Malaysia’s new 92-year-old prime minister is a proud anti-Semite
Mahathir Mohamad speaking during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 10, 2018. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Mahathir Mohamad, an avowed anti-Semite, was sworn in as Malaysia’s prime minister, nearly two decades after he last held office.
Mohamad led his opposition Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition to a surprise victory in national elections on Wednesday. On Thursday he took his oath of office before the king, Sultan Muhammad V.
Mohamad is known for his anti-Semitic rhetoric. He wrote on his personal blog in 2012 that “Jews rule this world by proxy,” The Associated Press reported. Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria kill 23, watchdog group says
Israeli border police officers seen near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, May 10, 2018. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli airstrike on Iranian military installations in Syria left 23 people dead, according to a watchdog group.
Five of those killed are reported to be Syrian soldiers, and the other 18 from forces allied with it, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has closely followed Syria’s civil war. It is not known if any of the foreign nationals killed were Iranian.
The Syrian military denied the watchdog’s report, saying that three were killed and two wounded in the Israeli airstrikes. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Russia ‘not in talks’ with Syria to supply S-300, says top Kremlin aide
Fri May 11, 2018 01:53PM
An S-300 air defense missile system launches a missile during the Keys to the Sky competition at the International Army Games 2017 at the Ashuluk shooting range outside Astrakhan, August 5, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)
Russia is not in talks with the Syrian government about supplying advanced S-300 missile defense systems to Syria in an effort to bolster the war-torn Arab nation’s defensive capabilities, a top Kremlin aide says.
Vladimir Kozhin said on Friday that Russia was neither supplying S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Syria nor negotiating a potential delivery to Damascus.
Kozhin, who oversees Russian military assistance to other countries, added that the Syrian forces had “everything they needed.”
“For now, we’re not talking about any deliveries of new modern (air defense) systems,” Russian newspaper Izvestia cited Kozhin as saying when asked about the possibility of supplying Syria with S-300.
The comments come against the backdrop of a visit to Moscow by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has played down the idea that Moscow performed a U-turn on the missile question or that any decision was linked to Netanyahu’s visit. Peskov declined to comment on Kozhin’s remarks, stressing that it would be wrong to connect those statements with the Israeli premier’s visit to Moscow.
“We never announced these deliveries as such. However, we said that after the strikes [by the US, France and the UK on Syria], Russia reserves the right to do whatever it deems necessary,” Peskov explained.
Bahrain backs Israel’s most direct confrontation in Syria
Fri May 11, 2018 06:25AM
Missiles seen from Damascus on May 10, 2018
Bahrain has expressed support for Israel after Tel Aviv hitdozens of military targets in Syria amid Syrian army advances against Takfiri terrorists and other foreign-backed militants.
In a rare expression of support, Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa twitted on Thursday that Tel Aviv had a right to “defend itself” after Israel said it carried out some 50 raids inside Syria.
Al-Khalifa copied claims made by Israeli authorities, praising the attack as a response to an Iranian rocket attack from the Syrian territory against Israeli military bases in the occupied Golan Heights.
Israel claimed that the early Thursday assault was its most extensive strike against Syria in decades. Syria’s military said Thursday that the airstrikes had killed three people and destroyed a radar station and an ammunition warehouse.
In a statement carried by state news agency SANA, Syria’s foreign ministry said that the Israeli strikes on its territory were a “direct confrontation” that marked a “new phase” in the country’s seven-year conflict.
Syrian Arab Army Brig. Gen. Ali Mayhoub, who read a statement on Syrian television, said his country’s air defense systems had intercepted “the large part” of the incoming Israeli strikes. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Syrian army says destroyed most of Israeli rockets
Thu May 10, 2018 12:34PM
Israeli missile fire is seen from Damascus, Syria, May 10, 2018. (Photo by Reuters)
The Syrian army command says its air defense systems have managed to intercept and destroy the biggest part of a “successive wave” of Israeli rockets fired at military bases in the Arab country.
The army spokesman said in a statement on state television on Thursday that the recent Israeli strikes had demolished a radar station and a weapons depot, without elaborating on the location of the targets.
The Israeli attacks on Syria also killed three people and wounded several others, according to the statement.
It further reaffirmed “the alertness of the army and readiness to defend the sovereignty of the homeland against any aggression,” stressing that attempts to support terrorism would prove futile.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that Israel had used 28 planes in its Syria strikes and fired 70 missiles, adding that Damascus had shot down over half of the missiles.
