Biden national security aide tells Dearborn Muslims ‘I do not have any confidence in current government of Israel’

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/02/biden-national-security-aide-tells-dearborn-muslims-i-do-not-have-any-confidence-in-current-government-of-israel; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

Once again, the Biden regime is trying to appease its far-Left, Israeli-hating base. The regime could destroy the alliance altogether and throw Israel at the jihadis in exchange for Muslim support for Biden’s reelection.

“In Private Remarks to Arab Americans, Biden Aide Expresses Regrets on Gaza,” by Reid J. Epstein and Erica L. Green, New York Times, February 9, 2024:

In a closed-door meeting with Arab American leaders in Michigan this week, one of President Biden’s top foreign policy aides acknowledged mistakes in the administration’s response to the war in Gaza, saying he did not have “any confidence” that Israel’s government was willing to take “meaningful steps” toward Palestinian statehood….

The Biden aide, Jon Finer, a deputy national security adviser, offered some of the administration’s clearest expressions of regret for what he called “missteps” it had made since the beginning of the violence, and he pledged that it would do better.

During a meeting on Thursday with Arab American political leaders in Dearborn, Mich., Mr. Finer said, “We are very well aware that we have missteps in the course of responding to this crisis since Oct. 7,” according to a recording of the gathering obtained by The New York Times. A National Security Council official confirmed the recording was authentic.

Mr. Finer added: “We have left a very damaging impression based on what has been a wholly inadequate public accounting for how much the president, the administration and the country values the lives of Palestinians. And that began pretty early in the conflict.”…

Mr. Finer and several other senior Biden administration officials, including Samantha Power, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, traveled to Dearborn on Thursday for a series of meetings, including one in which Mr. Finer’s comments were recorded.

Those sessions came a week after Biden's campaign aides, including Julie Chávez Rodríguez, the manager of his 2024 bid, quietly traveled to the city and met with a few officials, including Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American progressive who is at the forefront of Democratic calls for a cease-fire.

However, Mayor Abdullah Hammoud of Dearborn and several other local officials declined to meet with Ms. Chávez Rodríguez. Mr. Hammoud later issued a statement saying he wished to speak with policymakers instead of campaign officials. White House officials then scrambled to arrange a visit.

During Thursday's meetings, Mr. Finer articulated the American government’s efforts to bring a halt to the war in Gaza. Building a formal diplomatic relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia, he said, is a critical step toward creating a Palestinian state. Doing so, he added, requires politically difficult sacrifices from both countries and the United States.

“We will have to do things for Saudi Arabia that will be very unpopular in this country and in our Congress,” Mr. Finer said. “Will Israel be willing to do the hard thing that’s going to be required of them, which is meaningful steps for the Palestinians on the question of two states?" I don’t know if the answer to that is yes. I do not have any confidence in this current government of Israel.”…

Mayor ramps up security after Dearborn is dubbed ‘America’s jihad capital,’ whines about ‘Islamophobic rhetoric’

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/02/mayor-ramps-up-security-after-dearborn-is-dubbed-americas-jihad-capital-whines-about-islamophobic-rhetoric#; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

Abdullah Hammoud is in full victimhood mode, complaining about “Islamophobic rhetoric,” but note what he isn’t doing: he isn’t saying that the Wall Street Journal article is false. Nor is he addressing the contention that Dearborn is America’s jihad capital. Instead, he is deflecting attention away from the claims in the article by claiming, without a shred of evidence, that the article endangers places of worship and major infrastructure points in Dearborn. One might almost get the impression that he doesn’t want to address the problem of jihad activity in Dearborn. How strange!

“Michigan city ramps up security after op-ed calls it ‘America’s jihad capital,'” Associated Press, February 4, 2024:

DEARBORN, Mich. — Dearborn, Michigan, is ramping up its police presence in response to fallout from an opinion piece that described the city, which has the nation’s highest Muslim population per capita, as “America’s jihad capital.”

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud on Friday tweeted that city police increased security at places of worship and major infrastructure points as a “direct result” of a Wall Street Journal opinion piece titled, “Welcome to Dearborn, America’s Jihad Capital.”

Hammoud posted on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, that the item published Friday “led to an alarming increase in bigoted and Islamophobic rhetoric online targeting the city of Dearborn.”

Steven Stalinsky, executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, who authored the opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, said in an interview with The Associated Press that he wanted to draw attention to protests in Michigan and elsewhere across the U.S. in which people have expressed support for Hamas since the start of the war with Israel….

“Nothing in my article was written to instigate any sort of hate,” Stalinsky said. “This is a moment for counterterrorism officials to be concerned.”…

In a tweet referencing Dearborn on Saturday, President Joe Biden condemned “hate in all forms.”

“Americans know that blaming a group of people based on the words of a small few is wrong,” Biden’s post read. “That’s exactly what can lead to Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate, and it shouldn’t happen to the residents of Dearborn – or any American town.”

