Attached are annotations of the Daily Alert and the Jewish Policy Centers news-summary, plus todays

column by Jim Geraghty.

Middle-East Update

News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:

Israel, Palestinians Gird for Showdown over UN Resolution on West Bank Withdrawal
Israel and the Palestinians are girding for a showdown at the UN this week over a resolution that would
recognize a Palestinian state and demand an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank in less than two years.
The Palestinian leadership announced that it will submit a resolution to the Security Council on
Wednesday, but it is likely doomed from the start. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Monday
that the measure does not yet have the support of a majority of Security Council members.
Trying to avert a confrontation over the resolution, Secretary of State John Kerry summoned Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a three-hour meeting in Rome on Monday. While Netanyahu
declined to say whether Kerry had promised that the U.S. would use its veto, he said, "I very much
appreciate the secretary of state's efforts to prevent deterioration in the region." Netanyahu added: "I said
that the attempts of the Palestinians and of several European countries to force conditions on Israel will
only lead to a deterioration in the regional situation and will endanger Israel. Therefore, we will strongly
oppose this."
Israel Seeks U.S. Block of Palestinian Statehood Drive
After meeting with Secretary of State Kerry, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told reporters, "Our
expectation is that the United States will stand by its position for the past 47 years that a solution to the
conflict will be achieved through negotiations, and I do not see a reason for this policy to change." U.S.
officials have indicated that Washington did not find the Palestinian draft resolution acceptable. They said
there was no consensus among the European powers on the best way to proceed. UN Middle East peace
process envoy Robert Serry said any resolution outlining the parameters of an Israeli-Palestinian final
status agreement was "not a substitute for a genuine peace process that will need to be negotiated
between both parties."
ISIS Regaining Ground in Western Iraq
Islamic State fighters have recaptured several villages in Iraq's Anbar Province. The government's failure
to "send sufficient weapons to the tribes fighting there who ran out of ammunition" has led to the fall of
strategic cities such as Hit and Haditha, Anbar provincial council member Adhal Al-Fahdawi said. "The
government's lack of interest and support" has enabled ISIS to infiltrate the area. The new ISIS advances
have cut off a key supply route between the province and Baghdad, Anbar tribal leader Sheikh Naim AlKaoud said.
Islamic State Overruns Shiite Militia Position near Samarra in Iraq
Over the past week, the Islamic State has launched a series of attacks against Iraqi troops and Iranianbacked Shiite militias near the city of Samarra. The attacks included suicide bombings executed by foreign
jihadists from France, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Qods Force,
the special operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, has been spotted numerous
times in Samarra directing military operations there.
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Palestinian Suicide Attack in Tel Aviv Thwarted

Five Palestinians from the West Bank who planned terror attacks in Tel Aviv and other cities were arrested
in the past two months. Yasmin Shaaban, 31, from Jenin, was planning to impersonate a pregnant Jewish
woman, wearing a suicide vest. She was to try to receive an entry permit to Israel on medical grounds in
order to commit a suicide bombing. Cell members were in contact with an operative in Gaza who guided
them in preparing the suicide vest. The Palestinians also confessed to planning a shooting attack, an
attempt to bomb a bus full of soldiers, and kidnapping a soldier.
Congress Warns Palestinians on UN Actions
The U.S. will eliminate funding to the Palestinian Authority should it move forward with a bid for statehood
at the UN without Israeli consent, according to a new spending bill passed by Congress over the weekend.
The law also requires the State Department to cut funding to the PA should it fail to combat incitement to
violence against Israel, or if Hamas is found to be exerting "undue influence" on the PA.
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
From Sydney to Rome, Until Islam Rules the World
During a solidarity ceremony with the Islamic State, children aged 6 to 13 proclaimed: "One Ummah
without the West; until Islam rules there will be no rest." The ceremony took place in a suburb of Sydney
and was documented by Australian 7News television. The English-speaking children, guided by adult
jihadists, are receiving an education similar to the education in Gaza. The goal is not to free the Al-Aqsa
Mosque. The goal is to free Sydney from the chains of democracy. It turns out that there is no need for
the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to nurture hatred towards democracy and the West. The jihadists in Sydney
are also calling for the death of President Obama.
Germans Rise Up Against Islamization
In the eastern German city of Dresden on Dec. 8, more than 10,000 people defied freezing temperatures
to express their displeasure with Germany's lenient asylum policies. Germany - which is facing an
unprecedented influx of asylum seekers, including many from Muslim countries - is now the second most
popular destination in the world for migrants, after the U.S. Many are taking advantage of Europe's open
borders to claim asylum in Germany after first passing through Italy and Austria. Bavarian officials
estimate that at least 33,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the state during 2014, twice the number of
arrivals in 2013.
Israeli Tech Startups Attract Chinese Investors
Chinese executives and investors say the tech startup hub of Tel Aviv is fast becoming a frequent stop in
China's global hunt for companies, startups and investments. They are joining American, European and
Russian investors who have been shuttling in and out of Israel for years. Over the next two years, China is
expected to surpass the U.S. as Israel's biggest collaborator in the number of joint government-backed
development projects, said Avi Luvton, executive director for the Asia Pacific region at the Israeli Industry
Center for R&D. Israel's National Economic Council expects tech deals between Chinese and Israeli firms
to total $300 million this year alone, up $50 million from 2013.
Observations:
Will U.S. Veto UN Resolution on Palestinian State?
With the Palestinians pushing for a UN Security Council resolution that would unilaterally recognize their
independence in the territory won by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, the U.S. administration must decide
whether it is truly in its interests to facilitate an end run around the peace process it has sponsored.
The PA claims that the peace negotiations promoted by the U.S. over the years has not brought them
closer to gaining a state and that only by having the international community force its hand will Israel
ever be willing to retreat to the 1967 lines. But this campaign is about avoiding a negotiated end to the
conflict, not finding a shortcut to one.

