Bibi Discloses Iran's Nuclear Goals (video)

Bibi on the incriminating evidence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=UCbIignSeTo

Modernists versus Medievalists: Bibi on Countering the Iranian Menace

While the Israel-haters twist and shout with venomous bile (see my two previous posts) Israel's great communicator has been doing his utmost to win friends and influencing people.  Here's Bibi talking to director Dr Robin Niblett at Chatham House (Royal Institute of International Affairs) during his visit to London in connection with the Balfour Declaration's centenary (a very long video, which also alludes to that Declaration):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo1PtZaxayo

Meeting British Jewish leaders (an all too brief video):

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpB55w9CNCM

The Evil Empire

Not to mention proxy Hezbollah's activity in Venezuela and Nicaragua ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jLayftxAGU 

Writes  Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst at the United States Treasury, and a senior vice president at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, inter alia:

'... Decertification ... will plunge Iran and the other parties involved in the nuclear deal into a state of limbo. It will prompt all sides to consider what the deal is worth to them, and what further compromises they may be willing to make to satisfy the national interests of the United States, as laid out by the Trump administration....

...Tehran’s broader efforts to dominate the Middle East are also intensifying. From the deployment of its Revolutionary Guard Corps to far-flung corners of the region to the conscripting of Shiite irregular proxies to fight or hold territory in Syria and Iraq, Iran’s footprint continues to grow.

For American policymakers, Iran’s bid for regional hegemony is just as troubling as its nuclear ambitions. Together, they represent a dual Iranian strategy that cannot be separated, despite the P5+1’s efforts to do so back in 2015. This is why Trump should build on his decertification announcement with the rollout of a new Iran policy that actively counters these activities.

[T]he timing is fortuitous. The administration is slated to complete and roll out its Iran Policy Review by October 31st. If the policy lives up to the hints dropped by senior officials, the United States will once again push back on Iran’s malign behavior. If done right, it will do so wherever possible, and by using every pressure point available....

From there, Washington is also expected to actively target Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful and active proxy. The Trump administration and Congress have already signaled they will take aim at Hezbollah’s economic interests, while also weakening their positions across the Middle East.

Beyond that, Washington can take further steps to strengthen America’s allies, such as the Sunni Arab states and Israel, who are also willing to challenge Iranian aggression. This could mean greater intelligence-sharing and bilateral cooperation, but could also include new hardware and military capabilities. More broadly, the United States must signal that Iranian threats to its allies will be seen as threats to the United States itself...'

 (Read Schanzer's entire article here)

Yair Lapid (inter alia) exposing lies made in this article by Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif :

'President Trump’s argument that Iran is violating “the spirit of the deal” was met with ridicule and contempt in Iran, but it’s accurate. The goal of the agreement was not to give Iran legitimacy and the ability to increase its involvement in terror and the development of advanced weapons. The agreement was also not intended to allow Iran to threaten America’s allies, principally Saudi Arabia and Israel. If that’s the result of the deal, then cancelling or at least dramatically strengthening the JCPOA must be the right path.Zarif’s article should remind us of the central problem with the Iranian regime—it hasn’t forgone, even for a moment, the desire to turn into a dominant nuclear power and to sow chaos in the Middle East. Its members are sophisticated players and so they understand that the path to achieving their ambitions doesn’t just go through underground reactors but also through the realms of media and diplomacy. That’s their way of buying time and strengthening their position, and they won’t stop until they are stopped.'

Entire article here
See also Hollie McKay's analysis here 
Graphic at top and video: hat tip Vlad Tepes blog

John Bolton Anew on the Iran Threat

Recently, the former US Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, was among the distinguished speakers at the Free Iran gathering in Paris:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4o8vklkKeM

Now, for the Gatestone Institute here, he warns anew of Iran's nuclear threat:

'Tehran's violations of the deal have become public, including: exceeding limits on uranium enrichment and production of heavy water; illicit efforts at international procurement of dual-use nuclear and missile technology; and obstructing international inspection efforts (which were insufficient to begin with).... Care to bet how close Tehran — and North Korea — now are? Consider the costs of betting wrong'

Meanwhile, Stephen Sizer and Jenny Tonge, two Israel-hater "Peacemaker Mediators" exult:

"Is He a Jew, That One?" (video)

Bibi Netanyahu at the International Holocaust Remembrance Day at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem:

 "....The Holocaust, thank G-d, is behind us, but the hatred and intolerance that drove it is not.

Antisemitism, which is the world’s oldest hatred, is experiencing a revival in the enlightened West, you can see this in European capitals, just unbelievable. The rise of antisemitism, the resurgence of antisemitism that is happening, and few would have imagined that this would be possible a few years ago.

It’s true that governments have shown responsibility, and on the whole have taken this up, in Eastern Europe and in Western Europe alike. But it is also true that this hatred is bubbling, coming out of these cracks, coming out in the open again.

