It takes time for attitudes to change, and changing attitudes in the Middle East is a tough proposition. Moving the Europeans may prove harder.
An Israeli general once told this story (I was there):
<blockquote>The Israeli general commanded a unit that crossed the Suez Canal in 1973 after repulsing Egypt’s surprise Yom Kippur War attack. In his headquarters, he received a message that purported to be from an Egyptian general, telling him to come — alone — in a jeep to a certain spot in the desert and “hear something.” The general told the group, “I was sure I was going to die, but I did it.” The Egyptian proved to be the chief of the Egyptian general staff and he, too, was alone.
The Egyptian said, “The war is over.”
The Israeli general said, “Yes. I know.”
The Egyptian general sighed, “Not this war. In 1948, Egypt was within 11 miles of Tel Aviv and you pushed us back. In 1956, you drove through Sinai — but it wasn’t fair because you had the French and the British. In 1967, you did it again — by yourselves. Now you have crossed the Suez Canal and are 99 kilometers from Cairo. I’m here to tell you that you won’t get any closer. The war is over.”
He got back in his jeep and left.
The Israeli returned to his headquarters and told the story to the general staff in Tel Aviv. “No one believed me,&#8221; the Israeli said.</blockquote>
But it was true. The Egyptian government had determined that fighting, losing, and regrouping was not a plan. In 1979, Anwar Sadat went to Jerusalem, and in so doing met Israel’s primary condition for peace — recognition of Israel as a legitimate and permanent state in the region, entitled to “secure and recognized boundaries, free from threats or acts of force” (the language of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242). Today, Egypt and Israel cooperate on energy, security (including for the Gaza Strip), and trade.
In the broader Arab world, it is taking longer. Unable to countenance Jewish sovereignty in the region, the Arabs went to war in 1948 to erase it. They failed. They tried again in 1967. They failed again. After that war, an Arab League Summit convened in Sudan and issued what became known as the Khartoum Resolution: &#8220;No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel.&#8221;
Then there were the conflicts of 1973 and 1982, intifadas, and rocket wars with Gaza.
President Trump called them on it in announcing his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bryen-donald-trumps-vision-for-the-middle-east">“Vision” for the Middle East</a>. “It is time for the Muslim world to fix the mistake it made in 1948, when it chose to attack instead of to recognize the new state of Israel. The Palestinians are the primary pawn in this adventurism, and it is time for this sad chapter in history to end.” Three Arab ambassadors were in the room.
The <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/arab-league-holds-emergency-meeting-trump-plan-200201105251740.html">Arab League hastily convened a summit</a>, responding to the flat rejection of the plan by Palestinian Authority strongman Mahmoud Abbas, who had declined to read or even discuss it. This was not a “three noes” meeting. While the bloc as a whole rejected the Vision, the head of the Arab League said that there was time only for an initial study of the plan, adding that the Palestinian response would be key in shaping a &#8220;collective Arab position.” It should be noted that a day after announcing it would scrap security cooperation with the U.S. and Israel, the Palestinian Authority announced that, in fact, it <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Palestinians-wont-halt-security-ties-with-Israel-US-Ramallah-officials-616503">would not do so.</a>
<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/oic-hold-emergency-meeting-trump-middle-east-plan-200203064919675.html">Al Jazeera</a> wrote, “The announcement of Trump&#8217;s plan drew mixed responses from Arab states.” While joining in the vote, Egypt and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-at-jewish-journal-saudi-arabia-is-now-more-pro-israel-than-the-democratic-party">Saudi Arabia said separately that they “appreciated”</a> Mr. Trump’s efforts and called for renewed negotiations. Sudan’s leader announced a “principled stance on the Palestinian issue and the right of its people to establish its independent state &#8230; in accordance with the Arab consensus and Arab League decisions,” even as in a bit of irony — having hosted the Khartoum Declaration meeting — it established a mechanism for <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Israel-Sudan-set-up-normalization-teams-616526">opening diplomatic relations with Israel.</a>
OK, yes, the <a href="https://www.memri.org/reports/qatar-qatar-backed-international-union-muslim-scholars-blast-trumps-peace-plan-it-belongs">International Union of Muslim Scholars</a> (IUMS) consigned the Vision to the “dust heap of history,” but the IUMS is a creation of Qatar and Qatar is a puppet of Iran.
And speaking of Iran, European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Josip Borrell met with Iranian leaders and shortly afterward tried to <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/eu-reportedly-blocked-from-resolution-condemning-trump-plan-annexation/">ram a condemnation</a> of the Vision though the EU. But EU statements have to be unanimous and, of its 27 countries, six refused — including Italy, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Borrell then issued the statement in his own name.
The interim commissioner-general of UNRWA said, “The plan … is extremely unsettling for the Palestine refugees living under occupation, under blockade and through conflict after conflict and crisis after crisis, hoping for justice and human rights. The international community must send a clear message to Palestine refugees and to the world at large that the international community stands firmly behind them.”
Rightly, Israel chose to <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/02/04/israel-harshly-criticizes-eu-over-rejection-of-trump-middle-east-peace-plan/">respond more harshly</a> to the EU and <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/02/03/israel-slams-unrwa-head-for-attacking-trump-peace-plan/">UNRWA</a> than it did the Arab League.
It has been hard for Arab states to move on from decades of adamant rejection of Israel to talk and trade, and generally accept the nation-state of the Jewish people. That is the reality, not an excuse. But for the EU and UNRWA, to encourage Palestinians in outmoded, fanatical, and dangerous thinking is inexplicable.
Except it isn’t.
&nbsp;
Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of <a href="https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/">The Jewish Policy Center</a> in Washington, and Editor of inFOCUS Quarterly.

President Trump Meets With Israeli PM Netanyahu At The White House

BRYEN: The Arabs And Europeans React To Trump’s Middle East ‘Vision’

Egypt

Europe

European Union

Foreign Policy

Iran

Israel

Jerusalem

Middle East

Palestinians

Surprise, surprise: Three countries that are signatories to the infamous Iran nuclear deal have suddenly hardened their positions vis-à-vis Iran after the Trump administration’s airstrike killing Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
On Tuesday, Britain, France and Germany triggered the nuclear deal’s dispute mechanism, which means Iran has 30 days to stop violating the nuclear deal before a “snapback” of U.N. and EU sanctions on Iran could be implemented, as the <a href="https://apnews.com/76ef3722e781efed91a832a44d25917d">Associated Press</a> reports.
As Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab informed Parliament, although Russia and China objected to the move by Britain, France and Germany, every time Iran violates the deal, the “breakout time” Iran needs to create a nuclear bomb is diminished. He warned, “Each of these actions were individually serious. Together, they now raise acute concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stated, “Our goal is clear: We want to preserve the accord and come to a diplomatic solution within the agreement. We will tackle this together with all partners in the agreement. We call on Iran to participate constructively in the negotiation process that is now beginning.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry claimed there would be a “serious and strong response” to the new actions by the triumvirate of European countries. AP noted of the nuclear deal, “Iran last year began violating its limitations in stages … Following the drone strike in Iraq that killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran announced what it said was its fifth and final step in violating the deal, saying it would no longer abide by any limitation to its enrichment activities.”
Making sure they did not offend Iran too much, the three countries protested that they were not joining the Trump administration in its hard-line stance toward Iran, stating,  “Our three countries are not joining a campaign to implement maximum pressure against Iran. Our hope is to bring Iran back into full compliance with its commitments.”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also dithered that this was not a hard-line move, stating that just because the three countries were implementing the dispute mechanism did not mean sanctions would be forthcoming. He said, “We have to preserve the nuclear deal and work to go back to full and effective implementation,” calling the nuclear deal a “significant achievement” and adding, “there is no alternative to this agreement.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry argued against the move, stating, “We see no reason for such a step,” calling it an “ill-considered decision” that could make a return to the original nuclear deal “unachievable.”
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in April 2018 that Iran had a comprehensive program, Project Amad, to design and develop nuclear weapons, which was carried out inside the Iranian Defense Ministry, a program whose existence Iran denied.
<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-news-using-advanced-centrifuges-violating-nuclear-deal-2019-09-07/">CBS News</a> reported last September:
<blockquote>Iran has begun using arrays of advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium in violation of its 2015 nuclear deal, a spokesman said Saturday, warning that Europe has little time left to offer new terms to save the accord. The comments by Behrouz Kamalvandi of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran signal a further cut into the one year experts estimate Tehran would need to have a enough material for building a nuclear weapon if it chose to pursue one … Iran already has breached the stockpile and enrichment level limits set by the deal.</blockquote>

Republican National Convention: Day Four

BREAKING: The Trump Effect: Britain, France, Germany Suddenly Harden Toward Iran After Killing Of Soleimani