The Palestinians have been offered statehood in Gaza, almost all of the West Bank, and a share of
Jerusalem three times by the Israelis in 2000, 2001, and 2008. The obstacle wasn't Israeli settlements or
intransigence, but the fact that Abbas knows it would be political suicide for him to sign any deal that
would recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state alongside a Palestinian one, no matter where its borders
were drawn.
What the Palestinians want is a way to avoid negotiations that would obligate them to end the conflict with
Israel as the price of their independence. The problem with negotiations isn't that the Israelis have been
intransigent, but that no matter how much Obama and Kerry tilt the diplomatic playing field in the
direction of the Palestinians, a solution must in the end require them to make peace.
The UN resolution they want would merely obligate the Israelis to retreat from more territory without any
assurances that what happened when they gave up every inch of Gaza in 2005 - the creation of a terrorist
Hamas state - would not happen again in the more strategic and larger West Bank.
In-Depth Issues:
Germany to Help Finance Four New Israeli Naval Ships
Germany plans to finance part of the cost of four new corvette ships for the Israeli navy, German
government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Monday.
100 Syrian Soldiers Killed as Islamists Capture Military Base
Around 100 Syrian soldiers and 80 Islamist fighters were killed during a two-day battle in which
insurgents took the Wadi al-Deif military base near the main highway linking Aleppo with Damascus, the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday. The base has been surrounded by insurgents for two
years.
State Dept: U.S.-Backed Rebels Are Never Going to Defeat Assad Militarily
A senior State Department official said on Wednesday that U.S.-backed Syrian rebels will not be able to
topple the Assad regime in the foreseeable future, despite a Pentagon program to train and equip 5,000
rebels per year. "We do not see a situation in which the rebels are able to remove him from power," Brett
McGurk told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In recent weeks, Syria's moderate opposition has
continued to lose ground in the northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo.
Video: Why Can't We Have a "Conversation" about Militant Islam?
We see art that critiques Christianity, and musicals that satirize Mormonism. Virtually every religion is
open to a conversation - except Islam. Talk about Islam, particularly militant Islam, and it's met instead
with censorship, intimidation, lawsuits, and even violence. When Major Nidal Hasan went on a murdering
spree at Fort Hood, the U.S. government classified his act of terrorism as workplace violence, with no
mention of him screaming, "Allah is great," as he gunned down 13 fellow soldiers. References to Islam and
Jihad have been removed from the FBI's training manuals.
Korea to Buy Four Israeli Heron Drones
Seoul has chosen Israel Aerospace Industries' Heron-1 unmanned aerial vehicle to fly over the
northwesternmost islands and to monitor North Korea. The Israeli drone can stay airborne for more than
two days and is equipped with an electro-optical camera and synthetic aperture radar.