Yet, as disturbing as this is, the greatest danger that we face, of the hatred for the Jewish people and the Jewish state, comes from the East. It comes from Iran. It comes from the ayatollah regime that is fanning these flames and calling outright for the destruction of the Jewish state.

I want you to think about a regime that openly declared its intention to eliminate every black person, every gay person, every European. I think the entire world would be outraged, and rightly so.

But when a regime merely calls to wipe out every Israeli – which is what they say day in day out, their most prominent leaders, they say it – what do we encounter? A deafening silence.

Now, that may change. I hope it will change. I believe it will change. Because I spoke a few days ago to President Trump and he spoke about the Iranian aggression. He spoke about Iran’s commitment to destroy Israel. He spoke about the nature of this nuclear agreement and the danger it poses. We spoke about it together.

I’m talking now not only in political terms. I’m talking about every person in the world, any person of conscience who’d speak out about the resurgence of the same attitude that decades ago openly said we’re out to destroy the Jewish people and today the same attitude that says we’re out to destroy the Jewish people of Israel or we’re out to destroy the Jewish state – it must encounter forceful consistent powerful resistance, in words and also in deeds.

As prime minister of Israel, I will not be silent, I haven’t been silent, and we don’t intend to be inactive either.

We don’t merely intend to speak out but we will take all the measures we need to defend ourselves, and we will take all the measures necessary to prevent Iran from getting the means of mass murder to carry out their horrible plans.

We cannot and will not be silent in the face of Iran’s stated aim of destroying Israel.

But we also know that the issue is not merely the Jewish state or the Jewish People. Because we’ve seen that this hatred, when it goes unchecked, spreads around the world, and in fact, in many ways, that is what is happening.

So it’s up to the forces of civilisation, the forces of conscience, the forces of responsibility to join together to stop this process."

Meanwhile, in a country whose monarch, during the Holocaust, set a shining example by famously standing steadfast with the Jews, the antisemitic face of Leftism, directed at a Jewish reporter who wanted to do a story about the "anti-fascist" group Antifa:

 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osqx2MyfdnQ)

And from MEMRI.org, the current state of play regarding a nuclear Iran:

 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTEAG1WhhE4)

Irate Over Iran

Foreign Office Arabist Sir Richard Dalton ( a former British ambassador to Libya and to Iran), seen in the above footage telling the BBC's Jane Hill that "Israel exaggerates the threat of Iran" and that last year's nuclear "deal" will be honoured"conscientiously" by Iran not merely for 15 years but indefinitely, is set to chair an event at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) addressed by the Iranian Foreign Minister, Dr Mohammed Javar Zarif.

Protests Jonathan Arkush, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews:

“To give Zarif a platform to speak at a prestigious London venue like Chatham House is nothing less than an insult to British values. This is a man who has publicly supported Hezbollah, an Iranian-funded organisation which is widely believed to have perpetrated acts of terror around the world including the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural centre in Argentina which killed 85 people and the bombing of a tourist bus in Bulgaria in 2012 which killed six.

 Hezbollah has also been found to have used funds from drug trafficking operations to buy arms.

Zarif represents a regime which has been complicit in massive violations of human rights beyond its borders, including in Yemen, where it supports the Houthis, whose flag proclaims ‘Death to the Jews’.

 His is a government which sponsored a Holocaust cartoon competition, condemned around the world and notably by UNESCO. Zarif is the representative of a vile regime and a pariah terrorist state. His presence at Chatham House is an affront to anyone with a belief in peace and justice.”

Meanwhile, here in Australia, prominent pro-Israel federal Labor MP Michael Danby has denounced Aussie  foreign minister Julie Bishop’s decision to lift sanctions against Iran:

“Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism, a source of instability in the Middle East and violates UN Security Council resolutions, such as Resolution 1929, which prohibits Iran from testing nuclear warhead-capable ballistic missiles. Dropping sanctions against Iran will serve to increase instability in the Middle East.

While the US Congress has debated the Iran deal and sanctions, Julie Bishop arrogantly refuses to allow a parliamentary debate as Australian Labor continues to ask for one on this major shift in Australian foreign policy. It’s extraordinary that under the Turnbull-Bishop government, Australia learns of major policy shifts by press release. The opposition has been continuing to call for a Parliamentary debate on this deal with Iran and the lifting of sanctions.

I have asked Ms Bishop to explain to Parliament what benefits to Australia there will be in providing intelligence to Iranian-sponsored militias in Iraq, which are now increasingly fighting in Syria.

 I have asked Ms Bishop to explain why she is in favour of allowing Iranian consulates in Melbourne and Sydney, when Iran has repeatedly used the diplomatic cover provided by consulates and embassies to enable Hezbollah terrorist activity in South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

 I have also asked whether Ms Bishop has already decided to remove Australia’s autonomous sanctions against Iran, since she has been narrowcasting on ABC Rural radio the benefits of trade with Iran. She has not bothered to reassure Australians that she has a peaceful Middle East or Australia’s best interests at heart. Since the Vienna nuclear deal was concluded in July, Iran has fired ballistic missile tests in September and November. Unlike the United States, Australia has failed to even protest these violations of United Nations resolutions.