Donald Trump

On Thursday, former EU Council chief Donald Tusk posted a photo on Twitter of him pretending to point a gun at the back of President Donald Trump.
Tusk’s tweet, which showed a photo of him and Trump from last year&#8217;s G7 meeting in Canada, showed him behind Trump and pretending to point a gun into Trump’s back, as <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7760375/Former-EU-Council-head-Tusk-tweets-image-holding-two-fingers-against-Trumps-like-gun.html">The Daily Mail</a> noted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Despite seasonal turbulences our transatlantic friendship must last <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trump?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Trump</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NATO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NATO</a> <a href="https://t.co/s8av9gr6eZ">pic.twitter.com/s8av9gr6eZ</a>
&mdash; Donald Tusk (@donaldtuskEPP) <a href="https://twitter.com/donaldtuskEPP/status/1202532538033590272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Tusk’s tweet follows the controversy after some European leaders mocked Trump behind his back earlier this week. As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/canadas-justin-trudeau-mocks-trump-at-nato-summit-thats-ironic-coming-from-trudeau">The Daily Wire</a> reported:
<blockquote>Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to mock President Donald Trump on a hot mic Tuesday evening with other world leaders while at a Buckingham Palace reception for the ongoing NATO summit. The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7753821/Justin-Trudeau-Emmanuel-Macron-Boris-Johnson-caught-appearing-gossip-Trump.html">noted</a> that none of the leaders used Trump&#8217;s name but it was clear that is who they were talking about as Trudeau was standing alongside British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Princess Anne. The Washington Post also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/04/trump-macron-trudeau-johnson-video-candid-joking-nato/">reported</a> that &#8220;the group appeared to be joking about President Trump’s performance earlier in the day.&#8221;</blockquote>
Tusk has a history of hostility toward Trump. As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nasty-eu-chief-insults-trump%25E2%2580%2594and-america-hank-berrien">The Daily Wire </a>reported in July 2018, “Before the NATO summit in Brussels, European Union President Donald Tusk, responding to President Trump’s criticism of European countries for their lack of spending on their own defense, insulted Trump and America, snapping, ‘Dear America, appreciate your allies. After all, you don’t have that many.’”
Tusk continued, “Money is important, but genuine solidarity is more important. Speaking of solidarity, I want to dispel the American president’s argument, which says the U.S. alone protects Europe against our enemies, and that the U.S. is almost alone in this struggle.”
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-eu/eus-tusk-asks-with-friends-like-trump-who-needs-enemies-idUSKCN1IH1OH">Prior to that, </a>in May 2018, Tusk said Trump had “rid Europe of all illusions” by exiting the Iran nuclear deal and driving trade disputes. At a news conference, he mocked Trump’s “capricious assertiveness,” adding, “Looking at the latest decisions of President Trump, someone could even think: With friends like that, who needs enemies?”
In September 2019, speaking at the United Nations, Tusk <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2019/09/26/address-by-president-donald-tusk-to-the-74th-united-nations-general-assembly/">attacked Trump</a>, who had spoken there two days before. Trump had <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-74th-session-united-nations-general-assembly/">asserted</a>, &#8220;Looking around and all over this large, magnificent planet, the truth is plain to see: If you want freedom, take pride in your country.  If you want democracy, hold on to your sovereignty.  And if you want peace, love your nation.  Wise leaders always put the good of their own people and their own country first. The future does not belong to globalists.  The future belongs to patriots.  The future belongs to sovereign and independent nations who protect their citizens, respect their neighbors, and honor the differences that make each country special and unique.&#8221;
Tusk stated, “Please allow me — in my speech today, my last one here — not to elaborate in detail on our challenges, and to start with a more general reflection inspired by words spoken here two days ago, words suggesting an immanent conflict between patriotism and globalism. I do not agree with this opinion. It is false and dangerous, even if it has many followers and powerful propagators.”
Last week, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-usa-tusk/eus-tusk-trump-is-perhaps-the-most-difficult-challenge-for-europe-idUSKBN1Y11BT">speaking in an interview</a> with Die Zeit, Tusk stated, “For the first time in history, there is an American president who is openly against a united Europe. He supports Brexit and prays for the breakup of the Union.”

Tusk

Former EU Chief Posts Photo Of Pretending To Shoot Trump In The Back

A symbolic coincidence occurred earlier this week. In the same morning that Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists pounded Israeli towns with rockets, the <a href="https://fortune.com/2019/11/12/israel-european-ruling-wine-labels-diplomacy/">European Court of Justice affirmed a European Commission special labeling requirement</a> for Jewish-owned businesses in the West Bank.
Those two events are unrelated. Iranian-sponsored Islamic Jihad fired over 200 rockets in reaction to Israel intercepting its leader Bahaa Abu Al-Ata, who was responsible for numerous attacks on Israeli civilians. The European Court ruling was in reaction to an appeal filed by Psagot, an Israeli winery located in the West Bank, which was prohibited by the European Union (EU) from labeling its wines “made in Israel.”
The juxtaposition of those two assaults on Jewish sovereignty is indicative of the current state of Judaism, and the threats it faces: The jihadi one is a tactical threat that puts the lives of individual Jews in great danger, but it poses a strategic threat to neither Judaism nor the Jewish State. The European action, on the other hand, does not put any Jewish lives in direct danger, but it represents a strategic threat that is part of a string of European anti-Israel measures.
The history of Europe and Jewry has often been fraught. The feuds date back to the ancient Greek and Roman invasions of Judea, which were followed by European Jews’ centuries-long general refusal to assimilate out of existence. Tensions have since evolved. When Europe was more religious, it often deployed religion as the currency of its opposition to Jews. When Europe turned more secular, many came to oppose Jews through a more national and ethnic opposition to Judaism. Toward the end of the 19th century, this new form of Jew-hatred got a name: Anti-Semitism.
While many European countries are today strong allies of Israel, the re-establishment of the Jewish state and its astonishing success seem to have provided a new outlet for European anti-Semitism. Indeed, it is hard to explain the European product-labeling directive on its merits, as it inflicts more damage to Palestinians than it does to Jewish-owned businesses in the West Bank. Those businesses employ Palestinians and some of them mentor Palestinians. European efforts to sabotage Palestinian employment in Jewish-owned businesses do not end with the product-labeling decree, and stand in sharp contrast to the U.S. policy of encouraging coexistence and business cooperation. For example, Europeans spent ample funds and political resources to pressure SodaStream to close its West Bank factory. Europe was successful, and hundreds of Palestinians lost their jobs as a result.
Europeans claim that such actions are meant to help Palestinians. The notion that a European would know what is better for an individual Palestinian is regrettably a recurring theme in Europe’s disruptive intervention in Israeli-Palestinian affairs. Many European countries support NGOs and U.N. agencies, such as UNWRA, that promote Palestinian victimhood and rob Palestinians of opportunities to reap the benefits of the start-up nation next door. Perhaps even worse, many European countries supported or abstained on ludicrous UNESCO resolutions implying that Jews and Christians have no historical connections to Jerusalem.
The repeated rounds of attacks from Palestinian terrorists, such as the current one, will be contained. The repeated rounds of political hostility from Europe, on the other hand, requires more attention than is currently given.
Indeed, it is time for Europe to end its intervention in Israeli-Palestinian affairs and focus its energy and capital on its own problems. There are no shortage of those: Europe’s conflict with radical Islam, the debate about the essence of Europeanism, the potential secession of EU member-states, Europe’s battle with home-grown terrorism, as well as the long list of unresolved intra-European conflicts that were temporarily shoved under the rug.
Projecting or blaming Israel will not make European problems go away. In fact, it might awaken them: If the EU insists that Psagot winery needs to remove from its labels “made in Israel,” then some might argue that the EU should also prohibit wine produced in Italian-controlled South Tyrol from being labeled “made in Italy.” Similarly, the EU might preclude wine made in Corsica from being labeled “made in France,” and in Catalonia from being labeled “made in Spain.”
No matter what the EU says, the reality remains that Psagot, as well as the dozens of other West Bank wineries, continue to produce superb Israeli wine that reap award after award in international tasting competitions. Perhaps instead of escalating the feud with the Jewish state, EU politicians and bureaucrats should change course and benefit from the great blessings that are coming out of Israel.
&nbsp;
Gol Kalev analyzes trends in Zionism, Europe and global affairs. For more of his articles: <a href="http://europeandjerusalem.com">europeandjerusalem.com</a><a href="http://europeandjerusalem.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://europeandjerusalem.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1573746251659000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGN3aLV_J5u3l1Byp8enDBgEXoRnw">.</a>

Close-up on the EU flag.

KALEV: European Political Opposition To The Jewish State Should Not Be Taken Lightly

In what British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has described as an &#8220;unimaginable tragedy,&#8221; 39 people — 38 adults and one teenager — were found dead Wednesday in a tractor trailer at an industrial park in Essex, England.
The horrific discovery has triggered one of the largest mass murder investigations in the country&#8217;s history and has already resulted in one arrest: the driver, a 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland.
Police have offered few details thus far, but the evidence suggests that the deaths are a result of human trafficking.
&#8220;Police were called by the ambulance service after the discovery at Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays at 1.40am,&#8221; <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/39-dead-bodies-found-inside-lorry-in-essex-11842770">Sky News </a>reported Wednesday. &#8220;All 39 people were pronounced dead at the scene and the lorry driver, a 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.&#8221;
According to authorities, the vehicle appears to have come from Bulgaria, arriving in the UK on Saturday via the &#8220;unorthodox route&#8221; of Holyhead in northern Wales.
&#8220;We have arrested the lorry driver in connection with the incident who remains in police custody as our enquiries continue,&#8221; Essex Police Chief Superintendent Andrew Mariner said in a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/british-police-launch-murder-investigation-after-discovery-of-39-bodies-in-a-container/2019/10/23/63f45c64-f574-11e9-8cf0-4cc99f74d127_story.html">statement</a> Monday. &#8220;This is a tragic incident where a large number of people have lost their lives. Our enquiries are ongoing to establish what has happened.&#8221;
&#8220;We believe the lorry is from Bulgaria and entered the country at Holyhead on Saturday 19 October, and we are working closely with our partners to investigate,&#8221; Mariner stated. &#8220;We have arrested the lorry driver in connection with the incident who remains in police custody as our enquiries continue.&#8221;
Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills told the public that it would be a &#8220;lengthy process&#8221; to identifies the bodies, Sky News reports.
The &#8220;unorthodox route&#8221; of the vehicle has raised eyebrows, Northern Ireland&#8217;s Freight Transport Association policy manager Seamus Leheny suggesting that those involved with the vehicle may have been attempting to avoid more extensive security checks.
&#8220;People have been saying that security and checks have been increased at places like Dover and Calais, so it might be seen as an easier way to get in by going from Cherbourg or Roscoff, over to Rosslare, then up the road to Dublin,&#8221; said Leheny, as reported by Sky News. &#8220;It&#8217;s a long way around and it&#8217;ll add an extra day to the journey.&#8221;
While <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/british-police-launch-murder-investigation-after-discovery-of-39-bodies-in-a-container/2019/10/23/63f45c64-f574-11e9-8cf0-4cc99f74d127_story.html">The Washington Post</a> notes that police have not specified if the victims are migrants, the evidence indicates human trafficking. Since Bulgaria is a European Union member state, its citizens can freely travel to Britain, suggesting the victims are from another country, the Post notes.
The Post also cites the alarming numbers from British authorities on the rise in human trafficking and modern-day slavery in the country. &#8220;The National Crime Agency figures show that last year 6,993 potential victims were referred to the government’s program that aims to identify and support victims — a 36 percent increase from 2017,&#8221; the Post reports.
In response to the horrific discovery in Essex, PM Johnson took to Twitter to express his shock and offer &#8220;thoughts&#8221; to those impacted by the tragedy.
&#8220;I&#8217;m appalled by this tragic incident in Essex,&#8221; he tweeted. &#8220;I am receiving regular updates from the Home Office &amp; will work closely with Essex Police as we establish exactly what has happened. My thoughts are with all those who lost their lives &amp; their loved ones.&#8221;
&nbsp;

