U.S. State Department supports Israel’s military action against Iranian forces in Syria
The U.S. State Department issued the following statement on Thursday: “The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Iranian regional actions that endanger Israeli national security and the safety of the Israeli people. Iranian support of and supply to terrorist groups in Syria and across the region that have the clear intent and capability to strike Israel are unacceptable.
The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against the Iranian regime’s aggressive adventurism, and we will continue to ensure that Israel has the military capacity to do so decisively. The commitment of the Trump Administration and the American people to ensuring Israel’s security is both enduring and unshakable. — From U.S. State Department
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Amos Oz, novelist, peace activist, dies
Americans for Peace Now (APN) sends its condolences to the Oz family and to the people of Israel, who on Thursday lost Amos Oz, a literary giant, a beacon of morality and humanity, and a founder of Israel’s peace movement.
APN joins its Israeli sister-organization, Shalom Achshav (Peace Now), which Oz helped found and supported since its inception, in mourning Oz’s death. In a statement shortly after Oz’s daughter, Fania, announced his departure, Peace Now said: “Amos Oz worked throughout his life to advance peace and to establish an exemplary society in Israel. He was one of our founding fathers and will always be remembered as having charted a way, with his sharp words, for a large peace camp yearning for a liberal Israel that pursues peace with its neighbors.”
Amos Oz was an official spokesperson of Shalom Achshav, and later continued to be a clear, articulate, sober voice articulating the worldview of Israel’s peace movement and its vision of a two-state solution. He recently said that Israel and the Palestinians “cannot become one happy family because we are not one, we are not happy, we are not family. We are two unhappy families. We have to divide the house into two smaller next-door apartments.”
Oz was a prophet of moderation and political pragmatism. His latest book, Dear Zealots: Letters from a Divided Land, sounds the alarm at the rise of ideological extremism in Israel and worldwide. — From Americans for Peace Now
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Jewish National Fund receives 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for seventh consecutive time
Charity Navigator, America’s leading independent charity evaluator, this month bestowed its seventh consecutive 4-star rating on Jewish National Fund (JNF-USA) for the organization’s strong financial health and a perfect score of 100.00 for commitment to accountability and transparency, placing it in the top 5% in the country.
Charity Navigator’s president and CEO Michael Thatcher stated, “This is our highest possible rating and indicates that your organization adheres to sector best practices and executes its mission in a financially efficient way. Only 5% of the charities Charity Navigator rates have received at least seven consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that Jewish National Fund outperforms most other charities in America. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets Jewish National Fund-USA apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness.”
Dr. Sol Lizerbram, Jewish National Fund’s national president remarked, “Once again, we are extremely pleased to be recognized by Charity Navigator as one of the best and most resourceful nonprofits in the nation. Each month JNF-USA’s national board of directors meets to review policies, and program investments as projects are funded by donors who designate where they want their contributions earmarked. Much of the credit goes to the 45 individuals on our national board of directors, national treasurer, Andy Klein, and our professional staff, who account for where every dollar goes. Our donors are highly confident knowing that we manage their contributions, along with their planned giving investments like donor advised funds and gift annuities, in a thoroughly judicious and prudent manner.” — From Jewish National Fund
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United Hatzalah training emergency responders in India, Sri Lanka
The AJC and United Hatzalah are teaming up to train first responders in India and Sri Lanka in mass casualty incidents and disaster management. The mission, which is being funded by the AJC, is bringing five experts from United Hatzalah of Israel to numerous locations throughout India and Sri Lanka to help train members of local response organizations in how to provide quick and effective emergency response to large-scale emergencies ranging from natural disasters to terror attacks.
Local participants in the mission include the Indian Red Cross, 108 emergency system (India’s 911) and local responders such as Fire and Rescue as well as emergency medical service (EMS) crews from each of the cities participating.
The mission began on Sunday in Gurugram and continued on to New Delhi where the United Hatzalah team gave frontal lectures to dozens of emergency responders and then held a combined training drill for all of the participants, guiding them through the procedures used in Israel.
“It is eye-opening to see how emergency response systems work in different countries and how much we can share with one another and learn from each other,” said Vice President of Operations for United Hatzalah Dov Maisel who is leading the mission. “The teams in India are professional and are excellent at providing assistance. They even had a few fire rescue motorcycles which are similar to what we use in Israel to arrive at emergencies faster. We are adding to their already existing knowledge base numerous styles of emergency triage and disaster management from a number of different angles as our team is comprised of EMS experts and well as some of Israel’s elite Search and Rescue professionals who have been at disasters all over the globe.”
The AJC and United Hatzalah mission is working with local EMS providers in New Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, and Colombo in Sri Lanka. — From United Hatzalah
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Bernie Sanders responds to attacks on his presumed presidential candidacy
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind-Vermont) has issued the following statement in response to attacks on his presumed candidacy for the Presidency:
“Whenever I am asked about running for president in 2020, I answer that if I am the best candidate to beat Donald Trump, then I will probably run. That is the truth.
“If that happens, the political, financial and media elite of this country will stop at nothing to defeat us. You know that. We’ve lived through it together once before. Our ideas terrify them. So what they will do is try to divide us up with attacks — some old, some new — and our political opponents will spend obscene sums of money on ads to defeat us.
“I just did not expect the attack ads to begin before I even made a decision. But they have…
“Right now, a group of Wall Street Democrats known as the Third Way is running ads in early primary states — Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — calling me out by name and saying our ideas, like Medicare for all, are a path to defeat in 2020.
“They not only want to discourage or defeat a Sanders candidacy, they want to make sure that the progressive agenda is not advanced by anyone. They want us to go back to their failed corporate approach which has led to a massive level of income and wealth inequality, a bloated military budget and a failure to address the crises of climate change, a broken criminal justice system and inhumane immigration policies. …” — From U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders
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Preceding items culled from news releases. Please send yours to editor@sdjewishworld.com