Iran has a history of aggressively breaking the rules or pushing the envelope. Whatever slim hope there is that the nuclear deals working will work is dependent on us ensuring Iran does not get away with breaking the rules. We are failing miserably, and so will the nuclear deal. The ramifications of that is a nuclear Iran and more nuclear proliferation across the Middle East.”

See more regarding Danby's concerns here

The Iran Deal in a Nutshell

Writes US Iran-watcher and security consultant Fred Fleitz:

'.... Legendary national-security expert Richard Perle said it best in a recent interview with Secure Freedom Radio:

Their concept is that the terms of the agreement and the likely consequences if the Iranians choose to do what they are able to do under the agreement don’t matter because this agreement is somehow going to magically transform an Iranian regime that regards the United States as the great Satan and engages us through the subvention of terrorism in many places throughout the world. . . . And so for people who hold this view — and I believe the president is among them — the details of the agreement and the consequences of the agreement are of no significance. They are making an enormous and I think an improvident bet. This bet is that this agreement, which satisfies what the Iranians are looking for, will somehow lead the Iranians to become our friends. In this they are certainly mistaken.

That’s the utter absurdity of the Iran deal in a nutshell: Its details don’t matter, because it is meant only to transform Iran into an American ally, against all reason.... [G]iving Iran everything it wanted in a nuclear agreement won’t lead it to rejoin the community of civilized nations and become a friend of the U.S. All indications from Tehran say the opposite: the regime’s character remains unchanged, and if anything it has become a more influential and destabilizing actor in the Middle East since it signed the nuclear deal.

Read Fred Fleitz's entire article  here

 

Aussie Leftist Media Bias Against Israel: Michael Danby talks to Andrew Bolt (video) (updated)

In this interview, the splendid Aussie columnist Andrew Bolt and the staunchly pro-Israel Labor MP Michael Danby discuss leftist bias in Australia against Israel, beginning with the warped views of Melissa Parke, Labor MP for Fremantle, and proceeding to the disgraceful bias of the ABC (Australia's answer to the BBC).

Hat tip: Ian

Incidentally, here's what Mr Danby has recently written about the Iranian threat:

'Russian Deputy Chief of Staff General Nikolay Bogdanovsky was in Israel last week pursuing Israeli/Russian plans to avoid military confrontation particularly in the air over Syria.  To his credit, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had flown to Moscow with four Israeli air chiefs, as soon as the extent of the Russian military intervention in Syria was realised. You won’t read of this fundamental power shift from blockheaded, anti-Israel fanatics like Robert Fisk, or the Pollard–McNeill axis of their brand of Australian reporting. But the Russians have installed total air defence with sophisticated SA-22s covering much of Syria’s airspace. As Daesh (IS) doesn’t even have a crop duster, this makes even more farcical US President Obama and our Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s initial enthusiasm for Russian President Putin as there to join the fight against Daesh. Jerusalem is wise to make arrangements with Moscow as best it can in a world with a US administration so feckless and strategically confused.

[Australian Foreign Minister] Julie Bishop’s announcements of support for Syria’s dictator Assad, who has murdered 200,000 of his own people, as the only alternative to Daesh taking over Syria is untrue and unethical. But the massive Russian intervention, on the side of Iran and Hezbollah, cements in place Iran’s Shiite crescent from Lebanon, through Syria and Iraq, to Iran. Worse, the Iranian-controlled Iraqi government, where Australia has 300 of its finest soldiers trying to retrain its cowardly army, has announced its gratitude by openly joining a pact with Iran, Syria and Lebanon under Russian auspices

That is why I have moved a resolution in Parliament, for Australian soldiers to be withdrawn from the Taji military camp where we are at least implicitly cooperating with the Iranians (if we were serious about destroying Daesh, our guys would in Erbil training and arming the 25,000 Kurdish fighters who could occupy Raqqa, the centre of IS evil, in two weeks. From a direct national security point of view, of course, this would be much more useful, in preventing attacks like the ones in Parramatta, or Dandenong, by deranged Jihadist teenagers, who are getting their orders from Raqqa from Daesh, rapists and murderers like Al-Cambodi (Neil Prakash).)

But back to the main strategic shift, the Russian invasion of Syria and what is portends; it is another victory for Iran, after duping and cajoling the Americans and Europeans into the nuclear deal, which, in the medium-term, will refinance, re-arm, and renew Iran’s bid for the atom bomb.

At the end of the 2006 Second Lebanon war, an Israeli naval ship was hit by a Russian missile shore-to-sea missile, supplied to the Iranian stooges Hezbollah. In all of the years since 2006, the Israeli air force has been free to intercept, bomb and destroy further shipments from Iran to Hezbollah of the even more sophisticated 300km-range Yakhont missiles.

