From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Jewish Sen. Bernie Sanders to announce 2016 presidential run
NEW YORK (JTA) — Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont will likely run for president.
Sources familiar with the longtime Jewish senator told The New York Times that he will release a statement on Thursday and make a more formal announcement next month in Burlington, Vermont, where he was mayor in the 1980s.
Sanders, 73, is an Independent but will run for president as a Democrat, according to the Times. He currently is the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and previously was the chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
Sanders, who was born in Brooklyn to Jewish immigrant parents from Poland, calls himself a “Democratic Socialist.” He will be a long shot to capture the party’s nomination, as Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and U.S. senator, showed a lead of 48 percentage points in the latest polls of potential Democratic candidates.
From The Times of Israel
Rand Paul faces tough questions from Orthodox Jewish crowd
Republican presidential hopeful speaks in favor of continued aid to Israel, against foreign intervention
NEW YORK (AP) — Looking to woo New York’s Orthodox Jewish community, Republican presidential contender Rand Paul faced tough questions Monday about his support for Israel and his approach to foreign policy in the Middle East.
The Kentucky senator spoke in front of a group of several dozen rabbis and other Jewish community leaders at the National Society for Hebrew Day School Headquarters in Brooklyn as part of an outreach effort to a community widely courted by his party.
“I think Israel is one of our best allies and best friends around the world,” Paul said. “They’re the only democracy in the Middle East. And I’m very supportive.”
Paul’s past calls to eventually end all US foreign aid, including to Israel, set him apart in the crowded field of GOP candidates for president, who all support such aid, and he has worked hard in recent months to broaden his appeal among those voters who are focused on foreign policy, especially in the Middle East.
His visit came the day before the Senate begins debate over empowering Congress to review and possibly reject any nuclear pact with Iran. Israel is strongly opposed to a proposed deal between the US, five other world powers and Iran, a country whose leaders have vowed to destroy Israel.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Jimmy Carter cancels visit to Gaza at last minute
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Former President Jimmy Carter canceled a visit to the Gaza Strip.
Carter and a delegation from the Elders, an international group of elder statesmen who advance peace and reconciliation, had been scheduled to arrive in Gaza on Thursday. No reason was given for the cancellation, which was announced on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.
The former U.S. leader had been scheduled to meet with leaders of Hamas, which controls Gaza. Carter last visited Gaza in 2009, where he met with Hamas leaders.
Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Isaac Herzog both rejected invitations to meet with Carter. Israel did, however, approve Carter’s request to cross from Israel into Gaza.
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From Ynet News
EU wants Iran to play ‘major but positive role’ in Syria
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says nuclear deal can help Iran become a ‘postive force’ in region, help ‘encourage the regime to (support) a Syrian-led transition.’
The European Union’s top diplomat on Tuesday voiced the hope that Iran would play an important but constructive role in a renewed United Nations push to restart negotiations aimed at ending the four-year civil war in Syria.
The UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has said he will begin meeting in May with the country’s government, opposition groups and regional powers including Iran to assess by the end of June whether there is any hope brokering an end to the war.
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From Ynet News
Troops descend on Baltimore after riots
National Guardsmen called up to restore peace, curfew instated overnight after mass riots spread out across city in wake of funeral of black man who died in police custody.
National Guardsmen took up positions across Baltimore and hundreds of volunteers began sweeping the streets of broken glass and other debris Tuesday, the morning after riots erupted following the funeral of a black man who died in police custody.
The streets were calm in the morning, but authorities remained on edge against the possibility of another outbreak of looting and arson. The city was under a 10 pm-to-5 am curfew, all public schools were closed, and the Baltimore Orioles canceled their Tuesday night game.”We’re not going to leave the city unprotected,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan vowed during a visit to a West Baltimore intersection where cars were burned and windows smashed the night before.
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From The Times of Israel
France increases defense budget after Paris attacks
More than half of the 34,000 military jobs that were due to be slashed from 2014 to 2019 will be kept
President Francois Hollande announced Wednesday that France would increase its defense budget by close to four billion euros over four years, in response to extremist threats after the Paris jihadist attacks.
He also said that emergency military patrols set up at sensitive sites nationwide after the January attacks would be made permanent, with a 7,000-strong force dedicated to internal security.
The announcements came nearly four months after jihadists went on a three-day killing spree in Paris, leaving 17 people dead and putting France and neighbouring European countries on high alert.
Speaking after calling a defence council, Hollande said the decisions were taken to ensure France’s internal security but also the safety of military forces currently engaged in operations abroad, such as in the troubled Sahel region of Africa or in the Central African Republic.
“We have the duty to support people who may come under threat, but we also defend our own security,” he told reporters.
‘French must feel safe’
From Russia Today
Saudi Arabia training tribal ground force in Yemen – report
“You cannot win a war against the Houthis from the air – you need to send ground forces in, but now there’s a program to train tribal fighters on the border,” a Doha-based military source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
According to another Yemeni official source, some 300 fighters have already managed to return to Yemen after getting Saudi training. They were allegedly send the Sirwah district in the central Marib province to battle Houthis in the area. According to the source the newly trained unit managed to push the rebels back.
Saudi Arabia’s coalition spokesman failed to either confirm or deny the reports.
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From The Times of Israel
Argentina foreign minister quits membership in Jewish group
Hector Timerman criticizes AMIA leaders for blocking a deal with Iran for joint probe into deadly 1994 bombing
Argentina’s foreign minister is quitting his membership in a leading Jewish organization targeted by a deadly bombing in 1994.
Hector Timerman announced his decision Tuesday in a letter to the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association, criticizing its leaders for blocking a deal with Iran to jointly probe the attack.
Former Iranian officials have been on an Interpol capture list for years, but Argentine prosecutors have never been able to question them.
Timerman promoted the 2013 accord with Iran as a way to reach the truth behind the unsolved bombing.
AMIA and some other groups have criticized the deal, saying Tehran has failed to cooperate and turn over suspects in the bombing that killed 85 people.
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