From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Obama taps Adam Szubin for top sanctions enforcement post
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Barack Obama nominated Adam Szubin to be the top Treasury official monitoring sanctions compliance.
Szubin, nominated Thursday to be undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes, would if confirmed by the U.S. Senate be the third Jewish undersecretary in the role.
He would follow David Cohen, who early this year became deputy director of the CIA, and Stuart Levey, who shaped the office’s role in enforcing Iran sanctions as an undersecretary who straddled the Bush and Obama administrations, from 2004-2011. Szubin has served as acting undersecretary since Cohen’s departure.
Szubin, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has been a senior official in the sanctions enforcement regime since 2006, when he was named director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
France to pour $107M into fighting anti-Semitism, racism
(JTA) — French Prime Minister Manuel Valls pledged to finance a $107 million plan to fight racism and anti-Semitism.
The recent increase in prejudice in France is “insufferable,” he said at a press conference Friday in which he announced the plan.
“Racism, anti-Semitism, hatred of Muslims, of foreigners and homophobia are growing in an insufferable manner in our country,” Valls told reporters in Creteil, just outside Paris, after presenting his plan. Créteil was chosen because of an attack on a young couple in their home there five months ago, Radio France Internationale reported.
The attackers raped the woman and said that they believed the victims had money because they were Jewish.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Moroccan authorities stop Dieudonne’s Casablanca show
(JTA) — The French comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, who has faced repeated charges of incitement of hatred toward Jews, was banned from performing in Morocco.
Dieudonne was slated to perform on April 29 in Casablanca, but organizers had to cancel because authorities withheld their permission for the show, Le Figaro reported Thursday, citing Moroccan media.
The show was scheduled to take place at an event hall named after the late King Mohammed V of Morocco, who was close to his country’s Jewish community, something that may have contributed to the sensitivity of local authorities.
Dieudonne has been the subject of multiple police investigations and executive bans against his shows in France for their anti-Semitic content. He has more than 10 convictions for inciting racial hate against Jews.
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From PressTV
Israeli forces abduct 31 Palestinians in West Bank
Palestinian security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said more than 50 Israeli military vehicles rolled into the city of Nablus, located approximately 49 kilometers (30 miles) north of al-Quds (Jerusalem), at around 2 a.m. local time on Wednesday (2300 GMT Tuesday) from several different entrances.
The Israeli soldiers broke into dozens of homes and violently searched them, causing excessive property damage, before detaining the Palestinians.
Israel’s internal security service, Shin Bet, said senior members of the Hamas resistance movement as well as former Palestinian prisoners were among those arrested.
In recent months, Israeli forces have frequently raided the houses of Palestinians in the West Bank, arresting dozens of people, who are then transferred to Israeli prisons, where they are kept without charge.
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From Russia Today
US military instructors in Ukraine undermine Minsk peace deal – Moscow
The Russian Foreign Ministry is “gravely concerned” by the fact that military instructors from the US, UK and Canada will be training the troops from Ukraine’s National Guard, stressed the ministry’s spokesman, Aleksandr Lukashevich.
“This begs the question: Do they – in Washington, London and Ottawa – understand whom are we talking about? As they are the same Ukrainian ultra-nationalists from volunteer battalions, who wore Nazi emblems and blurred themselves with the blood of women, children and the elderly during reprisal raids in Donbass [south-eastern Ukraine],” he said.
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From The Times of Israel
Power: US won’t dismiss anti-Israel UN resolutions
US envoy to UN doesn’t rule out advancing decisions targeting Israel but says Washington will be there ‘when it matters’
The United States would continue to “work closely” with Israel at the United Nations but would not rule out advancing resolutions targeting Israel, the US ambassador to the world body said.
Samantha Power testified Wednesday before the foreign operations subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee of the US House of Representatives.