Julie Bishop should be reminded that these Iranian mercenaries Hezbollah are still classified as a terrorist organisation by the Australian Parliament. Our foreign minister thinks the nuclear deal with Iran is good, that Assad should be kept in office, and that Russia is fighting Daesh. Putin’s massive intervention, particularly his control of the Syrian skies, mean that, unlike every time in the past nine years, Israel will have to beg Putin to be allowed to destroy covert shipments of these deadly missiles to Hezbollah. Hezbollah’s long-range missiles target Israel’s people, her ports, her navy, and its gas installations.

Another negative outcome of Russia’s involvement in Syria is the reprieve it will give Hezbollah fighters. They have been stretched thin and thousands have been killed or injured. However, with close Russian air support, volunteer Russian troops, plus the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that have arrived as part of the Russian–Iranian ground offensive against non-Daesh rebels in the north and south. How strange it is for our foreign minister to say “If we use [the Iran nuclear deal] as an example of Russia’s preparedness to be part of a solution rather than part of the problem, then we can have some optimism that Russia’s involvement [in Syria] is positive.

Russia’s armed guarantee of the Hezbollah-Assad-Iraq-Iran alliance also brings Iranian power to the borders of Israel on the Golan. Well done, President Obama – your weakness in Ukraine and now Syria endangers the peaceful lives of people everywhere. Iran is a much more serious and existential threat to Israel than the hoodlums, crucifiers and rapists of Daesh.

At least I’ve been able to stop the Australian Opposition from giving its support to this existential power-shift. Selling a few more tonnes of Australian beef is not worth our soft-peddling on Iran and Syria.  Selling a few more tons of Australian beef is not worth our soft-peddling on Iran and Syria.  In a world turned upside down, the outcome of the nuclear deal with Iran gets worse and worse.'

 Update:
Two relevant articles on J-Wire today.
Regarding Danby, Julia Bishop, and Iran
Regarding Melissa Parke

Pundits On The Iran Deal (video)

I haven't looked/listened to this 84-minute (!) video, dating from last month, regarding the Iran Deal, but I thought I'd draw attention to it for anybody who might wish to do so. The pundits are taking part in an event at London's Frontline Club, which is often egregiously leftist and which often features Jeremy Bowen (and other Beeboid types).

Oh, and talking of Jeremy ("Out of his depth") Bowen, here's his rotten little "in-depth" piece on the current violence in Jerusalem.

David Singer: Is Obama Conning 340 Rabbis or 200 Generals?

In this, his latest article, Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer turns his attention again to Obama and Iran.

He writes:

The upcoming debate and vote in the US Congress to endorse the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran (JCPOA) has become even more critical now that President Obama has reportedly secured the necessary votes to veto any Congressional resolution of disapproval.

Congress has been flooded with petitions - ostensibly neither Democrat nor Republican - urging Congressmen to cast their votes by crossing political party lines. 340 Rabbis in their appeal to Congress dated 17 August – have made the following assertions: 

1. The Obama administration has successfully brought together the major international powers to confront Iran over its nuclear ambitions. The broad international sanctions moved Iran to enter this historic agreement. Should this agreement be rejected by the U.S. Congress, those sanctions will end. There will be no new negotiations, as the other member countries are fully in favor of this agreement and have no desire to re-negotiate.

2. We understand that while this agreement blocks Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb, we recognize it does not deal with Iran’s support for terror, but that was never the purpose of these talks. 

 On the other hand some 200 retired generals and admirals in their open letter to Congress dated 25 August – have counterclaimed: 

1. As you know, on July 14, 2015, the United States and five other nations announced that a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has been reached with Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. In our judgment as former senior military officers, the agreement will not have that effect.

2. There is no credibility within JCPOA’s inspection process or the ability to snap back sanctions once lifted, should Iran violate the agreement. In this and other respects, the JCPOA would threaten the national security and vital interests of the United States and, therefore, should be disapproved by the Congress.

3. The agreement as constructed does not “cut off every pathway” for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. To the contrary, it actually provides Iran with a legitimate path to doing that simply by abiding by the deal. JCPOA allows all the infrastructure the Iranians need for a nuclear bomb to be preserved and enhanced. Notably, Iran is allowed to: continue to enrich uranium; develop and test advanced centrifuges; and continue work on its Arak heavy-water plutonium reactor. Collectively, these concessions afford the Iranians, at worst, a ready breakout option and, at best, an incipient nuclear weapons capability a decade from now.

These claims are highly disturbing and require a reasoned and detailed rebuttal by President Obama prior to the Congress vote – especially since President Obama sought to assure America to the contrary in the following statement made by him on 15 July at his Press Conference: 

It [JCPOA] solves one particular problem, which is making sure they don't have a bomb. And the point I've repeatedly made and I believe is hard to dispute is that it'll be a lot easier for us to check Iran's nefarious activities, to push back against the other areas where they operate contrary to our interests or our allies' interests if they don't have the bomb.

The considered opinion of 200 retired generals and admirals cannot be brushed off with a deafening silence from President Obama – nor can those 340 Rabbis who call for support of the President on the basis of an “understanding”.

