From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Israelis among world’s least religious, poll finds
(JTA) — Israel may be the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, but it is also one of the world’s least religious nations, according to a new poll.
The WIN/Gallup poll of 63,898 residents in 65 countries found that 65 percent of Israelis described themselves as either not religious or convinced atheists. Meanwhile, 75 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza viewed themselves as religious, with 18 percent not religious.
The poll found that overall, 63 percent of people said they are religious. With 61 percent of its citizens not religious, China was the world’s least religious country, whereas Thailand, with 94 percent of its citizens religious, was the most.
Despite Israel’s low rates of religiosity, according to the poll, the Middle East was one of the world’s most religious regions, with more than eight out of 10 people portraying themselves as religious. With 51 percent of its residents not religious, Western Europe was the least religious region.
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From PressTV
Gaza on verge of humanitarian crisis over Israeli siege
The Palestinian Health Ministry has warned of a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip due to Israel’s crippling blockade on the impoverished coastal enclave.
The ministry says a shortage of drugs and medical supplies at hospitals and medical centers has been critically aggravated over Israel’s blockade on the coastal sliver for the past eight years.
According to Ashraf Abu Mahady, the director general of pharmacy in the ministry, Gaza now lacks 118 kinds of medicines and 334 types of medical disposals.
The official urged international bodies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Health Organization, to exert pressure on the Israeli regime to lift the blockade and open Gaza crossings.
The Gaza Strip has been under a crippling Israeli siege since 2007. The blockade, which has cut off the territory from the outside world, has led to an economic and humanitarian crisis in the densely-populated enclave.
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From The Times of Israel
Morsi faces likely death penalty in first verdict
Egyptian ex-president’s trial the latest battlefield in ongoing feud between Muslim Brotherhood and government
AFP — An Egyptian court could sentence deposed president Mohamed Morsi to death Tuesday in the first verdict against the Islamist nearly two years after the army ousted him.
The Cairo court will deliver its verdict on charges of inciting the killing of protesters in December 2012, when Morsi was still in office.
A death penalty against the country’s first freely elected president would be a symbolic blow against his Muslim Brotherhood movement — target of a brutal government crackdown after then army chief and now president Abdel Fattah al-Sissi overthrew him on July 3, 2013.
Ahead of the verdict, the Brotherhood slammed Sissi and called for pro-Morsi protests on Tuesday.
“The coup commander is exploiting the judiciary as a weapon in the battle against popular will and the democratic and revolutionary legitimacy represented by President Mohamed Morsi,” it said in a statement.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Bend the Arc launches PAC for domestic policy issues
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bend the Arc launched a political action committee that in its fundraising for candidates will focus strictly on domestic issues of concern to Jewish-Americans.
“Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC will leverage the Jewish community’s political resources to support members of Congress and congressional candidates who are unapologetic progressive champions,” said a statement issued Tuesday by the liberal Jewish policy group.
“By highlighting the core progressive values of Jewish voters, Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC will send a clear message that political candidates cannot rely solely on their support for Israel to earn the support of the Jewish community; they must stand for progressive ideals and policies at home.”
The PAC launch included an announcement of $200,000 going to 12 endorsed lawmakers, all Democrats.
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From Russia Today
Over 50% Europeans do not trust mainstream media coverage of Ukraine crisis – poll
The majority of Europeans – UK, French, German and Greek residents among them – distrust mainstream media coverage of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, a recent poll targeting over 4,000 people, reveals.
Greeks appear to have showed the least faith in their domestic media, with a total of 76 percent saying they were ‘fairly’ or ‘totally distrustful’ of mainstream reports on Ukraine. In Germany, the same opinion was shared by 57 percent of respondents.
Britons, on the other hand, have great trust in the mainstream media’s handling of the situation. As many as 55 percent of respondents stated they put a fair amount of trust in the coverage of events in eastern Ukraine by British media. Some 33 percent said it was biased, however.
In France, 47 percent of respondents said they don’t trust the Ukraine conflict coverage.
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From The Times of Israel
US warship heads to Yemen to block Iranian weapons
Aircraft carrier in Arabian sea to enforce arms embargo on Houthi rebels, monitor Iranian weapons convoy
WASHINGTON — The Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt was steaming toward the waters off the coast of Yemen to beef up security and join other American ships that are prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying weapons to the Houthi rebels.