Essex Truck

‘Unimaginable’: 39 Bodies Found In Truck In UK, Arrest Made, Mass Murder Probe Launched

United Kingdom

The most meaningful political story in the United States this week wasn&#8217;t unfolding in the United States. One of our potential futures was instead being played out in England, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson was fighting a pitched battle to bring the will of the people to fruition against the entrenched power of a multi-national elite.
Ever since a 2016 referendum in which British voters chose to leave the European Union by a 52% to 48% margin, the voters’ representatives have been doing everything they possibly can not to represent the voters. Prime Minister Teresa May swore that &#8220;Brexit means Brexit,&#8221; then managed to fashion a leave deal so bad that even Brexit supporters thought it worse than staying. After May staggered off in tears, Boris Johnson took over the premiership swearing that the Brits would be out of the EU by the October 31stdeadline — a deadline already once extended.
BoJo made it clear that his willingness to &#8220;crash out&#8221; on Halloween with no deal would help him negotiate a better deal with an EU that does not want to let its grip on British power go. But Parliament — with the help of a largely anti-Brexit press and elite — has so far managed to stymie Johnson&#8217;s strategy and may extend the deadline yet again — maybe forever.
The reason I say this is the most meaningful political story here in the U.S. is because it&#8217;s the first real test of whether the English-speaking peoples can wrest back their power of self-governance. If Brexit fails, the situation here will not look good. If it succeeds, there&#8217;s hope.
As Christopher Caldwell points out in his excellent Brexit piece in this summer’s issue of Claremont Review of Books, Britain&#8217;s entry into the E.U. did not just result in a diminution of British sovereignty over its own affairs, it also transferred power from the people&#8217;s representatives in Parliament to the elite’s representatives on and before the bench. British judges could now invalidate British law that conflicted with laws concocted in Brussels.
&#8220;Quangos [advisory bodies with government-appointed members] and foundations began designing cases — concerning migrants&#8217; rights, gay rights, search-and-seizure — that unraveled the centuries-old fabric woven from the rights and duties of British citizenship. A new fabric began to be woven, based (as are all such systems in Europe) on post-Civil Rights Act American law and on the litigative ethos of the American bar.&#8221;
Here in America, a similar shift has taken power out of the hands of our representatives in congress and put it into unelected administrative bodies like the EPA and the Department of Education. These bodies serve the same &#8220;rights&#8221; oriented obsessions of the elites — and can make rules and enforce rules in a completely unconstitutional and anti-freedom manner that, so far, has had the support of a feckless Supreme Court.
Legislators love this system. They no longer have to study issues and fashion laws that have a specific effect. They no longer have to take real stances that could get them voted out of office. They simply have to pose for the cameras, use big, emotional words, take money from entrenched interests and then announce that they &#8220;did something&#8221; about the big issue of the day. The &#8220;something&#8221; is some 2,000 page collection of vaguely worded gobbledygook that can be interpreted by some drone at the EPA to mean he can do whatever he wants. When the EPA guy then rules that you can&#8217;t go to the bathroom because your toilet is a public waterway, you&#8217;ve got no one to appeal to but the same petty tyrant at the EPA. Your property rights, your rights to due process, not to mention your vote, essentially mean nothing.
Donald Trump has done an excellent job of cutting regulations, but they&#8217;ll bounce right back once the next person, Democrat or Republican, takes his place. The entire system needs to be dismantled, probably at the level of the Supreme Court.
With the election of Donald Trump and with the vote for Brexit, the English-speaking peoples are demanding their age-old representative systems back. If Boris Johnson succeeds in Britain, it will be a hopeful sign. But if the combined power of the elites and their press can prevent the crash out, then Trump, instead of the change we need, may turn out to be just a bump in the road that leads to the end of the republic.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51400/haworth-americans-must-see-brexit-betrayal-warning-ian-haworth">HAWORTH: Americans Must See The Brexit Betrayal As A Warning</a>

KLAVAN: Where Britain Goes, America May Follow

Boris Johnson

Brexit

England

Great Britain

Trump Administration

The ongoing saga that is Brexit may seem distant to some of us here in the United States. News of the latest British capitulation to the ever-expanding political monolith that is the European Union sporadically trickles across our airwaves, but soon crumbles beneath the weight of a frantic news cycle. However, what’s currently unfolding in the United Kingdom should require the attention of everyone who values freedom and fears the creeping threat of authoritarianism.
As the most recent departure date from the E.U. of October 31st fast approached, it seemed like the slog towards Brexit was almost complete. Unfortunately, there has been a continued attempt to undermine the referendum result at every stage by a class of globalist political elites, buoyed by a vocal and petulant minority that has refused to accept reality. Sound familiar?
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the most recent occupant of the seemingly cursed No. 10 Downing Street, was defeated twice by the House of Commons this week. The first defeat came after opposition members of Parliament (MPs) and Conservative Party rebels <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49580185">voted 327 to </a><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49580185">299</a> in favor of a bill that would block a no-deal Brexit. If passed, Boris Johnson would be forced to “ask” the European Union for yet another deal negotiation extension beyond October 31st. In response, Johnson attempted to push for a new general election, but <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49584907">MPs turned down his motion</a> — with Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn stating that his party would support Johnson’s call for a new general election once the bill blocking a no-deal Brexit passed.
Now, it is fair to argue that binary referenda aren’t the most effective or positive way of achieving policy changes in a representative democracy. They enable the political evasion of responsibility by punting impactful decisions to the populace, with politicians claiming credit for success and blaming the public for failure. They are also divisive by definition, with the societal impact of Brexit often compared to the vicious aftermath of the 2016 presidential election in the U.S. Regardless, the very foundation of a democratic system is that the decisions made by the voters are respected by those who have been elected as their representatives. The referendum result of June 23rd, 2016 was clear, with 17.4 million people voting to leave the European Union — a gargantuan bureaucracy that has grown far beyond the economic-centric “European Community” that Britons had supported in their last relevant referendum of 1975.
Despite it being a duty bestowed upon the British political class to act in accordance with the will of the people, every method of satisfactory departure from the European Union has been intentionally blockaded by those who have no respect for the referendum result — or for democracy itself. As a final insult, the refusal to hold a general election before officially preventing a no-deal Brexit is simply an attempt to delay Brexit indefinitely.
The reason for this is that “no-deal” is the only remaining way for Britain to leave the E.U. The only deal supported by the E.U. is the disastrous “Withdrawal Agreement” negotiated by former Prime Minister Theresa May, which has been rejected on multiple occasions by the House of Commons. With a no-deal Brexit taken off the table, we are left with two equally unacceptable outcomes.
<ol>
<li>Without facing the threat of crashing out of the E.U., the prime minister will be handed the impossible task of negotiating with the European Union without any meaningful leverage. This will mean that the E.U. can keep the U.K. trapped as the parties fail to negotiate, forcing Britain to beg for extension after extension. Result: U.K. stays in the E.U.</li>
<li>As the deadly combination of impatience and apathy grows among the British public, the government will finally adopt Theresa May’s absurd “Withdrawal Agreement” out of an exhausted desire to “do something” and escape the never-ending chaos of Brexit. Result: U.K. effectively stays in the E.U.</li>
</ol>
Because “no-deal” is the only way that the United Kingdom will ever achieve the result demanded by its 2016 national referendum, it is the final obstacle for hordes of “Remainers” who have decreed a “no-deal” Brexit an apocalyptic disaster that must be avoided at all costs. Combined with the refusal of many politicians who support “no-deal” to respect the intelligence and resilience of the British public by acknowledging the non-disastrous but realistically negative impact of “no-deal,” “no-deal” supporters are seemingly handing the reins of control to the minority. As a result, the only exit from the bureaucratic maze of perpetual servitude to the E.U. is being closed. When this door closes, these politicians may have achieved their desired result, but they will have failed to honor the fundamental principles of democracy.
There are multiple similarities between the societal impact of Brexit and the 2016 U.S. presidential election. As we approach another election in 2020, Brexit should stand as a warning to the threats of those in the U.S. who hope to undermine democracy. We must remember that politicians, at their core, are our servants.
If we allow ourselves to forget that elected officials work for us, then we will enable a growing class of opportunistic politicians who seek to tighten their authoritarian grip on our lives. Brexit is forcefully revealing the true nature of many such politicians. With that in mind, if you care about liberty, then you must care about Brexit.