Rep. Nita Lowey, D-NY, the top Democrat on the committee and the subcommittee, told Power that she was troubled by reports “suggesting a reevaluation of our long-standing policy of defending Israel at the UN” and said “supporting or remaining agnostic” on UN resolutions targeting Israel would violate the 1993 Oslo peace accords.
Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, the chairwoman of the subcommittee, also was disturbed by reports that the United States may allow such resolutions to go forward.
“I am also very concerned about recent statements from administration officials that suggest the United States is reevaluating its approach to the peace process and reports that the US may support a UN Security Council resolution laying out conditions and establishing deadlines,” Granger said.
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From The Times of Israel
Kicking off campaign, Rubio attacks Obama on Israel
Republican presidential candidate lists relations with Israel, Iran among his major platform issues in 2016 presidential run
Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio has made the US’s relations with Israel a central plank in his 2016 presidential campaign, knocking what he called President Barack Obama’s failure to “stand with Israel.”
Rubio, a former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives who was elected to the US Senate in 2010, announced his presidential candidacy on April 13.
Rubio’s campaign website was launched Tuesday shortly after announcing his candidacy. Among the issues it features are relations with Cuba, abortion, Iran’s nuclear program and a healthcare plan to replace Obama’s Affordable Care Act as central tenets, along with fostering close relations with Israel.
“We have a national security interest in making sure Israel is strong, and we have a moral obligation to keep the promise made in the wake of the Holocaust for a safe and secure nation for the Jewish people,” Rubio’s website said.
“Sadly, under the current Administration, that commitment to Israel has been lacking.”
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From the Jewish Daily Forward
Norman Braman, the Money Man Behind Marco Rubio’s Campaign
Jewish Ex-Owner of Philadelphia Eagles Bankrolls GOP Wannabe
Less than a week after announcing his 2016 campaign for president, Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida doesn’t need to worry about money.
It’s as good as in the bank.
“Marco Rubio will have the resources necessary to run a first-class campaign, that’s already been determined,” said billionaire Florida auto dealer Norman Braman, a former Jeb Bush supporter who is now one of Rubio’s highest-silhouette donors.
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From the Jewish Daily Forward
England’s Green Party Has an Anti-Semitism Problem
By Liam Hoare
Getty Images
At a forum with voters in February, Green Party leader Natalie Bennett was asked what she would do to ensure that Jews feel safe in Britain. Bennett rambled on vaguely about funding inter-communal dialogue without even mentioning Jews, indicating that the problem of anti-Semitism was one she had never thought about before.
The Greens have emerged in recent years in England as a left-wing alternative to Labor and the Liberal Democrats, but increased representation has also brought closer scrutiny, including how their commitment to a society free from discrimination relates to Jews.
We’ve known for a while that the Greens have an Israel problem. Their current manifesto includes pledges to halt arms sales to Israel — equating them with Saudi Arabia as a violator of human rights — and suspend the E.U.-Israel Association Agreement, which grants Israel economic benefits and closer scientific and cultural cooperation with Europe.
The Greens support either a one- or two-state solution, and call on Israel to repeal its Law of Return as “it is incompatible with the full exercise of human rights and discriminates against Palestinians because they are not Jewish.” They also favor the full implementation of U.N. Resolution 194, with all that would portend for Israel’s status as a Jewish state.
But the Greens don’t just have issues with Zionism. As early as 2010, observers noted that “too often a sympathy for the plight of Palestinians spills over into full-blown anti-Semitism.”
Internal party communications reveal that articles by the fascist British National Party and white supremacist David Duke have been circulated on party discussion forums. Other posts on these forums have referred to the Board of Deputies of British Jews as the “Zionist lobby,” adding “we must smash the Zionists.” Zionism in these discussions has been characterized as a form of racial discrimination, “incompatible with Green views,” and “an ancient theological fantasy.” During Operation Protective Edge, Israel was accused of visiting a second Holocaust upon the Palestinians.
