From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Hundreds of thousands march in memory of AMIA prosecutor Alberto Nisman
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — More than 400,000 people in Buenos Aires braved a heavy rain to pay tribute to the late AMIA special prosecutor Alberto Nisman in a “silent march.”
Other marches remembering Nisman on the one-month anniversary of his death were held Wednesday throughout Argentina and in cities throughout the world.
The Metropolitan Police in Buenos Aires pegged the number of marchers in the city’s downtown at some 400,000. The event was held without speeches.
Nisman, 51, was found dead in his Buenos Aires home on Jan. 18, hours before he was to present evidence to Argentine lawmakers that President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and other government officials covered up Iran’s role in the 1994 attack on the Buenos Aires Jewish center that killed 85 and injured hundreds.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Graham to host fundraiser around Netanyahu speech
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is considering a Republican presidential run, will host a fundraiser around Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.
Graham (R-S.C.) will attend the March 3 speech while donors watch the address at the Capitol Club, the Republican-focused building a short walk from the Capitol. Afterwards he will join them.
The list of co-chairs is a who’s who of prominent pro-Israel and Republican Jewish donors, including casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, telecommunications entrepreneur Howard Jonas and financier Roger Hertog.
Co-chairing the event costs $2,700; attending is $1,000. The money goes to Graham’s Security Through Strength political action committee.
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From PressTV
Israel re-arrests Palestinian inmates freed in 2011
The Israeli regime has re-arrested former Palestinian prisoners that were released from Israeli prisons in 2011 under an agreement with the Gaza-based resistance movement, Hamas, Press TV reports.
The 70 former Palestinian inmates were taken back into Israeli custody after their release in 2011 in a blatant violation of a prisoner exchange deal between Tel Aviv and Hamas in 2001.
Amani Sarahneh, with the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), said there is “no excuse” for the Tel Aviv regime to adopt fresh “repressive policies” against Palestinians, adding, “It seems Israel is heading towards more escalation; especially with elections right around the corner.”
This is while Israel’s violation of the agreement with Hamas is viewed as a scheme to exert pressure on Palestinian factions and extract political and economic concessions from them.
Tel Aviv’s recent move is expected to deepen the distrust in any future negotiations between the Palestinians and the regime.
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From Russia Today
3,000 ISIS infiltrators may enter Turkey, plan to attack diplomatic targets – report
Up to 3,000 trained jihadists are seeking to cross into Turkey from Syria and Iraq, with intentions of striking diplomatic targets belonging to anti-ISIS coalition partners, the Turkish intelligence service told the police in an internal memo.
“The jihadist militants could be working on armed or bombing attacks in Ankara and Istanbul against the diplomatic missions of the countries involved in the US-led anti-ISIL [ISIS] coalition,” said the Hurriyet newspaper, citing the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT).
The agency, which refused to provide additional information when contacted by Reuters, warned the police that Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) jihadists repelled from the predominantly Kurdish town of Kobani in Syria, are now looking for ways to cross the border. Hurriyet said that MIT sent a warning as far back as February 3 to local police departments, in an attempt to intercept the flow of terrorists.
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From Russia Today
Reports suggest some Western countries want rapprochement with Syria
Diplomats from some EU capitals have reportedly told Reuters the time is ripe for restoring diplomatic relations with Syria, where President Bashar Assad remains in power four years after the start of a brutal civil war.
Although London and Paris are reportedly opposed to shifting their stance on Syria, adhering to the US line that Assad “must go,” diplomats from a growing number of European Union countries support a move toward the renewal of relations, Reuters reported.
The countries that appear to be leaning towards a rapprochement with Damascus include Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Romania and Spain. The Czech Republic, which did not withdraw its ambassador, is in favor of the initiative. Norway and Switzerland, which are not members of the EU, are also on board.
But even in those EU countries that are officially opposed to renewed relations, there is talk that the Syrian crisis could have been handled better. One senior French diplomat admitted that closing the embassy was a mistake, the news agency said.
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From Ynet News
Denmark to beef up fight against terrorism
Government approves $130 million to expand foreign, domestic intelligence capabilities after wave of attacks in Copenhagen, Paris. Denmark’s government on Thursday pledged 970 million kroner ($130 million) to strengthen anti-terrorism measures, including by boosting foreign and domestic intelligence gathering. The announcement follows weekend attacks against a free speech event and a synagogue left two people dead and five wounded in Copenhagen.
The government started drafting the plans last month after lawmakers demanded a review of anti-terror measures following the terror attacks by Islamic extremists in Paris.
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From The Times of Israel
Herzog: PM wouldn’t take calls from US during Gaza war
Zionist Union chief defends Livni from attacks, accuses Netanyahu of jeopardizing Washington ties to boost his campaign
Zionist Union party leader MK Isaac Herzog on Thursday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of lying in his election campaign and claimed that during last year’s conflict in the Gaza Strip the prime minister avoided answering the phone when Washington called, sending then-justice minister Tzipi Livni to take the calls instead.
Herzog made the allegations during an address to the annual meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, Channel 10 reported.
