President Obama gave an interview to the New York Times that was published Sunday saying that he would consider it a failure if the nation of Israel was more vulnerable because of his actions as president.
“Look, Israel is a robust, rowdy democracy. … We share so much. We share blood, family. … And part of what has always made the U.S.-Israeli relationship so special is that it has transcended party, and I think that has to be preserved,” the President told the Times’ Thomas Friedman. “There has to be the ability for me to disagree with a policy on settlements, for example, without being viewed as … opposing Israel. There has to be a way for Prime Minister Netanyahu to disagree with me on policy without being viewed as anti-Democrat, and I think the right way to do it is to recognize that as many commonalities as we have, there are going to be strategic differences. And I think that it is important for each side to respect the debate that takes place in the other country and not try to work just with one side. … But this has been as hard as anything I do because of the deep affinities that I feel for the Israeli people and for the Jewish people. It’s been a hard period.”
The President even said he took things personally when people would comment he and his administration were trying to undermine Israel.
“It has been personally difficult for me to hear … expressions that somehow … this administration has not done everything it could to look out for Israel’s interest — and the suggestion that when we have very serious policy differences, that that’s not in the context of a deep and abiding friendship and concern and understanding of the threats that the Jewish people have faced historically and continue to face,” the President said.
The agreement has been met with scathing criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who says the deal paves the way for Iran to have a nuclear bomb. Netanyahu also alluded to the idea that the deal was not done with Israel’s interested in mind.
President Obama acknowledged that Netanyahu and the Israeli people “have every right to be concerned about Iran. This is a regime that at the highest levels has expressed the desire to destroy Israel, that has denied the Holocaust, that has expressed venomous anti-Semitic ideas and is a big country with a big population and has a sophisticated military. So Israel is right to be concerned about Iran, and they should be absolutely concerned that Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon.”
The President continued to say the United States’ interest in the region is not oil but rather that all nations in the area live together in peace.
A new drug-resistant strain of food poisoning has arrived in the United States via travelers from abroad.
The disease, shigella, is a bacteria that infects intestines. The disease causes cramps and rectal pain, bloody or mucus-laced diarrhea and vomiting. The CDC reported 243 cases in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
About 20 percent of the people infected with the bacteria needed to be hospitalized.
The regular drug-impacted version of the disease, shigellosis, impacts half a million Americans every year.
“If rates of resistance become this high, in more places, we’ll have very few options left for treating Shigella with antibiotics by mouth,” says epidemiologist Anna Bowen, who led the study.
The disease of very infectious. At few at 10 germs can cause an infection.
The drug resistant strain has found in 32 states from May 2014 to February 2015 in people who had connection to international travel.
Two female roommates in Queens, New York are charged with plotting a terrorist attack on American soil.
Noelle Velentzas, 28 and Asia Siddiqui, 31, are both U.S. citizens. The complaint against them was unsealed Thursday at Federal District Court in Brooklyn.
“The investigation has revealed that Velentzas espouses violent jihadist beliefs and has repeatedly expressed an interest in terrorist attacks committed within the United States,” the complaint stated.
A source told Fox News the women were plotting to use pressure cooker bombs similar to the ones used in the Boston Marathon bombings. They were also in possession of propane tanks along with instructions on how to turn them into bombs.
Both of the women had “repeated contact with members of the foreign terrorist organization al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.” One of the women said that Osama Bin Laden was her “hero”.
In communications with terrorists, Velentzas asked why they would need to come to the middle east when there were plenty of opportunities for “pleasing Allah” in the U.S.
The women face life in prison if convicted on all charges.
Rev. Robert H. Schuller, the founder of the television ministry “Hour of Power” that reached millions around the world, died Thursday at the age of 88.
Schuller had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer in August 2013.
“My father-in-law passed away peacefully early this morning. He was a great Dad and a great man of God,” said Schuller’s daughter-in-law, Donna Schuller, in a Twitter message.
Schuller and his wife Arvella started a ministry in 1955 with $500. He would preach from the roof of a concession stand at a drive-in theater near Los Angeles. The church had a motto of “come as you are in the family car.” They had their own building by 1961 and began the “Hour of Power” broadcast in 1970.
In 1980, Schuller built the iconic ‘Crystal Cathedral” that was seen in the “Hour of Power” broadcasts.
Schuller is remembered as a missionary who was called to reach people who had distanced themselves from church. His mission of “find a need and fill it, find a hurt and heal it” has brought millions help and healing.
A new study shows that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and will surpass Christianity by the middle of the century.
The study from the Pew Research Center says that the only religion that won’t see increases in numbers by 2050 is Buddhism. Islam will be the only religion that increases faster than the world’s population on the whole.
Christianity and Islam will obtain equal status by 2050 according to the study.
The study showed bad news for Christianity in North America. The number of Christians in the United States will decline from 78 percent of the population to around 66 percent by 2050.
