From Russia Today
US boosting ‘anti-propaganda’ budget, mulling ‘increase of lethality’ for Ukraine support – Nuland
Washington and its NATO allies have already spent over $110 million on “security assistance” to Ukraine and are considering increasing the “lethality” of the aid, a top US diplomat told a Congressional committee in an accusatory anti-Russia speech.
“We have, over the last 14 months, provided $118 million in security assistance” to the authorities in Kiev, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. In addition to training, the aid included high-end defensive systems such as artillery radars and communications equipment.
“All 28 NATO allies have provided some form of security assistance to Ukraine,” said Nuland.
From Ynet News
Top general: US considering possible Middle East missile defense
US military officials have previously raised concerns about Iran’s development of longer-range missiles that could reach Israel and potentially Europe.
The US military is considering sending its THAAD missile defense system to the Middle East, a senior US Army general said Wednesday, citing what he called an urgent need to respond to foes with missile systems and the will to use them.
From the Jewish Daily Forward
Argentina President Trashes ‘Illogical’ Alberto Nisman Complaint on Terror Cover-Up
Calls Slain Prosecutor’s Push ‘Full of Contradictions’
Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner published an advertisement in eight major newspapers discrediting AMIA special prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s allegations against the government.
The advertisement published Wednesday says the complaint prepared by Nisman, who was found dead in his Buenos Aires apartment Jan. 18, is “filled with contradictions, illogical, with no legal basis.”
Headlined “Commitment, Truth and Justice,” the full-page ad defends the memorandum of understanding signed between Argentina and Iran in 2013: “It is only possible to ratify the path traced by the executive power and the national congress through the memorandum of understanding, a tool that would enable us to interrogate the Iranian citizens accused” in the 1994 AMIA bombing case.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Obama: Netanyahu said ‘nothing new’ and offers ‘no viable alternative’
(JTA) — President Barack Obama said there was “nothing new” in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress.
He also said that Netanyahu “didn’t offer any viable alternatives” to the nuclear agreement currently being discussed with Iran by the world powers, on Tuesday from the Oval Office, in a transcript released by the White House.
Obama said that he did not watch the speech since he was on a video conference when it took place, but that he “did have a chance to take a look at the transcript.”
“The Prime Minister appropriately pointed out that the bond between the United States of America is unbreakable, and on that point I thoroughly agree. He also pointed out that Iran has been a dangerous regime and continues to engage in activities that are contrary to the interests of the United States, to Israel, and to the region. And on that, we agree. He also pointed out the fact that Iran has repeatedly threatened Israel and engaged in the most venomous of anti-Semitic statements. And no one can dispute that,” Obama said.
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From PressTV
Israeli settlers storm al-Aqsa Mosque compound
Israeli settlers have broken into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound for Talmudic rituals.
Amid tight security measures by Israeli forces, some 25 settlers stormed the mosque on Wednesday morning, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
Palestinian worshipers tried to push them out of the courtyard of the mosque after they approached al-Rahmeh Gates, but the worshipers failed as there was a large number of Israeli police protecting the settlers.
Moreover, Israeli police prevented Palestinians from entering the mosque to perform their daily prayers.
The incident came against the backdrop of an Israeli court ruling on March 1 that Israeli police should protect the settlers when they desecrate al-Aqsa.
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From PressTV
Israel should probe Gaza civilian killings: UN envoy
A United Nations envoy has called on Israel to carry out an investigation into the killings of more than 2,200 Palestinians during its 50-day war against the Gaza Strip last summer.
Makarim Wibisono, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories and former Indonesian ambassador, made the request on Tuesday, also urging Israel to publish its findings.
“The stark disparity in casualty figures on the two sides … reflects the [skewed] balance of power and the disproportionate cost borne by Palestinian civilians, raising questions as to whether Israel adhered to the international law principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions,” Wibisono said.
Wibisono added that most Gaza civilians had been killed in their homes.