The deployment comes after a UN Security Council resolution approved last week imposed an arms embargo on the leaders of the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels. The resolution passed in a 14-0 vote with Russia abstaining.
Navy officials said Monday that the Roosevelt was moving through the Arabian Sea. A massive ship that carries F/A-18 fighter jets, the Roosevelt is seen more of a deterrent and show of force in the region.
The Navy has been beefing up its presence in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Arabian Sea in response to reports that a convoy of about eight Iranian ships is heading toward Yemen and possibly carrying arms for the Houthis. Navy officials said there are about nine US warships in the region, including cruisers and destroyers carrying teams that can board and search other vessels.
Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, has been pushed to the brink of collapse by ground fighting and the Saudi-led airstrikes in support of current President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia. Observers say the fighting in the strategic Mideast nation is taking on the appearance of a proxy war between Iran, the Shiite powerhouse backing the Houthis, and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Major Clinton Foundation backer, a supporter of Jewish causes, trades with Iran
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The largest single donor to the Clinton Foundation, a Ukrainian businessman who backs Jewish causes, reportedly also trades with Iran, according to Newsweek.
Victor Pinchuk, a Jewish pipeline magnate, has sold his pipelines to Iran, the magazine reported Tuesday.
The report comes as Hillary Clinton, a declared Democratic candidate for the presidency, faces increased scrutiny over whether she had conflicts of interest during her 2009-2013 stint as secretary of state. A focus of recent media queries has been on donors to charities founded and helmed by her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
One document shows a $1.8 million sale in 2012 for “seamless hot-worked steel pipes for pipeline” to a city near the Caspian Sea. U.S. sanctions apply to entities that trade in sums above $1 million with Iran’s energy sector.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
N.Y. transit authority must run ad that refers to killing Jews, judge rules
(JTA) — New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority must allow the display of an ad about Muslims killing Jews, a federal judge ruled.
U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan on Tuesday deemed the ad, which includes the statement “Killing Jews is Worship that draws us close to Allah,” as protected speech under the First Amendment and said it must be run on public transportation.
Koeltl rejected the MTA argument that the ad could be seen as a call to violence against Jews and could incite terrorism.
The ad is sponsored by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which is headed by blogger Pamela Geller and is known for its sharp anti-Muslim rhetoric. The ad has run in other cities, including Chicago and San Francisco, without inciting violence.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Name of Palestinian teen killed in revenge slaying removed from Israel’s memorial
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The name of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, the Palestinian teenager who was kidnapped and burned alive by Jews in a revenge killing, was removed from Israel’s national memorial at the request of his parents.
The name was removed on Tuesday afternoon, hours after news reports that Khdeir’s name was added to the Victims of Acts of Terror Memorial at Mount Herzl, Ynet reported Tuesday evening.
Israel’s Defense Ministry recognized Khdeir as a civilian victim of terror two weeks after he was murdered, an act that was widely reported. His name on the memorial was noted as Israel prepared to mark Yom Hazikaron, or Memorial Day, which began at sundown Tuesday. It was first reported by Israel Radio.
The dead teen’s father, Hussein, told Ynet on Tuesday that “this is a great initiative meant to honor my son, but I’m more interested with something else entirely: For the court to do justice with those who burned my son alive and sentence them to the appropriate punishment.”
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Nisman complaint against Argentine government dismissed on last appeal
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) – A federal prosecutor dismissed accusations by the late special prosecutor Alberto Nisman that Argentina’s government covered up Iran’s role in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center.
On Monday, a day after Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner linked Jewish leaders to an international conspiracy against the government and railed against Nisman on social media, prosecutor Javier De Luca of the Court of Cassation refused to take on the criminal complaint filed in January by Nisman days before his shooting death.
De Luca said “it is not possible to move forward with the evidence-gathering measures proposed because those events do not constitute a crime.”
The appeals court is the highest avenue for appeals in criminal cases in Argentina, meaning that legal proceedings in the accusations against Kirchner and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, who is Jewish, have reached an end. A federal judge and a federal appeals court had previously dismissed the accusations.
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