By William Koenig
There had been no major hurricanes or tropical storms during the Atlantic season just short of three weeks into September 2022. This has been one of the calmest hurricane/tropical storm seasons on record. However, things have changed this past week.
Biden and Lapid headed to the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday and Thursday respectively this week, and both stated their full support of two-states—an Israeli and Palestinian state. The right wing in Israel were outraged.
Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico and left 1 million without power. In 2017 during the month of Elul, there were three record-setting hurricanes: Harvey (when Jared Kushner was having private meetings throughout the Middle East on God’s covenant land), Irma (as the Trump Administration was preparing for talks with Middle East leaders on the land of Israel at the U.N.) and the Category 5 Hurricane Maria that sat on Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, when President Trump had three separate meetings with King Abdullah of Jordan, Egyptian President El-Sisi and PA leader Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his support of the two-state plan as hurricane warnings were issued Thursday night for parts of the Atlantic Canada coast, and forecasters with the country’s hurricane center warned that Fiona has the chance to be a “potential landmark weather event” for the country. (Details below.)
As Hurricane Fiona was moving north-northwest in the Atlantic, a tropical depression developed early Friday in the Caribbean and is expected to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast somewhere between Louisiana and Florida at the end of next week.
Biden, Lapid and Trudeau on Israel’s land
Joe Biden stated this:
“We will continue to advocate for lasting negotiated peace between the Jewish and democratic state of Israel and the Palestinian people,” Biden says toward the end of a roughly 30-minute speech that focused largely on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine along with climate change.
“The United States is committed to Israel’s security. Full stop. A negotiated two-state solution remains in our view the best way to ensure Israel’s security and prosperity . . . and give the Palestinians a state to which they are entitled.”
Biden on Twitter: “I welcome @IsraeliPM Lapid's courageous statement at the U.N. General Assembly: ‘An agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples, is the right thing for Israel’s security, for Israel’s economy, and for the future of our children.’ I could not agree more.”
Yair Lapid stated this:
Speaking on his largest stage since becoming prime minister three months ago, and most Israelis supported a peaceful Palestinian state alongside Israel. Yair Lapid decried Iranian antisemitism, urged the world to counter Tehran’s nuclear ambitions with a “credible military threat,” touted Israel’s peace agreements with regional neighbors and said he
“An agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples, is the right thing for Israel’s security, for Israel’s economy and for the future of our children,” he declared.
Lapid said Israel had only a single condition to Palestinian statehood: “That a future Palestinian state will be a peaceful one. That it will not become another terror base from which to threaten the well-being and the very existence of Israel. That we will have the ability to protect the security of all the citizens of Israel, at all times.”
Justin Trudeau:
“Canada is supportive of Prime Minister Lapid’s speech today, and we will continue to promote lasting peace and security in the region,” Trudeau wrote.
On Twitter: “A two-state solution—with Israelis and Palestinians living in peace, security, and dignity—is in everyone’s best interest. Canada is supportive of Prime Minister @YairLapid’s speech today, and we will continue to promote lasting peace and security in the region.”
Alex Traiman is CEO and Jerusalem Bureau Chief of Jewish News Syndicate:
“By officially calling for ‘an agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples,’ Prime Minister Yair Lapid has changed the election paradigm from ‘anybody but Netanyahu’ back to the issue that has divided Israel’s left and right since Yitzhak Rabin signed the infamous Oslo Accords in 1993.”
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The Major Storms: Fiona and Tropical Depression 9
Puerto Rico: Hurricane Fiona dumps nearly 30 inches of rain on island - KHOU
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Hurricane Fiona could be ‘most intense storm on record’ to slam into Atlantic Canada
Hurricane warnings were issued Thursday night for parts of the Atlantic Canada coast and forecasters with the country’s hurricane center warned that Fiona has the chance to be a “potential landmark weather event” for the country.
CNN: “This could be Canada’s version of (Hurricane) Sandy,” said Chris Fogarty, a meteorologist for Canada’s hurricane center, pointing to the size and intensity of Fiona and its combination of hurricane and winter-storm characteristics. Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states and all of the eastern seaboard, causing an estimated $78.7 billion in damage.
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All eyes on southern Caribbean for next tropical threat to the US; Major hurricane threat looms - Accuweather
Tropical Depression Nine developed in the central Caribbean on Friday morning, and it could become the next named tropical storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season later on Friday or Saturday morning. It is likely to become the first threat from a major hurricane to the United States this season after it makes the trek from the Caribbean into the eastern Gulf of Mexico, putting Florida in harm’s way, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
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With call for Palestinian state at UN, Lapid has defined Israel’s upcoming fifth election
September 22, 2022 - JNS
Koenig: Excellent insight from my friend Alex Traiman is CEO and Jerusalem Bureau Chief of Jewish News Syndicate.
By officially calling for “an agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples,” Prime Minister Yair Lapid has changed the election paradigm from “anybody but Netanyahu” back to the issue that has divided Israel’s left and right since Yitzhak Rabin signed the infamous Oslo Accords in 1993.
(September 22, 2022 / JNS) With just 29 words, from the stage at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, temporary caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid may have completely changed Israel’s fifth election landscape from the first four election cycles over the past two-and-a-half years.
From the podium of one of the world’s largest international diplomatic forums, Lapid stated, “An agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples, is the right thing for Israel’s security, for Israel’s economy and for the future of our children.”
To understand the impact of this statement on the Israeli political landscape, it is important to review how Lapid, who has never—yet—come even close to winning an Israeli election as a candidate for prime minister, came to be the one representing Israel on the world stage to begin with.
Israel is soon set to go to its fifth election cycle in less than three years. The first four inconclusive elections all focused on one issue and one issue alone: whether then-reigning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was fit to continue serving as Israel’s premier, amidst a slew of corruption charges that likely would not hold weight in American or other Western courtrooms.
For Alex’s full article: JNS
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Week in the News:
Amid wave of Palestinian terror, leading US diplomat reaffirms commitment to two-state solution
September 15, 2022 - JNS
PM to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah after landing in New York for UN summit
September 20, 2022 - Times of Israel
Seeking full membership, Abbas says it’s UN’s ‘last chance’ to salvage peace role
September 20, 2022 - Times of Israel
At UN, Biden reaffirms commitment to two-state solution for Israelis, Palestinians
September 21, 2022 - Times of Israel
At UN, Lapid calls for two-state solution, says world choosing ‘easy option’ on Iran
September 22, 2022 - Times of Israel
Biden, Trudeau, welcome Lapid’s statement on the two-state solution
September 22-23, 2022 - Jerusalem Post
Biden lauds ‘courageous’ Lapid call for two-states as US groups push for peace talks
September 22-23, 2022 - Times of Israel