BRITAIN-EU-POLITICS-BREXIT-DEMONSTRATION

HAWORTH: Americans Must See The Brexit Betrayal As A Warning

Democracy

The European Union may soon place labels on products made in Israel&#8217;s disputed territories – a label that would not be added to any other products from around the world.
The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/national-security/europe-poised-to-put-warning-labels-on-jewish-made-products/">reported</a> Friday that the &#8220;Advocate General of the European Court of Justice recently issued non-binding opinion arguing that EU law requires Israeli-made products to be labeled as coming from &#8216;settlements&#8217; and &#8216;Israeli colonies.'&#8221;
In 2016, France adopted a measure that required labels be put on products from the Golan Heights, eastern Jerusalem, and the West Bank. In 2015, the European Commission adopted similar regulations but had no way to punish countries that refused to add the labels.
After the French measure was adopted, the Israeli Psagot winery filed a lawsuit, according to the Free Beacon. The lawsuit claimed the regulations amounted to discrimination against Jewish countries and argued its case all the way up to the European Court of Justice. In 2018, France suspended the labeling policy.
As the Free Beacon reported, that court seems close to affirming the lower court&#8217;s opinion that Israeli products should have such a label on them.
Yaakov Berg, CEO of Psago, told the Free Beacon that the labels were &#8220;discriminatory and illegal&#8221; since they would only apply to Jewish companies and no other companies.
&#8220;We are not the Israeli government,&#8221; Yaakov told the outlet. &#8220;Psagot winery is not responsible for Israeli government policy. But because we are Jewish owners of a winery in a beautiful and hotly contested land, we are being targeted and punished. And we are being punished precisely because we are Jews living in Judea where we have every right to be, as do the Palestinian Arabs and Druze and the Christians.&#8221;
&#8220;No one should be discriminated against because of their religion,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;If you support a Palestinian state, would you support a Judenrein state of Palestine? That seems to be what the EU is proposing when it says Jewish businesses are illegal in Palestine but Muslim businesses are not, in the same location! Such a de facto boycott of Jewish products, the likes of which we have not seen since Nazi Germany, would definitely run afoul of U.S. law.&#8221;
As the Free Beacon reported, the decision to add the labels &#8220;could pave the way for goods from any disputed territory to receive such treatment.&#8221; It could also &#8220;trigger U.S. anti-boycott laws meant to stop Israeli-made goods from being singled out for unfair treatment on the international market.&#8221;
Brooke Goldstein, executive director of the Lawfare Project and a human rights lawyer, told the Free Beacon that the Advocate General&#8217;s opinion blatantly discriminates against Israel.
&#8220;The Advocate General&#8217;s opinion said that goods produced by Muslims are to be labeled from &#8216;Palestine,&#8217; and goods produced by Jews labeled as coming from &#8216;Israeli colonies,&#8217; she told the outlet. &#8220;Both people are living in the same geographic location, and yet Jewish goods are being treated differently.&#8221;
The U.S. State Department has been adamantly against efforts to single out Israel, such as the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which focuses solely on Israel and no other nation on earth.
&#8220;The State Department is aware of this particular issue,&#8221; a state department spokesman told the Free Beacon. &#8220;The administration&#8217;s position strongly opposing all efforts to boycott, delegitimize, or isolate Israel is well-known.&#8221;

Israeli Flag

Europe Set To Add Warning Labels On Israeli Products Made In Contested Territories

Anti-Semitism

This week, the man who has said Israel just has to live with the fact that Iran wants to destroy it was nominated to be the foreign policy chief of the European Union, putting him in the position where he would be likely to succeed EU Chief Federica Mogherini in November.
As <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/tough-on-israel-fond-of-iran-jerusalem-wary-of-incoming-eu-foreign-policy-czar/">The Times of Israel</a> reports, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell’s appointments must still be confirmed by the European Parliament. Borrell is a member of his country’s ruling Socialist Workers’ Party.
Bas Belder, a Dutch member of the European Parliament who is strongly supportive of Israel, tweeted, “More difficult times [are] ahead between the EU and Israel I fear.”
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Tellingly! When I learned His name as successor of HR Mogherini, I knew enough. More difficult times ahead between the EU and Israel I fear. <a href="https://t.co/4ZgoTq9zlj">https://t.co/4ZgoTq9zlj</a>
— Bas Belder (@BasBelderMEP) <a href="https://twitter.com/BasBelderMEP/status/1146305287487459328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
As <a href="https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/brussels-playbook/politico-brussels-playbook-hungarys-change-of-heart-us-eu-relationship-burns-fighting-words/">Politico reported</a> in February, Borrell is complacent about the fact that the despotic theocratic Iranian regime wants to destroy Israel; commenting on the U.S. leaving the Iran nuclear deal under President Trump, he ripped Trump, saying, “The agreement is dead, but not for us. The Americans decided to kill it, unilaterally as they do things without any kind of previous consultation, without taking care of what interests the Europeans have.” When he was asked whether the U.S. perspective was correct, given Iran’s vow to destroy Israel, he answered, “We are not children following what they say. We have our own prospects, interests and strategy and we will continue working with Iran. It would be very bad for us if it goes on to develop a nuclear weapon … Iran wants to wipe out Israel; nothing new about that. You have to live with it.”
After the Hamas-led riots on the Israeli border in May 2018, when Hamas <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/30638/hamas-planned-violence-gaza-border-media-act-their-ben-shapiro">planned</a> to instigate violence, and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/30658/watch-un-ambassador-nikki-haley-shreds-security-emily-zanotti">bluntly told</a> the U.N., “Let&#8217;s remember that the Hamas terrorist organization has been inciting violence for years, long before the United States decided to move our embassy. This is what is endangering the people of Gaza. Make no mistake, Hamas is pleased with the results from yesterday,” Borrell <a href="https://www.republica.com/cronicas-de-europa/2018/05/19/europa-ante-gaza-italia-e-iran/">wrote in Republica</a> that the celebrations in Jerusalem over the United States finally moving its embassy there were “covered in blood as this black Monday reflects the dehumanization of the Palestinians by a large part of the Israeli political class and society.”
As The Times of Israel noted:
<blockquote>The embassy opening fell on the deadliest day of the so-called Great March of Return, with Palestinians rioting, and in at least one incident opening fire, at the Gaza border at the behest of the Hamas terrorist organization. The Israeli army responded with live fire among other means, killing 62 Palestinians that day and the next. According to Hamas, 50 of the 62 were its members, and three others were from the Islamic Jihad terror group.</blockquote>
In February, Borrell ripped Trump as he lauded Iran, tweeting, “Iran remains an obsession for the U.S. government. They still do not have diplomatic relations and also Trump has withdrawn from the Nuclear Pact and imposed sanctions. Surely Iran can survive sanctions if Trump is not re-elected. Otherwise, the regime could revive the nuclear program for military purposes and multiply its interventions in the region.”
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">En cambio, Irán sigue siendo una obsesión para el Gobierno de EE.UU. Siguen sin tener relaciones diplomáticas y además Trump se ha retirado del Pacto Nuclear y ha impuesto sanciones.(6/7)
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) <a href="https://twitter.com/JosepBorrellF/status/1094994350856200192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Seguramente Irán puede sobrevivir a las sanciones si Trump no es reelegido. En caso contrario, el régimen podría reactivar el programa nuclear con finalidad militar y multiplicar sus intervenciones en la región.(7/7)
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) <a href="https://twitter.com/JosepBorrellF/status/1094994352856879105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>

Hater of Trump And Israel May Be Next Head Of European Union

The results of the parliamentary elections for the European Union were a loss for the European Union itself. Despite pro-EU parties <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/26/eu-election-results-greens-and-euroskeptics-gain.html">reportedly</a> maintaining two-thirds of seats in the parliament, euroskeptics and nationalists solidified their power and made gains, signaling division and challenges soon to come.
In Italy, the anti-immigration and nationalist party, Lega Nord (League) Party, reportedly secured a victory of 28 seats. Following the win, the leader, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1132447/european-elections-latest-news-matteo-salvini-league-lega-italy-democratic-party-brexit">said</a>, &#8220;A new Europe is born.&#8221;
&#8220;As far as I&#8217;m concerned, if the League wins nothing changes in Italy, everything will change in Europe, starting from tomorrow,&#8221; he added. 
In the United Kingdom, the 6-week-old Brexit Party led by Nigel Farage, had a comfortable victory, securing a majority with 31.7% and 29 seats. Farage called the results &#8220;one hell of an achievement.&#8221;
In an <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/27/nigel-farage-become-prime-minister-brexit-party-9695684/">interview</a>, Farage said if the U.K. does not leave the European Union by October 31, his party will &#8220;go on to a general election and stun everybody there too.&#8221;
Farage repeated his warning on Twitter. &#8220;Never before in British politics has a party just 6 weeks old won a national election,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;If Britain does not leave the EU on October 31, these results will be repeated at a general election. History has been made. This is just the beginning.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Never before in British politics has a party just 6 weeks old won a national election.
If Britain does not leave the EU on October 31st, these results will be repeated at a general election.
History has been made. This is just the beginning.<a href="https://t.co/J7xqwdwZin">pic.twitter.com/J7xqwdwZin</a>
&#8212; Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1132794993758941185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
In France, Marine Le Pen&#8217;s far-right and anti-EU National Right party performed worse than it had in 2014, but still managed to win 22 seats. Le Pen&#8217;s party slightly outperformed President Emmanuel Macron&#8217;s party, which won 21 seats.
&#8220;The French people have clearly punished the president tonight, and taught him a lesson in humility,&#8221; said Jordan Bardella, the 23-year-old who led the party&#8217;s list. &#8220;Tonight, it&#8217;s him and his policies who have been rejected.&#8221;
Macron&#8217;s party did not frame the results as a loss and instead pointed to the environmental Green party making gains as encouraging. 
&#8220;It is clear from this result that the environment is a real concern for the French people,&#8221; said Amélie de Montchalin, the secretary of state for European affairs, according to <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/france-far-right-beats-emmanuel-macron-green-surge/">Politico</a>. &#8220;The president made it the first priority of the Renaissance list, and we will be able to work with the Greens.&#8221;
German Chancellor Angel Merkel&#8217;s coalition, concerned about the results, is holding &#8220;crisis talks&#8221; on Monday, reported <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20190527-merkels-coalition-crisis-talks-after-eu-vote-debacle">France 24</a>. Merkel&#8217;s coalition was given their worst score in European election history due to the environmental party, the Greens, receiving significant support.
Voter turnout from the 2014 election to this year&#8217;s election was reportedly up from 43% to 51%. 
Pope Francis expressed his concerns about the results of the elections and warned against fearing migrants. 
&#8220;The signs of meanness we see around us heighten our fear of &#8216;the other&#8217;, the unknown, the marginalized, the foreigner,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/pope-francis-sounds-racism-alarm-as-eu-nationalists-win-big">said</a> on Monday, which also happens to be the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
&#8220;To some extent, the fear is legitimate, also because the preparation for this encounter is lacking,&#8221; the Pope said of Europe&#8217;s approach to the migrant issue. &#8220;But the problem is not that we have doubts and fears. The problem is when they condition our way of thinking and acting to the point of making us intolerant, closed and perhaps even &#8211; without realising it &#8211; racist.&#8221;

