Thursday, July 17, 2014
Guardian editor defends Hamas’s right to kill Israelis, AGAIN.
Now, here is the relevant passage from Milne’s latest op-ed, published today (Gaza: this shameful injustice will only end if the cost of it rises, July 16th) at the Guardian:Andrew Bolt: ABC [TV Australia] still blind to the savagery of terrorist group Hamas
So the Palestinians of Gaza are an occupied people, like those in the West Bank, who have the right to resist, by force if they choose – though not deliberately to target civilians. But Israel does not have a right of self-defence over territories it illegally occupies – it has an obligation to withdraw.However, Milne is consistent in both op-eds with regard to one thing: Israel has no right to defend itself from Hamas terror.
While Milne’s justification for the intentional killing of Israelis is not surprising given his history of praising anti-imperialist “resistance movements” across the globe, the mere fact that his latest polemic is consistent with his broader political orientation certainly doesn’t make it any less morally repulsive.
In fact, Israel drops leaflets in targeted areas warning civilians to get out. At times it also gives a knock at the door — a rocket that just makes a loud noise as a warning before the real missiles come.Bloodguilt Over Jews Leads to Blood Libels Against Jews
But Hamas hides its missiles among civilians it conscripts as a human shield — and as propaganda props if they die.
Hamas’s Al Aqsa TV station on July 13 even broadcast a command to residents “to remain in their homes and disregard the demands to leave, however serious the threat may be”.
Then there’s the ABC’s naive belief that Israel is dealing with a rational enemy. Here’s Ferguson again, telling the Israeli spokesman, “you’re going to have to sit down with Hamas in order to secure that solution”.
In fact, Israel can’t talk peace with Hamas when it wants Jews dead and Israel destroyed.
The Hamas charter even declares the time of peace “will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them) ...”
Why does the ABC not recognise a true enemy not just of Jews but of the values of the West?
The Europeans, it seems, are becoming increasingly comfortable with old-fashioned Jew hatred in their midst, whether homegrown or imported.
There's a reason for that. In much of Europe, bloodguilt over the Holocaust still hangs over the heads of the population. According to a 2012 Anti-Defamation League survey of European countries, 45 percent of Austrians, 35 percent of French, 43 percent of Germans, 63 percent of Hungarians and 53 percent of Polish citizens felt that it was "probably true" that "Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust." Many of those who wish to move beyond the Holocaust, therefore, look for a rationale to relieve national guilt -- and what better way to relieve national guilt than to label the Jewish State an aggressor? After all, if the Jews have become the villains, then why spend too much time thinking about their victimization?
Of course, the labeling of Jews as bloodthirsty villains led to the Holocaust in the first place. Adolf Hitler saw the Jews as bloodsuckers driven by greed and dual loyalty. So did much of the rest of Europe. In the minds of those who murdered Jews en masse, Jews had it coming, because, in the words of Hitler: "The struggle for world domination will be fought entirely between us -- between Germans and Jews. All else is facade and illusion."
Michael J. Totten: Hamas is Losing and Everyone Knows it
More than 200 Palestinians have been killed so far in the current round of fighting while the number of dead Israelis amounts to a grand total of one.Guide for the Hasbara Perplexed
That’s almost certainly the reason Hamas rejected the Egypt-proposed cease-fire agreement. So far it has accomplished practically nothing. A small band of serial killers on the West Bank managed to murder more Israelis a couple of weeks ago than Hamas can manage with its entire missile arsenal now.
It’s pathetic, really, and must be extraordinarily humiliating.
25 Short Answers to Tough Questions about IsraelFifth Lesson of the Gaza War: Trust Obama’s Actions, Not His Words
The enemies of Israel frequently use the language of human rights for the most inhuman of purposes. StandwithUs has produced a short, online pamphlet demolishing 25 of these claims masquerading as tough questions. Particularly appropriate now.
It should be part of the armory of anyone who considers themselves to be an advocate for Israel.
Click on this link.
“I cannot condemn strongly enough the actions of Hamas in so brazenly firing rockets in the face of a goodwill effort to offer a ceasefire,” Secretary of State John Kerry declared on July 15.Sixth Lesson of the Gaza War: Obama Should Learn From Canada
Actually, there are a number of things that Secretary Kerry could be doing beyond issuing statements expressing dismay. The Obama Administration could take meaningful actions to show Hamas that there is a political price to be paid for its terrorism against Israel.