The UN envoy said that most victims “were families killed in missile strikes on their own homes, usually at night,” and not just “bystanders on the street in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
He released his first report since he replaced Richard Falk as the UN’s investigator of Israel last June. His report is based on phone interviews with victims in Gaza and interviews with those currently living in the Jordanian capital, Amman, and the Egyptian capital of Cairo.
A UN commission of inquiry is also expected to release a separate report on possible war crimes committed during the so-called Operation Protective Edge Israeli carried out in the last summer.
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From The Times of Israel
US aims for March ‘understanding’ with Iran on nukes
Official says a preliminary deal might not be reached by the end of the month; next round of talks on the 15th
March 4, 2015, 4:35 pm
MONTREUX, Switzerland (AP) — A senior US official spoke of some progress Wednesday in reaching a nuclear deal with Iran but tamped down expectations of a formal, preliminary deal this month outlining constraints on Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief for the Islamic Republic.
The official said the negotiations are aiming for a much looser construct — “an understanding that’s going to have to be filled out with lots of detail” by their late March target date.
The official demanded anonymity because this person wasn’t authorized to discuss the secret negotiations publicly.
Once Iran and the six nations negotiating with it reach such a progress report, US President Barack Obama will then determine whether it is grounds to continue talks aimed at a comprehensive deal in June, the official said.
Speaking at the end of a series of meetings at the Swiss resort town of Montreux that included several rounds between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif, the official told reporters that the next round will be held March 15 at a yet undetermined venue.
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From The Times of Israel
Ted Cruz: US negotiators lack understanding of Iran
Texas senator joins Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel in drawing parallels between talks with Tehran and rise of Nazi Germany
March 3, 2015, 11:18 am
Republican Senator Ted Cruz on Monday slammed negotiators with Iran for “fundamentally” lacking understanding of their Iranian counterparts and warned that the Obama administration was leading the way to a nuclear armed Iran.
Cruz joined Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel on a forum in a Senate hearing room for a debate chaired by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and titled “The Meaning of Never Again: Guarding Against a Nuclear Iran.”
“Those who are leading this negotiation fundamentally don’t understand who it is they are negotiating with,” Cruz said, according toBloomberg, and charged the administration of not being wholehearted in its efforts to prevent a nuclear Iran.
“I think their view is it’s perfectly acceptable for Iran to have nuclear weapons, and they will be part of the rational community of nations,” Cruz said.
He also compared the talks to a 1938 deal signed with Adolf Hitler in Munich that allowed Germany to annex portions of Czechoslovakia but ultimately failed to appease the German leader.
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From The Times of Israel
Pro-Israel lobbyists heap Iran pressure on US Congress
AIPAC attendees to push their elected officials to adopt a hard line on Tehran’s nuclear program
March 3, 2015, 6:48 am
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Israel’s prime minister and lobbyist-in-chief Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Congress on Tuesday, but US lawmakers will also get an earful from pro-Israel citizen-lobbyists warning Capitol Hill against a singular threat: Iran.
Thousands of members of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, will pack the halls of Congress, a second act of sorts after Netanyahu’s speech in which he too will highlight the need to stop Iran’s nuclear program cold.
They will huddle with senators and representatives, including some skeptical Democrats and fully supportive Republicans, urging them to expand punitive sanctions on Tehran in the midst of negotiations over limiting Iran’s nuclear capacity.
“Iran’s the only thing they’re focusing on,” 27-year-old Cesar Degracia-Morales from Texas told AFP a day before he marches up Capitol Hill.
“I hope the lobbying effort tomorrow will achieve what we all want: more sanctions on Iran, so we can use that as a deterrent to stop their nuclear program.”
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From The Times of Israel
Leading Democrat senator blasts administration’s Iran policy
Before an enthusiastic AIPAC crowd, Robert Menendez vows to stand up for Israel even when ‘political friends’ oppose him
March 3, 2015, 4:09 am
WASHINGTON – After a rocky reaction to National Security Adviser Susan Rice’s plenary address Monday evening to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual conference, Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) delivered a barn burner of a speech in which he unabashedly butted heads with the Democratic administration over Iran policy.