Frontline Defense c/o jewish policy center

Gaza
On December 14th, over 2,000 Hamas members celebrated the 27th anniversary of the group's
founding with a parade through Gaza City. Ismail Haniyeh, Gaza's de facto Prime Minister, and other
Hamas leaders reaffirmed their commitment to destroy Israel.
The Israeli military opened eight new investigations into the conduct of IDF soldiers during Operation
Protective Edge. Four of the inquiries will probe allegations of looting by Israeli troops. Meanwhile, the
PA accused Hamas of stealing medication and medical equipment from hospitals during last summer's
war.
An Israeli human rights group filed a formal complaint against Hamas's leader, Khaled Meshal, at the
International Criminal Court in the Hague. Shurat HaDin Law Center contends that since Khaled Meshal
is a Jordanian citizen, he can be tried for helping to facilitate the extrajudicial killings of Palestinian
"informants" in Gaza earlier this year.
The Israeli government released new information about a fisherman that the IDF arrested in late
November for smuggling weapons from Egypt into Gaza. According to reports, Husam Bakir would pick
up shipments of ammunition, including Grad rockets, from Sinai for Hamas divers to collect at sea.
Senior Hamas officials from the party's political bureau traveled to Tehran to hold talks aimed at
repairing ties with the Iranian government.
A bomb exploded outside the French Cultural Center in Gaza City causing moderate damage to the
building, but no casualties. The center had been closed since the facility caught on fire in October.
West Bank
Jerusalem vowed to investigate the death of cabinet minister and Fatah member Ziad Abu Ein, after a
confrontation with Israeli border police during a December 10th demonstration. In a post-mortem
examination, forensic experts agreed that stress likely caused hemorrhaging in the inner lining of the
heart, blocking the coronary artery, but disagreed whether Ein's death could be attributed to violence or
his history of heart problems.
The Israeli High Court for Justice will rule on the legality of a new law that would strip Arabs from East
Jerusalem of their Israeli permanent residency permits if they are convicted of a terrorist act. With the
assistance of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, four senior Hamas terrorists are contesting their
deportation from Israel to Gaza. The Jewish state will also establish special youth courts for Palestinians
living in the West Bank. Over the past year, a special committee has been tasked with improving the due
process rights of Palestinian minors.
Shin Bet released a report detailing how five Palestinians from Jenin and the village Attil in the West
Bank tried to infiltrate Israel and launch a series of terror attacks. The plan included one of the members
to dress as a pregnant Jewish woman seeking medical care in order to gain access to Israel. The group
would then detonate a bomb and try to kidnap IDF soldiers.

A 16-year-old Palestinian stabbed two Israelis in a West Bank supermarket on December 2nd before an
off-duty security officer shot and arrested the assailant. The two injured men, both in their 50s, were
evacuated to a nearby hospital.
A Palestinian man threw acid at a family sitting in a car when they stopped to pick up a hitchhiker in the
Beitar Illit area of the West Bank on December 12th. Jamal Abd al-Majid Ghayatha injured seven people
before being shot and arrested.
Sinai
Egyptian security forces killed seven "terrorist elements" during a firefight in Sinai on December 2nd.
Five Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis members were killed during another raid a few days later on December 10th.
The bodies of two people kidnapped by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis were found in the northern town of Abu
Tawila in early December. In the past few weeks, at least 10 other civilians have been murdered by the
group.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced a reduction in the nightly curfew. In order "to help people in
Sinai earn a living," restrictions will be only enforced between 7pm and 6am.
Golan
UN peacekeepers in the Golan Heights reportedly witnessed repeated contact between the IDF and alNusra Front rebels in Syria. The terrorist group also released a propaganda video showing a looted UN
vehicle being filled with an explosives and used in a car bombing. Al-Nusra was also behind the
kidnapping of the UN troops earlier this year.
Nine members of the minority Druze sect living in the Golan were detained for "showing solidarity" with
Hezbollah. Police became suspicious of the men, all subsequently released, after they flew Hezbollah
flags at recent community events.
Lebanon
In a series of interviews with Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) leaders posted to the internet,
Iranian military officials suggest that they have transfered new missiles to Hezbollah, capable of hitting
anywhere in Israel. The Fateh and Khalij-e Fars have a range of almost 200 miles, according to recently
released figures.
Syria
The Syrian military released a statement on December 7th accusing Israel of bombing two facilities
outside Damascus. Jerusalem refused to comment on the strikes, but Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu previously announced that Israel retains the right to forcefully interrupt arms transfers to
Hezbollah.
Attack Summary

Shin Bet released statistics detailing 212 attacks in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem during November. The
intelligence agency says their figures include 3 vehicular attacks, 19 IED bombings, 7 small arms
shooting, 2 stabbings, and 181 firebombs.