The last thing Israel needs is a “truce” with Hamas. The Israelis have had two of those already. A “truce” means Hamas gets several more years to build up its supply of rockets, in preparation for the next round.Bill Clinton says Netanyahu 'could and should' clinch peace deal
And with every new round, Hamas has new rockets that can reach even further and cause even more devastation.
By pressing for “restraint” and a “truce,” Obama and Kerry are, in effect, trying to save Hamas from being crippled or destroyed by Israel. Is that their idea of “having Israel’s back” ?
Now contrast the Obama-Kerry line that with the words of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper this week:
When asked about the current crisis in the South, Clinton chided Hamas for "forcing" Israel to kill Palestinian civilians by "raining rockets down" on the South.Hillary Clinton talks Gaza, media scrutiny on Daily Show
"Hamas was perfectly well aware what would happen if they started raining rockets on Israel," the former president said. "They fired a thousand of them, and they have a strategy designed to force Israel to kill their own civilians so that the rest of the world will condemn them."
"Over the long run it is not good for Israel to keep isolating itself from world opinion because of the absence of a viable peace process," Clinton said. "In the short to medium term, Hamas can inflict terrible public relations damage on Israel by forcing it to kill Palestinian civilians to counter Hamas."
In her first comments on the broken Gaza cease-fire, the former secretary of state expressed sympathy for people in Gaza who are “trapped by their leadership” but also said Israel has a right to defend itself.Jon Stewart Calls Hamas 'Freedom Fighters'
“When I negotiated the cease-fire in November of 2012, it was right on the brink with Israel once again invading Gaza because of the rockets … and the Israelis are absolutely right in saying that they can’t just sit there and let rockets rain down,” Clinton told the Comedy Central host. “They have a missile defense which is working well, but that can’t be certain, and now there are drones, apparently, that are being launched from Gaza.”
Clinton said the Hamas leadership is now viewed as a threat by the Egyptian government, saying that Hamas isn’t interested in making “the situation too much better because that gives them a lot of leverage over the poor people in Gaza.”
With regard to why the Palestinians in Gaza overwhelmingly support and favor the destructive actions of Hamas, Stewart stated the following:Pro-Israel Celebrity Of The Day: Mark Pellegrino
Don't you think they would look at that as they've given a lot of different things a chance, these are the only guys to them that have given any resistance to what their condition is? If you're living in that situation, couldn't you see yourself thinking 'these are our freedom fighters' even if they might be viewed differently.Hillary disagreed with Stewart's assertions, citing that when Israel withdrew from Gaza, Hamas immediately put their efforts towards Israel's destruction. Again, Hillary did not label Hamas' actions as "terrorist."
Actor Mark Pellegrino played Jacob in Lost, and it does not seem lost on him what the sons of Jacob are going through.Norwegian Foreign Minister Experiences Rocket Fire in Ashkelon
He has gone out of his way on Twitter to defend Israel and explain the conflict in a way the Israeli government could learn from.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende experienced what Israelis living in the country’s south go through every day when he had to flee to a bomb shelter because of Gazan rocket fire earlier today. Foreign Minister Brende had traveled to Ashkelon, 12 miles north of Gaza, when rockets fell directly on the city.Political NGOs Push for Another “Goldstone” Pseudo-Investigation
At the time of the rocket fire, Brende and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman were visiting the Barzilai Medical Center, where 16-year-old Yarin Levy, an Ashkelon native, was being treated for shrapnel wounds in his chest due to injuries from a previous rocket. Levy had been on his way home from a barbershop when the rocket and the ensuing shrapnel wounded him.
Following Israel’s response to hundreds of attacks launched from Gaza, the network of international, Palestinian, and Israeli-Arab NGOs have initiated a campaign to replicate the discredited “Goldstone process” of political warfare against Israel, including:Gaza and Israel Conflict Brings out Hitler Fans Around the World
- calling for UN and international “fact-finding missions” to investigate alleged Israeli “war crimes and crimes against humanity”;
- lobbying for International Criminal Court (ICC) “war crimes” cases against Israeli officials;
- promoting arms embargos against Israel.