“When it comes to defending the US-Israel relationship, I am not intimidated by anyone—not Israel’s political enemies, and not by my political friends when I believe they’re wrong,” Menendez said triumphantly before a crowd that applauded enthusiastically throughout his address.
“As long as I have an ounce of fight left in me, as long as I have a vote and a say and a chance to protect the interest of Israel, the region, and the national security interests of the United States—Iran will never have a pathway to a weapon,” Menendez promised. “It will never threaten Israel or its neighbors, and it will never be in a position to start a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Not on my watch.”
Menendez spoke minutes after Rice, who earlier in the week blasted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming address before both houses of Congress, and said that while the “timing” of Netanyahu’s address was “unfortunate,” he “will be proud when I escort Prime Minister Netanyahu into the Congressional chamber tomorrow.”
He continued to emphasize differences with the administration, telling AIPAC attendees that he would only support an agreement with Iran that dismantles the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Minutes before, Rice had warned against such conditions as unrealistic ideals that interfere with the achievement of a “good deal.”
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From The Times of Israel
Rice: Total end to Iranian enrichment is ‘unachievable ideal’
National Security Adviser outlines US terms for ‘good deal’; warns that ‘sensitive details’ shouldn’t be discussed in public
March 3, 2015, 3:30 am
WASHINGTON — American National Security Adviser Susan Rice alternated between reconciliation and pointed jabs during her address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) plenary Monday evening, a speech marked by a detailed endorsement of the Obama administration’s position on Iran talks coupled with assurances that the US will protect Israel’s security.
While she spoke out against key points of AIPAC activists’ lobbying agenda, Rice also provided previously unconfirmed information regarding the United States’ negotiating red lines on Iran.
Rice’s initial message – similar to that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier Monday – was one of reconciliation, emphasizing that both Obama and Netanyahu have called the US-Israel alliance “unprecedented,” assuring the crowd that “that’s the way its going to stay.”
There would be no bad deal with Iran, Rice said, and set out the essential components of a good deal, while stressing she did not know whether it could be achieved. Rice told the 16,000 delegates that “a bad deal is worse than no deal” on Iran, garnering an enthusiastic standing ovation from a sometimes subdued audience. “If that is the choice there will be no deal,” she added.
Rice said President Barack Obama was committed to “ensuring that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon” and repeated the administration’s frequent statements that the US was “keeping all options on the table to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapon.”
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From the Jewish Daily Forward
Homeland Security Bill Includes $13M in ‘Jewish Earmarks’
Orthodox and Federations Applaud Measure
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security passed by Congress Tuesday includes $13 million for security at religious and other nonprofit institutions.
The Orthodox Union, Jewish Federations of North America and Agudath Israel of America applauded the passage of the funding bill, which still needs to be signed into law by President Barack Obama. The three organizations had spearheaded efforts to get the funding for religious and nonprofit institutions approved.
Since its inception nine years ago, the Nonprofit Security Grants Program has provided more than $110 million to Jewish schools, synagogues and other nonprofits. The money can be used for security training and improved security infrastructure.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Ten senators tell McConnell they object to fast tracking Iran bill
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Ten senators who caucus with Democrats are objecting to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s plan to bring the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 directly to the Senate floor for a vote, thereby bypassing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The senators, among them Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), sent a letter to McConnell urging him not to fast track the bill, but rather to allow for negotiations with Iran to continue until at least the March 24 deadline for a political framework agreement. Because a final agreement is not expected until June, there is no reason to rush the vote, the senators wrote.
“We are disappointed that you have proceeded outside of regular order, which suggests that the goal of this maneuver is to score partisan political points, rather than pursue a substantive strategy to counter Iran’s nuclear ambitions,” the senators wrote.
The senators also wrote they would only vote for the bill after it has gone through regular procedures and been debated by the Foreign Relations Committee. Signing the letter were Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Bill Nelson (D-Fl.), Joe Donnelly (D-In.), Angus King (I-Me.), Chris Coons (D-De), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Argentine president’s full-page ad discredits Nisman’s complaint
BUENOS AIRES (JTA) — Argentina’s president published an advertisement in eight major newspapers discrediting AMIA special prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s allegations against the government.
