Dr. Patrick Slattery’s News Roundup
A service of DavidDuke.com
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Dermer reminds black Dems of Jewish civil rights work — plus other Iran deal politics
It’s too early for blow-by-blow coverage of federal election campaigns, right? Maybe not, with the fight for the Iran deal getting very, very, very political.
- Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Scott Walker are tussling, the Weekly Standard reported, over whether contemplating a strike on Iran in the first week of one’s presidency is wise. (Bush thinks it isn’t.)
- Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is using Sen. Mark Kirk’s criticism of the Iran deal in an ad for her bid to unseat the Illinois Republican. At least one Democrat isn’t worried that her support of the deal makes her vulnerable.
- Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, has been lobbying the Congressional Black Caucus to oppose the Iran deal, Foreign Policy reported. He’s been persistent, and welcomed, but less than successful.
“Is that the Republican guy from Florida?” Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., reportedly chortled when asked if he had met with Dermer. “We had a long talk.”
Rangel added that during his meeting with Dermer, the ambassador made references to Jewish support for the civil rights movement in the 1960s — a history Rangel didn’t see as relevant.
“They certainly have the ‘we were together in 1961’ story,” said Rangel. “It’s not germane to this.”
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
National Review calls Bernie Sanders a Nazi
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has never been shy about calling himself a socialist, a term that most other American pols, however liberal their stripe, take pains to abjure.
National Review’s Kevin Williamson has been tracking Sanders’ campaign for the nomination, and he said in an article Monday that “socialism” should be modified by “national.”
Yes, that national socialism. “L’Internationale, my patootie. This is national socialism,” he said.
Trying very hard to get from Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream to Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch, Williamson cited Sanders’ Made-in-the-USA jobs rhetoric, although he never quite explained how this arrives at race ideology, never mind genocide.
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From PressTV
Palestinian stone-throwers face 20 years in jail
The Israeli regime has adopted a law allowing tough penalties of up to 20 years in jail for Palestinians throwing stones at vehicles.
The Israeli Knesset or parliament passed the law on Monday with lawmakers voting 69 to 17 to impose punishment of up to 20 years in prison for throwing stones at vehicles.
The bill, which was originally drafted by former minister of judicial affairs Tzipi Livni and later completed by her successor Ayelet Shaked, allows for maximum incarceration without need for any proof indicating harmful intent on the part of the stone-thrower.
After the bill was approved, Shaked claimed that “justice was done.” She went on to draw a parallel between stone-throwers and terrorists, claiming, “Tolerance toward terrorists ends today. A stone-thrower is a terrorist.”
‘Insane’ legislation
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From PressTV
Israeli forces shoot, injure Palestinian fisherman in Gaza
Israeli forces have injured a Palestinian fisherman in a shooting off the coast of the besieged Gaza Strip, reports say.
Witnesses said on Tuesday that an unidentified young fisherman was seriously wounded when he was shot in the back and hand off the northwestern coast of Gaza City.
The sources said the fisherman, who seemed to be in his early 20s, was taken to the al-Shifa hospital, where officials reportedly said he was in critical condition.
However, an Israeli military spokeswoman said Tel Aviv was not aware of any injuries sustained by a Palestinian.
Attacks by Israeli forces on Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip have increased since the Israeli war of summer 2014.
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From The Times of Israel
AIPAC girds for rare high-noon showdown with White House
Iran deal marks first open rift in more than 20 years over a president’s major foreign policy initiative. Precedents indicate the pro-Israel lobby has cause for concern
WASHINGTON – It will be the DC equivalent of the showdown at the OK Corral. Stepping into the summer haze on Capitol Hill, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee and its allies are set to face off against the ultimate power broker – 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue – backed up by a cadre of its allied groups.
The lobbying showdown, over a Congressional vote on the nuclear deal with Iran, represents a rare moment for AIPAC, with the avowedly bipartisan organization publicly splitting with the sitting administration over a major foreign policy initiative.
Even at the peak of tensions between the Obama administration and the Israeli government earlier this year, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress coincided with the AIPAC policy conference’s lobbying day, the pro-Israel organization worked hard to keep its head above an ugly fray.