Hamas sympathizer enjoys senior role within Biden’s national security apparatus

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/10/hamas-sympathizer-enjoys-senior-role-within-bidens-national-security-apparatus;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

At this point, only the most naive and uninformed could possibly be surprised by this.

“Top Biden Intel Official Outed as Palestinian Activist Has Some Very Dark Associates,” Revolver, October 16, 2023:

Hamas’ gruesome terrorist attack against Israel has left the entire world in shock, primarily at the barbarity of Hamas’ actions but also at the monumental intelligence failure on the part of Israel’s vaunted security establishment. The tragic attack has also encouraged some healthy critical reflection on the Biden regime’s Middle East policy. In a colossal blunder worthy of the legendarily inaccurate financial commentator Jim Cramer, Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan just this month bragged that “the Middle East is quieter now than it has been in two decades.”

Of course, no one can be expected to predict the future, but this unfortunate remark strikes us as particularly flat-footed. Possibly more disturbing than the Biden team’s flat-footedness on the emerging conflict is the distinct possibility that a Hamas sympathizer enjoys a senior role within Biden’s national security apparatus. The individual in question is Maher Bitar, who currently serves as the Senior Director for Intelligence Programs on Joe Biden’s National Security Council.

Biden’s choice of Bitar for a senior intelligence role within the NSC is largely forgotten, though it generated considerable controversy in the immediate aftermath of Bitar’s appointment in 2021. Numerous reports emerged of Bitar’s history of activism on behalf of Palestine that extended into support for the BDS movement as well as organizations that have been accused of being friendly to terror groups like Hamas.

The Washington Free Beacon reported that Bitar was not only a member but also an executive director of the controversial “Students for Justice in Palestine” (SJP) group….

How Bad Is Crime in Philadelphia? Bad Enough for a Cheesesteak Joint to Hire Armed Security

How Bad Is Crime in Philadelphia? Bad Enough for a Cheesesteak Joint to Hire Armed Security
Whenever someone gears up to pay the historic city of Philadelphia a visit, one of the first things they want to know is which establishment makes the best cheesesteak sandwiches. The age-old question was usually decided by whether or not you wanted Cheeze-Whiz or provolone on it. Nowadays, with the skyrocketing crime rate in the city, thanks to disastrous soft-on-crime policies instituted by Democrats, the best cheesesteak joint is the one with armed guards. Tragic, that this is what the City of Brotherly Love has become in Biden’s America.

According to a new report from TheBlaze, Jim’s West Steaks and Hoagies has hired armed guards to provide protection for customers who come to their establishment for the simple pleasure of a good sandwich. It’s absolutely atrocious this is now necessary. But hey, what do you expect when officials in our country’s major cities push for shorter prison sentences, defunding police forces, and all manner of bills that favor criminals? The whole point of having a legal system is the protection of the innocent and discouraging the bad guys from doing bad things that harm society.

If the consequences for doing bad things that harm society consist of slaps on the wrist, we should not be surprised when our deterrent no longer deters.

One of the main reasons the restaurant decided to hire armed guards is because they are a super popular place that usually has lines of people going down the block, which leaves them open to assault and other forms of crime while waiting in line.

The chief financial officer of Jim’s West spoke with local media outlet WPVI-TV, saying, “The violence has spiked. It goes up and down. You want people to feel safe and be safe. So when they come out and eat, they don’t have to worry about no type of harm.”

The owner of Presidential Protection Services, Kevon Darden, has actually gotten out on the streets in front of the famous hoagie establishment and guarded customers. He said that the guards protecting patrons have been certified by the State of Pennsylvania to perform the duties required of security professionals. Many of these individuals have either military or law enforcement backgrounds. In other words, these aren’t random dudes off Monster or Indeed. These are guys who know exactly what they are doing and perform at the highest level of their industry.

Landers commented that the threat of violence on the street is so pervasive right now that many local businesses are being forced to drop a load of extra cash to try and keep both workers and their customer base safe. This is money that many of these smaller companies can’t really afford to part with. So, in light of that, they are forced to offset the cost, which means raising prices for goods and services. And that’s a drain on the bottom line, as it will inevitably reduce business and profit. Reduced profits mean jobs being cut. The company downsizes instead of expanding. The economy of the whole city takes a punch to the gut.

All of this is because leftists, desperate to remain in power, are doing their best to ensure criminals get off lightly for their behavior so they can ultimately restore their right to vote and fluff up their voter rolls. Gross, right?

Related: Far-Left Philly Lawyer Shocked, Shocked to Discover His Son Is Accused Terrorist

The Philly Voice stated in a recent report that, back in 2015, Jim’s West was the target of several armed robbers who ended up only getting $215 in cash out of the register and from customers who were patronizing the establishment at the time.

One of the customers weighed in on the armed guards, saying, “If it deters it (crime), I can’t complain. I’m not a big fan of guns, but I get it.”

Another individual, likely a bonehead liberal, said that seeing an armed guard “walking around with a machine gun, it’s not family-friendly.”

I hate to break it to this person, but given the crime rate in Philly, I’d say the whole city is no longer “family friendly.”