Read more: http://blogs.forward.com/forward-thinking/218737/england-s-green-party-has-an-anti-semitism-probl/?#ixzz3XdVuzP6l
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Palestinian protesters clash with IDF in West Bank on ‘Prisoners Day’
(JTA) — The IDF clashed with Palestinian protesters in the West Bank during the annual Palestinian Prisoners Day demonstrations.
More than 100 Palestinians were dispersed with tear gas in the northern village of Bilin after some of the protesters threw stones at IDF soldiers. One protestor was reportedly wounded by a gas canister or rubber bullet, according to the Times of Israel.
Prisoners Day is marked every year by demonstrators to show solidarity with the more than 6,000 Palestinians who are held in Israeli jails. According to Haaretz, 14 Palestinian parliament members and 20 journalists are among those currently detained.
On Thursday, Hamas leaders called for the abduction of Israelis who could be used in a swap for Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli jails.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Brooklyn Jewish landlords arrested for harassing tenants
NEW YORK (JTA) — Two Jewish landlords in Brooklyn were arrested for intentionally wrecking apartments in order to drive tenants out of rent-stabilized buildings.
Brothers Joel Israel, 34, and Aaron Israel, 37, pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, burglary, grand larceny, submitting false documents and unlawful eviction, among others on Thursday. Rent-stabilized tenants at several buildings the Israels owned in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn allege that their apartment bathrooms and kitchens were uprooted and rendered unusable.
“We allege the defendants engaged in harassment, intimidation and fraud,” Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson told the New York Daily News. “The defendants destroyed bathrooms and kitchens to create horrendous conditions.”
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Is the Obama administration making nice with Israel?
The second group comprised donors and strategic advisers, and their answer, we’ve heard, was: You don’t write, you don’t call. In other words, make it known, and it shall be known. Get out there and show you love Israel.
So today, the Israeli Embassy announced that Vice President Joe Biden will be featured as its honored guest at Independence Day festivities next week.
This is significant for two reasons: The Independence Day gigs rarely garner presidential or vice-presidential appearances. Usually, the designated guest is a Jewish Cabinet-level official. The last vice presidential appearance I can recall is Dick Cheney, in 2008 (when candidate Obama also appeared).
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From PressTV
Israeli troops clash with Palestinians on Prisoners Day
A series of violent clashes have broken out when Israeli forces attacked separate groups of Palestinians protesting across the occupied territories and opened fire to disperse the crowds.
On Friday, the fierce clashes erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters as people in the occupied territories and the besieged Gaza Strip poured onto streets to mark the Palestinian Prisoners Day.
At least 60 people were injured in the village of Bil’in, in Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in central West bank, after inhaling teargas fired by Israeli troops.
“We will not leave our prisoners in jail alone,” rally organizer Abdullah Abu Rahma said in Bil’in, adding, “We will defend their right to be released, because the majority of them have been arrested illegally by Israeli forces.”
Witnesses and local residents say at least one protester was shot in the head in Kafr Qaddum village, near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya. Israeli troops also used rubber-coated bullets and water canon to disperse Palestinian crowds there.
A series of scuffles and clashes were also reported in Bethlehem.
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From PressTV
Israeli court allows confiscation of Palestinian homes
An Israeli court has approved a law which allows Tel Aviv to confiscate abandoned Palestinian-owned homes in occupied East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday approved the contested Absentee Property Law, according to which the Tel Aviv regime will be able to seize abandoned Palestinian homes in occupied East al-Quds.
The law paves the way for Israel to take over the property of Palestinians who have been forced out of their homeland following the 1948 war.
It stipulates that houses could be confiscated if their owners are currently residing in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip.
The law was first passed in 1950, right after the creation of Israel inside the occupied Palestinian lands. It said owners of the houses who fled to the “enemy states” or “enemy territory” are declared “absent” or “missing,” and their property can be put at the disposal of the regime.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
From the Archive: As first lady, Hillary was a prized Jewish keynoter — until she kissed Suha Arafat
Last week, Hillary Clinton formally announced she would run once more for president, and not surprisingly, many pundits and voters are scrutinizing her record as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state and, before that, as New York’s junior senator.
