Author: Author1

Venezuela remains the center of Iranian ambitions in Latin America, a top official from the Organization of American States (OAS) told The Algemeiner this week.

In an extensive interview, David Smolansky — the OAS General Secretariat’s Commissioner tasked with responding to the growing humanitarian crisis facing migrants fleeing economic breakdown and political repression in Venezuela — warned that Iran was at the center of a “criminal hub” in the region.

“In Venezuela, Iran has found a synergy with Cuban intelligence, along with the presence of Russia and China and Turkey, in helping the regime of [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro to evade sanctions,” Smolansky said. “It’s dangerous.” Read More

In my life as a journalist, I’ve been moved to tears three times. The first was in 1991 during Operation Solomon, when I saw my brethren, the Jews of Ethiopia, kissing the ground as they stepped off a Hercules plane that might have been the last to return from the mission.

A few months later, in the city Raydah in Yemen, I saw my brothers, Yemenite Jews with their long sidelocks, in the market. A few years later they arrived in Israel secretly, via Jordan, and once again, they kissed the ground, and I was moved to tears a second time.

And the third time was yesterday, when a Jewish brother made aliyah after 35 nerve-wracking years. He kissed the ground, too.

On December 16, Nimr Suleiman was sitting in a house in al-Reineh with several friends when a group of armed men burst in and opened fire.

Suleiman was hit by a spray of bullets and died on the spot. While his death is still being investigated, it is believed that the intruders had intended to gun down one of his companions.

The killing marked a tragic new record for bloodshed among Israel’s Arab citizens: 90 homicides since the start of 2020. By December 28, the toll had hit 96, representing a harrowing 50 percent jump in the murder rate among Arab Israelis in only four years.

“We’re counting our time in murders,” lamented Joint List MK Mansour Abbas, who directs a parliamentary committee on eliminating organized crime in Arab communities, in early November. Read More

The US military flew nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the Middle East Wednesday, CNN reports.

The purpose of the move, according to a statement from US Central Command, was “to underscore the US military’s commitment to regional security and demonstrate a unique ability to rapidly deploy overwhelming combat power on short notice.”

“The United States continues to deploy combat-ready capabilities into the US Central Command area of responsibility to deter any potential adversary and make clear that we are ready and able to respond to any aggression directed at Americans or our interests,” Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of US Central Command, said in a statement.

Wednesday’s flight constitutes the third bomber deployment in the Middle East in the last 45 days, noted CNN. Read More