6/22 Links: The Australian Greens Party Ship of Hate, PA PM Unresigns

From Ian:

---

The Australian Newspaper Editorial: All aboard the ship of fools

Australia's most notorious Holocaust denier was invited by a NSW Greens MP to join a boat trip on Sydney Harbour last month to raise funds for Gaza.
Greens MLC David Shoebridge invited Fredrick Toben - who served prison time for Holocaust denial in Germany in the 1990s and in Australia last decade for contempt of court after breaching an order to refrain from publishing material on his website vilifying Jews - to the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Palestine event.

THE HATE BOAT: Greensparty wanted to go “solidarity” sailing with Nazi holocaust denier

The notorious New South Wales branch of the Greensparty has once again embroiled the party in scandal, following revelations in The Australian that it has forged close ties with the nation’s most infamous Holocaust denier and Nazi, Fredrick Töben.
They even invited him to sail in solidarity to raise funds for Gaza, in protest at Israel’s attempts to stop the flow of weapons and equipment used by terrorists there against Israeli civilians and enemies of the Hamas-led regime there.

CAMERA: Time for 60 Minutes and Jeff Fager to Correct Bethlehem Falsehood


Leaders in Turkey, Egypt and Iran face new 'people power'

Middle Eastern politics, once the exclusive lot of generalissimos, kinglings, aristocrats and clerics, is being wrested by the people with growing aggressiveness.
This is not quite the free, integrated, tolerant and business-minded “New Middle East” that President Shimon Peres prophesied two decades ago, but it is one where governments are increasingly compelled to look inward, listen to the public, dialogue with adversaries and focus on delivering prosperity, mobility, hope and respect. The more this trend will develop, the more Middle Eastern leaders will deal with domestic policy and the more they will lose interest in foreign affairs.

‘Palestinian PM withdraws resignation a day after quitting’

Hamdallah was said to have originally resigned due to “differences over his authorities.” An unnamed Palestinian government spokesman told the website of independent daily Al-Quds that Hamdallah resigned after “his deputies overstepped their authorities.”
Abbas gave Hamdallah two deputies, one for political and one for economic affairs, apparently to make up for his political inexperience.

US Congressmen call for renewed EU push to blacklist Hezbollah

In a statement to The Jerusalem Post, Congressman Eliot Engel (NY-16) said he was "very disappointed" that some countries in the EU "continue to believe that Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization."
"EU-US cooperation on combating global terrorism will continue to face unnecessary obstacles until Hezbollah is properly labeled a terrorist organization, in its entirety," the congressman said. "Nonetheless, I applaud the efforts of the UK, France and Germany, and am confident that this situation will change in the future."

Muslim Brotherhood Targeting Journalists as Anti-Government Protests Near

Egypt’s defence and interior ministers have turned down a proposal by President Mohamed Morsi to prepare security forces for a possible declaration of a state of emergency should planned 30 June anti-government demonstrations turn violent, government sources told Ahram Online on Thursday.

Islamic Preacher: Protesting Against Morsi is a 'Rebellion'

A radical Islamic preacher has warned that participation in the protests scheduled for June 30 against Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is forbidden, the Egyptian-based Al Bawaba reports.
The preacher, Wagdy Ghoneim, reasoned his warning in the fact that Morsi is a legitimately elected president. Those who will join the protests, he warned, are “disbelievers” because the people should obey those in charge of their affairs.

Egyptian activists angry over US envoy's comments

The outrage mounted after Ambassador Anne Patterson said in a speech earlier this week that she is "deeply skeptical" that protests will be fruitful and defended U.S. relations with Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood as necessary because the group is part of the democratically elected Egyptian government.

U.S. has secretly provided arms training to Syria rebels since 2012

The covert U.S. training at bases in Jordan and Turkey, along with Obama's decision this month to supply arms and ammunition to the rebels, has raised hope among the beleaguered Syrian opposition that Washington ultimately will provide heavier weapons as well. So far, the rebels say they lack the weapons they need to regain the offensive in the country's bitter civil war.

Germany-Turkey diplomatic dispute intensifies, both sides summon envoys

Merkel on Monday criticized the crackdown by security forces as “much too strong.” The chancellor also has long been skeptical of Turkey’s ambitions to join the European Union; her coalition government supports continuing membership talks, but this week blocked a decision to move forward the negotiations.

Muslim Lawyers Association opposed to Obama visit

"We will ask the court to review the decision neither to investigate or prosecute and to order them to commence a full investigation in terms of the Rome Statute," MLA attorney Yousha Tayob said.
The MLA said it submitted a complaint to the national director of public prosecutions and the SA Police Service, calling for Obama to be "investigated, charged, arrested, and tried in a South African court for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide".

Memorial to Warsaw Ghetto uprising is vandalized

The entrance to a memorial for the leader of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising was vandalized.
The words “Jude Raus,” meaning “Jews Out,” were discovered Wednesday at the Anielewicz Mound in Warsaw, a monument to commander Mordechai Anielewicz and his fighters.

A New Interactive Map of the Vilna Ghetto Asks: What Good Is History if It Isn’t Told?

reVILNA, a just-launched digital mapping project of the Vilna Ghetto, is the response: a virtual reclamation of the space. Using filters and a search function, visitors to the site can explore the ghetto on their own, or follow built-in storylines—sort of like virtual tours—which are either chronological or topical in nature and include resistance, health, education, government, art and culture, and more. There are more than 200 points (and counting), all painstakingly organized, paired with more than 150 photographs culled from archives around the world.

Greek Cyprus Signs Energy Deal With Israel in Defiance of Turkey

The Greek Cypriot cabinet defied Turkey earlier this week, approving plans to sign a deal with a US-Israeli partnership to build a liquefied natural gas plant on the island to exploit untapped energy riches, AFP reported Friday.
Turkey has objected to the plan, saying the resources should be divided between two sides of the separated island.