From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Citing Abu Dhabi’s involvement, N.Y. Jewish leaders object to mixed martial arts legalization
NEW YORK (JTA) — Several Jewish leaders are urging New York State lawmakers not to legalize mixed martial arts in the state, citing the role that Abu Dhabi plays in the sport.
In a letter to state lawmakers shared exclusively with the Daily News, 17 leaders said that the United Arab Emirates country, which does not recognize the State of Israel, owns a 10 percent stake in the sport’s biggest league, Ultimate Fighting Championship. Among those who signed the letter are the executive vice President of the New York Board of Rabbis, Joseph Potasnik, and Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, a City University of New York trustee and board member of numerous Jewish organizations.
The letter notes that the Anti-Defamation League recently ranked Abu Dhabi as one of the most anti-Semitic countries in the world.
“This is a country that refuses to recognize Israel as a nation, refuses to allow Israeli citizens to travel in their country, and has banned the teaching of the Holocaust in their schools,” the letter says.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Dear Lindsey Graham: Some jokes only Jews can make
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), contemplating a presidential run, is catching flak on social media for the following excerpt from a Wall Street Journal interview:
On the biggest challenge facing his potential 2016 campaign:
“The means. If I put together a finance team that will make me financially competitive enough to stay in this thing…I may have the first all-Jewish cabinet in America because of the pro-Israel funding. [Chuckles.] Bottom line is, I’ve got a lot of support from the pro-Israel funding.”
At LobeLog, Eli Clifton and Jim Lobe wonder if Graham crossed a line:
Suggesting that “pro-Israel funding” may determine his choice of cabinet secretaries (as well as his policies) may make even his potential benefactors squirm just a little bit in light of the purposes to which real anti-Semites who believe “Jewish money” controls the U.S. government might put such a statement.
From PressTV
Israeli leaders refuse to meet Carter because of ‘anti-Israel’ views
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have turned down a request from former US President Jimmy Carter to meet during his upcoming visit to the occupied Palestinian territories because of Carter’s ‘anti-Israel’ stance, a report says.
According to an unnamed Israeli official, both leaders refused to meet Carter following consultations between the Israeli foreign ministry and the national security council of the premier’s office, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Monday.
The foreign ministry urged Rivlin and Netanyahu to refrain from meeting the 90-year-old due to his “anti-Israeli stance” over the last few years, according to the official.
The report said that Israel has allowed Carter to visit the besieged Gaza Strip during his visit.
Meanwhile, a top diplomatic official in an interview with Israel’s Channel 10 described Carter as “a disaster for Israel,” adding that all Israeli leaders should shun the former president.
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From PressTV
Blast hits outside UN refugee agency headquarters in Gaza
An explosion has taken place outside the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the besieged Gaza Strip.
UN and Palestinian security sources said late Saturday that the blast occurred in Gaza City overnight, but did not cause any casualties.
“A bomb exploded near the outer wall of UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza, some 10 meters (yards) from the gate, without causing any injuries or damage,” agency spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna said.
Security forces in the Palestinian territory also confirmed the incident and said an investigation has been launched after “two homemade bombs” went off, one in front of UNRWA and a second elsewhere in the city.
No one or group has so far claimed responsibility for the blasts.
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From PressTV
Israeli court brings 12 charges against Palestinian MP
An Israeli military court has brought 12 charges against a Palestinian lawmaker who was abducted by Israeli soldiers earlier this month.
Khalida Jarrar, kidnapped from her home in the occupied West Bank on April 2, faces the charges in connection with her membership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Her charges include membership of an illegal organization, taking part in protests, and incitement to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
However, the lawmaker’s defense team says the incitement charge lacks any basis, calling it vindictive.
An Israeli army spokeswoman, meanwhile, said Jarrar has been arrested for being the leader of a “terrorist organization” and has encouraged “terror activities” in the previous few weeks.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Netanyahu granted two more weeks to form government
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli President Reuven Rivlin granted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for an additional two weeks in which to form a government.
Netanyahu asked for the additional time in a meeting Monday morning with Rivlin. The prime minister, whose Likud party won the most votes in last month’s election, is entitled to the extra time under Israeli law, according to the President’s Office.
At the start of the meeting, Netanyahu told Rivlin that progress had made in forming the government.
“However, I require additional time in order for the government to be stable and so that we might reach agreement on important issues that will aid us in meeting the challenges facing the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
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From Russia Today
US to give Ukraine $17.7 mn extra in humanitarian aid – White House
“The vice president informed President Poroshenko that the US will offer [an] additional $17.7 million,”the White House said in a statement. The declaration clarified that the money will be set aside for medical needs, foodstuffs and drinkable water.
Biden also told Poroshenko during their meeting on Monday that the US is ready to give Ukraine some loan guarantees worth $1 billion dollars as part of its financial support in 2015.
The US vice president and Poroshenko also discussed Ukrainian reforms. “The vice president welcomed the appointment of a new head of the anti-corruption bureau and encouraged the further implementation of rule of law reforms, including anti-trust measures and judicial reform,” the White House added.
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From Ynet News
Israel frees frozen Palestinian tax funds
$450 million in tax funds frozen by Israel in response to Palestinian joining International Criminal Court have been returned to the Palestinian Authority, despite dispute over electricity debt. Israel on Monday unblocked close to half a billion dollars it confiscated from Palestinian tax revenues since the beginning of the year, the Palestinian Authority said.
The Palestinian finance ministry said it received NIS 1.8 billion (about $450 million) and would from Wednesday pay December and January salaries to 180,000 civil servants, who have been on 60 per cent pay.
From The Times of Israel
Sharansky raps US for ‘loss of moral self-confidence’ on Iran
Former Soviet political prisoner says America ‘lost the courage of its convictions’ by not requiring Tehran change its behavior as condition for a nuclear deal
Former jailed dissident Natan Sharansky came out against the Obama administration in a Washington Post op-ed, chastising what he considers the White House’s concessions to Iran, which he attributed to America’s “tragic loss of moral self-confidence.”
In the opinion piece titled “When did America forget that it’s America?” published Friday, Sharansky contrasts the US’s engagement with the Soviet Union during the Cold War with Washington’s dealings with Iran in recent years.
Sharansky, currently chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, criticized what he described as Washington’s drive to reach a deal with Iran despite Tehran’s atrocious human rights record and refusal to curb its regional aggression.
With no pressure from Washington to change, Tehran, he wrote in the op-ed, “feels no need to tone down its rhetoric calling for the death of America and wiping Israel off the map.”
During the Cold War, he said, the United States would make no such concessions to the Soviet Union.
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