#11945

>>9333174 HALF of positive coronavirus antibody tests could be wrong & give false sense of security – top US health agency

>>9333203 GOP Whip Steve Scalise announces he will whip against the FISA reauthorization bill

>>9333219 U.S. Takes Aim At The Power Behind Venezuela’s Maduro – His First Lady

>>9333265 Tech billionaires are plotting sweeping, secret plans to boost Joe Biden

>>9333278 Here Are The Americans Most In Bed With The Chinese Government

>>9333299 Twitter’s Trump ‘Fact Check’ Does Not Disclose Company Partnered with Groups Pushing Mail-In Ballots

>>9333345 CDC Shifts, Says It’s ‘Possible’ for Coronavirus to Spread on Surfaces Despite Previous Report

>>9333376 Mexican National Guardsmen, Marines Apparently Escort Cartel Drug Loads

>>9333447 Ghislane Maxwell Requests Change-of-Venue to NM

>>9333625, >>9333648 Head of Twitter's 'site integrity' in charge of fact-checking Trump has previously tweeted the administration are Nazis

>>9333678 Facebook appoints Israeli censor to oversight board

>>9333679 THE LANCET #HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE STUDY: CONFLICT OF INTERESTS?

>>9333758 President of El Salvador Announces That He is Taking Hydroxychloroquine, Says ‘Most World Leaders’ Doing the Same

NOT NOTABLES

WHERE’S THE TWITTER POLICE? Ice Cube Spreads Vicious, Racist Rumor on Twitter that Minnesota Cop Who Killed Black Man is Racist Trump Supporter

A Minneapolis police officer was filmed kneeling on a black man’s neck on Monday.

The victim said he couldn’t breathe but the police officer kept his knee on his neck.

The black man then died during the arrest. The officer killed him.

Four police officers were fired after the incident.

Of course, there were anti-police riots in Minneapolis on Tuesday night following the brutal police assault.

And leave it to Leftists to pour gasoline on the fire.

Rapper Ice Cube spread the vicious rumor that the killer police officer is a racist Trump supporter.

Anything to stir up the hate, hey Ice Cube?

Of course, this was complete horsesh*t.

The man in the racist hat is fraudster Johathan Lee Riches.

Mark Dice responded–

That’s NOT the cop, dumbass. It’s professional troll and fraudster Jonathan Lee Riches. Maybe twitter should be adding fact check notices to your tweets instead of the Presidents. But congratulations on pouring gasoline on the fire, moron.

— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) May 27, 2020

Rosie Memos has more on the fraudster.

Twitter has not fact-checked this hateful, racist tweet. And Ice Cube still has his account.

It’s Democrat privilege in action.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/twitter-police-ice-cube-spreads-vicious-racist-rumor-twitter-minnesota-cop-killed-black-man-racist-trump-supporter/

“After Joe Biden announced he was running for president in April 2018, the University received over $70 million dollars from China, of which 22 million were listed as anonymous.” What is Biden’s relationship with China? Watch”

Joe isn’t the brightest guy in DC, but he sure does know how to use his office to make big money (illegally)

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/after-joe-biden-announced-he-was-running-for-president-in-april-2018-the-university-received-over-70-million-dollars-from-china-of-which-22-million-were-listed-as-anonymous-what/

Gates Foundation Buys Stock in Google, Twitter, Apple and Amazon in First Quarter Before Pushing Pandemic Panic Porn

Back in March Bill Gates told reporters the COVID-19 economic lockdowns needed to last 10 weeks and possibly three months.

In early April it was revealed that the Gates Foundation was funding the Washington IHME junk models used by Dr. Tony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx. The models were completely inaccurate but helped the experts spread the panic.

Bill Gates later went on CNN to praise China’s handling of the disease that had killed tens of thousands of people across the globe.

On Monday news broke that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust placed big bets on technology titans in the first quarter, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

So while Bill Gates was out spreading the panic porn his foundation was buying up tech stock that did quite well during the economic lockdown.

Business Insider reported:

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust placed big bets on technology titans in the first quarter, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The trust, which manages the assets of the world’s largest private foundation, revealed new positions in Apple, Amazon, Google-parent Alphabet, Alibaba, and Twitter. Its stakes in the first four were valued between $100 million and $130 million each on March 31, while its Twitter holdings were worth about $7 million.

