Dr. Patrick Slattery’s News Roundup
A service of DavidDuke.com
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Birthright sets record for summer participants
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Birthright, the free 10-day trip to Israel for diaspora Jews ages 18-26, has brought a record 30,000 young Jewish people on its trips this summer.
The number of summer participants, coming one year after Israel endured a 50-day war last summer, is Birthright’s highest in its 15 years of existence. The participants came from 32 countries on six continents, and were joined by 5,000 Israeli soldiers and students, according to a Wednesday press release.
Birthright brings Jews on a free trip that takes them to a range of historical, religious and outdoor sites across Israel. Overall, half a million people have gone on Birthright’s trips.
From Russia Today
Coalition ISIS ‘successes’ show no signs of halting terrorist group
Vice Admiral David Johnston, Australia’s chief of joint operations said the US-led coalition was making progress against IS. He said the terrorist organization was now trying to hold ground rather than take new areas.
“Instead of seeing, as we did, massed Da’ish forces waving black flags traversing the countryside of Iraq and Syria in big convoys with relative impunity and capturing fairly large swathes of territory as they progressed, we now see an adversary that is fighting to hold or regain ground,” he said, as cited by the Australian newspaper.
Johnston added that IS had become more centralized in Iraq, and it had suffered losses of more than 7,000 fighters and leaders over the past year. This means the militant group has been forced to replace them with less experienced individuals.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Israel demolishes nearly 40 illegally built Palestinian buildings
TEL AVIV (JTA) — In the largest string of home demolitions in more than three years, Israel demolished nearly 40 Palestinian structures in the West Bank.
The demolitions took place, according to Haaretz, because the structures were built without the necessary permits. More than 120 people were left homeless from the demolitions, which took place Monday and Tuesday.
The structures were located in four Bedouin villages near the West Bank settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim, outside of Jerusalem, as well as in village of Fasa’il in the Jordan Valley. According to United Nations figures quoted by Haaretz, it was the largest string of demolitions since October 2012.
“These are illegal structures that were built without permits in violation of the law, some of which have been built in recent years, said a statement from the Israel Defense Forces’ coordinator of government activities in the territories, according to Haaretz. “The structures were demolished after the enforcement process was completed and the appropriate orders were issued.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
US considers withdrawing Sinai peacekeeping force
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Facing increased threats from extremists in the Sinai Peninsula, the United States is considering withdrawing its peacekeeping troops, who have been stationed there since the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty.
The 700-member force, called the Multinational Force and Observers, was placed in the Sinai to monitor compliance with the Camp David Accords. The accords brought about Israeli-Egyptian peace in return for an Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
The force has little offensive capability and has faced rising danger from Islamic militants, according to The Associated Press. Militant activity in the area has increased since Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi was deposed in 2013 and replaced by current President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi. Sissi has launched a campaign to defeat the Sinai militants.
The Obama administration is reviewing the force’s position, and is considering bolstering its capabilities with additional weapons. But withdrawing the force from the region is also a possibility, according to AP.
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From Ynet News
Hospital: Palestinian detainee has suffered brain damage
MRI scan shows hunger-striking Mohammed Allaan has suffered damage, but unclear whether it is reversible; state earlier told High Court he would be immediately released if he suffered irreversible damage.
Hunger-striking Palestinian detainee Mohammed Allaan has suffered brain damage, an MRI scan showed on Wednesday after Israel told the High Court of Justice would immediately release him if he had irreversible brain damage.
It was unclear whether the damage was reversible.
From The Times of Israel
Influential Democrat Menendez comes out against Iran deal
Hillel International president apologizes for snubbing J Street student leaders; US Jewish lawmakers divided on Iran deal
The Times of Israel liveblogged Tuesday’s events as they unfolded.
BEIRUT, Lebanon – The UN Security Council backs a push for Syrian peace talks Tuesday in a rare show of unity after widespread condemnation of regime air strikes that killed nearly 100 people.
Analysts say the vote was a sign of new resolve to address Syria’s conflict, particularly as the threat of the Islamic State group grows, but caution that it was only a first step and vast differences between the two sides remained.
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From The Times of Israel
Where does Bernie Sanders stand on Israel?
The Jewish candidate for president, 73, has a long record of criticizing — and defending — the Jewish state
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bernie Sanders’s best friend is a Zionist who teaches Jewish philosophy, he had a formative experience on a kibbutz and “Saturday Night Live” dubbed him the “old Jew.”
Still, Sanders can’t get away from the inevitable “But where is he on Israel?” question, especially now that the Democratic presidential contender, an Independent senator from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, has pulled ahead of Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, the first primary state.
“Do you view yourself as a Zionist?” the left-leaning online magazine Vox asked Sanders in a July 28 interview.
It’s a funny question for Sanders, who if there were an “out and proud” metric for Jews in politics would score high.
