Common Grounds

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• Bloomberg’s surprising speech on anti-Semitism, Israel and Iran

  
  January 27, 2020 15:21

  Source: The Washington Post

  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/26/bloombergs-surprising-speech/

   

  By Jennifer Rubin 

  Published January 26, 2020

   

  Speaking at the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center in Miami on Sunday afternoon, Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg displayed his famously independent streak to a friendly crowd. “I do know you’re used to seeing New Yorkers here in southern Florida,” he joked in remarks prepared for delivery. “I just hope all of you you voted for the correct mayoral candidate in 2001, 2005 and 2009. And if you didn’tyou will have a chance to atone in 2020.” And with a sly dig at the socialist senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, he said, “I’m not the only Jewish candidate running for president. But I am the only one who doesn’t want to turn America into a kibbutz.”

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• Actually, this peace deal IS different from all other peace deals

  
  January 29, 2020 10:22

  Source: The Forward

  https://forward.com/news/national/438928/israel-palestinian-peace-plan-trump-obama-bush-clinton/?utm_source=PostUp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Newsletter%20RSS_Test&utm_maildate=01/28/2020

   

  By Aiden Pink

  Published January 27, 2020

   

  President Trump is set to announce his Israeli-Palestinian peace plan at the White House on Tuesday, and while details at this point are scarce, it will probably to differ in several key aspects from past American presidents’ proposals. Here’s a brief history of recent American involvement in Israeli-Palestinian peace.

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• Understanding the Trump ‘Deal of the Century’: what it does, and doesn’t say

  
  February 05, 2020 14:29

  Source: Mondoweiss

  https://mondoweiss.net/2020/02/understanding-the-trump-deal-of-the-century-what-it-does-and-doesnt-say/

   

  By Yumna Patel

  Published February 3, 2020

   

  After years of anticipation that began on US President Donald Trump’s campaign trail in 2016, the “Deal of the Century” was finally unveiled last week to Israeli fanfare and Palestinian outrage.

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• The “Muslim Ban” Separates Families, is Blatantly Racist

  
  February 06, 2020 10:32

  Source: The National Council of Churches

  https://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/the-muslim-ban-separates-families-is-blatantly-racist/

   

  Published February 4, 2020

   

  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

   

  -Hebrews 13:2 NRSV

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• Hungary, Austria block harsh EU action against Israel

  
  February 06, 2020 11:47

  Source: The Jerusalem Post

  https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Hungary-blocks-harsh-EU-action-against-Israel-616640

   

  By LAHAV HARKOV   

  Published February 5, 2020 

   

  Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó countered an EU statement on the peace plan with a statement of his own declaring support.

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• EU rejects Trump's Israel-Palestine plan, wants land swaps

  
  February 06, 2020 11:10

  Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

  https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/eu-rejects-trump-s-israel-palestine-plan-wants-land-swaps-20200205-p53xxo.html

   

  By Lorne Cook

  Published February 5, 2020

   

  Brussels: The European Union has rejected US President Donald Trump's proposal for securing peace in the Middle East and expressed concern about Israel's plans to annex more Palestinian land.

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• Trump’s “peace deal” for Israel is ludicrously one-sided and reads as pure, unadulterated zionist propaganda, writes Craig Murray.

  
  February 06, 2020 13:32

  Source: Consortium News

  https://consortiumnews.com/2020/02/02/trumps-bantustan-lite-palestine-plan-shows-the-two-state-solution-was-always-a-lie/

   

  By Craig Murray

  CraigMurray.org.uk

  Published February 2, 2020

   

  Trump’s “peace deal” for Israel is ludicrously one-sided and reads as pure, unadulterated zionist propaganda, writes Craig Murray.

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• A Peace Plan That Does Not Bring Peace

  
  February 07, 2020 11:52

  Source: The National Council of Churches

  http://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/a-peace-plan-that-does-not-bring-peace/

   

  Published February 3, 2020

   

  They have treated the wound of my people carelessly,
      saying, “Peace, peace,”
  when there is no peace.

  -Jeremiah 6:14 NRSV

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• America and Israel Against the World

  
  February 14, 2020 12:06

  Source: Truthdig

  https://www.truthdig.com/articles/america-and-israel-against-the-world/

   

  By Maj. Danny Sjursen

  Published February 12, 2020

   

  My Spotify workout playlist is a time warp. Growing up in a blue-collar neighborhood of New York City in the 1990s and early 2000s, listening to popular East Coast hip-hop was practically required. So on a recent morning in which I had planned to write a column about Israel/Palestine, I jammed out to Jay-Z & Beyonce’s famous power-couple-jam, “’03 Bonnie and Clyde.” The song revolves around a former street dude and his loyal girlfriend, ready to face off against the world like the title’s outlaw couple.

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• Revere the Stranger*… The Shared Calamity

  
  November 03, 2016 10:07

  The Times of Israel, NOVEMBER 3, 2016, 7:25 AM

   

  By: Abraham A. van Kempen

  The Hague, The Netherlands

   

  The command: ‘Revere (honor, respect, dignify; love; welcome, take care of) the stranger’ jumps out of the Sacred Texts because of its recurrent prominence and impregnable moral thrust. According to Rabbi Eliezer in the Talmud (Baba Metsia 59b) the Torah “warns against the wronging of a stranger (ger) in thirty-six places; others say, in forty-six places.” This Holy Decree, the Golden Rule, also dominates The New Testament and the Qur’an.

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