From Ynet News
Argentine president says US, Israel meddling in country
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner says US and Israel intervening in Argentina’s business ahead of protest organized by investigating attorneys demanding answers in the mysterious death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez suggested on Wednesday that theUnited States and Israel were meddling in the South American country’s business, the latest barb amid intensifying rhetoric ahead of the protest demanding answers in the mysterious death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman.
Thousands of Argentines marched in Buenos Aires to demand answers in the mysterious death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman a month ago.
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From The Times of Israel
300,000 expected at march for slain Argentine prosecutor
From The Times of Israel
Cameron, Merkel, other EU leaders vow to protect their Jews
Series of European heads take public positions against Netanyahu’s ‘emigrate to Israel’ call, pledge to clamp down on anti-Semitism
Amid a wave of anti-Semitic attacks, European leaders pledged this week to ensure the safety of their Jewish communities, rebuffing calls by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for massive Jewish emigration to Israel.
The spat over Europe’s Jews follows a series of fatal terror attacks — in Copenhagen Saturday, and Paris last month — that were directed at Jewish as well as other targets.
The Paris attacks left 17 people dead, including four Jewish men who were taken hostage by an Islamist gunman at a kosher supermarket, while in Copenhagen, a Jewish man was shot dead while guarding a synagogue — also perpetrated by a gunman with suspected links to jihadist organizations.
Netanyahu’s unequivocal remarks, voiced in the aftermaths of both attacks, piqued European leaders for suggesting that Jews living in Europe should move to the Jewish state in order to avoid anti-Semitism.
“Jews have been murdered on European soil, only because they were Jews,” Netanyahu said Sunday. “Of course, Jews deserve protection in every country, but we say to Jews, to our brothers and sisters: Israel is your home.”
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Obama administration: Israel must quit distorting details of Iran talks
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israel is distorting the U.S. negotiating position in nuclear talks with Iran and must stop, Obama administration officials said.
“The United States is mindful of the need to not negotiate in public and to ensure that information that is discussed at the negotiating table is not taken out of context and publicized in a way that does not distort the negotiating position of the United States and our allies,” Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, said Wednesday when asked to comment on reports that the Obama administration was withholding details of the talks from Israel.
“There’s no question that some of the things the Israelis have said in characterizing our negotiating position have not been accurate, there’s no question about that.”
Neither Earnest, who was addressing the daily media briefing, nor Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, would give details of which details they think the Israelis are distorting. But a New York Times report on Wednesday said U.S. officials are angered that the Israelis seem to be leaking the number of centrifuges that the Iranians would be permitted to operate under an agreement while omitting details of other means of keeping at a minimum Iran’s uranium enrichment.
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From Russia Today
EU police mission? Poroshenko wants peacekeeper presence in Ukraine
From the Independent
Greece bailout: Time is running out to avoid ‘catastrophic’ Greek exit from euro, warns EU
A new proposal from Athens will involve an extension of their loan agreement, but apparently without the required spending cuts and tax hikes
CHARLOTTE MCDONALD-GIBSON
BRUSSELS Wednesday 18 February 2015
Eurozone finance ministers and officials have warned that time is running out to avoid a “catastrophic” Greek exit from the single currency, as they awaited a new proposal from Athens aimed at keeping Greece afloat beyond the end of this month.
The finance ministers have given Greece until tomorrow to request an extension to their €240bn (£176bn) bailout programme, or the last tranche of money will be withheld and Greece will not be able to pay debts in the coming months. A spokesperson for Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has instead said they will today ask for an extension to their “loan agreement”.
The European part of Greece’s bailout expires on 28 February and if no deal is reached by then, the European Central Bank (ECB) would face pressure from eurozone governments to cut off emergency financing for Greek banks. Today the ECB reportedly agreed to increase those emergency funds by about £2.4bn to £50.3bn, money that is crucial because the banks’ customers have been withdrawing funds and sending them overseas.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Gaza hackers use porn in cyberattack on Israeli institutions
(JTA) — A group of hackers from Gaza used pornographic videos in a wide-scale cyberattack on several Israeli institutions and individuals.
A report titled Operation Arid Viper: Bypassing the Iron Dome released Monday by the cyber security company Trend Micro detailed the hacking campaign carried out by the tech workers from Gaza. The report called the strategy of using pornographic videos “distinct” and “previously unseen.”
The hackers sent individuals a “phishing” email with a “pornographic movie” meant to embarrass targets into ignoring the cyber infiltration, the report said.
Trend Micro described the process through an actual example:
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From PressTV
Israel to expropriate Palestinian Bedouins’ land for landfill
Israel has approved a plan to expropriate the privately owned land of Palestinian Bedouin communities in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) to set up a landfill.
The facility for construction waste will require the eviction of 120 Bedouin families and expropriation of 50 hectares of Palestinian land.
The plan, which was approved by the Jerusalem planning and building committee, calls for the site to be set up in an area most of which is privately owned by Palestinians.
The land will be filled with thousands of tons of construction waste.
The Israeli authorities have been going on with the plan of forced evacuation against the Palestinian Bedouins since 1949.
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From PressTV
Israeli prime minister faces new scandal over lavish expenses
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again come under fire over the misuse of public money, ahead of the upcoming general elections.
Netanyahu and his wife Sara spend vast amounts of taxpayers’ money on food, furniture, cleaning and gardening at their residences in Jerusalem al-Quds and in the coastal city of Caesarea, an official watchdog report said on Tuesday.
“The way in which the budget of the prime minister’s residence was managed during the years 2009 until 2012 does not comply with the basic principles of money management, saving and efficiency and is likely to result in a waste of public funds,” the report said.
An average of $2,100 a month is spent for the cleaning of their residence in Caesarea, even though the couple rarely even spends a weekend there, the report added.
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From PressTV
Netanyahu’s settlement plans isolate Israel: Opposition figure
A senior Israeli opposition figure has criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s settlement expansion policy in the occupied Palestinian territories, calling it the source of Israel’s isolation in the international arena.
The former minister for judicial affairs, Tzipi Livni, who is also the Hatnuah party leader, said the premier’s support for isolated West Bank settlements, has further de-legitimized Israel in the eyes of the international audience, adding, “The Israeli public has been brainwashed into believing that its global isolation stems from de-legitimization and anti-Semitism.”
On February 9, Israeli media reported that Tel Aviv had seized some four square-kilometers of Palestinian land near the settlements of Kedumim, Vered Yericho, Neveh Tzuf, and Emanuel.
Reports say Israel has made preparations to construct 18 residential projects in these areas, with more than 99 percent of the occupied land being allocated to settlements.
“If Israel is me and my policy is the state, then we cannot criticize my policy, and who ever criticizes me is anti-Zionist,” Livni further added, alluding to Netanyahu, who has no tolerance for any criticism and likens his critics as the enemies of the regime.
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From The Times of Israel
Stanford senate passes Israel divestment measure
Student senators had rejected bid last week, but say ‘hostile environment’ influenced the outcome
The Undergraduate Senate of Stanford University passed an Israel divestment bill Tuesday that had been defeated last week.
The resolution calls for Stanford University trustees to divest from companies that “violate international humanitarian law by: maintaining illegal infrastructure of the Israeli occupation… facilitating Israel and Egypt’s collective punishment of Palestinian civilians… [and] facilitating state repression against Palestinians by Israeli, Egyptian or Palestinian Authority security forces.”
On February 11 Stanford students voted on a resolution that called for the university to cease investing in companies that operate out of the West Bank and Gaza. That measure was struck down when it failed to pass the necessary 66 percent of the vote, garnering just 64% with nine votes for, five against and one abstention.