Pro-Palestine and pro-Hamas people on social media forget Adolf Hitler wanted a supreme Aryan race to dominate the world. The picture perfect person in Hitler's eyes consisted of white skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. Yet, these people cannot help but idolize Hitler with the hashtags #HitlerWasRight and #HitlerDidNothingWrong. People from America, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East tweet this nonsense.British politicians attacking Israel
In the following video you’ll see British politicians from all three major parties lining up to attack Israel.When To Speak Out About Terrorism Raises A "Deeply Inappropriate" Conflict
One wonders to what extent David Cameron can be serious when he states that the United Kingdom is Israel’s allies when so many Members of Parliament are talking about Israeli war crimes.
Here is another window into the state of Australian multiculturalism.Anti-Semitic Incidents Double in UK as Israel Responds to Gaza Rocket Attacks
Vic Alhadeff is chief executive of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies. He is also chair of the NSW Community Relations Commission. Recently he sent an email to "Jewish community members" that according to this report
... criticised the “Hamas terror organisation” for launching rockets on Israeli towns, saying families had been forced into shelters and “children kept from summer camp”
Israel would “do whatever is needed to defend its citizens. All options are on the table”, he said.
He accused Hamas of “war crimes” for “indiscriminately” attacking civilians, claiming in contrast, Israel uses “care to avoid civilian casualties” and “pinpoint technologies to hit the targeted infrastructure”.
And? Go on? Is that all?
This is what you would expect a communal leader with any guts to say and it is entirely consistent with both of his important public roles. Man telling the truth and doing his job. We should be so lucky. We should have him cloned. Move on. Nothing to see here
The Community Security Trust said 47 anti- Semitic incidents had been reported in the first two weeks of July, compared to 58 for all of July 2013, representing “almost double what would be expected.”Paris won’t allow pro-Palestinian marches
At least 30 appeared to be directly linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the group said, adding that it was “especially concerned by incidents in which people attending pro-Palestinian demonstrations have turned anti-Semitic.”
Incidents included a convoy of five cars leaving a pro-Palestinian rally for the Jewish neighborhood of Broughton Park, where they flew Palestinian flags, threw cans and eggs at Jewish pedestrians and yelled “Heil Hitler.”
French authorities are forbidding pro-Palestinian protests in some cities after violence marred a recent march against the violence in Gaza, as Jewish-Muslim tensions in France have reached their highest level in years.Are Israel’s Enemies Losing Ground in the PR War?
Moderates on both sides called Wednesday for calm, and for a halt to fighting in the Mideast. France has Western Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish populations, and Israeli-Palestinian unrest often translates into anger between the communities.
After several thousand pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched peacefully Sunday through Paris, clashes broke out among small groups, including some who attacked synagogues, Jewish stores and neighborhoods. (h/t Canadian Otter)
At the Telegraph, in response to the latest frenzy of Israel bashing, several writers have spoken-up, with a particularly strong piece by Dan Hodges reminding readers that history demonstrates why Israel cannot afford weakness. At the Spectator Rod Liddle authored a post bluntly titled “Will the BBC Accept that Hamas Wants to Kill Lots of Jews?” And Hugo Rifkind, also of the Spectator, went with “If Britain Was Being Shelled, as Israel Now is, How Would We Respond?” Even the left-leaning Independent ran a piece asking why no one cares about Palestinians starved by Assad. But perhaps the most blistering attack on the anti-Israel crowed came from Brendon O’Neil with his outspoken editorial: “There’s Something Very Ugly in This Rage Against Israel: the line between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism gets thinner every day.”Daily Mirror: It’s Not the Popcorn That’s Rotten
The point is that–despite how hostile the British media has typically been to Israel–if these writers can come to see the campaign against Israel for what it is, then ultimately any reasonable person, confronted with the reality of this phenomenon, should be capable of seeing the inherent bigotry of this hateful movement. And a similar shift could well emerge at the diplomatic level too. The way in which the Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird recently slammed the UN human rights commissioner for her disingenuous words against Israel’s military operation, or the fact that Australia’s Ambassador Dave Sharma took to twitter to highlight the reality of Hamas rockets, is all a far cry from the atmosphere in 2009.
Under the headline ‘Israelis pictured eating POPCORN and clapping as they watch deadly bombardment of Gaza,” the Daily Mirror reports on a tweet by Danish journalist Allan Sørensen accusing Israeli residents of Sderot of turning the conflict in Gaza into some form of sick entertainment. The picture makes it appear that the Israelis are enjoying watching Palestinian civilians burn under an attack using white phosphorus.New York Times Graphic Turns Conflict into Game of Numbers
But there’s something wrong here. Actually a few things are wrong.