The trust also revealed a $301 million stake in Schrodinger following the drug-discovery software group’s public debut in February. The only other change to its portfolio was the sale of five million Berkshire Hathaway shares, representing 10% of its stake in Warren Buffett’s conglomerate.

http://www.stationgossip.com/2020/05/gates-foundation-buys-stock-in-google.html

USSC 1905 Ruling On Mandatory Vaccines: Jacobson Vs. Massachusetts Most everyone has seen the recent video in which Alan Dershowitz Says If You Refuse Vaccination, The State Can Plunge A Needle In Your Arm.

https://youtu.be/wn2OJUmTalA

In the video, Dershowitz, who is purportedly a constitutional expert, claims that no one has a right to refuse vaccination or to refuse to wear a mask during a public health crisis. He invokes the U.S. Supreme Court case of Jacobson vs. Massachusetts, which was decided in 1905.

This caught my attention and so I read the entire ruling, and will excerpt the most interesting and relevant sections below.

Basically a guy named Henning Jacobson contended that the smallpox vaccine could harm him, or kill him or damage his health, and so he refused to get the shot. He was convicted of violating a Massachusetts health ordinance, fined $5 and refused to pay it. Jacobson contended that mandatory vaccinations are tyrannical , a violation of his liberty and against the constitution.

The US Supreme Court in a nutshell ruled that despite the fact that Jacobson could certainly find medical experts who agree with his claims opposing vaccines, the vast majority of respected doctors across the world accept vaccination to protect the public health in a pandemic. The court said they are not obligated to delve into the medical debate about the pros and cons of vaccines, and that what they are deciding is that the state has the right to invoke 'police power' to protect the public health . They continued that a tiny minority who are against vaccines has no right to refuse to mandatory vaccines simply because they're against it, even if they have medical experts who confirm their alleged points. So Jacobson lost.

While it's very important to understand USSC precedent on this issue, someone I know asked a very good question: if the issue of compulsory vaccination has been allegedly settled since 1905, then why have their always been personal, religious & medical exemptions in most all states for 100+ years? Perhaps this isn't so cut-n-dried as Dershowitz would like us to believe.

Plus, note that Dershowitz declared that we :have no right not to wear a mask," and the Jacobson ruling has nothing to do with masks, it never once mentions masks.

http://libertyfight.com/20/Jacobson-vaccine-USSC-1904.html

HENNING JACOBSON, Plff. in Err., v. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/197/11

YOU KNOW WHO OWNS YOU BY WHAT YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO SAY:

YouTube Censorship and That Which May Not Be Said About Chinese Propaganda.

Just for future reference, the magic words are 五毛党 or just 五毛. They mean “paid commenter”.

UPDATE: (Charlie) YouTube got back to me. A spokesperson said: “This appears to be an error in our enforcement systems and we are investigating. Users can report suspected issues to troubleshoot errors and help us make product improvements.”

China: Trump ‘Bluffing’ on Hong Kong Threats…

‘Netizens’ Claim Americans Eating Coronavirus Dead…

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/you-know-who-owns-you-by-what-youre-not-allowed-to-say/

>>9334196

staged, I called it yesterday as a FF

“Germ-Ridden Masses” – How America’s Wealthy Elite Describe the Rest of Us

Increasingly, journalists at establishment publications come from and represent the one percent that they claim to be holding to account.

Many of the world’s super wealthy are trying to wait out the COVID-19 pandemic on their luxury yachts. But how to get to them without interacting with the public and catching the virus themselves? Such are the difficult quandaries only billionaires have to deal with. Fortunately, financial news outlet Bloomberg has solved the big question of the current era. A new company, it excitedly informs its readers, offers chartered private jets from your location to the Mediterranean island of Malta, without the need to “risk exposure to the germ-ridden masses.” New York-based reporter Suzanne Woolley, who has recently penned articles such as “How to arbitrage your U.S. taxes for difficult economic times” and “Where to invest $1 million right now,” notes that aviation company VistaJet allows its clients to reserve its freshly sanitized jet to take them to Malta. “Lest anyone be worried that the island nation itself is germ-ridden,” she writes, the World Health Organization has praised it for its capable fight against the coronavirus.

One big problem, however, is where your yacht is. The article explains that “if your yacht is moored in Antibes [France] or Porto Cervo [Italy], you’re out of luck,” taking for granted that anyone reading does own one, also suggesting that now would be the perfect time to shop for a Maltese passport, as the island, an E.U. member state, levies no income or capital gains taxes on that earned abroad, and there is no estate tax on the island. All you need is $1.3 million in cash or property.