In the early hours of Thursday, Israel attacked dozens of targets inside Syria in what was said to be the most extensive strike in the Arab country in decades. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Foreign support for terrorists prolonging Syria crisis: Assad
Thu May 10, 2018 08:29AM
The photo, released by Syria’s official news agency SANA on May 10, 2018 shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad answering questions during an interview with the Greek Kathimerini newspaper.
President Bashar al-Assad has blamed foreign intervention for the prolongation of the conflict in Syria, saying otherwise it would take “less than a year” to restore peace to the Arab country.
“I have always said, without any interference, it will take less than a year to regain stability in Syria; I don’t have any doubt about this,” Assad said in an interview with the Greek Kathimerini newspaper published on Thursday.
Assad referred to foreign support for extremist groups operating in the war-torn country as another factor for the persistence of the crisis, however, expressing hope that “we’re going to end this conflict and we’re going to re-unify Syria under the control of the government. When? I cannot answer. I hope it’s going to be soon.”
He lashed out at Western countries, including France, Britain and the US along with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey for supporting various terrorist groups, saying they “should be held accountable” for the bloodshed in Syria.
Assad said Syria is fighting terrorists, who are the “army” of the US, Turkey and the Saudi regime, stressing that “any aggressor” and “any army … are all enemies as long as they came to Syria illegally.”
The Syrian president further denounced as “aggression” the ongoing Turkish operation in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled region. “This is an occupation. Any single Turkish soldier on Syrian soil represents occupation,” he said. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Netanyahu sets off to Russia after Israel strikes Syrian army positions
Wed May 9, 2018 09:43AM
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to watch the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in Moscow, May 9, 2018. (Photo by AFP)
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has traveled to Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin after the Tel Aviv regime hit military positions in Syria, which enjoys Moscow’s support in its anti-terror drive.
Netanyahu headed to Moscow on Wednesday, saying in advance, “The meetings between us are always important and this one is especially so,” AFP reported.
A day earlier, Syrian state media said Israel had attacked Syrian army positions south of the capital Damascus, prompting the country’s air defenses to shoot down two Israeli missiles.
Tel Aviv regularly conducts such attacks, sometimes trying to hit Syrian military positions, but mostly aiming at targets belonging to Hezbollah. The Lebanese resistance movement has been helping the Syrian military out in the face of terrorists.
In February, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov warned against escalation of tension in the Middle East after Israel carried out an airstrike in Syria, only to have one of its F-16s shot down for the first time. Following the Israeli airstrike, Putin asked Netanyahu during a phone conversation to avoid moves that could lead to “a new round of dangerous consequences for the region.”
Moscow has been backing Syrian forces against terrorists since September 2015 at Damascus’ request. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Syrian air defenses down two Israeli missiles close to Damascus
Tue May 8, 2018 09:15PM
A TV grab from a broadcast by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on May 8, 2018 shows a Syrian presenter speaking with images on the right showing the aftermath of two intercepted Israeli missiles. (Photo by AFP)
Israeli missiles have targeted Syrian army positions in the Kisweh area south of the capital city Damascus.
According to Syrian state news agency SANA on Tuesday, Syrian air defenses downed two Israeli missiles in the Kisweh region.
The attack took place shortly after Israel instructed local authorities in the “unlock and ready (bomb) shelters” in occupied Golan Heights as US President Donald Trump’s announced the US’ departure from the JCPOA.
“I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal,” Trump said Tuesday in a televised address from the White House. “This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.”
In April Syria announced that several of its military bases located in the provinces of Hama and Aleppo have come under missile fire.
Over the past few years, the Israeli military has launched sporadic attacks against various targets on Syrian soil, in assaults slammed by Syria as attempts to boost terrorist groups who have been suffering heavy defeats on the battlefield with Syrian government forces. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Israel puts army on alert in Golan Heights as Trump quits from JCPOA
Tue May 8, 2018 07:46PM
A general view taken on March 17, 2017 shows Israel’s Iron Dome system, deployed in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights near the Israel-Syria border on March 17, 2017. (Photo by AFP)
Israel has instructed local authorities to “unlock and ready (bomb) shelters” in the occupied Golan Heights as US President Donald Trump announces JCPOA departure.
In its statement released on Tuesday, Israel’s military further announced that its missile systems had been deployed and that its troops were put on high alert, after claiming the presence of “irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria”.
The announcement came shortly before announced his decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA.)
Following the announcement Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Tel Aviv regime “fully supports” Trump’s “bold” withdrawal from Iran deal.
“For months now, Iran has been transferring lethal weaponry to its forces in Syria, with the purpose of striking at Israel,” Netanyahu said. “We will respond mightily to any attack on our territory,” he further claimed.
Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and has continued to occupy two-thirds of the strategically-important territory ever since, in a move that has never been recognized by the international community. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Abe offended by Israeli chef’s serving of dessert in shoe
Tue May 8, 2018 01:58PM
The photo, taken on May 2, 2018, shows the metal cast shoe filled with dessert that was used during a meal served for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at the end of Abe’s visit to the occupied Palestinian territories.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has found it highly disrespectful that he was served desserts in shoes during a meal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.
A Japanese diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monday that Abe and his wife, Akie Abe, found it absolutely disrespectful when they saw shoes on the dining table in a meal with Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, which came at the end of Abe’s visit to the occupied Palestinian territories on May 2.
“There’s no culture in the world in which you put shoes on the table. What was the distinguished chef thinking? If it was humor, we don’t think it is funny; we were offended on behalf of our prime minister,” said the diplomat.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry swiftly sought to sooth concerns about the controversial shoe-filled dessert, saying it was not involved in approving the dishes for the meal but appreciated the creativity of chef Segev Moshe.
“We have the utmost respect for the Japanese prime minister,” said the ministry in a statement, although it would not offer an apology.
Segev, who has already made headlines with his odd way of serving foreign leaders, also defended his choice of filling a sculpture shoe with chocolate dessert, saying the shoe was not real and was made of cast metal, so it should not have been as offending as it has been reported in the media. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Russian attack helicopter crashes in eastern Syria, killing both pilots
Tue May 8, 2018 01:26AM
A file photo of a Russian Ka-52 operating in Syria (Photo by Sputnik)
Two Russian pilots were killed when their Ka-52 attack helicopter went down during a routine flight over Syrian, says Russian Defense Ministry.
“A Russian Ka-52 helicopter has crashed during a routine flight over eastern regions of the Syrian Arab Republic. Both pilots were killed,” said a statement released by the ministry on Monday.
It added that both pilot’s remains have been recovered and returned to their base. It noted that evidence points to machine failure as the reason behind the crash.
A Russian bomber plane was shot down by a Turkish jet along the Syrian border in November 2015, and one of the two pilots was shot and killed from the ground after ejecting.
The downing of the copter marked the deadliest incident on a single mission for the Russian servicemen since Moscow began its air campaign against terrorists in Syria in September 2015. According to official data, 18 Russians have been killed since the air campaign started at the official request of the Damascus government.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri says his party has lost a third of seats in the Sunday parliamentary elections, winning only 21 seats, down from the 33 it had been holding since the last time Lebanon elected a parliament in 2009.
Hariri made the announcement in a televised statement on Monday, saying that despite gains in Sidon, Tripoli, Beirut and Western Bekaa Valley, the Future Movement had only won 21 out of 128 parliamentary seats.
The election results, however, still make Hariri the frontrunner to form the next government as the Sunni leader with the biggest bloc in parliament.
The Lebanese premier said he extended his hand to all political factions in order to fulfill the wishes of the Lebanese people who “voted for security and stability of Lebanon.”
“I extend my hand to every Lebanese to participate in shoring up securing political stability and to improve the lives of all the Lebanese,” Hariri noted.
The prime minister also said that the international community should look at the results of Lebanon’s election in a “very positive way.” Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Yemen seeks to resort to Security Council to oust UAE forces from Socotra
Mon May 7, 2018 10:41AM
The UN Security Council holds a vote on a Russian-proposed draft resolution on Syria during an emergency meeting, April 14, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by AFP)
Yemeni sources have revealed that officials with the government of a former president seek to resort to the United Nations Security Council to put an end to the UAE’s military presence on Socotra Island.
A Yemeni official source said an increasing number of officials with Yemen’s ousted government are “thinking of addressing the United Nations to get the UAE out of the Arab alliance”.
The crisis has escalated between Abu Dhabi and the government of former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi after Emirati forces took control over sovereign facilities in Socotra.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper that the UAE’s actions are “a flagrant violation of Yemeni sovereignty”.
Aides to Hadi are pressing him to address the UN over the issue, but the Saudi pressure is hindering the move, the source added.
Other advisers to the former president, however, have said the Saudi mediation failed to calm down the situation and defuse the crisis. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Hezbollah, allies make major gains in Lebanon elections
Mon May 7, 2018 07:51AM
Lebanese officials count votes at a polling center in Beirut after polling stations closed for Lebanon’s first parliamentary elections in nine years on May 6, 2018. (Photo by AFP)
Preliminary unofficial results from Lebanon’s parliamentary elections have showed that the Hezbollah resistance movement and its political allies secured more than half the seats.