EU Elections: Nationalists And Euroskeptics Are Here To Stay

Marine Le Pen

Nigel Farage

On Wednesday&#8217;s episode of &#8220;The Andrew Klavan Show,&#8221; the bestselling author discusses how the burning of Notre Dame is a tragedy not just for France and Europe, but for all of Western Civilization. Transcript and video below.
Joan of Arc became a hero to the French in the 15th century during the Hundred Years War. A peasant girl who received heavenly voices and visions, she believed she had a mission to overthrow the English and put Charles VII on the throne. It is said she convinced Charles to place her at the head of his armies by revealing things to him in private only the angels could have told her. Her victories at Orleans and elsewhere gave Charles the crown he wanted. Captured by pro-English nobles and abandoned by the King, she was handed over to England and tried for witchcraft, heresy, and cross-dressing. She was convicted and burned at the stake; a death that understandably terrified her. It&#8217;s said that as she was dying, she cried out to nearby clergymen to lift up a crucifix &#8220;hold the cross high&#8221; she said, &#8220;so I can see it through the flames.&#8221;
I was reminded of those words yesterday as I watched Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris burning. When Saint Joan died in 1431, she was only 19. But the cathedral had already been standing for nearly 170 years. It stood as a symbol of the nation, of its civilization, and of its God from the 13th century on. It has withstood every war and disaster that has fallen on the great city. But while its iconic towers remain and precious artwork and relics have been saved, the fire destroyed much of the interior.
The cause of the blaze is not yet known, and investigators say they have found no sign of arson and are treating it as an accident possibly connected to construction work being done at the site. But the strange silence that has fallen over the press, the sudden unwillingness to speculate, or even question authorities about their investigation and especially the self-imposed censorship of any mention of the plague of church arsons and desecration that has fallen on France during Lent this year, that silence, that censorship speaks more than words about what everyone is thinking and what everyone fears.
I couldn&#8217;t watch the beautiful structure burn from within without sensing I was looking at a symbol of what has happened not just to France but to Europe and maybe to Western Civilization as a whole.
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So, I&#8217;ve got to tell you about Notre Dame. I loved that cathedral. I must have been to that cathedral at least half a dozen times. Every time I go, I would climb up the towers the inside towers these weird 13th-century steps just a very claustrophobic, beautiful climb. You get to the top. It is one of the great views of Paris, you&#8217;ll ever see in Paris, of course, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. &#8230;
If I had to list one of my ten favorite scenes maybe one of my five favorite scenes the 1939 version of &#8220;The Hunchback of Notre Dame.&#8221; If you&#8217;ve never seen it, the Victor Hugo classic turned to a movie. And of course, much changed for the screen, but it had Charles Laughton giving one of his greatest performances as the bell ringer Quasimodo in Notre Dame Cathedral. It has a wonderful scene where he&#8217;s in love with the gypsy girl Esmeralda played by Maureen O&#8217;Hara when she must&#8217;ve been just a kid. She&#8217;s so beautiful in it, and they decide they&#8217;re going to hang her outside the cathedral for witchcraft. And poor Quasimodo this ugly little bent over man is watching from his perch in the Tower of Notre Dame, and he swings down on a rope and he sweeps her off the scaffold where they&#8217;re going to hang her and he carries her back up into the cathedral where by law they were not allowed to arrest her. He holds up her body, she&#8217;s fainted, he holds up her body and shouts &#8220;Sanctuary! Sanctuary!&#8221; and it&#8217;s just one of the great scenes in all movies.
Anyway, I was just watching this, I think all of us felt the same way: we were all appalled to see this incredible monument of Western civilization in flames.
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KLAVAN: Notre Dame Is A Symbol Of Western Civilization

Andrew Klavan

France

Notre Dame Cathedral

Michael Knowles explains how the rich history and symbolism of Notre Dame cathedral cannot be replaced or updated on Tuesday&#8217;s episode of &#8220;The Michael Knowles Show.&#8221; Transcript and video below.
The authorities are saying it doesn&#8217;t seem as though it was arson. And it doesn&#8217;t seem as though it was terror. I sure would like to know what did cause it.
Now on the bright side, there is a silver lining here. A lot of relics, a lot of artwork was saved from within the cathedral. There were priceless artifacts in Notre Dame. There is a relic, the crown of thorns that was placed on Christ&#8217;s head, was in Notre Dame. Father John Mark Fournier who is the chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, he ran into the burning cathedral to save that relic, to save the crown of thorns and to save the Blessed Sacrament &#8230; to save the Eucharist, the body of Christ.
There is another relic, a nail from the True Cross, the Cross on which Christ was crucified that was saved. Unfortunately, part of the crown of thorns, a piece of it was stored in the spire that is believed to have been destroyed when that spire burned down. And although the facade remains apparently structurally intact, the roof completely burned down. The frame of that roof, which dates back to the 12th century, over eight hundred years old, destroyed. This oak that dates back, upwards of a thousand years, destroyed. &#8230;
Macron, the leader of France, he says they will rebuild. I hope so, that would be nice. Other conservatives, other Christians and other people in France have called for it to be rebuilt. That would be nice. It would be wonderful to be able to rebuild Notre Dame. But you can&#8217;t. You can do something, and you can try to restore parts of it. You can try to somehow move forward. But you can&#8217;t rebuild it, exactly. First of all, any attempt to rebuild it will take decades. The Cathedral took over a century to build, and it won&#8217;t be the same.
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It just won&#8217;t be the same. This is the sad thing. We don&#8217;t want to acknowledge this in our culture because we think we can replace everything. You break your computer and you can replace that; you drop your iPhone and you get a new iPhone&#8230; we can replace this, and we&#8217;ll rebuild the house and we&#8217;ll rebuild this: you can&#8217;t rebuild Notre Dame.
Why can&#8217;t you rebuild Notre Dame? One, we don&#8217;t really even know how that roof was built. There is so much technical knowledge that has been lost over the centuries. This is hard for us to imagine because we think we&#8217;re modern and we know everything and everyone before us was an idiot. We don&#8217;t know how to build that roof. We don&#8217;t know exactly what they did. Technical knowledge can be lost. But moreover, it took so long to build that it took so much commitment. It took such a strength of the Catholic Church. It took such a unity between the church and the state to build Notre Dame. Those don&#8217;t exist anymore.
Western Christendom is such a shadow of its former self. You can&#8217;t rebuild Notre Dame. This burning is in many ways a symbol of the decay of the faith throughout Europe. Hilaire Baloch, the writer, once said a famous line, it got him in trouble and was controversial, he said, &#8220;the faith is Europe and Europe is the faith.&#8221; He&#8217;s referring to the Catholic faith, Western Christendom. That is what defines Europe. When that cracks, what is Europe? What is left? Then Notre Dame is not a cathedral, it&#8217;s a museum. To listen to people, talk about Notre Dame yesterday, to listen to pundits talk about it, it was as though they were talking about a museum.
It was as though they were talking like Ilhan Omar, &#8220;art and architecture,&#8221; it&#8217;s such a loss of art and architecture. It is, but the art and architecture means something. It&#8217;s not just a museum. It&#8217;s a cathedral. It is animated by a living faith. And if that faith disappears from Europe, then you just have ruins you had ruins before it burned to the ground.
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-michael-knowles-show/id1266577963?mt=2">Listen to &#8220;The Michael Knowles Show&#8221; on iTunes. </a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/show/michael-knowles-show">Watch &#8220;The Michael Knowles Show&#8221; on-demand.</a>

