Dr. Patrick Slattery’s News Roundup
A service of DavidDuke.com
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Israel hits Gaza targets in retaliation for rocket attack
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s military launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a rocket attack on Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces said it struck three of what it called “terror infrastructures” in southern Gaza early Thursday morning.
The attack was in response to two rockets fired from Gaza the previous night that landed in open areas near the cities of Ashkelon and Netivot. No injuries or damage were reported.
“We will not compromise on the security of Israeli citizens and we will not tolerate a return to the reality of a drizzle of rocket fire,” Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Thursday, calling Hamas ultimately responsible for the attack.
A radical Islamist Salafist group called the Omar Brigades took responsibility for the rocket fire in a post on Twitter, Ynet reported. The post said the attack was in retaliation for Hamas’ killing of an Islamic State supporter in Gaza on Tuesday.
From Russia Today
Kiev to allow foreign armed forces in Ukraine, incl. ‘potential carriers of nukes’
Edited time: June 05, 2015 12:57
The Ukrainian parliament has adopted amendments to state law allowing “admission of the armed forces of other states on the territory of Ukraine.” The possible hosting of foreign weapons of mass destruction is also mentioned in the documents.
READ MORE: Kremlin: Timing of Kiev-provoked Donbass tensions linked with looming EU summit
Amendments to Ukrainian law were adopted on Thursday by the Verkhovna Rada, receiving a majority of 240 votes (the required minimum being 226). The bill was submitted to the parliament in May by PM Arseny Yatsenyuk. It focuses on the provision of “international peacekeeping and security” assistance to Ukraine at its request.
Peacekeeping missions are to be deployed “on the basis of decision of the UN and/or the EU,” the bill published on the parliament’s official website says.
Previously, the presence of any international military forces on the territory of Ukraine not specifically sanctioned by state law was only possible by adopting a special law initiated by the president. Implementation of the new amendments “will create necessary conditions for deployment on the territory of Ukraine international peacekeeping and security” missions without the need for additional legal authorization, the explanatory note to the draft bill said.
The presence of such armed forces in Ukraine “should ensure an early normalization of situation” in Donbass, the note added, saying that they would help “restore law and order and life, constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens” in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
In a comparative table, published among the accompanying documents to the bill, “potential carriers of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction are permitted under international agreement with Ukraine for short-term accommodation,” with Kiev providing proper control during the period that such forces were stationed there.
READ MORE: ‘There are no madmen in EU’ to send peacekeepers to Ukraine – Lavrov
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From The Times of Israel
Saudis consider Iran, not Israel, their main foe, survey finds
In poll surreptiously conducted by an Israeli college, over half of Saudis name Iran their greatest adversary; 85% back Arab Peace Initiative
An Israeli college has quietly conducted an opinion poll in Saudi Arabia, concluding that the Saudi public is far more concerned about the threats of Iran and the Islamic State group than Israel, and that the vast majority of Saudis support a decade-old peace offer to the Jewish state.
The survey conducted by the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya provides Israelis with a rare glimpse inside Saudi Arabia and may change Israeli perceptions about the desert kingdom. The two countries are longtime foes with no diplomatic relations.
The poll found that 53 percent of Saudis named Iran as their main adversary, while 22% said it is the Islamic State group and only 18 percent said Israel. The poll, conducted in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, surveyed 506 Saudis over the phone and had a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
The poll also showed that a majority of Saudis think their country should seek nuclear weapons if Iran acquires an atomic bomb. A whopping 85% also support the Saudi-led Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for peace with Israel in return for a full Israeli withdrawal to its pre-1967 borders.
The results indicate significant common ground between Saudi Arabia and Israel, whose prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been outspoken in his criticism of an emerging nuclear deal between Iran and global powers. Netanyahu, who believes Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon, says the deal will leave much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure intact. He has also claimed that unnamed Arab countries, presumably Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Gulf countries, share his concerns. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, insisting its atomic program is for purely peaceful purposes.
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From The Times of Israel
Sarkozy panned for holding ‘question of Islam’ meet
In first action, former French president’s new center-right party debates place of Islam in France, to dismay of religious groups
Nicolas Sarkozy’s right-wing opposition party held an internal meeting Thursday on the “question of Islam” in France, drawing criticism from Muslim groups and some members of the party for “stigmatizing” the religion.