Hezbollah as well as groups and individuals affiliated to it have won at least 67 seats in Lebanon’s 128-member parliament, according to the results cited by politicians and campaigns and reported in Lebanese media on Monday.
Hezbollah’s allies include the Amal Movement led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the Christian Free Patriotic Movement founded by President Michel Aoun.
Lebanon’s first parliamentary elections in nine years was held on Sunday, with over 500 candidates vying for seats. Turnout was 49.2 percent, according to officials.
Videos posted on social media showed people in southern Lebanon celebrating the victory of Hezbollah and its allies.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 9, 2015, in Ufa, Russia. (Alexey Kudenko/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reportedly said Iran does not want “new tensions” in the region after a deadly exchange with Israel in Syria.
‘Iran does not want ‘new tensions’ in the region, Rouhani says.” Agence France Presse tweeted on Thursday afternoon. There was no follow-up or attribution.
#BREAKING Iran does not want “new tensions” in the region, Rouhani says
Republican Jewish Coalition chairman brokers $30 million Sheldon Adelson donation to GOP congressional bids
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Norm Coleman, the former Minnesota senator who now chairs the Republican Jewish Coalition, brokered a $30 million donation by Sheldon Adelson to GOP efforts to keep their U.S. House of Representatives majority.
The casino magnate’s donation last week to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a political action committee aligned with the House GOP, is three times as large as the amount he gave in 2016, Politico reported Thursday. It also comes much earlier in the election cycle. Republicans are concerned that Democratic enthusiasm, spurred in part by anger at President Donald Trump, points to Republicans losing the House in November.
According to Politico, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the House speaker, visited personally with Adelson and his wife, Miriam, at his Las Vegas casino, the Venetian, and explained the party’s dire straits. Ryan, who as a sitting congressman is barred from asking for donations of this magnitude, left the room, and Coleman, who was present, made the ask for $30 million. Politico quoted “two senior Republicans” in reporting the donation.
Adelson, a major giver to Jewish and pro-Israel causes, is also a leading backer of Republicans. He was among the biggest givers to Trump’s campaign and his inauguration. A Washington Post reporter said on Twitter Wednesday that Adelson was in a White House meeting with Trump. Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Trump signs law to help Holocaust victims reclaim lost property
President Donald Trump speaking at a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, March 8, 2018. (Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
(JTA) — President Donald Trump signed legislation to help victims of the Holocaust and their families reclaim lost property in Poland.
The Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today, or JUST Act, was first introduced in February. The measure requires the State Department to report on the progress of certain European countries toward the return of or restitution for wrongfully confiscated or transferred Holocaust-era assets, including property, art and other movable property. It also requires a report specifically on progress on the resolution of claims for U.S. citizen Holocaust survivors and family members.
The law does not mention Poland specifically. However, Poland is the only European country that has not passed a law or laws to compensate those who lost their property and other assets during World War II. The bill passed the Senate by a unanimous voice vote in December 2017, and passed the House in April in a similar vote. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Erdogan, allies expected to win parliament majority in June snap elections: Poll
Thu May 10, 2018 04:18PM
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim greet the crowd during the AK Party’s 6th ordinary provincial congress in Izmir, Turkey, on April 28, 2018. (Photo by AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party and its allies will win a majority in the June 24 snap elections that would enable Ankara to switch to an executive presidency, the results of a new poll show.
The MetroPoll survey showed on Thursday that the AK Party would win 48 percent of the votes in the upcoming parliamentary votes, which will be held alongside presidential elections, while the party’s alliance partner, the nationalist MHP, would garner six percent.
The poll was conducted on April 13-20 and surveyed 2,063 people in 28 Turkish provinces.
It put support at 21 percent for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), 12 percent for the newly founded Iyi (Good) Party.
The pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), whose leader is in jail over terror-related charges, would win 10 percent, a minimum required to enter parliament, according to the poll.
Erdogan announced the snap elections on April 18, saying holding the votes more than a year earlier than planned was needed to enable his party to make the constitutional changes narrowly approved in a last year referendum, which will give him sweeping new powers.
Israeli soldier who shot dead wounded Palestinian walks free
Tue May 8, 2018 07:36AM
Israeli soldier Elor Azaria
The Israeli soldier who was convicted of murder for brutally killing a wounded Palestinian man has been released from prison after serving a lenient nine-month jail term.
Elor Azaria was freed from Tzrifim military prison near Tel Aviv on Tuesday, an army spokesman confirmed to AFP.
In March 2016, Azaria shot dead Abdel al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif, a Palestinian who was lying on the ground with gunshot wounds in the city of al-Khalil (Hebron) in the south of the occupied West Bank.