UPDATE
Only hours after the publication of this critique and in a response to a complaint from HonestReporting, the Daily Mirror appears to have removed not only the offending photo but the article in its entirety.
While the daily articles that contain the graphics may provide some of the necessary context for any given day, the cumulative graphic reduces the conflict to just two bits of information – rockets (or targets) and deaths. It places an emphasis on those two figures as central to understanding what is taking place.Britain's top selling newspaper the Sun is stirring up the anti-Israel frenzy
And if the Palestinian death count is so much higher than the Israeli count, the Palestinians would seem to be the ones most worthy of sympathy.
To understand how Britain got this way in a such a short time you need to know the role of the Sun newspaper and not just the BBC. Plenty of people know about - and even complain - of the anti-Israel bias at the Guardian and the Independent. But those 'high-brow' newspapers have minuscule readership compared to the populist Sun - by far Britain's largest circulation newspaper. Ever since James Murdoch (known to have none of his father Rupert's sympathies with Israel) took over the reins of News Corp Europe and Asia, and the Saudis (in the form of Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal) and other Arabs bought a significant share of the company the supposedly 'conservative' Sun has done far more to deligitimize Israel than all the others newspapers combined.BBC’s Doucet fails to inform audiences of terrorist activity in Gaza port
In other words, Doucet’s claim that “It’s not clear what the target was at this port” is once again shown to be nowhere near as clear-cut as she tries to make out and importantly, her failure to provide audiences with information on the topic of terrorist activity in the area from which she reports means that they are unable to appreciate how and why an event such as the accidental deaths of children may have come about.BBC’s Knell dumbs down the Gaza Strip economic situation (spoiler: it’s Israel’s fault)
Notably too, Doucet’s citation of casualty figures – along with the report’s synopsis as it appears on the BBC News website – fails to qualify them with any reference to the nature and reliability of their source and fails to distinguish between combatants and civilians.
In fact the only restrictions in place are those prohibiting the import of weapons (as, one imagines, is the case at most international borders) and dual-use goods which can be used for military purposes to the Gaza Strip. Even those dual-use goods can be imported into the Gaza Strip with special co-ordination and on condition that their use is supervised. All other goods can enter the Gaza Strip from Israel freely.Why doesn’t the BBC tell audiences about Gaza’s shortfall missiles?
Notably, neither Knell nor any other BBC journalist has in the ten days since the conflict began seen fit to inform audiences that humanitarian aid has continued to be supplied to the Gaza Strip throughout the entire time.
As recently as June 24th a three year-old girl was killed and other members of her family injured when a shortfall missile fired by terrorists hit their home in Beit Lahiya. That incident (along with others) was not reported by the BBC at the time.DailyBeast: ‘Hamas Has Already Won Its Rocket War With Israel’
The BBC does however know from previous experience that misfired and shortfall missiles cause the deaths of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Despite that, in all the BBC’s extensive reporting of Operation Protective Edge that we have seen so far, no attempt has been made to inform BBC audiences of the factor of shortfall missiles and to clarify to them that the casualty figures it quotes will – according to the source of its figures – include civilian deaths caused by missiles fired by terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip.
Lake explains that when Hamas initially gained control of Gaza in 2007, its rockets were limited to a range of 25 miles, unable to hit even nearby Tel Aviv. However, in the last week, Hamas' missiles have ranged more than 90 miles, hitting the outskirts of Haifa and almost reaching Dimona, the center of Israel's nuclear program.German Soccer Star May Give Bonus To Children Of Gaza
"The attacks haven’t exactly been deadly. Israel’s rocket and missile defense systems have intercepted those rockets in danger of hitting population centers. Other Hamas rockets have landed in open fields. And Hamas still lacks technology to aim their missiles in a sophisticated way. In contrast, there are more than 200 Palestinians who have been killed in the fighting whereas the first Israeli was killed in the conflict on Tuesday.
But even still, Hamas can claim today something it could not before this conflict began: No one in Israel is safe from their missiles."
According to the Middle East Monitor, one of Germany’s World Cup winners, Mesut Ozil, will be donating $600,000 of his winnings to the children of Gaza.Peter Beaumont in Gaza: 20 articles, 18,800 words & not one report on Hamas human shields
Ozil made headlines throughout the social media world after Germany’s win against Argentina when he began to recite the Quran. He was also the player who refused to shake hands with a FIFA official because of the man’s support for Israel. When Ramadan began during the Tournament, he did not fast.