The article’s tone, especially twice describing the general public, even of Malta, one of the richest states in the world, as “germ ridden masses,” highlights the increasing gap between the world’s super wealthy and the rest of us, and the contempt and disgust the haves feel for the have-nots. In April, Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was met with a storm of criticism after posing in front of her enormous refrigerator costing tens of thousands of dollars, revealing her penchant for deluxe ice cream at $12 per tub. For many, the centi-millionaire and wife of one of California’s richest men telling others how to survive lockdown while residing in a mansion was a Marie Antoinette-like moment of pure ignorance.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/germ-ridden-masses-wealthy-media-elite-describe-us/267950/

Israel daily: Saudi among Arab states who back Israel annexation plans

May 27, 2020 at 2:26 pm

At least three Arab states have greenlighted Israel’s planned annexation of large parts of the occupied Palestinian West Bank, Israel Hayom revealed today.

According to the daily, at least three Arab states, including Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have given the go ahead for Israel’s annexation of the occupied West Bank and Jordan Valley while they continue to publicly oppose the plan.

A Saudi official was reported by the Israeli newspaper saying that the kingdom would not undermine its relationship with the United States for the sake of “hundreds” of Palestinians.

Since Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was named heir to the Saudi thrown, the oil-rich Gulf state has been accused of normalising relations with Israel and ramping up anti-Palestinian rhetoric.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200527-israel-daily-saudi-among-arab-states-who-back-israel-annexation-plans/

At Least 11 Local News Stations Caught Airing The Exact Same Amazon Propaganda Segment

At least 11 local news stations in the United States were caught airing the same scripted segment about Amazon, and their role during the COVID-19 pandemic. The segment played like a commercial for Amazon, even touting the company’s ability to “keep its employees safe and healthy,” during this difficult time, despite the fact that many workers have been organizing to protest against unsafe conditions and lack of hazard pay.

The segment is even narrated by Amazon spokesperson Todd Walker, who promises an “inside look” at an Amazon fulfillment center.

“Millions of Americans staying at home are relying on amazon to deliver essentials like groceries and cleaning products during the COVID-19 outbreak… For the first time we’re getting a glimpse inside Amazon’s fulfillment centers to see just how the company is keeping its employees safe and healthy.. While delivering packages to your doorstep,” Walker says.

https://youtu.be/x6U2Un5kEdI

The trusted local news anchors who introduced the segment didn’t even identify Walker as an Amazon representative, but instead made it appear that he was one of the station’s reporters. According to some journalists who refused to cover the segment, Amazon sent the video around to a long list of news sources with instructions on how to introduce it.

Zach Rael, a reporter at ABC’s KOCO 5 News, tweeted a copy of the script and said that it was mailed to him by Amazon’s public relations team.

“No. Let us go inside the fulfillment centers with our own cameras…” Rael tweeted.

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/05/at-least-11-local-news-stations-caught-airing-the-exact-same-amazon-propaganda-segment.html

==

The FBI documents that put Barack Obama in the ‘Obamagate’ narrative==

Agents fretted sharing Flynn intel with departing Obama White House would become fodder for ‘partisan axes to grind.’

Just 17 days before President Trump took office in January 2017, then-FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok texted bureau lawyer Lisa Page, his mistress, to express concern about sharing sensitive Russia probe evidence with the departing Obama White House.

Strzok had just engaged in a conversation with his boss, then-FBI Assistant Director William Priestap, about evidence from the investigation of incoming National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, codenamed Crossfire Razor, or “CR” for short.

The evidence in question were so-called "tech cuts" from intercepted conversations between Flynn and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, according to the texts and interviews with officials familiar with the conversations.

Strzok related Priestap’s concerns about the potential the evidence would be politically weaponized if outgoing Director of National Intelligence James Clapper shared the intercept cuts with the White House and President Obama, a well-known Flynn critic.

“He, like us, is concerned with over sharing,” Strzok texted Page on Jan. 3, 2017, relating his conversation with Priestap. “Doesn’t want Clapper giving CR cuts to WH. All political, just shows our hand and potentially makes enemies.”

Page seemed less concerned, knowing that the FBI was set in three days to release its initial assessment of Russian interference in the U.S. election.