Before it votes, Congress should demand that President Obama provide it with written reasons substantiating that Iran cannot get the bomb under the terms of the concluded JCPOA.

Who has Obama conned  – the Rabbis or the Generals? Congress – and the world - need to know.

Dershowitz's New Book: "We Must Find Ways To Repair The Damage This Deal Threatens To Do"

Harvard Law School's Professor Alan Dershowitz had written a new book, entitled The Case Against The Iran Deal.

To quote this site:

 'The greatest danger the world faces in the twenty-first century is an Iranian nuclear arsenal. That is why decisions regarding Iran’s nuclear program may be the most important of our time. The negotiations that led to this bad deal were deeply flawed. But it doesn’t follow that the deal should be rejected by Congress. If the President is right that rejecting this deal will be worse than accepting, then he has put us in the terrible position of choosing between bad and worse.

In The Case Against the Iran Deal: How Can We Stop Iran From Getting Nukes?, Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz evaluates the pros and cons of the Iran nuclear agreement. He asks the fundamental questions about what the deal means, how it will be implemented, and whether we now have the capacity to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

As a lawyer with decades of negotiation experience, and a regular commentator on Middle Eastern politics, Dershowitz explains how we could have gotten a better deal, and offers a unique analysis of the Obama administration's negotiations with Iran and the implications of a deal for Israel, the Middle East, and the global community. It is a call for both intelligent reflection and for determined action to stop Iran from getting the bomb.

The clock is ticking. We must find ways to repair the damage this deal threatens to do. This book proposes solutions along with constructive criticism.'

And of course it's not only the Israeli Right that opposes the Deal.

Nor only Israelis, as Iran's proxy in Lebanon knows all too well.

Here's Dore Gold's take, and here

 But Obama, dismissing Israel's objections, is digging his heels in.

Meanwhile, an Iran bigwig has accused the West of fostering conditions that will lead to a Third World War ...

Bibi Pleads For American Non-Partisanship: "Oppose This Dangerous Deal" (video)

Extremely sobering stuff here, as Bibi Netanyahu spells out to Americans how and why "this dangerous deal" will enable Iran to get the Bomb and how a terrible nuclear conflagration in the Middle East is made more likely by the Deal, which is opposed by Israelis on a non-partisan basis.  Americans, too, should put party politics aside and oppose the Deal, he says.

Read more here

How To Destroy Israel: Iranian leader's recipe

The Ayatollah Khameini, it seems, has just published a book (front cover pictured)  telling how the Zionist Entity is to be destroyed.  In Farsi, the book, 416 pages long and entitled Palestine, is apparently going to be translated into Arabic soon.

According to an article by Amin Tahiri in the New York Post:

 '.... A blurb on the back cover credits Khamenei as “The flagbearer of Jihad to liberate Jerusalem.”....

Khamenei claims that his strategy for the destruction of Israel is not based on anti-Semitism, which he describes as a European phenomenon. His position is instead based on “well-established Islamic principles.”....

Dozens of maps circulate in the Muslim world showing the extent of Muslim territories lost to the Infidel that must be recovered....

However, according to Khamenei, Israel ...  is a special case for three reasons.

The first is that it is a loyal “ally of the American Great Satan” and a key element in its “evil scheme” to dominate “the heartland of the Ummah.”

The second reason is that Israel has waged war on Muslims on a number of occasions, thus becoming “a hostile infidel,” or “kaffir al-harbi.”

Finally, Israel is a special case because it occupies Jerusalem, which Khamenei describes as “Islam’s third Holy City.”

He intimates that one of his “most cherished wishes” is to one day pray in Jerusalem.

 .... What he recommends is a long period of low-intensity warfare designed to make life unpleasant if not impossible for a majority of Israeli Jews so that they leave the country.

His calculation is based on the assumption that large numbers of Israelis have double-nationality and would prefer emigration to the United States and Europe to daily threats of death.

Khamenei makes no reference to Iran’s nuclear program. But the subtext is that a nuclear-armed Iran would make Israel think twice before trying to counter Khamenei’s strategy by taking military action against the Islamic Republic.

In Khamenei’s analysis, once the cost of staying in Israel has become too high for many Jews, Western powers, notably the US, which have supported the Jewish state for decades, might decide that the cost of doing so is higher than possible benefits....

Khamenei counts on what he sees as “Israel fatigue.” The international community would start looking for what he calls “a practical and logical mechanism” to end the old conflict....'

Read the entire article here

Still Crazy Despite All These Fears: "No Deal Should Leave The Ayatollahs Grinning" (video)

It goes without saying that the first part of the header applies to these guys, caught on camera by Richard Millett in London a few days ago protesting protests against the Iran "Deal" (there's lots more to see and read on his post here).