The International Business Times writes that Ozil, who is of Turkish descent, has yet to confirm if he will be donating the money.
In 20 reports (and over 18,886 words) filed by Beaumont since the start of hostilities on July 8th (see links at the end of this post), most of which highlighted (often in heartbreaking detail) civilian casualties in Gaza, he has never contextualized his accounts of Palestinian deaths by informing readers about Hamas’s cynical use of this illegal tactic.BBC defends coverage of Israeli air strikes in Gaza after bias accusations
He not only hasn’t filed a report on the use of human shields (a war crime under international law), but there are actually only four references to the term (in any context) in his 20 reports, two passages which simply quote Israeli officials who “claim” that Hamas uses this tactic, and two additional references which blandly characterize the independent actions of Palestinian activists.
The BBC has defended its coverage of the latest Israeli air strikes in Gaza after it was criticised in a 45,000-strong online petition organised by a pro-Palestinian group and faced a protest outside its London headquarters.How to Prove a Hamas/Gaza Photo is Fake (2012)
The online open letter to BBC director general Tony Hall, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, claimed the corporation’s news programmes were “entirely devoid of context or background” in their coverage of the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The petition, signed by Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, Ken Loach, Brian Eno and Jeremy Hardy, accused the corporation of pro-Israeli bias and said it would “like to remind the BBC that Gaza is under Israeli occupation and siege [and] that Israel is bombing a refugee population”.
Inside Brandeis’s Anti-Israel Listserv
Brandeis University officials are working to distance themselves from a virulently anti-Israel internal listserv that shows a group of professors lashing out at the Jewish state in bizarre terms and attacking Brandeis’ Jewish leadership.Expecting anti-Israel violence on campuses this fall
Professors on the faculty listserv shared false stories about Israel harvesting organs, claimed the Benghazi attacks were “not terrorism,” and used staunchly anti-Semitic terms to describe Brandeis’s Jewish leaders.
Campus activists exposed portions of the “Concerned” listserv on Tuesday, but those releases just scratch the surface of a voluminous email cache that shows longtime Brandeis professors engaging in vitriolic attacks on Jews, Israel, and even the Obama administration, according to a large number of emails provided to the Washington Free Beacon.
From confrontations with professors, to dorm storming, to vandalism, to publication of a Nazi cartoon, to disruptions of speeches and demands for Zionists to get off campus, to takeovers of student government offices, to demands for a new Intifada, to intimidation of Jewish students, to defacing pro-Israel posters, to seeking disqualification of pro-Israel students from student government, to threats from faculty at one college to boycott me, and so on.Judge’s Jewishness cited in terrorist deportation case
The tactic was to completely dehumanize Israeli Jews, and BDS gets support from some influential faculty in such endeavors.
The campus BDS movement came unhinged this past academic year in part because of failures on campus, leading to calls for “direct action.”
And that was before the July 2014 Gaza conflict.
A woman convicted in Israel in connection with a 1969 terrorist bombing filed a motion to recuse the judge presiding over her deportation case because of his Jewish community ties.‘Tyrant’ quitting Tel Aviv over rocket fire
Odeh is facing charges that she failed to note her Israeli conviction when she applied to enter the United States in 1993 and then when she became a citizen in 2004.
“Clearly, one who has been a life-long supporter and promoter of Israel and has deep ties to the State of Israel spanning over 50 years, who no doubt believes that Israel is a great democracy and protector of human rights, cannot be ‘reasonably’ said to be impartial when these claims of torture and illegality are raised by a Palestinian defendant,”
The television drama, which was co-created by Israeli writer Gideon Raff, will move its operations to Istanbul, Turkey, Variety reported Wednesday. Air raid sirens and ongoing rocket fire from Gaza have disrupted the production, and members of the cast and crew have posted on social media about the stresses of running to bomb shelters.Get your ‘slightly used’ rocket debris
The show’s producers reportedly hope to return the production to Israel if the situation allows it.
“Tyrant,” which airs on the American cable network FX, is set in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Abbudin.
Meanwhile, executives of the USA Network’s “Dig,” which had been filming in and around Jerusalem, are waiting to determine their next move, according to a report in TV Guide. The show delayed its return to shooting from a hiatus because of the current violence; the break will be extended by several days.