“Yeah, but keep in mind we were going to put that in the doc on Friday, with potentially larger distribution than just the DNI,” Page texted back.

Strzok responded, “The question is should we, particularly to the entirety of the lame duck usic [U.S Intelligence Community] with partisan axes to grind.”

That same day Strzok and Page also discussed in text messages a drama involving one of the Presidential Daily Briefings for Obama.

“Did you follow the drama of the PDB last week?” Strzok asked.

"Yup. Don’t know how it ended though,” Page responded.

“They didn’t include any of it, and Bill [Priestap] didn’t want to dissent,” Strzok added.

“Wow, Bill should make sure [Deputy Director] Andy [McCabe] knows about that since he was consulted numerous times about whether to include the reporting,” Page suggested.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/fbi-documents-put-barack-obama-obamagate-narrative

EXCLUSIVE: TOP FBI RAT OUT Wray & the Bombshells Are Epic: FBI Director Who Presided Over Multiple Russian FBI Probes Has Millions in Cash Invested in Russia

Top brass in the FBI have ratted out their director Christopher Wray with shocking revelations detailing a string on alarming conflicts and millions of dollars of investments in — of all things — Russia.

The FBI’s top agent has as much as $5 million in personal cash invested in varying sectors in Russia, according to details provided by FBI brass and documents obtained by the Thomas Paine Podcast and the Moore Paine Show on Patreon. And also troubling about Wray’s investments in Russia? Wray has never removed himself from presiding over the FBI’s Russia collusion investigation of President Trump; the Mueller probe into Russia interference in the 2016 election, Russian allegations in the bogus Steele dossier, Russian ties to the Gen. Mike Flynn investigation, Russian advertising during the 2016 election, and criminal FBI cases involving and targeting Russian nationals and entities.

With $5 million of Wray’s personal wealth tied up in conglomerates with Russian ties and beyond, why has Wray not divested his investments to rid himself of a blatant string of professional and ethical conflicts and moreover, where is Wray’s recusal from all things Russia in the FBI? Where is Wray’s money invested in Russia? Listen Above.

https://truepundit.com/top-fbi-rat-out-wray-the-bombshells-are-epic-fbi-director-who-presided-over-multiple-russian-fbi-probes-has-millions-in-cash-invested-in-russia/

Khazaria and the Forgotten Christian-Jewish-Muslim-Confucian Alliance

Today’s age of imperial geopolitics has made it difficult for many people to appreciate the cooperative traditions in history that gave rise to the great discoveries and progress of humanity’s experience. From the ancient Silk Road uniting the east with the west in trade and cultural exchange for hundreds of years to the 7-9th century alliance of Christian, Jewish, Muslim civilisations, history has proven that humanity is much more than a Hobbesian animal- perpetually prejudiced to others, intolerant to differences and greedily “looking out for number one”.

Although this mis-anthropic view of human nature has been carefully amplified by generations of imperial gatekeepers of history, philosophy, anthropology and sociology, the fact is that it is no more true than the theory that the earth is flat.

Both theories (ie: “flat earth” and “Hobbesian beast-man”) both have the effect of crippling the powers of creative reason in the minds of its adherents, undermining the maturation of conscience in the hearts of its believers and has kept humanity chained to sets of ideas that act as self-regulating barriers between our “material selves” on the one side and our higher potentials for discovery and self improvement on the other. “Stay within your limited field of activity” says the master to its slaves, “and never dream of venturing too far outside your proscribed limits”.

In this lecture, I introduce the story of the little known Turkic kingdom of Khazaria which converted to Judaism in the mid 8th century and which served as a keystone of the Tang Dynasty’s Silk Road revival as well as intermediary between the beautiful ecumenical alliance of the Abbasid Dynasty’s great Caliph Haroun al Rashid and the Carolingian Dynasty’s leader Charlemagne.

Within this class, the question is treated: how and why did this civilisation and broader ecumenical story get scrubbed out of history? How did the Venetian empire and other vestiges of the corrupt Roman Empire reorganise itself after Rome’s collapse and successfully undermine this peace of faiths by unleashing years of Crusades, Mongol invasions, inquisitions while simultaneously engineering a new bankers’ dictatorship after the 13th century that became a dominant force of evil in the world? How did such artists as Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Schiller expose this side of the empire within their works in later years?