“As Bibi [Netanyahu] drops in the polls, so his lies increase,” Herzog said and went on to attack the prime minister’s plans to speak to the US Congress next month, an event strongly opposed by the White House, by most Democrats and by many in the US Jewish community.
“From day to day it becomes more clear that Bib’s speech to Congress will just be destructive,” Herzog said of the address, scheduled for March 3, which has worsened already strained ties between Jerusalem and Washington.
Netanyahu will urge lawmakers to increase sanctions on Iran in an effort to force an agreement that would cripple the Iranian nuclear program.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Poll: Two-thirds of Americans believe Boehner mishandled Netanyahu invitation
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A CNN poll found that 63 percent of Americans believe it was wrong of congressional Republican leaders to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak without first notifying the president.
The results of the phone poll, which was conducted Feb. 12-15 by ORC International, were released Tuesday. The poll of 1,027 adults from across the country had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Netanyahu is scheduled to speak March 3 to Congress about his opposition to the current nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers.
Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, invited Netanyahu without consulting with the White House or congressional Democrats.
From Russia Today
US and Turkey agree to train, equip Syrian rebels against ISIS
As part of the plan, the US will send more than 400 troops to Turkey – a number that includes special operations forces – where Ankara will host the rebels while training is underway. American officials told Reuters that the program is expected to last three years and train up to 5,000 rebels annually.
In addition to Turkey hosting rebels on its soil, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will also take part. Signed on Thursday, the program could begin as early as March.
READ MORE: US-trained ‘moderate’ Syrian rebels to get tools to call-in airstrikes – report
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From Russia Today
PowerOffHijack: New Android malware spies from ‘shut down’ smartphones
The malicious program, which was discovered by AVG security research firm, works by hijacking the shutting down process of the mobile device.
When the user presses the phone’s power button to switch off, the malware only makes it look like the device has stopped operating.
So while the shutdown animation is being displayed and the screen goes black, the mobile device actually keeps working.
Without the user’s knowledge, the malware uses the phone to make outgoing calls, send text messages, take pictures and perform a number of other tasks.
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From The Times of Israel
UMass reverses ban, will admit Iranians to graduate programs
Officials had barred students in line with US policy of sanctions against Tehran
AMHERST, Massachusetts — The University of Massachusetts at Amherst said Wednesday that it has reversed its decision to ban Iranian nationals from admission to certain graduate programs in engineering and science.
The announcement comes on the heels of the university’s controversial decision last week to bar Iranian students. Officials said then that the move aligned school policy with US sanctions against Iran but said Wednesday it has since consulted further with the State Department and private attorneys.
“We have always believed that excluding students from admission conflicts with our institutional values and principles. It is now clear, after further consultation and deliberation, that we can adopt a less restrictive policy,” said Michael Malone, vice chancellor for research and engagement.
The university said it will develop individualized study plans based on a student’s projected coursework to meet the requirements of federal sanctions law.
Congress enacted legislation in August 2012 that denies visas for Iranian citizens to study in the US if they plan to participate in coursework for a career in the energy or nuclear fields in Iran.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Herman Rosenblat, Holocaust memoir fabricator, dies at 85
(JTA) — Herman Rosenblat, a Holocaust survivor who created a scandal by writing a memoir filled with untrue details, has died.
Rosenblat died on Feb. 5 and was buried three days later in Hollywood, Fla., The Associated Pressreported. He was 85.
He created an uproar with his 2008 memoir “Angel at the Fence” with the claim that he and his wife, Roma, had first met when she sneaked food to him at a Buchenwald subcamp and reconnected more than a decade later on a blind date in the United States. Research by scholars and interviews with family members subsequently proved the story to be false, and publisher Berkley Books canceled the memoir.
Rosenblat had indeed survived a harrowing series of experiences in the concentration camps, and his wife, born Roma Radzicki, had indeed survived the war living under a false identity. However, she had been living far away in Germany with her family. They had never met until the blind date in 1957. They were married a year later.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NYC changes pre-K rules to accommodate Orthodox schools
NEW YORK (JTA) — New York City is changing the rules of its universal prekindergarten program to allow for prayer and the scheduling preferences of Orthodox Jews.
But the Orthodox Union says the changes don’t go far enough.
The current rules require pre-K programs to provide at least six hours, 20 minutes of uninterrupted secular instruction per day to be eligible for public funding. Orthodox groups have complained that the amount of time does not leave enough for prayer or religious instruction. Additionally, closures for religious holidays made it difficult to reach the threshold of 180 days per year mandated by the city program.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Oslo closes traffic on street leading to city’s main synagogue
(JTA) — The city of Oslo has closed traffic permanently on the street leading to the Norwegian capital’s main synagogue.
Ervin Kohn, president of the Jewish community in Oslo and the deputy director of the Norwegian Center Against Racism, told JTA on Thursday that the decision was made following the slaying on Feb. 15 of a guard at the main synagogue of Copenhagen in Denmark.
The Jewish community of Norway, which has seen a number of threats in recent years, has long lobbied for the closure, which city officials had resisted and termed excessive.
“With this change, the security needs of the community are more or less satisfied,” Kohn said.
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