Zio-Watch News Round-up

Israeli Minister calls for world recognition of annexation of Syrian territory: Zio-Watch, 6/8/2015

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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Bennett calls for recognition of Golan as Israel’s land

HERZLIYA, Israel (JTA) — Israel’s education minister, Naftali Bennett, called on the international community to recognize Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights.

Bennett, chairman of the pro-settler Jewish Home party, issued the call on Tuesday at the opening of the Herzliya Conference, Israel’s premiere defense and diplomatic gathering, hosted by the Interdisciplinary Center-Herzliya. He said the collapse of Syria and lack of conflict in the Golan, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981, justified recognizing Israeli sovereignty there.

“Whom should we give the Golan to, to al-Nusra? To al-Qaida?” he asked, referring to terror groups in Syria. “Why do they still not recognize the Golan? What’s the reasoning? If we had listened to the world, we would have given away the Golan, and ISIS would have been on Lake Kinneret,” the Sea of Galilee.

Bennett called for Israel to increase the Golan’s Jewish population to 100,000 — from about 20,000 today — in the next five years. He also decried boycotts of Israel, vowing to “hit back” at anyone who boycotts Israeli products.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Adelson, Saban ‘on same page’ in fighting BDS

JERUSALEM (JTA) — U.S. billionaires Sheldon Adelson, a GOP supporter, and Haim Saban, who funds Democratic candidates, told an Israeli television station that “when it comes to Israel, we are absolutely on the same page.”

Adelson hosted representatives of some 50 Jewish and pro-Israel organizations at his Venetian casino hotel in Las Vegas to create a strategy for countering anti-Israel boycott efforts. The other hosts for the weekend meeting were Saban, Israeli-born real estate developer Adam Milstein and Canadian businesswoman Heather Reisman.

“It’s a challenge to get Jewish groups to work together,” Adelson told Israel’s Channel 2 in an interview on Saturday. Adelson also said the initiative would cooperate with Israel as much as possible.

Saban told Channel 2 that no matter what Israeli government policy is or isn’t, “One thing is for sure: We do have an anti-Semitic tsunami that’s coming at us.”
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From PressTV

93 Palestinian children jailed in Israel’s Ofer prison: Palestinian official

PalKids

A total of 93 Palestinian children are currently imprisoned in the Israeli Ofer prison, eight of whom are serving various jail terms while the rest are yet to be sentenced, a report says.

The Palestinian Authority’s Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs (CPA) said in a Sunday report that almost 28 of the children in the Ofer prison, which is near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, suffer from different illnesses.

According to the report, a total of 161 Palestinians under the age of 18 were detained by Israeli troops from the beginning of the current year until the end of May.

Many of those arrested have reported flagrant rights violations against them by Israeli soldiers.

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From Russia Today

​‘We will shoot you if you do anything’: Palestinians recall forced Israeli eviction

Published time: June 07, 2015 17:03

Reuters / Finbarr O'Reilly

Palestinians evicted from their homes by Israeli forces spoke to RT about how they were abused and mistreated by the police as they desperately attempted to retain their property.

The family of Emad Abu Khaled was evicted Tuesday as Israeli authorities arrived to demolish two houses in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The forced eviction was caught on camera.

“They came to our house at 4 in the morning and told us that they wanted to destroy it, and brought two bulldozers,” Emad Abu Khaled told RT. “They also threatened us with guns and said, ‘We will shoot you if you do anything.’ They don’t care what you do, if you resist and stay inside they can demolish the building with you inside it.”

Although Israeli authorities claim the construction of the houses was illegal, Palestinians say the permits are nearly impossible to obtain. Many families are currently receiving demolition orders and live in constant fear of eviction, which is often followed by violent actions.
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From The Times of Israel

IDF general: A few Gaza rockets don’t warrant major conflict

Military’s top commander in south says Hamas making efforts to curb fire; Israel to reopen crossings

June 8, 2015, 2:09 am

Head of the IDF Southern Command, Sami Turgeman (YouTube screen capture/IDF)

Head of the IDF Southern Command, Sami Turgeman (YouTube screen capture/IDF)

Israel will not engage in a large-scale confrontation in the Gaza Strip over a small number of rockets fired from the Palestinian territory, IDF Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman said Sunday, according to Ynet news.

In a meeting with the heads of local councils in the Gaza periphery, the military commander said Israel would know how to deal with the isolated incidents of rocket-fire.

He added that Israeli intel showed Hamas was making real efforts to prevent rocket attacks, as it was interested in maintaining the calm along the border. He noted that Israel still holds Hamas responsible for any launch, as the rulers of the Palestinian territory.

Israel was expected to reopen the the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings between Israel and Gaza on Monday. The crossings were closed on Sunday, with an exception for medical emergencies and humanitarian aid, after a rocket attack Saturday evening.