KNOWLES: It’s Impossible To Replace Notre Dame

Catholic Church

Catholicism

Emmanuel Macron

Michael Knowles

In 2015, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees arrived at the borders of Europe in a desperate attempt to escape conflict. This wave of mass migration was a large source of controversy in the West, sparking debates regarding how to best cope with humanitarian crises in Syria and North Africa. 
European countries such as Germany and France accepted several hundred thousand Syrians and North Africans, which deeply divided the European population. Other countries, including Hungary and Italy, did their best to limit the influx of refugees.
Algeria is currently facing increased political instability and corruption, leading to mass protests across the country. Located in the most northern part of Africa, only the Mediterranean separates Algeria from southern Europe. Algeria&#8217;s 82-year-old president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, recently announced he would not run for his fifth re-election following weeks of mass protests from disgruntled citizens. Bouteflika is wheelchair-ridden and has not spoken publically since suffering a stroke in 2013. 
Although eventually cowing to protestor demands, many believe that Bouteflika still plans to maintain power despite not running for re-election. A recent press release from his administration announced that elections, which are supposed to be held on April 18th, are being delayed to create the Inclusive and Independent National Council, which he claims will be tasked with drafting a new constitution and election date.
Regardless, protestors continue to demand Bouteflika immediately relinquish his power to a younger generation of Algerian leaders and end his more than 20-year reign. If Bouteflika refuses to step down, protestors are only likely to grow more restless and violent, increasing the likelihood of a civil war. 
Libya, a country already plagued by civil war, borders Algeria to the east. The Sahel, a region spanning across Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan, partly borders Algeria from the south (only Mauritania, Mali and Niger). Various African jihadist groups, including Al-Nusra, Boko Haram, and Al-Qaeda and ISIS affiliates, currently operate in this area. Algeria has virtually non-existent border security with these surrounding countries.
Combine the growing political unrest in Algeria, the current civil war in Libya, and expansionist endeavors of African jihadist groups in the Sahel, and what you get is a power void looking to be filled by both rebel groups inside Algeria and jihadist groups outside Algeria. 
If a power void is created and these groups fight for control of the country, millions of Algerians will become displaced in search of safer place to live. If Algeria does go belly-up, Europe will encounter its second refugee crisis in under a decade, with Algerians having nowhere to go but up through the Mediterranean and into southern Europe. 
This begs the question: How will Europe deal with the millions of displaced Algerians and other North Africans attempting to cross the Mediterranean? 
If the European Union (EU) decides to handle the potential refugee crisis similar to how they did in 2015, they risk substantial destabilization of Europe and the EU system. That being said, it&#8217;s unlikely that the EU handles their second refugee crisis as they did their first. 
The Syrian refugee crisis in 2015 was arguably the largest contributing factor to the rise in populist parties in Europe, who aimed to close borders, salvage &#8220;Europe as we know it,&#8221; and (in some cases) secede from the EU. If even some European countries handle a second refugee crisis in under a decade analogous to the first, populist parties in Europe will not merely rise in prominence &#8211; as they did in 2015 &#8211; they will win resoundingly. 
The result will be an upsurge in intra-national political division. There will also be more division between EU countries because of the Schengen Agreement and the Common European Asylum System. The former allows those within the EU to move across borders easily, while the latter commits EU countries to a shared responsibility in welcoming asylum seekers. 
If just a few countries accept a swarm of Algerian refugees, the consequences will be felt across the entire continent. Compound this with the already existing cultural clashes between Europeans and migrants in Europe from the first crisis, the result will be unprecedented social/political crisis in Europe, which will likely spiral into more political polarization and reactionary fringe-movements. It is therefore in the interest of both EU leaders in Brussels and left-leaning European parties in general to limit, to the greatest extent possible, the influx of refugees. 
That being said, if Europe refuses to accept the millions of refugees following a crisis in Algeria, they will still aim to solve (what will be) a massive humanitarian crisis with a high potential for regional contagion. Their best option, aside from full-scale intervention, will be to set up safe-zones for displaced Algerians. Their other option is to nip this problem in the bud before it escalates into a refugee crisis. How exactly they would do this is unclear. 
While this foreseeable crisis is currently in an infancy stage, it&#8217;s worth keeping an eye on Algeria, the surrounding region, and subsequent responses from the EU. 
Follow Joshua Eisen on <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshEisen?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a>.

EISEN: Europe’s Next Refugee Crisis

Brexit.
One word, with two syllables, which strikes fear into the hearts of British politicians. The aftermath of the 2016 referendum, where 17.4 million people voted to leave the European Union, seems to have brought the United Kingdom to its knees. Constantly described with terrifying apocalyptic language, it has become an increasingly divisive subject. With MPs set to vote upon Theresa May&#8217;s &#8220;Withdrawal Agreement&#8221; on January 15th, the Brexit theater of combat is ablaze with final arguments. Politicians jump erratically from topic to topic, whether it be the economy, the Irish border, or immigration, in a desperate attempt to rally support or garner opposition.
Unsurprisingly, the result of this political pandemonium is that Brexit appears to be deeply confusing. With March 29th, the current date of Britain&#8217;s official exit from the EU, drawing ever closer, politicians continue to disagree on whether Brexit will be successful or disastrous.
The truth is, however, that despite the heavy doses of confusion, aimlessness, and ineptitude that politicians have demonstrated since the referendum, Brexit is actually phenomenally simple. Unfortunately, until politicians begin to treat British citizens with respect rather than condescension, this level of simplicity will remain obfuscated by fearful and deceptive rhetoric.
The simple fact is that Brexit is a rejection of the undemocratic power of the European Union in favor of a return to complete British sovereignty, where every British law is wholly defined by British government and wholly enforced by British authorities. Any laws decided by external entities, such as the European Union, or any jurisdiction of external courts, such as the European courts, undermines British sovereignty.
Accepting sovereignty as a fundamental principle, and communicating this to the British citizenry, would mean that the success or failure of subsequent issues, such as the short-term economy, would become comparatively irrelevant. Sovereignty trumps all, and in the unlikely event that the apocalyptic predictions of the Remain campaign turn out to be true, sovereignty would still be the ultimate objective &#8211; &#8220;I&#8217;d rather die on my feet, than live on my knees.&#8221;.
Unfortunately, rather than embracing reality with the return of sovereignty as the primary ideological objective, British politicians are driven by the desire to tell their citizens what they believe they want to hear, with promises regarding economic growth or the certainty of trade agreements. Promises are easy. The truth is hard.
Winston Churchill, the legendary wartime Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War 2, stated that &#8220;Things are not always right because they are hard, but if they are right one must not mind if they are also hard.&#8221;. Until every law enforced in or upon the United Kingdom is entirely supported by a British democratic process, the simple fact is that sovereignty does not exist. British politicians are afraid because obtaining true sovereignty by escaping the EU will be very difficult, with short-term consequences which they find unpalatable.
Theresa May warned that failure to support her deal, which violates the essence of sovereignty, would result in the United Kingdom entering &#8220;uncharted territory&#8221;. Viewing this as a terrifying scenario, and one which should be avoided at all costs, is completely at odds with the core British spirit. If the price of regaining ultimate and complete sovereignty is that we must enter unchartered territory, then Britain should enter that territory with glee. Britain has forged into the unknown throughout its history, and to reject the desire to seek what is right over what is difficult would be to reject what it means to be British.
British politicians have a historical duty to deliver sovereignty for the citizens of the United Kingdom. We were once the country who was unafraid to stand alone in support of our principles. We are the country of Elizabeth I, who repelled the Spanish Armada. We are the country of Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington, who prevented the Napoleonic Empire from engulfing Britain and the rest of Europe. Finally, we are the country of Winston Churchill, whose famous speech epitomized the British determination to fight for what is right in the face of an ultimate evil:
&#8220;We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender,&#8221;
Instead of willingly living under the economic, legislative and judicial rule of an unelected political monster in the European Union (through which Germany has carefully secured unrivaled economic dominance), British politicians need to remember what made Britain great, and never surrender the fight for what is right over what is difficult.

HAWORTH: Brexit Is A Declaration Of Sovereignty. It’s That Simple.

Theresa May

Former UKIP Leader Nigel Farage warned that it was &#8220;entirely possible&#8221; that a new right-leaning political party could form if the British Parliament forces a second vote on &#8220;Brexit,&#8221; the referendum passed by the British public to leave the European Union. 
Speaking to <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1063646/Brexit-news-Nigel-Farage-latest-no-deal-vote-Theresa-May-UK-EU-political-party">Express</a>, the pro-Brexit leader warned, &#8220;There may well be a realignment of British politics coming out of all of this. The splits are so great now within the Conservative parliamentary party and out there in the country with many Labour voters too.&#8221;
While he added that it is his &#8220;first priority&#8221; not to start a new political party, he believes the pro-Brexit movement should be prepared in case Parliament votes to force a second referendum or makes a deal with the EU that favors the bloc. 
&#8220;My first priority is to get Brexit and to get Brexit we can cross our fingers but at the same time prepare for what comes next,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So other political parties and a change in British politics&#8230; all entirely possible but it is not the top of my agenda.&#8221;
Farage opined that a new party will form if British Prime Minister Theresa May forces a deal through Parliament that favors the &#8220;Remainers,&#8221; those who oppose Brexit. Her measure failed to pass Parliament and she barely survived a vote of &#8220;no confidence&#8221; against her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/39298/british-mps-trigger-vote-no-confidence-embattled-emily-zanotti">leadership</a>. 
&#8220;I fear when it really comes to it, Parliament may well force us into a second referendum,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Most of my colleagues say, &#8216;Nigel, don&#8217;t say it &#8211; it&#8217;s all going to be fine.&#8217; But I&#8217;m not sure it is going to be fine. My message now is let&#8217;s get ready just in case.&#8221;
Brexit is extremely opposed by the Left in England and the European Union. 
VOA News <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/eu-s-oettinger-sees-chance-british-parliament-votes-for-brexit-deal-in-january/4717839.html">reports</a> that European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger expressed his dismay with how Brexit has proceeded and hopes that there will not be a messy &#8220;divorce.&#8221;
&#8220;It is not entirely unlikely that the British parliament will vote for the divorce agreement in January,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There is certainly no majority for a disorderly Brexit or for a new referendum.&#8221;
The commissioner added that he does not believe the embattled May will be able to get a Brexit deal through Parliament by the end of March, when Britain is scheduled to officially part ways with the EU. 
&#8220;Nevertheless, I assume that it will come to an exit at the end of March,&#8221; Oettinger said. 
Farage has been a strong proponent of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/28161/prageru-brexit-why-britain-left-european-union-jacob-airey">Brexit</a>, even while serving as a member of European Parliament in Brussels. 
In a June 2016 speech to EU lawmakers following Brexit&#8217;s passage, Farage did not hold back his criticism of the European Union. 
&#8220;Isn&#8217;t it funny,&#8221; he said. &#8220;When I came here 17 years ago and I said that I wanted to lead a campaign to get Britain to leave the European Union, you all laughed at me. Well, I have to say, you&#8217;re not laughing now, are you?&#8221;
He added, &#8220;The biggest problem you&#8217;ve got and the main reason the UK voted the way it did is because you have by stealth and deception, and without telling the truth to the rest of the peoples of Europe, you have imposed upon them a political union.&#8221;
Farage resigned as the leader of the UKIP following the Brexit vote.
<div> </div>