Morning Jolt. . . with Jim Geraghty

December 16, 2014

On Your Marco, Get Set, Go!

Anytime I post something like this, the comments sections go ablaze with cries of Amnesty! Amnesty!
Gang of Ocho!
Senator Marco Rubio of Florida will gather over 100 Republican donors, fund-raisers and other
supporters at a luxury hotel in Miami next month for a two-day strategy session about Mr. Rubios
political future, according to an invitation obtained by The New York Times.
The conference, scheduled to begin Jan. 23 at the Delano hotel in South Beach, will be
hosted by Mr. Rubios leadership political action committee, Reclaim America, and it is
expected to draw supporters from Washington and South Florida. The event comes as
Mr. Rubio and other potential 2016 candidates are quietly but aggressively jockeying for
the allegiance of the Republican Partys leading donors and fund-raising bundlers.
I hope he jumps into the presidential race, just to see how he does. Hes possibly the
most gifted communicator in the Republican party today, and we obviously cant have
too many gifted communicators in this field.
The really interesting question is how he runs against his political mentor, Jeb Bush.

The Overhyped Obama Bump Over Executive Amnesty

Peter Beinarts theory:
Remember when pundits loved Barack Obama? Its been quite a few years now. But I
suspect some of the adoration is about to come back.
Politically, Obamas immigration gamble is working. Fearful of alienating Hispanics or
shutting down the government, Republican leaders have largely abandoned hope of
overturning Obamas move. Whats more, Obamas approval ratings are up 15 points
among Hispanics but have not dropped among Anglo whites. Add immigration to healthcare reform and the fiscal stimulus and more commentators will start noticing that,
whether you like Obamas agenda or not, its been the most consequential of any
Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson.

The executive amnesty may not have dropped Obamas numbers among Anglo whites but thats
probably because they already hit the floor. And the bump among Latinos is pretty marginal in terms of
the overall electorate. Take a look at Obamas approval in the Real Clear Politics average for the past
three months and see if you can spot the amnesty bump. Its harder to find than Waldo:

The red line (skipping over red line joke) is Obamas disapproval, steady in the low-to-mid 50s. The
black line is his approval, steady in the low-to-mid 40s.
We often hear the accurate fact that Hispanics or Latinos are the fastest-growing demographic in the
United States -- but its easy to forget that amounts to only 17 percent of the U.S. population, as of
2012. A 15 point bump among that 17 percent of the electorate turns into . . . a 2.5 point bump overall.
The Strange Contradiction in the Cries for Campus Justice
This morning, the Washington Post reports this story as if its surprising:
As growing numbers of students report sexual violence, those who seek justice through
internal channels at colleges are learning that even when allegations are upheld, school
officials are often reluctant to impose their harshest punishment on the attackers:
expulsion.
My nave first thought was, Wouldnt expulsion be moot once theyre headed off to prison?
Write about this topic, and youre almost certainly going to be accused of insufficient empathy to
victims of sexual assault. So lets begin by state everyone who suffers sexual violence deserves care,
comfort and justice, and every guilty perpetrator deserves punishment.
But I have a hard time understanding why a victim of sexual violence would have no problem reporting a
crime to collegiate authorities but simultaneously hesitate to report it to law enforcement. Because law
enforcement has everything it needs to handle this sort of crime (at least in theory). Ill bet in just about