The White House said Sunday it supports Israel’s right to defend itself after Israel retaliated for strikes on the country from Gaza.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Treasury chief heckled while defending Iran deal at Jerusalem Post conference

NEW YORK (JTA) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew was booed as he laid out a detailed defense of the Iran nuclear deal at The Jerusalem Post’s annual conference in New York.

The sole representative of the Obama administration at the conference on Sunday, Lew defended the White House’s commitment to protecting Israel amid rising global anti-Semitism and lauded the president’s “historic” level of economic and military support.

But at the first mention of President Barack Obama’s name, several in the crowd began to boo so consistently that the Post’s editor-in-chief, Steve Linde, had to tell the crowd to calm down.

“The simple fact is this,” Lew said, struggling to talk above the jeers. “No administration has done more for Israel’s security than this one.”
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From Russia Today

Masked attackers break up tent camp on Kiev’s Maidan, protest leader ‘arrested’

Published time: June 08, 2015 05:25
Edited time: June 08, 2015 12:20

Still from Ruptly video

(Still from Ruptly video)

Unidentified assailants wearing balaclavas assaulted and destroyed a tent camp set up on Sunday by protesters on Kiev’s landmark Maidan Square. Activists at the camp had been calling on the Ukrainian President to report on progress since taking office.

The attack happened late Sunday evening, when a gang stormed the activist camp, forcefully removing tents and dispersing protesters.

Police officers were reportedly stationed right next to the site and did nothing to stop the violent group.
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From Ynet News

Obama talks Mideast crises on sidelines of G7 summit

President meets with Hollande on Iran, Cameron and Iraqi PM on Islamic State, as world leaders gather in Germany.

ELMAU, Germany — US President Barack Obama was huddling with allies Monday on the sidelines of an international summit to address pressing Mideast problems while trying to convince European leaders not to waver on sanctions against Russia in the face of fresh violence in Ukraine.

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From The Times of Israel

Dropping West Bank annexation bid, Bennett turns to the Golan

Education minister calls on international community to choose between Israel and ISIS and finally recognize 1981 annexation

June 7, 2015, 7:52 pm

Minister of Education Naftali Bennett speaks at the Herzliya Conference, June 7, 2015. (Flash90)

Minister of Education Naftali Bennett speaks at the Herzliya Conference, June 7, 2015. (Flash90)

Education Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday launched a campaign to gain international legitimization for Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, arguing that while the deep-seated disagreements about the West Bank will not be resolved easily, there is no question that the Golan will remain in Israel’s hands.

“I call on the international community: Recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights,” he said at a conference in Herzliya. “You can choose: It’s either Israel or the Islamic State. It’s either a democracy that elects its heads, or a barbaric organization that cuts off heads. Because in the Golan there’s no such thing as occupation. In the Golan, no one claims human rights abuses, at least not on our side.”

Bennett said he’d like to “challenge the international community to exhibit morality, values and justice. It can be done regarding the Golan Heights. To this day, no state in the world has recognized the Golan as part of Israel, including our friend, the United States of America. It is time the world stand by the right side — Israel’s side.”

Keeping the Golan, which Israel captured in 1967 and officially annexed in 1981, is an Israeli consensus, Bennett said, calling on opposition leader Isaac Herzog and MK Yair Lapid to rally the country around his Golan-themed campaign.

Bennett, the head of the Orthodox-nationalist Jewish Home party, lamented that only 23,000 Jews live in the northern territory. He announced a plan to bring an additional 75,000 Jews to the Golan within the next half-year, mostly through financial incentives.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency

French telecom’s CEO to visit Israel over boycott controversy

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Orange CEO Stephane Richard will travel to Israel to clear up the controversy over the French telecom’s attitude toward Israel.

Richard will visit the country soon following an invitation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli and French media reported Monday.

Netanyahu, in his capacity as acting foreign minister, instructed the Foreign Ministry on Sunday to turn down a request by Richard to meet with the Israeli envoy in France, saying he could come to Israel to set the record straight.

An Orange spokesman cited by the French Le Monde news website said that Richard planned to visit Israel “soon” in order to “provide all the information necessary to put an end to this controversy and reaffirm the group’s commitment.”
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From Russia Today

Right rising? Pegida comes 4th in Dresden mayoral election with 9.6%

Published time: June 08, 2015 12:07

Supporters of the German right-wing movement PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) hold up a poster showing German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a uniform with an Euro-logo-armband as they attend a PEGIDA rally on June 1, 2015 in Dresden, eastern Germany. (AFP Photo/Jens Schlueter)

(Supporters of the German right-wing movement PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) hold up a poster showing German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a uniform with an Euro-logo-armband as they attend a PEGIDA rally on June 1, 2015 in Dresden, eastern Germany. (AFP Photo/Jens Schlueter))

Almost one in 10 voters has supported a far-right, anti-immigration Pegida candidate in mayoral elections in the East German city of Dresden. Pegida’s Tatjana Festerling came fourth in the city’s polls, surpassing most polling forecasts.