We decided to go back a little further in time to Clinton’s eight years as first lady. During those years, she was a frequent speaker at Jewish organizations, starting with a 1993 gig at the Reform movement’s biennial convention where she put a Jewish spin on her health care reform plan:
Clinton compared the effort to provide universal health care coverage with the message embodied in the Torah portion that Jews would be reading the next morning during Shabbat services.
“Abraham receives a command to leave his father’s house and meet new challenges God has put before him,” she said.
From Russia Today
Ukraine ceasefire violations blamed on ‘unidentified third party’ – OSCE
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) has witnessed three attempts by the Joint Centre for Control & Coordination (JCCC) to organize a ceasefire between Ukrainian troops and the self-proclaimed republics’ forces, according to the new report dated April 16. But within minutes after the arranged time, ceasefires were broken by a “third party,” Ukrainian and Russian officers tasked with mediating the truce told OSCE representatives.
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From Ynet News
Netanyahu and Bennett meet for coalition negotiations after two week lull
Though allied throughout election, Netanyahu and Bennett have not met for over two weeks, as Netanyahu attempts to court center-right Kulanu and ultra-Orthodox Shas, leaving rightwing Bayit Yehudi feeling undervalued.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett at the former’s Jerusalem office for coalition negotiations Friday morning. This is the first meeting the two have held since communications were cut off some two weeks ago, with Netanyahu busy courting other potential coalition members.
The meeting lasted an hour and a half and the two agreed to continue to work together to form the next government.
From Ynet News
Holocaust descendants in US sue France’s railway over ‘genocide’
Class-action suit seeks compensation for seized property and ‘war crimes’ while cooperating with deportation of French Jews.
Descendants of Holocaust victims on Thursday filed a US lawsuit claiming France’s national railway seized the property of tens of thousands of Jews and others sent to Nazi concentration camps.
The class-action suit seeks compensation for the confiscation and sale of personal property and for third-class train fares billed to the Nazis even though the victims were packed into cattle cars.
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From Ynet News
Obama says surprised Russia held off so long on arms deal with Iran
President says he expected the deal to provide Iran with advanced S-300 missile defense systems, given tensions between Russia and the US.
US President Barack Obama said on Friday he was surprised Russia had waited as long as it did to seal a deal to sell missile defense systems to Iran, given the tensions between Russia and the United States.
Obama said the sale was initially set to occur in 2009, but Russia put it on hold at the United States’ request. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday the sale was resumed because of progress in nuclear talks with Iran.
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From Ynet News
Aging UK Jewish leader too ill to face sex abuse trial, prosecutors say
Lord Greville Janner , prominent advocate for British Jewish community, will not face charges because of severe dementia. British prosecutors said on Thursday an ageing member of the House of Lords would not face charges over serious allegations of historical sex abuse because he was too unwell.
Lord Greville Janner, 86, a former Labour member of parliament and ex-president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, had been investigated by police over allegations made by more than a dozen former residents of children’s homes in the 1970s and 1980s.
From The Times of Israel
Argentina’s senate OKs compensation for AMIA victims
Legislation to pay $170,000 to families of 85 dead advances to parliament’s lower chamber
BUENOS AIRES — Argentina’s Senate unanimously approved a bill that offers one-time compensation to the families of the 85 people killed in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center.
Under the bill approved Wednesday without debate, the compensation will be about $170,000 for each fatality in the Buenos Aires attack.
Also, for those whose injuries were “extremely grievous,” the reparation is reduced to 70 percent of the amount, and those with “grievous” injuries will receive 60 percent of the amount.
The bill advances to the Parliament’s lower chamber. If it is approved there, it will become law.
In June 2011, the Argentina Parliament unanimously ruled that the relatives of victims of the 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires would receive compensation from the state. Under that law, the families received $225,000 in the case of death, and $158,000 for dramatic and severe injuries, for a total of $40 million from the Argentine government.
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