonsense.

  40. DOES anyone recall the name of that brilliant forensic investigator into the Elections Fraud. I think his name was Jason Sulzberger something or other.

    He seems to have vanished altogether.

  41. Gantz and the “spy who cleaned for me”…
    This answers many questions while raising many others.

    How a spy came to serve Iran out of the cherished sanctuary of an Israeli military chief-of-staff-turned-defense minister can’t be explained away – certainly not by a stream of lame excuses emanating from the Shin Bet security service.

    Omry Goren Gorochovsky, 37, had been at it for at least three years from April 2019 before he was discovered. He was working at the time as cleaner at the home of the ex-chief of staff Benny Gantz. The military chief had just launched into politics as leader of the opposition Blue-White party, when his mobile was invaded by Iran-backed hackers. This prompted the taunt that a leader who couldn’t protect his own phone, could not aspire to protect the country.

    Goren is now believed to have given the hackers access to Gantz’s phone. But then, not a whisper of suspicion came near him. The hacking scandal died down and the promised investigation never took off. Goren got away with it and was encouraged to develop his career as digital spy.

    The most credible witnesses assure DEBKAfile that Goran and his wife were hired in 2015 to work for six hours twice a week to clean and tidy the Ganz home. The cleaner had a key so that when family was out, he could go in and work in all the rooms without oversight. None was even contemplated.
    This arrangement continued after Gantz became alternate prime minister in partnership with then PM Binyamin Netanyahu. His private Rosh Ha’Ayin residence in central Israel was then massively barricaded with high walls enclosing the entire vicinity and manned sentry-posts. The external barriers in place were no bar against the enemy within. The Gantzes’ regular cleaning man was free to offer a clandestine service to the highest bidder. He traded on the non-reference by authority to his criminal past. Was Gantz not tipped off before he gave the cleaner the key to his home?

    In 2013, Goren was indicted for two bank robberies in aggravated circumstances, attempted robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.

    …after a plea bargain was sent down to four years in jail. He was out in two years. And in 2015, he was given the job as house cleaner. Gantz was still then IDF chief of staff. What references did the ex-con have to offer? How was he hired without a thorough-going security check? No answers to these questions are available even now. Indeed the few facts on offer bear the marks of a heavy whitewash brush. Who is wielding it? Gantz in person, his associates or the Shin Bet?

    But Goren’s career as spy on the spot was to gain more traction after his employer became defense minister in June 2021. On Oct. 26, a gang of hackers calling themselves Moses Staff ran photos of the new defense minister, attached to this threat: “We know all your decisions and one day we will harm you in an unknown place. We have gained secret documents from the defense ministry with information, operational maps and data on the potential of units… We will release this information to show the whole world [the extent] of your crimes.”

    It has since emerged that Goren used Telegram to file the top-secret data he stole for a fee for Moses Staff and has since deleted this file. More may still be undiscovered.

    Moses Staff is linked by cyber experts to the Iranian hacking group Black Shadow. It is now believed that over and above classified data, Goren actually made an offer to Tehran to plant malware in the minister’s private computer to provide Iranian intelligence with a steady feed to their computers of stolen secrets. “We know about all your decisions,” was therefore not an empty boast by the hackers….

    https://www.debka.com/the-spy-was-in-full-sight-but-no-one-looked/

  42. I have to laugh; as just now reading Bear’s last post I see a cautious mention of the “N-word” as if a vulgar swear word…… The N-word.. Ho Ho Ho.. you mean Negro, which is the merely Spanish for “black”. I see nothing wrong with using the correct term, or Negroid to describe the people of Africa who are black. Just human beings with dark skins. Just as many refer to “whitey” to indicate the light skinned people. I don’t feel that’s a no-no, or “insulting”.

    PC has turned us inside out. Close to Orwellian imagery

    It could also mean nail naive, nutter, or nabob, or numbnuts,, even narrishkeit..or…nincumpoop. natural (an obsolete word for an idiot).
    These last are not referring to anyone on this site, just words beginning with “n”.