With 9.6 percent, Festerling, 51, came behind left-leaning frontrunner Eva-Maria Stange, the joint candidate for the Social Democrats, Greens and left-wing Linke, who was first in Sunday’s first round, taking 36 percent of the vote. Stange was followed by a candidate from the right-wing Free Democrats party (FDP), who won a little over 31 percent. The candidate from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU party came third, with 15.4 percent of the vote. Since no single candidate managed to win an absolute majority, the election will go to a run-off on July 5.

Pegida has, at its peak, attracted up to 25,000 people onto the streets of Dresden in an anti-immigration rally. But according to pre-election polls, published by the Technical University of Dresden, Pegida (an acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West) was expected to win just 1-2 percent of the votes. Festerling’s supporters on Facebook said it was “a good, respectable election result.”
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From Ynet News

US Supreme Court rejects law to allow ‘Jerusalem, Israel’ on passports

Vote seen as a victory for US President Obama who claims that law would set a precedent harming his ability to set foreign policy. The US Supreme Court has struck down a disputed law that would have allowedAmericans born in Jerusalem to list their birthplace as Israel on their US passports. It’s an important ruling that underscores the president’s authority in foreign affairs.
The court ruled 6-3 Monday that Congress overstepped its bounds when it approved the law in 2002. It would have forced the State Department to alter its long-standing policy of not listing Israel as the birthplace for Jerusalem-born Americans.
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From The Times of Israel

Hollande tells PM he opposes Israel boycotts amid Orange row

Netanyahu says mobile giant’s CEO should come to Israel if he wants to discuss planned pullout of his company from country

June 7, 2015, 10:17 pm

France's President Francois Hollande arrives in a golf cart at the Elmau Castle resort near Garmisch-Partenkirchen on June 7, 2015 at the start of a G7 Summit (AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN)

France’s President Francois Hollande arrives in a golf cart at the Elmau Castle resort near Garmisch-Partenkirchen on June 7, 2015 at the start of a G7 Summit (AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN)

French President Francois Hollande expressed his stark opposition Sunday to any form of boycott leveled against the Jewish state, amid an ongoing spat over comments made by the CEO of mobile giant Orange concerning the company’s possible pullout from Israel.

Speaking on the phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hollande further conveyed his desire to maintain strong economic ties between Israel and France.

Earlier Sunday, Netanyahu instructed the Foreign Ministry to inform Orange CEO Stephane Richard that if he wants to set the record straight over the intended pullout of his company from the country, he can do so in Israel. The instruction came after Richard asked to meet with the Israeli envoy in France.

The chairman of Orange said Saturday that the French telecom group is in Israel “to stay,” after a row erupted over the group’s plan to review its business ties with an Israeli firm that leases its name. Richard told AFP he “sincerely regrets” the furor sparked Wednesday, when he said that Orange would like to end its brand-licensing agreement with Partner, Israel’s second-largest mobile operator.

“Let me make it very clear that the Orange Group is in Israel to stay,” he said. The import of Richard’s newer comments was unclear, as Orange late last week officially announced its decision to withdraw from Israel.
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From The Times of Israel

Herzog warns of emerging binational state ‘threat’

Zionist Union leader says separation from Palestinians imperative to ensure Jewish majority in Israel

June 7, 2015, 8:26 pm

Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog speaks at the Herzliya Conference, June 7, 2015. (Screen capture: Herzliya Conference)

Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog speaks at the Herzliya Conference, June 7, 2015. (Screen capture: Herzliya Conference)

Israeli opposition head Isaac Herzog warned Sunday that, if efforts to reach a peace deal in the region fail, “the biggest threat to the existence of the State of Israel” is the possible emergence of a binational state roughly divided among Jews and Arabs.

“In about a decade, the Arabs between the Jordan and the Mediterranean will be a majority and the Jews a minority,” Herzog stated during an address at the Herzliya Conference. “The Jewish national home will become the Palestinian national home. We will be, again, for the first time since 1948, a Jewish minority among an increasing Arab majority.”

Herzog criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s current government for failing to advance diplomatic initiatives, adding that of the 30 Knesset members in the ruling Likud party, 20 were officially opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state. He stressed that he and his party, on the other hand, were determined that Israel separate from the Palestinian population under its control in order to preserve the nation’s unique status as a majority-Jewish state.

“I want to separate from the Palestinians,” said Herzog, who heads the Zionist Union party. “I want to maintain a Jewish state with a Jewish majority. I don’t want 61 Palestinian MKs in Israel’s Knesset. I don’t want a Palestinian prime minister in Israel. I don’t want them to change my flag and my national anthem.

“I don’t want them to change the name of my country to Isra-stine,” Herzog continued, in an apparent reference to proposals regarding the establishment of a confederate Israeli-Palestinian state encompassing the territory of Israel, as well as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
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