The former French president’s party, recently rebranded “The Republicans,” debated “the place of religion” in secular France and more specifically “Islam in France.”
France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim community and also the continent’s biggest Jewish community but is officially secular.
One month after the January attacks in Paris that killed 17, Sarkozy said: “The question is not to know what the Republic can do for Islam, but what Islam can do to become the Islam of France.”
Sarkozy insisted on the eve of the closed-door meeting that “one shouldn’t run away from debates.”
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From The Times of Israel
Tony Blair takes new role in fighting anti-Semitism
Former British PM will chair European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, which aims to combat intolerance through legislation
Britain’s former prime minister, Tony Blair, is taking a new role in combating anti-Semitism in Europe, days after stepping down as the international community’s Mideast envoy.
Blair revealed Thursday he will chair the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, a group which champions legislation and dialogue on tolerance.
Writing in The Times newspaper, Blair and businessman Moshe Kantor argue that racism in the name of religion must be tackled with new laws. They cited a report by the Kantor Center at Tel Aviv University, which found 2014 was one of the worst years in the past decade for anti-Semitic incidents.
Blair quit last week, leaving a post that had begun with great hope but which struggled to deliver in its quest to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Caitlyn Jenner asked to be guest of honor for Tel Aviv Gay Pride Week
(JTA) — The City of Tel Aviv invited Caitlyn Jenner to be a guest of honor at its Gay Pride Week celebration.
Jenner, 65, the former reality show star and Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete, has not responded to the invitation announced Thursday. She has garnered the media spotlight with her recent transition to become a woman.
Tel Aviv’s Gay Pride week, which begins on Sunday, draws thousands of participants each year. This year, the celebration will emphasize the transgender community.
“The fact that you provided us an opportunity to smile and revealed the personal and complex process you went through, the difficulties that stood in your way, made you a source of inspiration for us in Tel Aviv,” Yaniv Weizman, a member of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipal Council, wrote Jenner in the invitation, according to Yediot Acharonot.
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From PressTV
HRW urges UN to put Israel on ‘List of Shame’
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to place Israel on the “List of Shame” that includes violators of children’s rights.
The US-based rights group called on Ban to resist political pressure from Tel Aviv and Washington and add the Israel military to an annual “List of Shame” in reaction to the death of more than 500 Palestinian children and the injury of 3,300 others during the 50-day aggression in Gaza Strip in summer 2014.
The annual “List of Shame” is due to be released next week.
“Secretary-General Ban can strengthen child protection in war by compiling his list based on facts, not political pressure,” said Philippe Bolopion, crisis advocacy director at HRW.
On May 27, US senator Lindsey Graham threatened that the US will cut funding to the UN should the world body continue to function in a manner that “marginalizes” Israel.
From Ynet News
Deputy Defense Minister: IDF was wrong to cancel pork punishment
Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan attacks acquittal of soldier who ate pork on base, claims act presented a ‘slippery slope’: ‘It’s an identity issue. The IDF is Israel’s army, the only Jewish state in the world. The IDF commands are clear and state that the Jewish army eats only kosher food.’
The IDF has cancelled the punishment for a soldier who brought pork into his base — and is taking fire from the Deputy Minister of Defense.
The saga began when the IDF backtracked Tuesday on the punishment imposed on a US-born Israeli soldier who violated the Israeli military’s kosher rules by eating a pork sandwich while in uniform.
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From The Times of Israel
Rick Perry throws hat back in ring for US presidency
Critics say former Texas governor gunning for Republican nomination might not be able to recover from failed 2012 campaign
Former Texas governor Rick Perry announced on his website Thursday he will run for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2016. He previously ran for the nomination in 2012.
A formal announcement is expected later Thursday.
Perry will join an already crowded Republican field that includes Senator Ted Cruz (TX), Senator Lindsey Graham (SC), Senator Rand Paul (KY) former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and potentially former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the brother of George W. Bush.
Perry launched his presidential campaign four years ago as an instant front-runner — a proven job-creator with solid conservative credentials, formidable fundraising prowess and perhaps enough cowboy swagger to take Republicans by storm. Then came Perry’s “Oops” moment — his response when he failed to name the three federal departments he wanted to eliminate during a debate — and his tumble from powerhouse to punchline.
He also became the subject of internet memes parodying him for his conservative positions on gay marriage and religion.
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