every city and college town, the local police force has investigated and prosecuted sexual assault cases
in the past. They have the tools. They have the experienced investigators. They have the forensics
teams. They have crime labs. They have handcuffs and guns to handle violent suspects. They usually
have strong relationships with local hospitals and medical facilities. They have district attorneys and
prosecutors. Responding to these sorts of crimes is their job.
If you have been wronged and victimized in such a fundamental way, why would you entrust the cause
of justice to a bunch of university administrators who quite possibly have every incentive to sweep it
under the rug?
The article gets around to acknowledging this strange contradiction a few paragraphs in:
Advocates for the rights of accused students often say that colleges are ill-equipped to
investigate sexual assault and that cases should be left to police, prosecutors and
criminal courts. Experts say colleges generally are not required to notify police when
they hear about alleged sexual assaults. But some Virginia lawmakers have proposed
legislation that would mandate reporting such allegations to law enforcement.
Federal law, however, requires colleges to respond when students lodge complaints.
Some students want police to investigate, but many do not. Regardless of whether they
seek a criminal charge, these students want colleges to ensure that campuses are safe
and free from intimidation.
I dont think you can have campuses safe and free from intimidation and have students refusing to
report incidents of sexual violence to the police. Youve got to pick one.
A Lousy Surgeon General Gets Approved
The Senate voted 5143 to approve Dr. Vivek Murthy, President Obamas nominee to be the next
surgeon general. The nomination had been held up for about a year, in part due to strong opposition
from the National Rifle Association, the wariness of several Democratic senators, and questions about
Murthys experience.
According to Senate.gov, a few senators voted across party lines: Democrats Joe Donnelly of Indiana,
Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia voted no. Republican Mark Kirk of
Illinois voted yes. Six didnt vote.
When you hear Democrats claiming the Murthy nomination was held up by politics or the gun lobby,
remind them that the mans qualifications for the job were only slightly better than Obamas
embarrassing jokes of ambassadors:
Former surgeon general Richard Carmona, who served under President Bush, offered a
bluntly harsh assessment that Murthy was a young man who has great potential, but
just a few years out of training, with no public health training or experience and a
resume that only stands out because he was the co-founder of Doctors for Obama.
Carmona went on at length in an op-ed:

This is not meant to be personal; in fact, I have never met Murthy. However, at just 36
years of age, Murthy is only a few years out of his residency and has very limited public
health education and experience. I believe he is unqualified to effectively serve as the
nations doctor.
The U.S. surgeon general is responsible for providing government leaders and the
American public with the best scientific information available about how to respond to
catastrophic public health events and emerging public health threats, as well as ways to
improve their general health and well-being. The surgeon general also oversees the U.S.
Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, an elite group of more than 6,700 uniformed
public health professionals whose mission is to protect, promote, and advance the
health of our nation.
The surgeon general must have the skills and, more importantly, the experience, to
inform the governments leaders, educate the American public and help heal the ailing
public health sector.
Someday, Murthy may very well attain the knowledge and experience to be a trusted
surgeon general. However, to put him in this position so early in his career would only
serve to weaken the position and could doom Murthy to failure.
Lest you think Carmona is some right-wing hack, note he was the Democrats Senate candidate from
Arizona in 2012.
Obamacares Big Premium Hikes Arent Stopped, Only Delayed
Heres Stephen Parente, a professor of health finance at the University of Minnesota, writing in the Wall
Street Journal this morning:
Americans visiting Healthcare.gov to purchase 2015 health-insurance plans are finding a
nice surprise: Average premiums for the cheap bronze plans have increased only by
3.4% and premiums for the middle-of-the-road silver plans are rising by 5.8%,
according to the American Action Forum. Where are the double-digit premium increases
that so many predicted?
Check back around this time in 2016. Thats when youll see the real spikes.
The Affordable Care Act includes two temporary programs that make compliant healthcare plans temporarily appear far cheaper than they are: Risk corridors and reinsurance.
Both programs will expire on Jan. 1, 2017. By November 2016, consumers will know how
that sunset will affect their plans premium.
Risk corridors and reinsurance are simple concepts: They subsidize insurance companies
with taxpayer money. With the former, the taxpayer is covering the difference when
patients spend more on health care than insurance companies predicted. With the
latter, taxpayers are paying for the most expensive patientsthose that make more
than $45,000 in claims annually. In a telling move, the White House quietly expanded
the risk-corridor program earlier this year, implying that health-insurance companies are
losing billions of dollars on ACA plans.

This is why premiums on Healthcare.gov are cheaper than many predicted. The
taxpayers generosity allows insurance companies to hide the true costs of the plans.
But this will likely end when both programs expire in two years. At the same time, the
exemptions issued by the White House and the Department of Health and Human
Servicesincluding the exemptions that allowed millions of consumers to keep
noncompliant plans that would have been canceledwill also expire on New Years Day,
2017.