But I have in mind more specifically these guys:

"A new national survey of 1,000 American Jews, conducted by GBA Strategies for J Street, finds that a large majority of Jews support the agreement recently reached between the United States, world powers, and Iran. The 20-point margin (60 percent to 40 percent) in favor of the agreement is consistent with the 18-point margin found in the LA Jewish Journal’s survey released last week, as well as the 18-point margin in J Street’s survey conducted prior to the agreement. Multiple surveys have shown with resounding clarity that American Jews firmly back the agreement, and now want Congress to approve it."

However, we have to remember that there are "American Jews" and "American Jews".  As a well-known international Jewish speaker reminded an audience here in Australia this evening, a  staggering percentage of the American Jews who support Obama are not professing Jews in the religious sense nor are they necessarily married to Jews, still less do they raise their children as Jews.  Jewishness to them means identification not so much with Judaism or with Israel as with political left liberalism.

The Jews who do identify with Judaism are much less likely to support Obama and much more likely to recognise the Nuclear "Deal" with Iran for the terrible menace that it is.

Let us hope, pray, and lobby for Congress to reject this dangerous, deluded "Deal" which imperils not just Israel but the United States itself and potentially all of the present Free World. 

Meanwhile, check out the pro-Iran Deal propaganda mouthed by these cringeworthy celebrities including, for gravitas, Morgan Freeman.

'Look,' says one of the "celebrities" on the video at that site blithely.  "We all love our children and the Iranians love their children."

But what about the Iranians who are millenarians, who believe that armageddon, and therefore nuclear conflict, would usher in the long-awaited "Twelfth Imam"?

The balance of terror that ensured mutually assured destruction in the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West has no fears for millenarians, whether they love their children or not!

On a positive note, a must-see Hudson Institute panel discussion here.  Note the very fine keynote speech of Senator Tom Cotton ("No Deal should leave the ayatollahs grinning").

As the senator has written to constituents worried about the "Deal":

'A terrorist-sponsoring regime in Iran that possesses nuclear weapons is among the greatest dangers facing the world today, and the supposed "deal"  recently announced after two years of negotiations is a grievous, dangerous mistake that only perpetuates that threat. The Obama Administration’s nuclear negotiations with Iran were supposed to eliminate Iran’s progress toward a nuclear bomb, but instead this deal will pave the way for Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Regrettably, the Obama Administration allowed the negotiations to descend into a dangerous succession of unending concessions, and furthermore, tragically failed to secure the release of four Americans unjustly imprisoned in Iran.  This should have been a pre-condition for negotiations to begin, but two years later our fellow citizens tragically continue to languish in an Iranian jail.  Plus which, this deal will give Iran up to $150 billion in sanctions relief and lift the embargoes on conventional weapons and ballistic missile sales to Iran.

Our negotiating "partner," Iran, is not a peaceful actor; Iran is responsible for killing Americans over a span of more than three decades, to include hundreds of U.S. troops killed in our most recent wars.  When I served in Iraq and Afghanistan, my platoon and I knew firsthand that Iranian-supplied bombs were the one thing our armored vehicles couldn’t withstand. I was fortunate that I avoided these bombs and came home, but too many others were not.

In addition, the ayatollah’s regime viciously represses the Iranian people and actively supports Bashar al-Assad’s brutal civil war against the Syrian people, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Syrians since 2011. Iran is also a lead financier and supplier of terrorist organizations dedicated to destroying coalition forces and our ally Israel. That Iran does all this without a nuclear deterrent lends concern to the thought of what the ayatollahs would do if they obtained nuclear weapons capability. Thus, I believe Congress must act to protect American interests and end the appeasement of the ayatollahs in Tehran.

To that end, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (S. 615) was passed by Congress earlier this year. This bill requires the President to submit the agreement with Iran for review by Congress, but it effectively requires two thirds of the Senate to vote against an agreement in order to prevent it from taking effect. Under this legislation, Congress has 60 days to consider the deal. In the coming weeks and months, I will work tirelessly to protect America from this deal and to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability.

A well-functioning republic depends on active citizens to inform their elected representatives of issues of concern and to hold elected officials accountable. I’m always grateful to hear from my fellow citizens on matters of public policy. These communications can be both insightful and useful as I work to represent you, and I hope that you will keep me informed of your opinions.'

The Iran Menace: An Israeli's Open Letter to Congress

Jean Vercors, an oleh from France who's no stranger to this blog, kindly sent this to me a few days ago.  My sincere apologies to him for my tardiness in posting it.

Open letter to members of congress – Jean Vercors

Iran and six world powers including your country have concluded an agreement that will lift sanctions on Iran, in a historic mistake designed to encourage more terror in the Middle East and in the world.
 
The West has become willfully blind to Iran’s terror machine and signed a nuclear accord that will endanger world peace while the Iranian president marched with huge crowds behind him holding signs reading “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” Hezbollah Lauds Nuclear Deal as US surrender.

For two decades and for the duration of the negotiations, Iran has cheated and swindled the international system, spreading uninhibited terror, directly and indirectly (Hamas, Hezbollah) and is now rewarded.
 