Nigel Farage Warns Tories Of New Party If Brexit Fails

In much the same way as President Donald Trump, Brexit is a delicate and divisive topic in the United Kingdom. 
Brutally fought between campaigns to Leave or Remain, the referendum, which decided whether the United Kingdom would become the first nation to withdraw from the European Union (EU), took place on June 23, 2016. David Cameron resigned as Prime Minister due to his support for the failed Remain campaign.
While the Leave campaign was fronted by several high-profile Members of Parliament (MP), such as Boris Johnson, many avoided the vacant position of Prime Minister, viewing it as a poisoned chalice. Theresa May, the Conservative MP for Windsor and Maidenhead, became Prime Minister on July 13, 2016, despite the fact that May passively supported Remain.
After over two years of negotiations, Theresa May presented the European Union with her government&#8217;s proposed Brexit deal. The draft agreement, which lays out the terms of the U.K.&#8217;s withdrawal from the EU and the format of its future relationship, was accepted by EU leaders. However, it has been badly received by many MPs in the United Kingdom, and before it can be implemented, the U.K. Parliament must decide whether or not to accept the agreement. The vote is scheduled for December 11, 2018. 
Given the depth and breadth of the EU&#8217;s influence and control, the draft withdrawal agreement is long and complex. The 585-page document has been widely criticized by supporters of both the Leave and Remain campaigns, and Theresa May has been personally attacked for her weak handling of the transition. Those who still oppose Brexit, known affectionately as &#8220;remoaners,&#8221; have argued against the continuation of proceedings in favor of another referendum known as the &#8220;People&#8217;s vote,&#8221; or for Brexit to be scrapped entirely. Many of their arguments are based on the failures of politicians to deliver on promises related to Brexit and Theresa May&#8217;s failure to guide the U.K.&#8217;s departure from the EU.
Their logic is hypocritical, flawed, and extremely dangerous. 
Firstly, the fact that politicians are criticizing the failure of other politicians to deliver on their promises is supremely hypocritical. For example, Nick Clegg, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats and a vocal opponent of Brexit, stated that &#8220;The people voted for Brexit on a bunch of promises,&#8221; despite the fact that Clegg rose to the position of Deputy Prime Minister in 2010 on the back of his own &#8220;bunch of promises&#8221; that never materialized.
Secondly, the &#8220;remoaners&#8221; are basing their arguments against Brexit on flawed logic. They are using the subsequent failure of Theresa May to implement Brexit as a reason to denigrate the decision to Leave. This is illogical, as past decisions are not made with the knowledge of future events. It is also irrelevant, as May&#8217;s failure to implement the decision does not mean that legitimate concerns in favor of Brexit are suddenly illegitimate. Valid concerns regarding trade, immigration, or sovereignty remain valid regardless of the handling of Brexit. A simple illogical analogy demonstrates this quite clearly:
<blockquote>
A person is violently attacked in their home by their abusive partner. Making their escape, they flee from their home, only to be hit by a bus. Therefore, the victim was wrong for leaving. 
</blockquote>
Brexit should serve as a warning to the United Kingdom, the United States and other world nations. The strength of democracy, which is based on the Greek term for &#8220;rule by people,&#8221; relies on the protection of the voters&#8217; decision. The attempt by &#8220;remoaners&#8221; to reject the will of the population by voting again (and again, and again, and again, &#8230;) until they obtain their desired result is nothing but an attempt to corrupt democracy itself. We saw this same dangerous attitude during the presidential and midterm elections, and it must be wholeheartedly rejected if democracy is to remain protected.
Dismissing the sanctity of democracy will only leave us vulnerable to authoritarianism. Instead of implementing the wishes of their citizens, politicians who disagree with this decision only have to sabotage its implementation. Then they can simply blame their ideological enemies for the failure, leaving them free to implement their own opposing policies. At that point, why even vote?

HAWORTH: Brexit, Theresa May, and Remoaners

We know nations in the European Union have already outlawed speech against Islam &#8211; but could the United Nations be trying to limit negative speech concerning immigration? On Tuesday&#8217;s episode of &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/39012/ep-621-elites-people-shaddup">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>,&#8221; Andrew Klavan spoke about why the elites are refusing to listen to the people on this issue, and in some cases trying to censor them all together.
&#8220;The U.N. next week is going to hold this meeting in Marrakesh, and they have this global compact on migration &#8211; it&#8217;s called &#8216;the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration,'&#8221; he explained. &#8220;You can tell by the name it&#8217;s all about being in favor of migration. It pays a little bit of lip-service to the sovereignty of the nations who are being swept under by the people from failed states; it doesn&#8217;t pay any attention to the people who want to keep their culture intact, to whether they can handle and afford these people, all the services that western nations provide.&#8221;
Klavan said, &#8220;They don&#8217;t talk about that at all, all they really talk about is &#8216;don&#8217;t you insult these poor migrants&#8217; who get to sweep into their countries. Essentially this is all these clowns who sit around at the U.N telling the west that we have to take these migrants in, because other countries won&#8217;t do it, instead of chasing some of these tyrants and idiots out and establishing a rule of property law, free trade, capitalism, all those things that help people come out of poverty. Instead of doing that, they let the tyrants and madmen run the asylum, and now they want everyone to sign on.&#8221;
There is widespread rejection of the UN&#8217;s measure from all over Europe, he said, but the elites within the U.N. and the E.U. are choosing to ignore the opposition voices. 
&#8220;The E.U. Migration Commissioner said he doesn&#8217;t understand why anybody would oppose the pact, because it&#8217;s not binding, so why wouldn&#8217;t you sign it,&#8221; Klavan said. &#8220;That is absurd, if you don&#8217;t agree with it why would you sign it? Once you sign it you accept the terms of the pact, which is that basically migration is a human right, and anybody should be able to do it.&#8221;
The bestselling author of &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Leftese-Dictionary-Andrew-Klavan/dp/1731105398/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1544021955&amp;sr=8-1-spons&amp;keywords=the+leftese+dictionary&amp;psc=1">The Leftese Dictionary</a>&#8221; noted that there is growing frustration from Europeans who want their nations protected, but officials are choosing to expand &#8220;hate speech&#8221; into including any anti-immigration sentiment. 
He continued: &#8220;The people want to protect their nations, they want a right to say who comes into their nations. Even welcoming nations like ours can be taxed beyond our ability to take people in. The elite hear these voices, and they want them to shut up. They are telling you, &#8216;Don&#8217;t tell us what to do, we&#8217;re the elites.&#8217; The way they do it is by defining speech they don&#8217;t like as hate speech.&#8221;
Video and transcript below:
<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/31whKzQmEO4?start=1048" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div>
<blockquote>
The U.N. next week is going to hold this meeting in Marrakesh, and they have this global compact on migration &#8211; it&#8217;s called &#8220;the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration&#8221;. You can tell by the name it&#8217;s all about being in favor of migration. It pays a little bit of lip-service to the sovereignty of the nations who are being swept under by the people from failed states, it doesn&#8217;t pay any attention to the people who want to keep their culture intact, to whether they can handle and afford these people, all the services that western nations provide.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
They don&#8217;t talk about that at all, all they really talk about is &#8220;don&#8217;t you insult these poor migrants&#8221; who get to sweep into their countries. Essentially this is all these clowns who sit around at the U.N telling the west that we have to take these migrants in, because other countries won&#8217;t do it, instead of chasing some of these tyrants and idiots out and establishing a rule of property law, free trade, capitalism, all those things that help people come out of poverty. Instead of doing that, they let the tyrants and madmen run the asylum, and now they want everyone to sign on.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Of course in England, something like 40,000 people have already signed a petition against this. The EU Migration Commissioner said he doesn&#8217;t understand why anybody would oppose the pact, because it&#8217;s not binding, so why wouldn&#8217;t you sign it? That is absurd, if you don&#8217;t agree with it why would you sign it? Once you sign it you accept the terms of the pact, which is that basically migration is a human right, and anybody should be able to do it.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
I&#8217;m not sure what this E.U. MP&#8217;s name is, but he was protesting this pact, and he described this idea that they&#8217;re going to simply shut down the voice of the people: &#8220;Participating countries are set to sign this agreement, and although this current agreement isn&#8217;t binding, it&#8217;s still meant to be the legal framework on which the participating countries commit themselves to build new legislation. One basic element of this new agreement is the extension of the definition of hate speech. The agreement wants to criminalize migration speech, criticism of migration will become a criminal offense.&#8221;
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
All around the world anti-immigration groups are rising up, all around the world nationalist leaders are getting more and more votes. Trump wins in America by promising to build a wall on the border. Angela Merkel is finished in Germany because she let all those people come sweeping in. The people want to protect their nations, they want a right to say who comes into their nations, even welcoming nations like ours can be taxed beyond our ability to take people in. The elite hear these voices, and they want them to shut up. They are telling you, &#8220;don&#8217;t tell us what to do, we&#8217;re the elites.&#8221; The way they do it is by defining speech they don&#8217;t like as hate speech.
</blockquote>
</div>

Klavan: The Madmen Are Running The Asylum At The U.N.

