At the first of several expected Democratic primary debates for the 2020 presidential elections, issues pertaining to the Middle East took a backseat to domestic concerns.
The Iran deal was the only issue related to Israel or the U.S.-Israel relationship discussed at Wednesday’s debate. Other such matters, including anti-Semitism and Trump’s pro-Israel policies, such as moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem or recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, were omitted.
Among the 10 Democrats on the debate stage on Wednesday night, when asked what is today’s greatest geopolitical threat, only Sen. Amy Klobuchar mentioned Iran.

Several of the suspects allegedly involved in attack on migrant group in Chemnitz; authorities say men indicted on suspicion of forming a terrorist organization

First Election Poll Including Ehud Barak’s New PartyA new Knesset poll that takes into account Ehud Barak’s new party shows that there is a chance that it will become a key player – At the top: Likud and Blue and White.
Read more on Yeshiva World News

Japan – World leaders attending a Group of 20 summit in Japan that began Friday are clashing over the values that have served for decades as the foundation of their cooperation as they face calls to fend off threats to economic growth. “A free and open economy is the basis for peace and prosperity,” Japanese [...]

Ten 2020 presidential candidates faced off in round two of the first Democratic debate, sparring over inequality, immigration and race.
WATCH:

Osaka, Japan – For many he’s an international pariah, but you wouldn’t know it by the lavish reception Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has received at the G-20 summit this week. He beamed as he stood front and center, sandwiched between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, for a group [...]

U.S. President Donald Trump is “a talented person” who “knows very well what his voters expect from him,” according to Vladimir Putin.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the Russian president referred to Trump as “Donald” several times and said: “Mr. Trump is not a career politician … I do not accept many of his methods when it comes to addressing problems. But do you know what I think? I think that he is a talented person. He knows very well what his voters expect from him.”
Putin also said in the interview this week that liberalism had “become obsolete” and “has outlived its purpose.”

The latest release from one of the Holy Land's most beloved filmmakers is already collecting accolades -- partly, he tells ToI, because he chose Israel's film scene over Hollywood

Former top defense officials under the PM assail him over the agreement; IDF nabs Gazan carrying knife who crossed the border

Mohammed bin Salman has been implicated in the brutal extrajudicial killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

Paris – Henriette Cohen, France’s oldest survivor of Nazi Germany’s Auschwitz concentration camp, has died. She was 101. Cohen stayed silent about the horrors she lived through at the death camp in Poland for four decades before finding the strength to describe it to younger generations. She said it was necessary to speak out so [...]

A two-year-old boy who drowned in a swimming pool in Gush Etzion was declared dead Friday.
The child had drowned Wednesday in a private pool in the town of Meitzad, leaving him in critical condition until he ultimately succumbed to his injuries early Friday morning.
The levaya for the boy is took place Friday morning at Har Hamenuchos.
Read more at Arutz Sheva.
{Matzav.com}

Vienna – World powers warned Iran to respect the terms of their nuclear deal in talks on Friday that Tehran said were the “last chance” to save the pact, as Washington vowed to choke off all sales of Iranian oil. “We will sanction any imports of Iranian crude oil… There are right now no oil [...]

Osaka, Japan – With a smirk and a finger point, President Donald Trump dryly told Russia’s Vladimir Putin “Don’t meddle in the election” in their first meeting since the special counsel concluded that Russia extensively interfered with the 2016 campaign. The tone of the president’s comment, which came after a reporter asked if he would [...]

Bahrain recalled its ambassador to Iraq on Friday after protesters stormed the embassy compound in Baghdad on Thursday night.
Around 200 people waving Palestinian and Iraqi flags broke into the building’s courtyard to protest the Gulf nation hosting the US-led ‘Peace to Prosperity’ summit this week.
They burned Israeli and Bahraini flags, and removed the flag from above the building, replacing it with a Palestinian banner.
The Kingdom said it held Iraq responsible for the security of its diplomatic mission.
Read more at i24NEWS.
{Matzav.com}

Member of Gaza-based terror group vows not to 'abandon' Tehran if there's a conflict; Hamas: 'We don’t have to be dragged into a war with Israel' if Iran attacked

The first Democratic debate is over after the second installment featuring the second set of 10 candidates concluded Thursday in Miami.
Below are our winners and losers.
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Winners

Israel and the Gaza-based Islamist group Hamas struck a truce overnight Thursday, after tensions flared over the launch of dozens of incendiary balloons into Israel and clashes between Palestinians and the IDF during protests.
Official sources in Gaza told Israeli news outlet Ynet the fishing zone, which has been a major point of contention, was to be reopened to up to 15 nautical miles, starting at 10 am. Israel also agreed to return 60 confiscated boats. Fuel delivery to Gaza’s power plant was also set to resume.
In return, Hamas agreed to rein in the protests along the Gaza-Israel border that often result in clashes with Israeli troops as well as hold back from launching the devices that have sparked dozens of fires across Israel.

Double Jeopardy Fight Looms After Manafort Pleads Not GuiltyPaul Manafort, the imprisoned former chairman of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, pleaded not guilty Thursday to New York state mortgage fraud charges that could keep him locked up even if Trump pardons him for federal crimes uncovered during the probe of Russian election meddling.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) went directly after Joe Biden’s record on civil rights Thursday night in one of the most dramatic moments of the presidential debate as Democratic rivals seek to claw into the former vice president’s front-runner status in the race.
Biden and Harris clashed sharply over Biden’s record on civil rights after Harris interjected to bring up his controversial recent remarks about working with segregationist Sens. John Eastland (D-Miss.) and Herman Talmadge (D-Ga.) early in his Senate career.
Harris, breaking into the conversation out of turn over the objection of NBC moderator Chuck Todd, said she didn’t think Biden was racist himself but said him invoking the names of two senators who built their careers on segregation was “hurtful.”

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