This lecture is part of a larger ongoing series entitled “The Renaissance Principle in Universal History” and follows the previous week’s presentation “Life at the End of an Empire: St Augustine’s Fight to Save Platonic Christianity“.

https://theduran.com/khazaria-and-the-forgotten-christian-jewish-muslim-confucian-alliance/

111-year-old woman recovers from coronavirus in Chile

The doctors who were treating the patient said that she had barely shown any symptoms of the disease

BUENOS AIRES, May 27. /TASS/. A 111-year-old Chilean woman has made a full recovery from the novel coronavirus, the 24 Horas television channel said on Wednesday.

According to the channel, on April 12 the woman tested positive for the coronavirus. The doctors who were treating the patient said that she had barely shown any symptoms of the disease.

"She just once or twice ran a higher temperature [than normal], but did not develop any cough," Maria Paz Sordo, the head of the nursing home, said adding that earlier the woman had suffered breathing problems.

Chile announced its first confirmed coronavirus case on March 3. To date, the country has more than 77,900 cases and 806 deaths. On March 18, Chile closed borders for foreigners. President Sebastian Pinera declared a national emergency. Mass gatherings were banned and some other restrictions were imposed.

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 5,701,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 352,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 2,445,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

https://tass.com/world/1161179

High Court justice: Government run by indicted prime minister a ‘moral failure’

In full ruling on petitions that sought to prevent Netanyahu from forming government, judges express discomfort but say no legal justification to intervene

A Supreme Court justice, in a ruling published Wednesday, took the unusual step of criticizing the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu is serving as prime minister while under indictment.

“The reality in which a criminal suspect forms a government and leads it reflects a social crisis and moral failure of society and of Israel’s political system,” Judge Meni Mazuz wrote in the full response to petitions that sought to prevent Netanyahu from forming a government due to the criminal charges against him.

An 11-member panel of justices voted unanimously on May 6 to reject the petitions, saying there was no legal basis for them to intervene and prevent Netanyahu from running the country after his Likud party formed a government in the wake of the elections in March.

Netanyahu’s trial began on Sunday. He faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

“I agreed with the decision that we reached, as outlined in the rationale. While [the ruling] was not given lightheartedly, I am at peace with it,” Mazuz wrote.

Justice Anat Baron appeared to concur with Mazuz, writing in her response, “The petitioners and others like them are frustrated that the head of the State of Israel is someone who is facing a serious indictment. This is indeed an unusual situation in the democratic landscape, some would say dangerous,” she wrote, adding that “the filing of the petitions has greatly advanced the public debate on the matter, but the solution lies at the ballot box, not the courtroom.”

https://www.timesofisrael.com/high-court-justice-government-run-by-indicted-prime-minister-a-moral-failure/

Gantz walks out of meeting with Netanyahu after Regev calls him ‘half-baked’

Likud minister recycled campaign claim that Iran may have hacked Blue and White leader’s phone and that he should release any compromising recordings

In one of the first of likely many spats between Likud and Blue and White lawmakers in their new coalition, Defense Minister Benny Gantz cut his Wednesday meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu short after learning of an interview given by Miri Regev in which the Likud transportation minister called Gantz “half-baked” and said he was not ready to take on the role of prime minister.

“I think he is not ready to be prime minister. He is not ready. Let’s see what happens over the next year and a half. We’ll see if he learns from the best and comes ready for the job,” Regev said in an excerpt from an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth that the daily released ahead of its Thursday publishing. The comments drew a rebuke from Netanyahu.

According to the Blue and White-Likud coalition agreement, Gantz will replace Netanyahu as prime minister after 18 months, in November 2021, at which point Regev is slated to become foreign minister.

The outspoken Regev went on to recycle a claim that was frequently used during Likud’s three grueling election campaigns against Gantz’s Blue and White party, saying he should release any compromising recordings he might have in order to demonstrate to the public that he cannot be blackmailed by Iran, which reportedly hacked his phone.

“If there really is such a tape and it exists, you should ask the defense minister, Benny Gantz, if we have anything to worry about,” Regev said.

Shortly after Yedioth published the interview excerpts as well as recordings in which Regev can be heard making them, the Likud party issued a statement implicitly disavowing the remarks while not censuring the minister by name.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/gantz-walks-out-of-meeting-with-netanyahu-after-regev-calls-him-half-baked/

House FISA bill suddenly on life support

A bill to reauthorize three expired surveillance programs is in jeopardy, with President Trump urging Republicans to oppose it and growing concerns from progressives on a key amendment.

