
The U.S. State Department does not consider it necessary for Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish State, said spokesperson Jen Psaki, according to an interview in the Palestinian daily newspaper Al-Quds Saturday. “Our position is that Israel is a
by Joel B. Pollak9 Mar 2014, 8:20 AM PST0

National Public Radio’s national political correspondent, Mara Liasson, told Weekend Edition on Sunday that Republican criticism of the Obama administration on the Crimea was misplaced since, arguably, it was their own inaction when Russia’s Vladimir Putin invaded Georgia in 2008 that
by Joel B. Pollak9 Mar 2014, 8:09 AM PST0
Touching down at Los Angeles International, on the transcontinental flight from Dulles. Just over five hours, coast-to-coast. Not bad. Even got some work done and caught the last half hour of 12 Years a Slave and Gravity. The pilot welcomes
by Joel B. Pollak9 Mar 2014, 6:11 AM PST0

WASHINGTON, DC — Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) warns that California’s water crisis will continue until there are major changes in state government, and until Republicans win the U.S. Senate. “We are being governed by people who are out of their
by Joel B. Pollak7 Mar 2014, 3:58 PM PST0

Having just published a column in which I called the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference “the gayest CPAC ever,” I was surprised to read a piece by Amanda Terkel at the Huffington Post claiming that gay rights were “missing” at
by Joel B. Pollak7 Mar 2014, 3:36 PM PST0
By the end of the week, the Obama administration had begun to do what it had declined, at first, to do after Russia made its “uncontested arrival” in the Crimea. It had provided loan guarantees to Ukraine, and promises of
by Joel B. Pollak7 Mar 2014, 3:16 PM PST0

It’s that time of year again: the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC. Every year there are squabbles over who is invited and who is not, which politicians are cheered and which are jeered, and which Republican presidential prospect will
by Joel B. Pollak7 Mar 2014, 1:38 PM PST0

Russian President Vladimir Putin may have to endure the stern disapproval of U.S. President Barack Obama, and the occasional insult from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as a result of his invasion of Ukraine. But at home, his approval ratings have
by Joel B. Pollak7 Mar 2014, 6:51 AM PST0

At the “Uninvited” event alongside the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Thursday, I had the opportunity to speak on a panel about the ongoing crisis inUkraine. I pointed out that if CPAC had ignored Ukraine to some extent, even the
by Joel B. Pollak7 Mar 2014, 4:51 AM PST0
Avi Issacharoff of the Times of Israel makes a very interesting observation about the Israeli navy’s seizure of an Iranian shipment of Syrian M-302 missiles destined for Gaza. The missiles, he writes, were almost certainly intended for a Palestinian terror
by Joel B. Pollak6 Mar 2014, 1:54 PM PST0

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) thrilled the crowd at “The Uninvited II,” the second annual side conference at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC), hosted by Breitbart News and EMPact America. “Neville Chamberlain’s calling, he wants his foreign policy back,” Gohmert
by Joel B. Pollak6 Mar 2014, 1:02 PM PST0

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) spoke to ‘The Uninvited II,” the side conference staged by Breitbart News and EMPact America at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, warning of the dire state of U.S. government finances. We are on
by Joel B. Pollak6 Mar 2014, 12:48 PM PST0

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — Conservative radio host Mark Levin accepted the first annual Citizens United Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday afternoon before a standing-room-only crowd of hundreds of
by Joel B. Pollak6 Mar 2014, 11:03 AM PST0
A few days ago, Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online pointed out on Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier that the language President Barack Obama was using on the Ukraine was setting him up for failure. Specifically, Obama’s insistence that
by Joel B. Pollak6 Mar 2014, 10:25 AM PST0

President Barack Obama rejected a proposed Mar. 16 referendum on the future of the Crimea, which was approved 78-0 earlier Thursday by the Crimean parliament. “The proposed referendum on the future of the Crimea would violate the Ukrainian constitution and international
by Joel B. Pollak6 Mar 2014, 10:14 AM PST0

Conservative columnist and Fox News contributor George Will touted the benefits of divided government in his remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday. “There is a case to be made,” he said, from a conservative point of
by Joel B. Pollak6 Mar 2014, 7:47 AM PST0
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — Conservative columnist and Fox News contributor George Will touted the benefits of divided government in his remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday. “There is a case to be made,” he said, from
by Joel B. Pollak6 Mar 2014, 6:55 AM PST0
The bitterly cold winter of 2013-14 caused major problems for Amtrak in the Midwest, notes the Chicago Tribune‘s Jon Hilkevitch. The train’s on-time rate was only 26 percent, with several spectacularly bad delays. Hilkevitch notes that Amtrak blames the installation
by Joel B. Pollak6 Mar 2014, 3:58 AM PST0

We conservatives are overdue for a bit of gloating at President Barack Obama and the liberal media on foreign policy. It feels good see the Smartest President Ever™ schooled by “Caribou Barbie,” who actually predicted the Russian invasion of Ukraine
by Joel B. Pollak5 Mar 2014, 2:48 PM PST0

If Israel is “America’s 51st state,” as some Israelis sometimes joke, then Silicon Valley might be an Israeli settlement. There are so many Israeli high-tech companies, and so many Israeli entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, that it was virtually home turf
by Joel B. Pollak5 Mar 2014, 2:13 PM PST0

In the same week that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted a Gaza-bound shipment of Syrian missiles from Iran, President Barack Obama is asking Congress to reduce U.S. funding for Israel’s missile defense programs by $200 million, according to the
by Joel B. Pollak5 Mar 2014, 10:25 AM PST0

Egyptian cleric Sheik Mazhar Shahin has issued a fatwa permitting Muslim men to divorce their wives if they are supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, saying that a radical Muslim wife is a “time bomb in bed” whose husband is sleeping with a
by Joel B. Pollak5 Mar 2014, 10:04 AM PST0

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, speaking for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), told reporters Wednesday afternoon that the Iranian shipment of Syrian M-302 missiles in the Red Sea by naval commandos in Operation Full Disclosure saved “millions of lives” among Israeli
by Joel B. Pollak5 Mar 2014, 9:30 AM PST0

When naval commandos from the Israel Defense Force (IDF) boarded the Panama-registered Klos-C merchant ship early Wednesday morning, they uncovered the most significant illicit Iranian arms shipment since the Karine A incident in 2002. According to news reports, the shipment included “advanced
by Joel B. Pollak5 Mar 2014, 8:06 AM PST0
Less than a year after suffering a major investment downgrade, Chicago has been downgraded again. Moody’s Investment Services announced Tuesday that it was lowering Chicago’s rating from A3 to Baa1, three levels above junk bond status. Last July, Moody’s downgraded
by Joel B. Pollak5 Mar 2014, 6:55 AM PST0