From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Doctors, pilots and Holocaust survivors try to thwart Israel’s plan to deport African migrants
Students and teachers protesting in Tel Aviv against the deportation of African asylum seekers, Jan. 24, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/ Flash90)
(JTA) — Holocaust survivors and rabbis, as well as doctors and some airline pilots, are among the Israelis who say they will try to thwart Israel’s plan to deport thousands of African migrants, even if it means taking them into their own homes.
The latest group to come forward are hospital doctors and medical staff, who in a letter Sunday to the director general of the Population and Immigration Authority asked the government to halt the planned expulsions.
As those who are “charged with the command to ‘save him from all evil and injustice,’ we are horrified by the thought that instead of absorbing those victims who came to us fleeing genocide, torture, violence and rape, we are discussing condemning them to further harm,” the letter reads.
Some 300 of the 400 medical personnel who signed the letter are doctors.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Democrat-Republican split on Israel is the widest in 40 years, poll finds
Donald Trump speaking at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee 2016 Policy Conference at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, March 21, 2016. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The gap between how Republicans and Democrats view Israel is widening, a Pew Research Center poll found.
The poll posted Tuesday showed 79 percent of Republicans sympathize with Israel over the Palestinians whereas 27 percent of Democrats sympathize with Israel over the Palestinians. Pew said this was the widest divide since 1978. The poll showed that 42 percent of Independents sympathize with Israel more than Palestinians.
From PressTV
US rejects Russian-proposed probe into Syria chemical attacks
The United States rejects a Russian-drafted UNSC resolution aimed at establishing an investigative mechanism into all allegations of chemical attacks in Syria, with both sides discrediting each other’s data on the issue.
“We want to rise above the differences and propose [the] creation of a new international investigative body… based on the impeccable and irrefutable data obtained in a transparent and credible way,” said Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia during a UN Security Council meeting held on Tuesday.
The UNSC meeting was called by Moscow to discuss the crisis in Syria, especially recent accusations against Damascus over an alleged chemical attack.
The Russian proposal was rejected by US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who accused Russia of attempting to protect Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“When Russia doesn’t like the facts, they try and distract the conversation. That’s because the facts come back over and over again to the truth Russia wants to hide – that the Assad regime continues to use chemical weapons against its own people,” she said.
“The United States and the international community are not going to be fooled. We remain steadfast in pursuing accountability for those who use chemical weapons,” she added.
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From PressTV
EU foreign policy chief backs East Jerusalem as Palestinian capital
The European Union has assured President Mahmoud Abbas that the 28-nation bloc supports Palestinians’ bid to have East Jerusalem al-Quds as capital of their future state.
During a meeting with Abbas at the EU headquarters in Brussels on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini rejected US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital.
“I want to reassure President Abbas of the firm commitment of the European Union to the [so-called] two-state solution with Jerusalem [al-Quds] as the shared capital of the two states,” media outlets quoted Mogherini as saying.
Mogherini, in reference to Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital, also called on those involved in the process to speak and act “wisely,” with a sense of responsibility.
Before Abbas’ arrival, she was more outspoken, saying: “Clearly there is a problem with Jerusalem [al-Quds]. That is a very diplomatic euphemism.”
Abbas’ presence at the EU headquarters in Brussels was seized on by European officials and foreign ministers as a chance to restate opposition to Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to the occupied al-Quds.
From PressTV
Russia: US actions in Syria either provocative or ill-informed
Russia has slammed US actions in Syria that “encourage separatist sentiments among Kurds” as either a provocation or ill-informed after Turkey launched a major operation against US-backed militants in the Arab country.
“Washington has actively encouraged and continues to encourage separatist sentiments among Kurds,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.
“This is either a lack of understanding of the situation or an absolutely conscious provocation,” he added.
Turkey launched the so-called Operation Olive Branch on Saturday in a bid to eliminate the US-backed YPG, which Ankara views as a terror organization and the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK). The latter has been fighting for an autonomous region inside Turkey since 1984.
The operation was launched days after Washington said it would work with the Kurdish militants to set up a 30,000-strong border force near Turkish soil, a move that infuriated Ankara.
The YPG is operating under the larger US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militants without authorization from Damascus, which calls the force “traitors” to the Syrian nation.
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From PressTV
Russia ‘concerned’ about Turkey’s military operation in Syria, calls for restraint
Russia has voiced concern about a Turkish military operation in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled Afrin region, calling on the sides to exercise restraint.
“Moscow is concerned at this news. We call on the opposing parties to show restraint,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The statement came shortly after Ankara launched a new air and ground operation around the area of Afrin in northern Syria to oust the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terror organization and the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK).
