Saturday Links

From Ian:

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Palestinian refugees burn Hezbollah aid

Lebanon: Angry Palestinians set fire Thursday to humanitarian aid donated by Hezbollah in Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, citing the party’s role alongside the regime in Syria’s civil war.
A number of refugees gathered in front of the Kifah School in the camp and held banners explaining their decision to burn the boxes of aid, which Hezbollah is distributing in a number of Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
“We don’t want assistance soaked in the blood of the Syrian people,” read one of the signs.

U.S. warned Europe of Hezbollah operations before terror attacks last year

The United States warned European governments about an “increased operational tempo” by Hezbollah there months before a wave of global terror attacks by the Lebanese extremist group last year, a senior administration official said Friday.
“We were already in the spring of 2012 having numerous conversations with European governments about the danger that Hezbollah was posing, and that was on the basis of information we were aware of that indicated an increased operational tempo in Europe,” the official said, requiring anonymity even though he was speaking on a conference call for reporters organized by administration press officers.

Hamas's Mashaal: Assad Refused to Accept Political Solution

The Hamas terrorist group left Syria because President Bashar Al-Assad refused to consider a political solution to the conflict in the country, its leader Khaled Mashaal said. !!

British Inaction on Threats Risks the Rise of Anti-Semitism, Israelis Say

Israel is becoming a bit fed up with Britain’s inaction when it comes to combating threats against its officials and other pro-Israel entities, and the Jewish state is beginning to voice its discontent in the public sphere.
“You have to wonder at what point does inaction become anti-Semitism,” one Israeli official told the Daily Telegraph. “If Israelis of an Argentinian background threatened the British ambassor in Israel to the point that he could not make speeches, we would be getting demands from the Foreign Office to step in. Yet the government has done nothing to prevent the threats we face since it took office.”

David Cameron backed organisation had Woolwich suspect as speaker

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron is a founding signatory of the far-left, extremist Unite Against Fascism (UAF) organisation, which has previously attacked political opponents with darts and clawhammers and has been involved in many violent confrontations with the British police.
In the video footage, Michael Adebolajo, can be seen whipping up a largely young Muslim crowd attending a UAF demonstration outside Harrow mosque on the eighth anniversary of 9/11 before they violently attacked the British police. The purple banners of UAF can clearly be seen at the demonstration.

French Media Embraces Film that Promotes ‘Zionist Conspiracy’ Theory

A new French film being promoted in French media claims of a worldwide conspiracy by “oligarchs” to claim a “new world order,” and the Jews are at the center of the story.
Advertisements for the film, “Oligarchy and Zionism,” directed by Beatrice Pignede, have even been accepted by respected French media outlets such as Le Figaro, Le Nouvel Observateur, and Liberation.

ADL to Create Global Anti-Semitism Index with $7.5 Million, 3-Year Grant

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said it has received a three-year, $7.5 million grant to create a Global Anti-Semitism Index, an annual barometer of anti-Semitic attitudes around the world.
The new index will measure anti-Semitic attitudes in 50 countries around the world, with additional countries being added in each subsequent year. The project builds on ADL’s past polling efforts, first introduced in 1964. Its polls have been conducted regularly in the United States and in as many as 12 countries in Europe since 2002.

Pro-Israel New Yorkers Protest 92nd St Y’s anti-Israel Speaker

Richard Allen of JCC Watch said, "There has been a pattern - first with [BDS activist] Roger Waters and now with Alice Walker. All of our efforts to speak with the 92nd Street Y administrators have been met with closed doors, closed ears and closed minds."

Istanbul residents accuse police of ‘massacre’ at protest against park demolition

Turkish riot police used tear gas and water cannons Friday to end a peaceful sit-in by hundreds of people trying to prevent trees from being uprooted in an Istanbul park. The dawn raid ignited a furious anti-government protest that took over the city’s main square and spread to other cities, culminating in what Turkish Facebook users described as a “massacre” which unfolded amid clouds of tear gas.

Protests Show Turks Can't Tolerate Erdogan Anymore

Despite having its genesis in the Gezi Park movement, the dynamics of the protests now reflect many of the fundamental antagonisms in Turkey's imperfect democracy. Erdogan's divisive rhetoric and his penchant for authoritarian rule have steadily eroded the party's support from small constituencies that it could once count on.

IDF Blog: Chief of Staff and Soldiers Congratulate the IDF on its 65th Birthday


Strong US Support for Israel is Deeply Rooted

The special ties between the US and the Jewish State are uniquely driven by people-to-people, bottom-up relationship, shaped by the American public more than by the American government. US ties with the Jewish state have been exceptionally-forged by shared Judeo-Christian values.

Alicia Keys to perform in Israel despite boycott calls

Pop star Alicia Keys announced Friday that she plans to go ahead with her scheduled July 4 concert in Tel Aviv, despite calls to cancel the show for political reasons.
“I look forward to my first visit to Israel. Music is a universal language that is meant to unify audiences in peace and love, and that is the spirit of our show,” Keys said in a statement to the New York Times.