From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
In farewell, Yaalon calls on Israeli military to ‘remain human’
Outgoing Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon speaking at a press conference in which he announced his resignation from the Knesset, at the Kirya in Tel Aviv, May 20, 2016. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Outgoing Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon called on the military to “remain human” during an official farewell ceremony at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Yaalon resigned from the Knesset and from his ministerial position on Friday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was immersed in talks to replace him with hard-line Yisrael Beiteinu Party head Avigdor Liberman. He said in leaving that the Likud Party had been “taken over by extremist and dangerous entities,” and that Likud “is no longer the movement I joined.”
During Sunday’s ceremony Yaalon thanked the members of the IDF General Staff.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Defense bill includes Israel assistance provisions, including anti-missile programs
The David’s Sling missile defense system undergoes a final round of tests on Dec. 21, 2015 in Israel. (AP Photo courtesy of Israel Ministry of Defense)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A number of measures for Israel have been attached to a defense spending bill approved in the U.S. House of Representatives, including $600 million in missile defense cooperation.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Thursday welcomed the missile defense component of National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that outlines defense spending policies.
The spending “will help Israel defend its citizens against rocket and missile threats, and contribute to America’s missile defense,” AIPAC said a day after the House approved the act.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Report: Adelson and RJC are planning Israel trip for Trump
Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson speaking at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2014 at The Venetian Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 1, 2014. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sheldon Adelson and the Republican Jewish Coalition reportedly are planning to bring Donald Trump to Israel.
The Guardian over the weekend quoted what it said were sources close to the casino magnate as saying that the RJC – one of Adelson’s major beneficiaries – was planning the trip at Adelson’s behest, although nothing has been finalized.
The RJC declined to comment and Trump’s campaign did not return a request for comment.
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From PressTV
Saudi offers to change stance on Israel: Report
Saudi Arabia and its allies have asked Israel to resume Middle East negotiations under new terms which include changes to Riyadh’s “peace” initiative, Israeli media reports say.
The kingdom, its Persian Gulf allies, Jordan and Egypt have been sending messages to Israel through various emissaries, including former British PM Tony Blair, the Israeli newspaper Arutz Sheva reported.
“They are expecting to receive from Israel a response and are also expecting Israel to make gestures toward the Palestinians” in the West Bank, the paper said.
The Saudi “peace” initiative, unveiled in 2002, offers to normalize ties with Israel by 22 Arab countries in return for Tel Aviv’s withdrawal from the occupied West Bank.
Tel Aviv has rejected the Saudi initiative due to the fact that it calls for Israel to accept the right of return for the Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes under the Israeli occupation.
Saudi Arabia and its allies are now prepared to discuss changes to the initiative in order to resume talks between Tel Aviv and the Palestinian Authority, Israels’ Channel 10 News revealed.
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From The Times of Israel
Iranian commander: We can destroy Israel ‘in under 8 minutes’
If supreme leader gives order, Revolutionary Guards ‘will raze the Zionist regime’ quickly, says senior adviser of elite al-Quds unit
A senior Iranian military commander boasted that the Islamic Republic could “raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes.”
Ahmad Karimpour, a senior adviser to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ elite unit al-Quds Force, said if Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave the order to destroy Israel, the Iranian military had the capacity to do so quickly.
“If the Supreme Leader’s orders [are] to be executed, with the abilities and the equipment at our disposal, we will raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes,” Karimpour said Thursday, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.
A senior Iranian general on May 9 announced that the country’s armed forces successfully tested a precision-guided, medium-range ballistic missile two weeks earlier that could reach Israel, the state-run Tasnim agency reported.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei meets the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy unit that detained US sailors earlier in January, in a photo released by Iran on January 24, 2016.
From The Times of Israel
Far-right on edge of power as Austria votes for president
Predicted win by head of anti-immigration Freedom Party, Norbert Hofer, raises fears amid nationalist surge across Continent
VIENNA, Austria — Austria’s presidential runoff on Sunday could propel the European Union’s first far-right leader to power, in a tense race seen as a test for the crisis-hit bloc facing mounting pressure from anti-establishment parties.
A year of rising concerns about the migrant crisis and growing unemployment has left Austria deeply polarized and driven disgruntled voters away from traditional parties toward fringe groups.
The rift has found expression in Sunday’s showdown, pitting 45-year-old Norbert Hofer of the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPOe) against the Green-backed economics professor Alexander van der Bellen, 72.
In last month’s first round, Hofer — a gun enthusiast left partially disabled after a paragliding accident — comfortably beat his rival by 35 percent to 21%.
Right-wing Austrian Freedom Party (FPOe) presidential candidate Norbert Hofer sings on stage during his final election campaign rally at the Viktor Adler Markt, Vienna, Austria, May 20,2016. (AFP/ JOE KLAMAR)
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Ontario anti-BDS bill defeated
TORONTO (JTA) — Ontario’s parliament rejected a bill that would have prevented the Canadian province from conducting business with companies that support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
Provincial lawmakers on Thursday voted against the bill, dubbed the “Standing Up Against Anti-Semitism in Ontario Act,” by a vote of 39 to 18. Liberal and left-leaning New Democratic Party members largely voted against the measure.