House Democratic leaders say they still intend to vote on the measure this week, but it’s suddenly unclear if it can muster the 218 votes needed to clear the chamber — despite an earlier version of the bill winning 278 votes in March.

Despite the limbo status, Democratic leadership is signaling they will move forward, setting up a showdown on the House floor over the fate of the bill.

An update from Democratic leadership sent shortly before noon said that “votes are expected” related to the legislation on Wednesday. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters early Wednesday afternoon that "we will act upon it today one way or another."

Trump, in a Tuesday night tweet, urged Republicans to vote against it, linking it to the surveillance he says was done against his campaign by the Obama administration in 2016 and 2017 that led to the resignation of his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

GOP leaders who had supported the bill immediately reversed their positions, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) calling on Democratic leaders to pull the bill. House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (La.) said he would whip against the measure.

“We just formally announced a whip against it, because No. 1, it's not going to become law. No. 2, there are still so many questions that need to be answered about real abuses that happened in the FISA system,” Scalise said, referring to the court established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Scalise and Trump spoke on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with their talks, “and agreed that this bill should not move forward in the House in its current form.”

Rep. Liz Cheney (Wis.), the No. 3 Republican in the House, also expressed opposition to the measure on Wednesday, though she faulted amendments that she said would weaken its ability to keep the nation safe.

It’s unlikely Democrats could get the bill through their House without GOP support. The initial bill that passed the House in March garnered just 152 votes from Democrats.

Progressives and libertarian-minded Republicans have warned for years that they do not believe the FISA court provides enough legal protections for those targeted for surveillance. As a result, a number of House Democrats on the left were already likely to vote against the measure.

The initial bill was negotiated by Attorney General William Barr and House leaders and earned the support of some of Trump’s biggest allies on Capitol Hill, including Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Asked if Trump would sign the bill if it reached his desk, Jordan sidestepped during a House Rules Committee markup on Wednesday but said that Trump was "frustrated by this process."

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the top Republican on the committee, was more blunt, predicting that the bill can no longer pass.

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/499751-house-fisa-bill-suddenly-on-life-support

US envoy to Israel knocks Jews who say Judaism is only about ‘helping others’

Arguing that ‘Jewish illiteracy’ is the greatest threat to Diaspora, Friedman comes out against ‘defining religion in terms of doing things that are morally just’

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on Wednesday appeared to criticize certain spheres of progressive Judaism that place a significant emphasis on the Hebrew concept of “tikkun olam,” or repairing the world, along with other humanistic values, and argued that prioritizing such concepts over the study of Jewish texts and history has dangerous long-term repercussions for the future of the Jewish people.

“Defining Judaism solely in terms of doing things that are morally just or helpful to others may make one an outstanding human being but also adds nothing to one’s [Jewish] fluency,” Friedman said during a video address to Haaretz’s Judaism Conference.

“Let’s face it, Jews do not have a monopoly on acts of charity, kindness and social justice. We all know many non-Jews who are as fine and admirable people as one can be,” he added.

“Regardless of how we worship our Judaism, what makes that practice uniquely Jewish and likely to continue and grow is our ability to place ourselves on a 3,500-year continuum and unbroken chain beginning in ancient times, that remains not just relevant but even more critical today than ever before as we struggle to find meaning in a complicated world.”

Friedman argued that “Jewish illiteracy” is the “greatest threat of all” for Jews living outside of Israel.

“The Jewish state, while not without issues, is growing: Both religious and secular institutions are thriving, basic Jewish education is available to all and there is little risk of assimilation,” he said. “The same cannot be said for the Diaspora.”

“I worry about the continuity of Jewish life in the Diaspora, somewhat less so in Israel,” he continued, citing unsourced statistics that show the Jewish population expanding by 25 percent from 1945 to 2020 — “and almost all that growth has been in Israel” — compared to the rest of the population, which has grown during that period by 200-300%.

“I don’t need to tell you where this trend is leading,” Friedman warned.

He went on to argue that Jewish continuity is not dependant on unity of opinions on various issues but on being “fluent in Judaism,” through a deep understanding of “our past, our heritage and our legacy.”

“How many of us are fluent in Judaism?” the ambassador asked. “How many Jews especially in the Diaspora are studying these fascinating and critical issues? Clearly not enough.”

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-envoy-to-israel-knocks-jews-who-say-judaism-is-about-helping-others/