Sharif had sustained the injuries following an alleged stabbing attack on other Israeli forces. Azaria arrived at the scene approximately 11 minutes after the purported assault, cocked his rifle and shot Sharif in the head, killing him.
The incident was caught on video by a human rights group and circulated online.
Frame grab shows the moment Israeli trooper Elor Azaria shoots wounded Palestinian Abdel al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif in the head in the city of al-Khalil (Hebron) in the south of the West Bank in March 2016.
Azaria was found guilty in January 2017 of manslaughter by an Israeli military court, in a verdict that could have sent him behind bars for 20 years. Click here for the full story
From PressTV
US lawmakers warn Turkey over Russian missiles
Tue May 8, 2018 02:02AM
A Russian S-400 Triumph air defence missile system parade through Red Square during the general rehearsal of the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 6, 2018. (Photo by AFP)
US lawmakers take the first step to temporarily freeze US arms sales to Turkey, warning the NATO member over the potential purchase of a Russian weapons system.
A measure introduced in the US House of Representatives on Monday threatened to halt arms sales to Ankara as it seeks to buy Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries.
“The United States–Republic of Turkey relationship, over the past year, has become increasingly strained due to several provocative actions taken by the Government of Turkey,” read the bill.
The House version of the of National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would require the Pentagon chief and the secretary of state to provide US Congress with a report on the status of Ankara-Washington ties within 60 days.
“The potential purchase by the Government of Turkey of the S-400 air and missile defense system from the Russian Federation has led to tension with the relationship. These actions could negatively impact common weapon system development between the United States and Turkey.”
In the meanwhile, the law would “prohibit any action to execute delivery of a foreign military sale for major defense equipment” to Turkey. Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Prominent Ukrainian rabbi inaugurates prayer for Trump’s success
(JTA) — The rabbi of Ukraine’s largest synagogue inaugurated a prayer for the success of President Donald Trump in defending Israel and the United States.
Rabbi Moshe Azman, one of Ukraine’s chief rabbis, announced the prayer on Thursday on the website of this congregation, which based at the Brodsky Synagogue in the capital Kiev.
It reads: “He who blessed our forfathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who paved the way through the sea and in the mighty waters of Netiva, He will bless and raise the President of the United Stated of America, Donald J. Trump, who with G-d’s help will do everything possible to protect the Land of Israel and the United States of America. Let the luck be in his actions and let the peace be among the nations, and we will say Amen.”
Calling Trump a “a sincere friend of Israel and Ukraine,” Azman in a statement called “on all members of our community, all Jews of Kiev and Ukraine to say additional prayer for the success of Donald Trump.” Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Why a gory Holocaust film is a blockbuster in Russia
Christopher Lambert, right, portraying a German Nazi officer in “Sobibor.” (Courtesy of Rosiya Segondiya)
(JTA) — A decade ago, relatively few people in Russia even knew about the existence of Sobibor, the smallest-scale facility of the six killing centers that the Nazis built in occupied Poland.
This relative obscurity persisted for decades in Russia, Israel and beyond despite the fact that the camp is tied to a dramatic story of heroism: In 1943, Russian inmates led a successful escape, one of only two such occurrences during the Holocaust (the other happened that same year in Treblinka).
Following the Sobibor uprising, however, the Nazis razed the camp so that little more than a forest clearing remained in the remote area where SS guards and Ukrainians murdered 250,000 Jews. This is why Sobibor receives a fraction of the visitor traffic observed at the Auschwitz or Majdanek camps, whose gas chambers and other structures remained intact and were turned into museum exhibits.
Ten years on, though, Sobibor has made a huge splash in Russia thanks to a government-led commemoration campaign that culminated this year, the uprising’s 75th anniversary, with last week’s commercial release of Russia’s largest-ever Holocaust movie production. Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Trump says he rejected plans for larger Jerusalem embassy
President Donald Trump speaking to supporters at a campaign rally in Elkhart, Ind., May 10, 2018. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump told a rally that he rejected plans for a larger embassy in Jerusalem, suggesting that the move next week to a consular building in Israel’s capital was permanent.
Trump’s rejection of the longterm plans for a larger embassy in Jerusalem is at odds with plans laid out just months ago by administration officials, which depicted the imminent move of the embassy to a consular building as a stopgap, with a larger permanent embassy to be built within the next decade. He also appeared to vastly underestimate the cost of the interim move.
Trump spoke Thursday evening at a rally in Indiana for Republican Senate candidate Mike Braun. Trump said that once he decided to move the embassy to Jerusalem, last December, staff presented to him a plan for a $1 billion embassy that would take up to 10 years to build.