The bill was introduced by former Conservative party leader Tim Hudak and a Liberal member of the legislature, Mike Colle.
Colle asked his colleagues to support the bill, saying proponents of the BDS movement “try to clothe themselves in an aura of fighting for a just cause, [but] their core belief is a hate for Israel and a hate for everything Jewish.”
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From PressTV
Iraq army prepares for Fallujah recapture, urges residents to leave
The Iraqi army has been preparing to retake the control of the strategic city of Fallujah in Anbar province from the Takfiri Daesh group, asking residents to leave the area before the operation begins.
The army said in a statement on Sunday that it “is asking citizens that are still in Fallujah to be prepared to leave the city through secured routes that will be announced later.”
The army also said that local residents who could not move should raise white flags to mark their location.
The army, however, did not give any clear date for the operation.
Deputy district council chairman Fail al-Essawi said people could camp west, southwest and southeast of Fallujah as three corridors would be opened for them to be able to leave the city.
Essawi said over 75,000 people remained in the city.
Fallujah was the first city seized by Daesh militants in Iraq in January 2014, six months before the Takfiri group took control of many other Iraqi cities.
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From PressTV
Turkey new PM to place more power in Erdogan’s hands
Turkey’s newly-elected prime minister plans to place more power in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hands by switching from the existing parliamentary system to an executive presidential system.
Transport Minister Binali Yildirim, a longstanding and faithful ally of President Erdogan, vowed in a speech at a special congress in Ankara on Sunday to push for his bid to change the constitution and create a presidential system.
“Turkey needs a new constitution. Are you ready to bring in a presidential system?” Yildirim said, adding, “Now that the president is elected by the people nothing can be the same as it was.”
Yildirim said the priority now had to be to legalise the current “de-facto” situation. “We have to put an end to this confusion. The way to this is a new constitution and presidential system,” he said.
Yildirim was elected as the next leader of Turkey’s governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) and will therefore become the new prime minister.
One of the co-founders of the AK Party along with Erdogan, Yildirim won all the votes from the 1,405 delegates at an extraordinary party congress.
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From PressTV
US-led airstrike in north Syria kills 7 civilians: Monitoring group
At least seven civilians have lost their lives when the so-called US-led coalition carried out an airstrike purportedly against a position of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in Syria’s strategic northern province of Aleppo, a monitoring group says.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack struck the village of Arshaf, which lies just 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the embattled town of Marea north of the provincial capital city of Aleppo, on Saturday. The victims were members of the same family, the observatory said.
The London-based monitoring group added that five women and a child were among the victims.
The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, however, said 10 people were killed in the strike against the village.
On May 16, three children and a woman were killed in eastern Syria in airstrikes conducted by the US-led coalition.
Media and local sources said the airstrikes hit al-Bukamal city in the province of Dayr al-Zawr near the border with Iraq, killing four people and inflicting heavy losses on properties.
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From Russia Today
NATO seeks new meeting with Russia ahead of Warsaw summit
Published time: 20 May, 2016 14:56
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg © Francois Lenoir / Reuters
Germany is pushing NATO to holding a meeting with Russia ahead of the upcoming summit of the alliance in Warsaw. It comes as NATO continues to ignore Russia’s concerns over its expansion and military build-up in Europe.
“There was broad agreement yesterday that NATO should convene a new meeting of the NATO-Russia Council before our next summit in July,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Friday on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
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From The Times of Israel
US National Rifle Association endorses Trump for president
Unite behind Republican candidate or ‘kiss your guns goodbye’ if Clinton is elected, says NRA
WASHINGTON, DC — The US National Rifle Association on Friday announced its endorsement of Donald Trump for president, saying it was time to unite behind the Republican or “kiss your guns goodbye” if Hillary Clinton is elected.
“We have to unite and we have to unite right now,” Chris Cox, head of the NRA’s lobbying arm, said at the gun rights group’s annual convention in Louisville, Kentucky.
“So on behalf of the thousands of patriots in this room, the five million NRA members across this country, and the tens of millions who support us, I’m officially announcing the NRA’s endorsement of Donald Trump for president.”
The NRA’s endorsement of a Republican nominee is no surprise.
Guests wait for the start of the National Rifle Association’s NRA-ILA Leadership Forum during the NRA Convention at the Kentucky Exposition Center on May 20, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP)
From The Times of Israel
Hillary Clinton: Trump is ‘not qualified’ to be president
Democratic front-runner questions presumptive GOP candidate ability to lead, handle complex foreign policy challenges
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hillary Clinton had some of her strongest words yet for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, saying Thursday that he is “not qualified” to be president of the United States.
In an interview with CNN, the Democratic front-runner and likely nominee questioned Trump’s ability to handle complex foreign policy challenges, decrying what she described as his “irresponsible, reckless, dangerous comments.”
Clinton cited recent comments from Trump criticizing Great Britain, praising the leader of North Korea and questioning America’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. She said she knows “how hard this job is” and added that she had “concluded he is not qualified to be president of the United States.”