Muslims, “other religions” and those who are not affiliated with any religion will see the largest increases. The study predicts there will be more Muslims than Jews in the U.S. by 2050.
The study attributes the increase to Muslim women having the highest fertility rate with 3.1 children per woman. Christians are second with 2.7 per woman. The highest percentage of youth are Muslim at 34 percent compared to 27 percent for Christians.
Most Americans say that there is value in attending church while at the same time saying they believe the church is dying.
The survey from Lifeway Research showed that nearly 9 in 10 Americans say attendance at church is acceptable and almost two-thirds think it’s admirable. Even non-religious people said by an 80% rating that church attendance was acceptable and 43% called it admirable.
However, most of those believe the church is declining in attendance and influence.
“Americans have a much more optimistic view of the people and practice of attending church than they do of the health of the church,” said Scott McConnell vice president of LifeWay Research. “Church attendance is much like regular exercise and driving the speed limit. People do not live out everything they admire.”
The survey found that the biggest groups who consider church attendance unusual or not important were those of younger ages. The survey says that those attending church are now more likely to do it out of choice rather than feeling pressure to attend by society.
“The longevity of the Christian church proves it is not a fad,” said McConnell. “Some Americans feel cultural expectations to attend church, but our recent research shows that those who actually do attend hold more closely to the teachings of Jesus Christ.”
A new report from the Anti-Defamation League shows that anti-Semitic attacks in the United States jumped 21 percent in the last year.
The shocking statistics counter a ten year decline in attacks on Jews.
Abraham Foxman of the ADL says that “The United States still continues to be unique in history” when it comes to being a safe place for Jews. However, the rise in incidents raises concern because 40 percent of the world’s Jews live in the U.S.
“It’s still different here than anywhere else, but don’t take anything for granted, and be concerned,” Foxman said.
The ADL researchers say that the rise is likely connected to the 50-day war where Islamic terrorists were attacking Israel. Some of the incidents that were quoted in the report include vandals painting “Jews are killing innocent children” on a gate of a Jewish summer camp and spray painting “God Bless Gaza” on a synagogue in Massachusetts.
2014 also included a fatal shooting outside a Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas by an avowed anti-Semite.
An Ohio school board has voted not to place a plaque of the Ten Commandments that was donated by the class of 1956 back in the high school.
The plaque was removed after a complaint from a parent who kept their identity hidden.
The Marion City School Board voted to “indefinitely loan” the plaque to the Marion County Historical Society for display so that it won’t be placed inside the high school.
The removal sparked outrage in the community. Residents spoke up in favor of restoring the plaque within the school.
“It was a gift and it was a very nice gift, and I would like to see it stay,” 1956 graduate Bob McQuiston told those gathered, according to the Marion Star.
“I’m ashamed of Marion City Schools right now,” stated parent Sheri Cook.
“What’s so dangerous about the Ten Commandments?” resident Phillip Bates asked.
The board hid behind their legal counsel who said that they should not restore the plaque.
A new proposal in the Connecticut legislature would legalize physician-assisted suicide in the state.
A public hearing was held last week to debate the matter. One of the pro-death speakers was Rep. Kelly Luxenberg (D-Manchester) whose father committed suicide by drowning himself after a battle with Parkinson’s disease.
“He never learned to swim and was intensely fearful of the water. So there is an even sadder irony in the way in which he chose to die,” she told the Judiciary Committee and those gathered. “Parkinson’s stripped my father of a life with dignity. Wouldn’t it have been great if in death his dignity could have been regained?”
Pro-life speakers also had their say before the Committee.
“People with disabilities, advocates against elder abuse are rightly concerned that the ‘right to die’ could become a ‘duty to die,’” Peter Wolfgang of the Family Institute of Connecticut told those gathered.
“Is it acceptable for someone’s life to be shortened because people may be actually on a wrong prognosis, or because they have been pressed to make this final move?” asked Cathy Ludlum of Second Thoughts Connecticut, who is disabled.
The bill would allow a doctor to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to the patient who would then ingest it on their own to end their life after submitting two requests to a physician and having two witnesses unrelated to the patient review the case and be present for the administration of the procedure.
President Obama surprised supporters of an American pastor imprisoned in Iran for his faith by issuing a call for his release.
The President sent a recorded address to the Iranian people on the holiday Nowruz. On that holiday, prisoners are traditionally set free or given reduced sentences. The President said in his address that Pastor Abedini should be released along with other Americans who are being held in Iranian prisons.
“Saeed Abedini of Boise, Idaho has spent two and a half years detained in Iran on charges related to his religious beliefs,” he said. “He must be returned to his wife and two young children, who needlessly continue to grow up without their father.”
Saeed’s wife, Naghmeh Abedini, has met with leaders of the United Nations to have the U.N. secure her husband’s release. The U.N.’s Human Rights Council is now examining the situation to see how they can help obtain Abedini’s release.