Iran that commits gross and systematic violations of Human Rights is not only given immunity, but is actually rewarded with the lifting of sanctions.

A senior Iranian military official has threatened to unleash a firestorm of 80,000 missiles on Israel and warned that “Iran will flatten Tel Aviv and Haifa. »
 
Iran has raised the specter of “wiping Israel out of existence,” since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in the country in 1979.

Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeatedly called for Israel to be “wiped off the map” in a 2005 speech. More recently, in late March 2015, General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the commander of Iran’s Basij militia – a volunteer paramilitary organization under the command of the IRGC – said that, “wiping Israel off the map is not up for negotiation.”
 
Iran also actively finances and militarily backs proxy terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah that are ideologically opposed to Israel’s existence.  A Hezbollah suicide bombing killed 241 Marines in October 1983.

The JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) allows Iran to retain much of its nuclear infrastructure, and grants it the right to enrich uranium on its own soil. But the deal also requires Iran to cap and partially roll back that infrastructure for ten to fifteen years, and grants the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, managed access to monitor that program with intrusive inspections.
 
In exchange, the governments of Britain, France, Russia, China, the US and Germany have agreed to lift all UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran— once Iran abides by a set of nuclear-related commitments.
 
Your Excellency, my country Israel was not bound by the nuclear deal between world powers and Iran, it is a « historic mistake », and Israel is ready to defend itself.

The deal negotiated would not prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons that could be used to target country.
 
Your country among the six powers that negotiated the deal — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States have chosen to collaborate with a tyranic regime.
 
This fraudulent, tyrannical dynasty has now agreed to dispatch some of its subordinates to negotiate with world powers with the aim of reaching a settlement over its disastrous nuclear program that has brought nothing but misery and calamity to the Iranian people.

This nuclear agreement is ‘a massive betrayal’ of Israel and the Sunni Arab states. Iran, who arrived at the negotiating table in a weak position, has emerged victorious. Instead of fighting terror with all its might, the free world has granted legitimacy to Iran’s hateful, murderous ways. This agreement is a tragedy for all who aspire for peace, regional stability and fear a nuclear Iran.

Lifting sanctions would allow Iran to further support proxy militants and add to the instability rocking parts of the Middle East. While analysts say unilateral military action by Israel seems unlikely for now, Our Prime Minister Netanyahu and other officials have kept the option on the table.
Israel is not bound by this deal with Iran because Iran continues to seek our destruction.

Only 77 years ago, History reminds us that The Munich Agreement was a settlement permitting Nazi Germany’s annexation of Czechoslovakia.
 
The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany among the major powers of Europe, excluding the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. Today, it is widely regarded as a failed act of appeasement toward Germany.
 
The agreement was signed in the early hours of 30 September 1938. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the future of the Sudetenland in the face of ethnic demands made by Adolf Hitler. The agreement was signed by Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy.

Because the state of Czechoslovakia was not invited to the conference, it considered itself to have been betrayed by the United Kingdom and France, so Czechs and Slovaks call the Munich Agreement the Munich Diktat.
 
On 30 September 1938, Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini and Édouard Daladier signed the Munich Agreement. The German army was to complete the invasion of by 10 October.
Your Excellency, The deal signed by your country is a capitulation of historic proportions to the Iran-led axis of evil.
 
As you know, Regimes such as Iran that rape and torture political prisoners, subjugate women, and commit crimes against humanity from slavery to genocide — sends a message that crass politics trumps basic Human Rights.

UN watch reports: As of January 2014, Iran was holding at least 895 “prisoners of conscience” and “political prisoners.” This includes 379 political activists, 292 religious practitioners, 92 human rights defenders, 71 civic activists, 37 journalists and netizens, and 24 student activists.
 
Iran continues to use cruel, inhumane or degrading punishment, including flogging, hanging, stoning and amputation. It executes juveniles, and uses capital punishment for crimes that do not meet the standards of international law.
 
As of January 2014, more than 300 members of religious minorities were in detention: 136 Baha’is, 90 Sunni Muslims, 50 Christians, 19 Dervish Muslims; four Yarasan, two Zoroastrians, and six from other groups.
 
History has shown that regimes which zealously persecute their own people also have a tendency, when given the chance, to try and do the same if not worse toward other countries.

The total removal of sanctions against Iran will benefit the six powers interests and economy but not at the cost of my existence.
 
What we are living through now is worse than Munich because we are ignoring the lesson learned from that event at the cost of millions of deaths.
 
Dishonor is a lack or loss of honor or reputation, a cause of disgrace for your country who has lost honor and prestige.

I join with millions of deeply worried Americans and people around the world in relying on you, our Congressional leaders, to thwart this one-sided, dangerous agreement.
 
I am urging you to stop Iran, the leading terrorist state, from becoming a nuclear power in the world’s most dangerous region.

With or without you, we will always defend ourselves.

Sincerely yours,
Jean Vercors

Iran Deal Presages UN Military Action Against Islamic State: David Singer

Here's the latest article by Sydney lawyer and international affairs expert David Singer.