Conservatism

Immigrants

Immigration

United Nations

The romance between France&#8217;s Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump is officially over, with Macron issuing a stern rebuke to the idea of nationalism right in front of the president. So what&#8217;s going on here? Is nationalism as bad as Macron and other European leaders make it out to be? Andrew Klavan decided to take on the issue on Tuesday&#8217;s episode of &#8220;The Andrew Klavan Show.&#8221;
The bestselling author broke down Macron&#8217;s speech bashing nationalism and the call to develop a European army that &#8220;can defend against Russia, China and the United States.&#8221;
&#8220;So it was obviously a zing,&#8221; said Klavan. &#8220;I thought that Macron and Trump were supposed to love each other, but I guess they&#8217;re on the outs.&#8221; 
He continued: &#8220;Trump said he took that as an insult, and there was all this fuss about the fact that Trump didn&#8217;t go to the ceremonies for Veterans Day, and he didn&#8217;t go to a cemetery. Of course, we had to be outraged by this. But then, at the ceremony that Trump was at, Macron got up and gave this speech where he attacked nationalism. He said &#8216;patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism.&#8217; So Trump is sitting there, and looking very stony-faced, and Macron goes on &#8211; &#8216;nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism, because it says &#8216;our interests first, who cares about the others?&#8217; We erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what makes it great, and most essential, it&#8217;s moral values.'&#8221;
&#8220;The problem with this is that it makes absolutely no sense and it&#8217;s entirely untrue, but other than that it&#8217;s great,&#8221; joked Klavan. &#8220;Nationalism is an essential part of patriotism, you&#8217;re a patriot because you love your nation. Who&#8217;s he talking to? It&#8217;s Trump, because Trump has made a big deal about being an American nationalist and all this stuff, but he&#8217;s also talking to all the countries in Eastern Europe in saying &#8216;you have all these nationalist movements, this is not right! Because we are France, we are here to tell you all how to behave.'&#8221;
Klavan explained that Europeans see nationalism as connected to imperialism, which some have connected to the cause of the First World War. But Klavan argues that is not a realistic comparison and ignores the impact of communism on the concept.
&#8220;Macron is not listening,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;He isn&#8217;t listening to the Eastern Europeans who were dominated by the USSR. Their nationalism stripped away and forced into this multinational structure where they were told &#8216;Oh no, you&#8217;re not Poland, you&#8217;re just one of the Unions of Soviet Socialists Republics.&#8217; They&#8217;re fighting back from that, they want their nation and their identity, and France is secure in that, they have their nation and their identity. Trump actually tweeted out ;there is no country more nationalist than France, a very proud people and rightfully so.&#8217; The French have laws about how many movies they can show because they don&#8217;t want American culture taking over theirs. So for Macron to sit up there and denounce nationalism is actually a nationalistic move. It&#8217;s just slapping Trump around for no reason. The leaders are not listening. The people in the capitals are not listening to the people. It&#8217;s a real problem, and we have got to start listening to each other.&#8221;
Video and transcript below:
<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="409" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QP2obVGeQ8M" width="728"></iframe></div>
<blockquote>
This thing about leaders not listening was what you were seeing in France over the weekend. Everybody made a big fuss about Emmanuel Macron saying Europe needs an army &#8211; I think he said &#8220;you know, we can&#8217;t surrender enough people as it is, we want a big army that we can surrender, a big army instead of a little one&#8221; &#8211; no, he didn&#8217;t say that. But he did say he wants a European army so they can defend against Russia, China and the United States. So it was obviously a zing.
I thought that Macron and Trump were supposed to love each other, but I guess they&#8217;re on the outs. Trump said he took that as an insult, and there was all this fuss about the fact that Trump didn&#8217;t go to the ceremonies for Veterans Day, and he didn&#8217;t go to a cemetery. Of course, we had to be outraged by this. But then, at the ceremony that Trump was at, Macron got up and gave this speech where he attacked nationalism. He said &#8220;patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism.&#8221; So Trump is sitting there, and looking very stony-faced, and Macron goes on &#8211; &#8220;nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism, because it says &#8216;our interests first, who cares about the others?&#8217; We erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what makes it great, and most essential, it&#8217;s moral values.&#8221;
The problem with this is that it makes absolutely no sense and it&#8217;s entirely untrue, but other than that it&#8217;s great. Nationalism is an essential part of patriotism, you&#8217;re a patriot because you love your nation. Who&#8217;s he talking to? It&#8217;s Trump, because Trump has made a big deal about being an American nationalist and all this stuff, but he&#8217;s also talking to all the countries in Eastern Europe in saying &#8220;you have all these nationalist movements, this is not right! Because we are France, we are here to tell you all how to behave.&#8221;
This does arise out of World War 1. Americans do not understand WW1 like the Europeans do. We didn&#8217;t lose as many people there, we weren&#8217;t as involved in it. It wiped a generation away, Russia became the Soviet Union, the Austro-Hungarian empire vanished from the face of the earth. The Ottoman Empire ultimately vanished. Here in America it was the beginning of the progressive movement, with Woodrow Wilson, the first anti-constitution President, starting to install the deep state that we&#8217;re still fighting with today. It is still haunting all of our countries today. But the Left, as it always has managed to do in the past, seized the narrative. What was the reason we lost millions of men, all this disaster? Well, it was nationalism, that was the problem. You could just as easily have said, since nobody can really understand why and how the war got out of hand the way it did, you could easily say it was because of unions like NATO, it was because everyone was sworn to defend everybody else, so when a war started everybody had to take sides, and the entire continent went up in smoke.
For western Europe, the idea was this: we have got things figured out, everything should be like western Europe, our values are eternal values and therefore we don&#8217;t need nations, we just need to share our values. That&#8217;s the basis of the European Union, in the same way it&#8217;s the basis of the United States &#8211; but the difference is we don&#8217;t expect everyone to fall in line with our values. We are a big experiment on whether you can spread values without taking over other countries. In the old days, everybody hates imperialism and says empire was a bad thing, but not so bad, it was a way of spreading values.
Macron is not listening. He isn&#8217;t listening to the Eastern Europeans who were dominated by the USSR. Their nationalism stripped away and forced into this multinational structure where they were told &#8220;oh no, you&#8217;re not Poland, you&#8217;re just one of the Unions of Soviet Socialists Republics.&#8221; They&#8217;re fighting back from that, they want their nation and their identity, and France is secure in that, they have their nation and their identity. Trump actually tweeted out &#8220;there is no country more nationalist than France, a very proud people and rightfully so.&#8221; The French have laws about how many movies they can show because they don&#8217;t want American culture taking over theirs. So for Macron to sit up there and denounce nationalism is actually a nationalistic move. It&#8217;s just slapping Trump around for no reason. The leaders are not listening. The people in the capitols are not listening to the people. It&#8217;s a real problem, and we have got to start listening to each other.
</blockquote>
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Klavan: Is Nationalism As Bad As Macron Says?

President Donald Trump struck a serious blow in his war of words with French President Emmanuel Macron Tuesday, firing back at the French leader for comments he made defending his country&#8217;s meager contributions to NATO&#8217;s defense budget by reminding Macron about France&#8217;s illustrious military history.
To put it succinctly, Trump mocked France for suffering major losses in back-to-back World Wars.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One &amp; Two &#8211; How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!
&#8212; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1062311785787744256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One &amp; Two &#8211; How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along,&#8221; the president tweeted. &#8220;Pay for NATO or not!&#8221;
Ouch.
The two leaders have been at odds all week over NATO defense spending, with Macron openly chiding Trump for calling his own policies &#8220;nationalist&#8221; in a speech that was supposed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
But Trump&#8217;s Tuesday remarks appear to come in response not to Macron&#8217;s Armistice Day insults, but to comments Macron <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46108633">made in a television interview</a> back on November 6, where he called for a &#8220;true European army,&#8221; separate from the NATO alliance, funded and maintained by the European Union. Macron suggested that a more &#8220;sovereign&#8221; Europe was necessary to defend European Union interests against &#8220;Russian, China, and even the U.S.&#8221;
Trump condemned Macron&#8217;s idea, calling it &#8220;very insulting,&#8221; and NATO&#8217;s top brass fired back at Macron for even suggesting a break in the trans-Atlantic alliance. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-13/trump-renews-attack-on-macron-as-bromance-turns-sours">French officials tried to excuse Macron&#8217;s remarks</a> by claiming they were taken &#8220;out of context.&#8221; But Monday night, outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she supported Macron&#8217;s plan and agreed that Europe shouldn&#8217;t need to rely on the United States to supplement its military strength.
After his pointed jab over military might, Trump attacked France over its trade protectionism &#8212; a far less juicy subject.
&#8220;On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S. The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the U.S. makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!,&#8221; the President Tweeted.
He added, &#8220;The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%. He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S. The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the U.S. makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!
&#8212; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1062331024426913792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%. He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!&#8230;&#8230;..
&#8212; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1062333534214520832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
Trump concluded by suggesting he could help &#8220;MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN.&#8221;
Trump and Macron&#8217;s relationship began as a trans-Atlantic &#8220;bromance&#8221; but has soured as Macron seeks to make up ground within his own group of European leaders. Although Macron&#8217;s most egregious insults were leveled at Trump during his Armistice Day speech, Macron also took potshots at U.K.&#8217;s Prime Minister Theresa May.

Trump Mocks France For Back-To-Back World War Losses In Fiery NATO Tweet

Bulgarian journalist and television personality Viktoria Marinova was found brutally murdered and raped on Saturday. She was 30 years old. 
According to the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/10/08/bulgarias-viktoria-marinova-third-journalist-murdered-eu-last-year/1563296002/">USAToday</a>, her body was found in the Danube River, near the Bulgarian town of Ruse. She had last been seen earlier that day after she met a group of friends for breakfast. 
Investigators say that she was beaten, raped, and strangled to death before she was dumped in the river. While no evidence of a motive has appeared at this time, local law enforcement is not ruling out the possibility that her death is connected to her journalistic work. 
Marinova hosted the talk show &#8220;Detector&#8221; on the channel TVN, where she spoke with other reporters about topics regarding the European Union. She frequently hosted Romanian journalists who were investigating alleged corruption among EU politicians and businessmen. Two of her guests were arrested in September, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45777948">reports</a>.
Bulgarian Interior Minister Mladen Marinov seemed to dismiss her work as a motive for the killing. 
&#8220;It is about rape and murder,&#8221; he told the press. 
Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov concurred. &#8220;The hypothesis about linking the murder to her work and the topics she covered in her program is not a leading one,&#8221; he said, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/08/world/europe/viktoria-marinova-killed-anti-corruption-tv.html">The Washington Post</a>. 
Her death shocked the citizens of Bulgaria, prompting a response from the EU reform group Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. 
&#8220;Those responsible must be held to account,&#8221; one of their representatives wrote on social media.
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov reassured the public in a statement, &#8220;it is just a matter of time before the perpetrator is found,&#8221; citing the amount of evidence recovered by the police.

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European Union

BRYEN: The Arabs And Europeans React To Trump’s Middle East ‘Vision’

BREAKING: The Trump Effect: Britain, France, Germany Suddenly Harden Toward Iran After Killing Of Soleimani

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