The advertisement published Wednesday says the complaint prepared by Nisman, who was found dead in his Buenos Aires apartment Jan. 18, is “filled with contradictions, illogical, with no legal basis.”
Headlined “Commitment, Truth and Justice,” the full-page ad defends the memorandum of understanding signed between Argentina and Iran in 2013: “It is only possible to ratify the path traced by the executive power and the national congress through the memorandum of understanding, a tool that would enable us to interrogate the Iranian citizens accused” in the 1994 AMIA bombing case.
The attack on Argentina’s leading Jewish institution killed 85 people and came two years after an attack on the Israeli embassy in Argentina.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Israel tells Argentina that it is responsible for embassy bombing investigation
BUENOS AIRES (JTA) — Israel told Argentina’s president that her country is responsible for investigating a 1992 attack on its embassy in Buenos Aires.
The statement from Israel’s embassy in the Argentine capital came in response to an accusation made earlier in the week by Argentina’s President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner, who rebuked Israel for not working to bring the perpetrators of the 1992 bombing of its embassy in Buenos Aires to justice.
“Why is Israel not an appellant in the case of the Israeli Embassy bombing attack?” the president asked during a televised address to the nation.
The Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires said in a statement emailed to reporters on Tuesday that “as international treaties state, the safety of all diplomatic delegations is the responsibility of the recipient country. It is Argentina’s responsibility to investigate the attack perpetrated against the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. During the last 23 years, Israel has supported the continuity of actions aimed at taking the responsible to trial.”
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From PressTV
350 Israel soldiers sought psychotherapy after Gaza war: Report
Hundreds of Israeli soldiers who participated in the Tel Aviv regime’s war against the besieged Gaza Strip last summer have sought psychiatric counseling, a report says.
Over 350 soldiers have received treatment for symptoms related to post-traumatic stress, including disorientation, low productivity, and recurring nightmares, a report by Israel Today said.
A number of the soldiers suffered full-on psychological trauma, the daily said, citing a senior Israeli official as saying that “hundreds” of soldiers had sought psychiatric treatment for “severe stress” during the 50-day war on Gaza.
The Israeli regime started airstrikes on the Palestinian territory in early July 2014 and later expanded its military campaign with a ground invasion. The war ended in late August that year.
Nearly 2,200 Palestinians lost their lives and some 11,000 were injured in the assaults. Gaza Health officials say the victims included 578 children and nearly 260 women, adding that more than 3,100 children were injured in the offensive.
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From Russia Today
North Korea threatens ‘pre-emptive nuclear strike’ over US-South Korea drills
North Korea’s Foreign Minister said at a United Nations conference that his county would use a pre-emptive strike if necessary to stop “an ever-increasing nuclear threat” from the United States.
The remarks by Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong were made during a speech at the UN Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday. He said the joint military exercises being staged by South Korea and the United States are “unprecedentedly provocative in nature and have an especially high possibility of sparking off a war.”
“The DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) cannot but bolster its nuclear deterrent capability to cope with the ever-increasing nuclear threat of the US,” he told the Geneva forum, according to Reuters. “Now the DPRK has the power of deterring the US and conducting a pre-emptive strike as well, if necessary.”
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From Ynet News
Jews, Catholics pan film defending wartime pope
Shades of Truth’ calls Pius XII, who has been accused of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust, ‘the most misunderstood person of the 20th century.’ A new Italian film that attempts to defend wartime Pope Pius XII against accusations he turned a blind eye to the Holocaust has been panned by the Vatican as well as Catholic and Jewish media.
“Shades of Truth” is the account of a fictional present-day American journalist who starts off as a critic of Pius and changes his mind after research in Israel, Rome and elsewhere in Europe.
Some Jews have accused Pius, who headed the Roman Catholic Church from 1939 to 1958, of failing to use his position to bring attention to the extermination of Jews.