Looking ahead to the general election, Clinton asserted that she “will be the nominee” for the Democratic party, noting her lead in delegates and votes over her Democratic opponent Bernie Sanders.
From The Times of Israel
In departing remarks, Ya’alon implores IDF to ‘remain human’
As he leaves political life, outgoing defense minister praises IDF top brass for ‘levelheaded’ use of force
Under a hot Tel Aviv sun, outgoing Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon inspected the troops and bade a personal farewell to the Israel Defense Forces’ senior officers and to members of the Defense Ministry at a ceremony in the army’s Kirya headquarters on Sunday.
Minutes beforehand, in a conference room high above the courtyard — and the throngs of journalists and their cameras — Ya’alon praised the IDF top brass for showing “levelheadedness” in its use of force, and urged the defense establishment not to lose sight of “remaining human.”
“Sitting here is a levelheaded and responsible group of people led by the chief of staff, which wields force in a considerate way,” he said.
“Remember, an army needs to win, but we must remain human, even after the battle,” he told the generals.
Outgoing Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon raises a glass with the IDF General Staff ahead of a farewell ceremony in the army’s Tel Aviv headquarters on Sunday, May 22, 2016 (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
From Ynet News
Jewish dating site—to match gay men with lesbians
A new Israeli site is meant for gay and lesbian religious Jews who want to have a ‘traditional’ Jewish household with somebody of the opposite sex
A new dating site for gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews seeks to enable them to meet, have children, and raise them together in a “traditional” setting. Thus far, nearly 50 users have signed up, hoping to enter into a halachic Jewish marriage with a person of the opposite sex, despite their sexual orientation to the contrary.
At the time of this article’s writing, 37 men and 7 women have joined. They are ultra-Orthodox, Orthodox, and Conservative (and even one man who wrote that he is “secular but believing”), most of them are in their twenties and thirties, and a portion of them are closeted. They are seeking a relationship based on friendship, mutual respect, the desire to start a family and even love—but not sexual contact.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Far-right Austrian presidential candidate under fire for Temple Mount visit account
(JTA) — Austrian journalists cited a far-right presidential candidate’s disputed account of his 2014 visit to Israel as proof of lacking credibility on his part.
The visit came up on Thursday, during a televised debate broadcast by the ORF broadcaster. Journalist Ingrid Thurnher confronted Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party, or FPO, who won the first round of the presidential election last month over contradictions in his account of his visit to the Temple Mount.
Hofer said he witnessed an armed Muslim terrorist being shot. But Thurnher told him on camera that Israel Police told ORF no such incident occurred at the Temple Mount on July 30, 2014 – the day Hofer gave for the incident. Later, however, ORF learned from the police that a Jewish unarmed extremist wearing clothing reminiscent of a burka was shot by accident at the Temple Mount on that day.
Hofer cited the incident in speeches during the campaign in explaining that Austria should stand by Israel in the fight against radical Islam. The Freedom Party criticized ORF for not sufficiently researching the incident before insinuating that Hofer made it up.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Sanders wants Dem platform to better reflect Palestinian aspirations
Bernie Sanders at a campaign event at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, April 23, 2016. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bernie Sanders wants to make Palestinian rights more of a priority in the Democratic Party platform, according to a report.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that Sanders, the Vermont Independent Senator seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, wants to see changes to the platform to better reflect Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Sanders, the only Jewish candidate to ever have won major party nominating contests, has throughout the campaign defended Israel’s right to security, but also has called for an end to settlement expansion and has criticized what he has said has been Israel’s disproportionate response to Palestinian attacks.
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From Russia Today
‘It keeps happening,’ rape survivor says as activists protest abuse by US military in Japan
Published time: 21 May, 2016 12:26
People raise their fists as they shout slogans to protest against the US military presence in front of the US Kadena Air Base in Cyatan, Okinawa prefecture, on May 21, 2016 © JIJI Press / AFP
Protests against American military presence in Japan continued on Saturday, as the country’s defense minister lodged a formal complaint over the latest case of alleged murder and rape of a young Japanese woman by a US military base employee.
Gen Nakatani visited the US Kadena Air Base on Saturday to formally protest the alleged crime to its commander Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson.
“I deliver a strong message of regret and at the same time make a protest,” he said as cited by the public broadcaster NHK.
Nicholson offered “heartfelt prayers and condolences” to the victim’s family.
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From Russia Today
‘Homosexuality just a trend,’ says senior Swedish cleric
Published time: 20 May, 2016 14:18
Participants attend the annual gay pride parade march in Stockholm, Sweden © Vilhelm Stokstad / Reuters
Homosexuality is just a trend among young people and it’s hard to remove yourself once you are in it, said a senior figure of the Church of Sweden, the world’s largest Lutheran congregation.
The controversial statement was made by Bruno Edgarsson, a head of the diocese’s administrative board in the town of Växjö, southern Sweden, and a member of Sweden’s Center Party.
“I don’t know why they [young people] choose to become homosexuals, but I believe it has become a trend among young people, and then it isn’t easy to remove yourself from it,” Edgarsson told local Smålänningen newspaper.
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