AIPAC’s efforts at bipartisanship, and specifically at avoiding picking a fight with the president, extend back decades. For years, the organization has maintained a policy of remaining tight-lipped on budgetary face-offs, preferring instead to focus on completed deals and lobbying successes.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
EU foreign ministers call on Israel to halt settlements, ‘transfers’
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The foreign ministers of the European Union called on Israel to halt settlements and policies including “forced transfer.”
Their statement on the Middle East peace process was released Monday at the end of a monthly European Union Council meeting in Brussels.
It reiterates “strong opposition to Israel’s settlement policy and actions taken in this context, such as building the separation barrier beyond the 1967 line, demolitions and confiscation — including of EU funded projects — evictions, forced transfers including of Bedouins, illegal outposts, settler violence and restrictions of movement and access.”
More specifically, the statement “calls on Israeli authorities to halt plans for forced transfer of population and demolition of Palestinian housing and infrastructure in the Sussiya and Abu Nwar communities.”
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Biden defends Iran deal in call with Jewish leaders
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Vice President Joseph Biden defended the Iran nuclear deal in a call with the organized Jewish community that drew a thousand listeners.
Biden, considered the closest Obama administration official to the Jewish community, said Monday that he has fielded much skepticism among Jews since the major powers and Iran reached a sanctions relief-for nuclear restrictions deal last week.
“What’s the deal here, Joe?” has been a repeated question, Biden said.
Biden noted his long history of closeness to Israel and the Jewish community.
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From PressTV
EU urges Israel not to flatten Palestinian village
The European Union (EU) has slammed Israel’s plan for the “forced transfer” of Palestinians living in the village of Susya near the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), calling on the regime not to raze it.
In a statement issued after a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday, the 28-nation bloc urged Israeli authorities “to halt plans for forced transfer of population and demolition of Palestinian housing and infrastructure in the Susya and Abu Nwar communities.”
Earlier this month, US State Department spokesperson John Kirby also called on Israel “to refrain from carrying out any demolitions in the village.”
Last month, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that authorities are entitled to flatten Palestinian homes in Susya, claiming that they had been built without permission.
Tel Aviv reportedly plans to relocate the residents of Susya to the nearby city of Yatta in al-Khalil.
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From PressTV
Multiple blasts target vehicles of Hamas officials in Gaza
Multiple car bomb explosions have been carried out in the besieged Gaza Strip, targeting vehicles belonging to members of Palestinian resistance movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
According to media reports, the blasts occurred on Sunday morning in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, with reports saying that two people were injured in the attacks.
The casualties have not been officially confirmed.
No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which are said to have involved at least five car bombs.
However, militants affiliated with the Velayat Sinai terror group – previously known as the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis – are believed to be behind the assaults, according to reports.
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From Ynet News
Justice Minister: Remove legal ambiguity from settlements
Ayelet Shaked seeks to organize status of West Bank settlements by establishing a committee that would provide legal solutions to issue of land ownership. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of Bayit Yehudi has recently begun the process of establishing a committee to organize the legal status of land plots in the West Bank. According to Shaked, the committee’s establishment means residents of the West Bank will cease fearing the threat of land ownership disputes.
The coalition agreement between Bayit Yehudi and Likud includes a clause which calls for establishing a professional panel that would discuss proposals seeking to organize the status of buildings and neighborhoods within Jewish settlements in the West Bank with the relevant authorities.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
British Jewish leader slams criticism of queen over Nazi salute at 7
(JTA) — A major British organization condemned criticism of Queen Elizabeth II in the wake of the release of a video showing her giving a Nazi salute at the age of 7.
The president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jonathan Arkush, on Sunday praised the royal family for its close relationship with the Jewish community.
“I don’t think any criticism of a 7-year-old child would be remotely appropriate and I don’t intend to make any,” Arkush said at a meeting of the board, the Jewish Chronicle reported over the weekend, following the publication of the video on the website of The Sun and on the tabloid’s front page.
“It’s really important for us not to judge this event with hindsight. Obviously the Nazi salute now carries horrible memories and bitterness for us, but I do not think for one moment that it would be appropriate for me to suggest that the full horror of Nazi Germany was known at that point.”
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