He writes:

China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, America and the European Union (E3/EU+3) – the Septet – have shown a rare degree of international cooperation in signing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran aimed at limiting Iran’s nuclear horizons.

Such unanimity presages the possibility of a United Nations Security Council Resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter authorizing military action against Islamic State – already declared a threat to international peace and security in Security Council Resolutions 2170 and 2199.

The Security Council’s inability to commence military action to free vast tracts of Syria and Iraq and its captive civilian populations from Islamic State rule – has been frustrated by the following conflicting national interests of Septet members and Iran:

1. Russia and Iran backing the Assad regime in Syria 

2. America, France, Germany and the United Kingdom forming part of the London 11 supporting rebels attempting to overthrow the Assad regime 

3. China and Russia vetoing Security Council resolutions aimed at resolving the Syrian conflict. 

4. Shiite Iran – backed by Russia - focusing on preserving its interests in Iraq - the first Arab country to be ruled by a Shia government since Saladin overthrew the Fatimids in Egypt in 1171.

Preserving these competing interests could explain the deliberate and extraordinary decision by the Septet to not demand changes in Iraq’s current aggressive and hostile behaviour – as President Obama’s remarks at a news conference hailing the JPCOA make clear:

“And my hope is that building on this deal, we can continue to have conversations with Iran that incentivize them to behave differently in the region, to be less aggressive, less hostile, more cooperative, to operate the way we expect nations in the international community to behave. But we're not counting on it.

So this deal is not contingent on Iran changing its behavior. It's not contingent on Iran suddenly operating like a liberal democracy. It solves one particular problem, which is making sure they don't have a bomb. And the point I've repeatedly made and I believe is hard to dispute is that it'll be a lot easier for us to check Iran's nefarious activities, to push back against the other areas where they operate contrary to our interests or our allies' interests if they don't have the bomb.

And – and so will they change their behavior? Will we seek to gain more cooperation from them in resolving issues like Syria or what's happening in Iraq, to stop encouraging Houthis in Yemen, we'll continue to engage with them.

Although keep in mind that unlike the Cuba situation, we're not normalizing diplomatic relations here. So the contacts will continue to be limited, but will we try to encourage them to take a more constructive path? Of course. But we're not betting on it.

And in fact, having resolved the nuclear issue, we will be in a stronger position to work with Israel, work with the Gulf countries, work with our other partners, work with the Europeans to bring additional pressure to bear on Iran around those issues that remain of concern.”

Iran – diplomatically unscathed, emboldened and financially enriched once the current international sanctions omelette has been unscrambled – will not change its behaviour – nor will the Septet members have to abandon their perceived national interests.

Iran’s macabre dance with death will assuredly continue in the Middle East.

Obama could be betting this latest show of Septet-Iranian co-operation will finally procure Security Council approval to destroy their common enemy - Islamic State – which Obama’s American-led coalition of 62 States has spectacularly failed to accomplish.

Hopefully Obama’s giant gamble pays this huge dividend.

"This [Iran] Deal Must Be Killed" & "God Bless America! God Bless Israel!" (videos)

Isi Leibler, who's due to visit Australia soon, has justifiably said of the Iran nuclear "deal" in an interview with the current Australian Jewish News:

"I regard this as the worst diplomatic deal that's been done in our time, and in many ways it's worse than Munich because we're creating a nuclear threshold state out of the most evil terrorist regime.  It has certainly put a lot of pressure on Israel to strengthen itself.  

The region which is already turbulent will become far more turbulent because the Iranians will be using the vast amounts of cash that [the west] are giving them as a bonus to strengthen terrorist bodies at all levels."

His thoughts on the deal are amplified here

On the same theme, here's another widely read and respected Jerusalem Post columnist, the wonderful Caroline Glick, sounding somewhat distraught (as well she might) when addressing the huge #Stop Iran Rally in New York City, and urging that "this deal must be killed":

And here's the equally wonderful Florida ex-Congressman, military hero Lieutenant-Colonel Allen West, an inveterate critic of "the weakling in the White House" flaying Obama and Kerry:

The New Chamberlain & The New Munich Agreement: A sad story in pictures

"The Most Dangerous Deal in History": Petition here
 The latest from AIPAC here (cf here)
Good piece here
Interesting take by Edgar Davidson contrasting the 1938 and 2015 excrescences
Must-read piece with video here

The pictures that speak more than a thousand words:

 

 Oh, and I can't resist adding this, which is doing the rounds on social media.  I wish I could credit an artist but I don't know his or her name or the provenance.

More cartoons (from further afield) here

"What A Stunning, Historic Mistake...": video

Here's Bibi on Obama's Chamberlainesque deal:

In Iran, "Death To Israel!" (video)

Never mind, eh?  After all, John Kerry and his cohorts have just made a nuclear deal with the Teheran regime, and they wouldn't have done that if Israel was really in danger from Iran, would they?