Uri Blau reports for Mashable that an Israeli named Yochay Benarie uploaded a picture of the debris on Monday with an explanation that it had fallen in central Tel Aviv on Saturday.Assad sworn in for third term as Syrian president
“It was shot down by the amazing Iron Dome defense system. Right after the sirens went off a loud BOOM was heard, and several seconds later several pieces of debris fell from the sky. My dog was crazy scared, and my GF was screaming that I should not go outside cause I’ll be killed. This was totally worth it. If you want a souvenir from these days of sirens in Tel Aviv, send me a message,” Benarie wrote.
In a lavish ceremony, a smiling and confident Syrian President Bashar Assad was sworn in for a third seven-year term on Wednesday, praising his supporters for "defeating the dirty war" and denouncing insurgents who have "failed in trying to brainwash you or break your will."More than a Dozen People Killed in Skirmishes along Syria-Lebanon Border
As he declared victory, the Western-backed push to topple him or reach a political deal seem increasingly elusive. And while new conflicts in the region have grabbed attention, Syria's 3-year-old civil war is grinding on without reprieve, with 170,000 dead and a third of the country displaced.
Clashes along the Syria-Lebanon border on Monday killed more than a dozen people, less than a week after Washington leveled sanctions against a Beirut-based network of companies believed to be supplying resources to the terror group:'Jihadi Vogue' magazine lampoons Iraq's Islamic State warriors
"Seven fighters from the Lebanese group Hezbollah were killed in fighting with Sunni Islamist insurgents in a mountainous area on the Syria-Lebanon border in which at least 16 rebels were also killed, a monitoring group reported on Monday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-affiliated watchdog, said a further 31 fighters from Hezbollah had been wounded in the fighting in the border area between Ras al-Maara in Syria and Arsal in northeast Lebanon."
Iraqi Christian Bishops: We Are in the Process of Disappearing
"Jihadi Vogue", an online version of the famous fashion magazine, sells itself as the "Style Quran" for the average mujahedeen, offering everything from tips on the right headbands to wear in combat, through to "eight reasons why moustaches are out".
It is not, however, the latest innovation from the social media wing of the Islamic State, the jihadist group that is now building its own "Caliphate" in northern Iraq.
Instead, it is one of numerous spoofs that have surfaced online to lampoon the group's posturing, extremist ways.
The spoofs are thought to be the handiwork of anonymous amateurs rather than any kind of CIA-sponsored "black PR" campaign.
Despite finding temporary refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan in the wake of the invasion by jihadists from the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), Iraq’s top Christian leaders believe that the community is in the process of disappearing.Report: ISIS Starving Out Christians in Mosul
“We are in the process of disappearing, just as the Christians in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and North Africa have disappeared. And even in Lebanon they now constitute only a minority,” Archbishop Yousif Mirkis, head of the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Kirkuk, told the Catholic charity group Aid to the Church in Need.
Their report, based on an Arabic report in the outlet Ankawa, claims that government workers in the city were explicitly told not to give rations to Christians and Shiites. One worker in particular told the outlet that he "was warned that if he gives rations to Christians and Shiites he will be charged and prosecuted according to sharia law."Mufti condemns destruction of Jonah's tomb
ISIS has committed violent acts against Christians in Mosul before, particularly attacking and destroying the tomb of the prophet Jonah. It has also begun converting Christian areas of prayer into Muslim properties. AINA reports that the cross above the St. Ephrem Cathedral in Mosul has been removed, with photos showing that the cross is no longer visible on top of the cathedral's dome. St. Ephrem Cathedral is the seat of Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese in Mosul.
Confirmation that ISIS, the Sunni jihadist terrorist army sweeping across Iraq, has destroyed Jonah's tomb in Mosul*, has come to us in a roundabout way. The Mufti of Egypt has condemned ISIS in strong terms for the destruction. According to a report in the Arabic press, the Mufti declared that the destruction of holy sites has 'nothing to do with Islam or any religion'.Poll: Nearly Two-Thirds Of Americans Support Working With Iran To Beat ISIS
A poll conducted by the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy and the Program for Public Consultation shows that "61 percent of Americans" favor working with Iran to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).Oren: Israel May 'Take on Iran' when Nuclear Talks 'Expire'
The poll indicates Americans are more interested in working with Iran than with Iraq.
Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the United States, told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview from Tel Aviv yesterday that Israel needed to be prepared to "take on Iran" in the event that international talks with the Iranian regime over its nuclear program expire without an agreement. Oren said the threat of a nuclear Iran overshadowed Operation Protective Edge in Gaza and meant Israel had to be wary of a full Gaza invasion.Iranian Minister Hints That Nuclear Talks May be Extended
In contrast to those Israeli leaders who have said that the Israel Defense Forces needed to "re-occupy" Gaza to root out Hamas, Oren said a ground operation should be more limited. Not only would a larger invasion require fighting in civilian areas, but there was the "possibility that Iranian nuclear negotiations go into a prolonged state, and expire. I don't think Israel wants to be fighting in Gaza at the same time that we take on Iran."
Iran’s foreign minister suggested that talks over his country’s nuclear program may be extended beyond the July 20 deadline imposed as part of last year’s interim deal.Swastikas painted next to Jewish frat at Univ. of Oregon
“We have made enough headway to be able to tell our bosses back home, all of them, that this is a process worth continuing,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, AFP reported. “This is my recommendation and I’m sure [U.S.] Secretary [of State John] Kerry will make the same recommendation.”
“I am returning today to Washington to discuss with President Obama and leaders in Congress over the coming days about the prospects for a comprehensive agreement as well as the path forward if we do not achieve one by July 20,” Kerry said.
Swastikas were painted on mailboxes in front of a Jewish fraternity at the University of Oregon in Eugene.Utah man gets five years in prison for firing on synagogue
A report on the vandalism at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house was filed with the Eugene Police on Monday night, the Daily Emerald student newspaper reported.
The police do not have any leads in the case, a police spokeswoman told the Register-Guard newspaper.
Macon Openshaw, 22, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty on April 16 in U.S. District Court for the District of Utah to firing three rounds from a handgun at Congregation Kol Ami, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. The shots broke windows and damaged the window casings.Dutch city to remove ‘Palestine’ from biblical street signs
Openshaw admitted to shooting at the synagogue because of its Jewish character.
“Religiously motivated violence cannot be tolerated by civil society,” Acting Assistant U.S. Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels said in a statement.
A Dutch city that described several Israeli cities, including Jerusalem and Tiberias, as situated in Palestine has agreed to remove the description.Ukrainian Jewish governor vows to return mosque to Muslims
A spokesman for Eindhoven, in the eastern Netherlands, said Monday that the city would remove the designation pertaining to street signs named for the biblical cities.
Separately, a state-owned university in Barcelona, Spain, corrected its online course application form amid criticism over its omitting of Israel from a list that contained more than 200 “countries of residence,” including “Palestine Territory” and Antarctica.
Responding to criticism by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a spokesman for the Autonomous University of Barcelona apologized last week and added that “it has been an unfortunate technical mistake, without any political background.” But Shimon Samuels, the center’s director of international relations, said this claim “is of course nonsense, unless the software company is also complicit.”
Igor Kolomoisky, who was appointed governor of the Dnepropetrovsk region in March, made the promise last week during a visit to the city’s Olympic Reserve Sports School, which operates from a building that was built in 1926 to serve as a mosque but which the Soviet government later confiscated, the news site evreiskiy.kiev.ua reported.Warsaw celebrates 50 righteous among nations
Representatives of the region’s Muslim community of 80,000 have been lobbying for restitution of the building since 2000, the news site rus.newsru.ua reported.
U.S. Ambassador to Poland Stephen Mull called 50 Holocaust-era rescuers of Jews “a light in the darkness” at a Warsaw reception in their honor.You can’t handle the Ruth
The reception was hosted by the New York-based Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, which provides material assistance to hundreds of people who aided Jews during the war.
“You knew that the Hitlerites killed people — sometimes entire families — for aiding Jews during the German occupation of Poland,” Mull reflected, “but at the same time you decided to help your Jewish brothers and sisters.”
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, celebrity sex therapist and everyone’s favorite Jewish grandmother, returned to Tel Aviv Wednesday night for her second show in two years, and brought the exact same sass and dirty jokes that earned her a devoted White City following last year.
The German-born doyenne of dirty talk — known for her good nature, thick accent and diminutive (4’7”) size — is a staunch supporter of Israel, having immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine after the Holocaust and having served as a sniper in the nascent Israel Defense Forces.
“I have four grandchildren,” Westheimer told the crowd of nearly 700 English-speaking Israeli immigrants at Hangar 11 at the Tel Aviv Port, where the talk was held. “Hitler lost and I won.”
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