Sanders, 73, is best friends with Richard Sugarman, a professor of Jewish philosophy at the University of Vermont who champions Zionism to his left-leaning students. His other best friend — and former chief of staff — is Huck Gutman, a University of Vermont professor of literature who is a passionate aficionado of the prose of Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai.
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From The Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE: Hillary’s email firm was run from a loft apartment with its servers in the BATHROOM, raising new questions over security of sensitive messages she held
- Democratic White House front-runner used Platte River Networks of Denver, Colorado, to maintain her controversial ‘home brew’ server
- Up to 60 emails with classified material have been found in a sample of those she did not delete – meaning there could be many more
- Now Daily Mail Online reveals new questions over security of her emails when Platte River was involved in maintaining server
- ‘Mom and pop’ firm used converted residential apartment and had its own servers in a bathroom closet
- Links between ‘local’ IT company and Clinton remain unclear but its VP of sales and marketing, who was sued for ‘fraud’ is said to be ‘big Democrat’
The IT company Hilary Clinton chose to maintain her private email account was run from a loft apartment and its servers were housed in the bathroom closet, Daily Mail Online can reveal.
Daily Mail Online tracked down ex-employees of Platte River Networks in Denver, Colorado, who revealed the outfit’s strong links to the Democratic Party but expressed shock that the 2016 presidential candidate chose the small private company for such a sensitive job.
One, Tera Dadiotis, called it ‘a mom and pop shop’ which was an excellent place to work, but hardly seemed likely to be used to secure state secrets. And Tom Welch, who helped found the company, confirmed the servers were in a bathroom closet.
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Jewish woman to be White House’s first openly transgender staffer
(JTA) — A Jewish woman of color will be the first openly transgender person to serve in the White House.
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, who was born in Honduras and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts by a single Jewish mother, has been hired as an outreach and recruitment director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, the White House announced Tuesday.
According to Keshet, a Jewish LGBT advocacy group, Freedman-Gurspan “was a powerful leader for trans inclusion” in her Brookline synagogue, Temple Beth Zion, “and mobilized faith leaders in the campaign to pass the Massachusetts Trans Equality Bill,” which went into effect in 2012. She also was active in the Jewish Student Union as an undergraduate at St. Olaf College in Minneapolis.
Freedman-Gurspan, 28, moved to Washington in 2014 to work with the National Center for Transgender Equality.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Jewish youth group affirms gender inclusivity
(JTA) — BBYO, a pluralistic American Jewish youth group, affirmed in a motion that it is fully inclusive of its members regardless of gender.
The motion was passed Friday by BBYO’s teen leadership at the group’s International August Executives Conference, according to a press release.
“Young people who genuinely identify as Jewish – male, female or gender neutral – are given full eligibility to join and afforded full status as members of the Grand Order of the Aleph Zadik Aleph and the International Order of the B’nai B’rith Girls in any matter, business or forum,” the motion read, referring to the boys’ chapter and girls’ chapter, respectively.
While most BBYO chapters are single-sex, some are co-ed. Asked if gender neutral individuals will be able to choose whether to join a girls’ or boys’ chapter, regardless of their birth gender, a spokeswoman said in an email, “The teen leadership of [Aleph Zadik Aleph] amended their constitution to widen the definition of an eligible member of BBYO to any high school-aged teen who identifies as Jewish, based on their own definition of their gender. The teen leaders of BBG [B’nai B’rith Girls] immediately adopted the amendment for their own constitution. We will now further review policies to see what changes might need to be made.”
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From Russia Today
Russia & Iran reach agreement on S-300 air defense systems delivery – deputy foreign minister
“As things stand now, this topic is closed. We have reached full understanding on the matter together with our Iranian partners. The question has been fundamentally solved. The rest is just technical details,” Bogdanov, who is also a special presidential representative for the Middle East and Africa, stated on Wednesday.
Russia will supply Iran with the S-300 system later this year. A high-ranking source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti that the exact number of missile systems has been written down in an already agreed contract.
“There will be as many as mentioned in the contract,” he added, responding to the question whether Russia will really supply Iran with four S-300 divisions instead of three, as the Sputnik agency previously reported, citing a source in the Iranian Ministry of Defense.
From The Times of Israel
Israeli cafe in India said to only serve white customers
Tourists, Israelis report on discriminatory policy of establishment in north of country; unclear whether owners Israeli or Indian
A cafe in India that serves Israeli food has been subjected to a torrent of criticism over reports that it has enacted a “whites only” customer policy, Channel 10 news reported Tuesday.
The Freekasol cafe in the small village of Kasol will apparently not serve Indian customers, according to local reports.
Channel 10 reported that the owner of the cafe was an Israeli, while Stefan claimed the man was in fact Indian. The cafe is widely being reported as Israeli-owned.
An Indian woman and her British partner told Channel 10 they were turned away from the establishment a few days ago due to the woman’s ethnicity.
“He denied me saying that it was only for members,” the woman named Ritika recounted. But when her white partner Stefan then went over to the cafe and asked for a menu, “he gave the menu to him.”
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