The ministry also said that Russian troops were withdrawing from Afrin “to prevent potential provocation and exclude the threat to the life and wellbeing of Russian military.”
It added that Moscow was sticking to its position on solving the Syrian crisis based on safeguarding the Arab country’s territorial integrity and respecting its sovereignty.
Following a partial December withdrawal of its troops from Syria after the collapse of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, “the main objective of Russian forces remaining in the country is to ensure respect of the truce in de-escalation zones,” the ministry said.
From PressTV
Russian FM slams US efforts to create ‘alternative authority’ in Syria
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has lashed out at the US for undermining the territorial integrity of Syria through efforts to form “alternative bodies of authority” across the Middle Eastern country.
“The US [is] trying to form… alternative bodies of authority on vast… parts of the Syrian territory,” Lavrov said in a Friday news conference at the UN headquarters in New York.
“That is a fact and that does contradict their own obligations… to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria,” he added.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said US troops would stay in Syria for the foreseeable future, adding that the US would not fund the reconstruction of any part of Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad is in power.
Read more:
Tillerson elaborated on a US plan to push for a faster political transition in the country by discouraging economic relationships between Damascus and any other country.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Palestinian envoy to US says Trump’s Jerusalem decision was a ‘backstabbing’
Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s envoy to Washington, addressing the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., Jan. 25, 2018. Seated left is MEI Vice President Paul Salem. (Ron Kampeas)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump’s recognition last month of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital amounted to “backstabbing,” the Palestine Liberation Organization envoy to Washington said.
Husam Zomlot delivered his first remarks Thursday since the Dec. 6 recognition, addressing the Middle East Institute, a think tank. A main contact between the Trump administration and the Palestinian Authority, Zomlot conveyed a measure of the fury with Trump that P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas delivered at a PLO Central Council meeting last week.
But he also recommitted the Palestinians to the two-state solution and to continuing to seek engagement with Israelis.
The remarks, while defiant, also underscored a key Palestinian weakness, one Zomlot said his side must take blame for: They had failed to make their case to the American people, while domestic support for Israel in the United States remained strong.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Bernie Sanders considers 2020 run
Bernie Sanders speaking to a crowd of supporters at a Democratic unity rally at the Rail Event Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, April 21, 2017. (George Frey/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sen. Bernie Sanders, the first Jewish candidate to win major party nominating contests, reportedly is considering a presidential run in 2020.
Sanders, an Independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, met last weekend with his top political advisers and a portion of the conversation was dedicated to considering whether he should run in the next presidential election, Politico reported.
Polls have shown that Sanders would lead a burgeoning pack of Democrats considering a run against President Donald Trump, were Trump to run again. Sanders, a Democratic Socialist, galvanized the party’s left when he mounted a credible challenge to Hillary Clinton, who went on to win the nomination but lose the election.
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From PressTV
Israel rebuked widely at UN Human Rights Council for abuses against Palestinians
More than a dozen nations join in extensive criticism of Israel at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) over its human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories, with some calling it an “apartheid” entity.
During a heated Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on Tuesday, Israel faced its third Universal Periodic Review, which examines the rights records of each of its subjects and produces recommendations.
South Africa took the lead in criticizing Tel Aviv, describing it as the world’s only “apartheid” entity.
“We remain deeply concerned at the denial of the right of self-determination to the Palestinian people, in the absence of which no other human right can be exercised or enjoyed,” the South African delegate said.
Palestinian representative Dima Asfour called on the regime to end “its 50-year colonial occupation,” adding that Palestinians “will not be discouraged” in their quest to pursue their rights.
“We call upon Israel to comply with international laws by immediately ending its 50-year colonial occupation and apartheid policies against the Palestinian people and dismantle the illegal wall and the related infrastructures located inside the OPT and compensate Palestinians for all of the losses incurred due to their presence,” the Palestinian delegate said.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
British Labour opposes call for blanket ban on Hezbollah
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, outside the Houses of Parliament in London after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, June 24, 2016. (Rob Stothard/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Britain’s Labour party advised its members to block an effort in parliament to ban Hezbollah entirely.
The House of Commons planned to debate the issue Thursday at the request of of Joan Ryan, a Labour lawmaker and chair of the party’s Friends of Israel group, The Jewish Chronicle reported.
The United Kingdom, like the European Union, outlaws contacts with Hezbollah’s military wing but not its political wing.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Moscow college student barred from exam after refusing to remove kippah
A view of Moscow State University. (Wikimedia Commons)
(JTA) — A Jewish student at Moscow State University was barred from taking an exam because he refused to remove his kippah.
Lev Boroda, a film student, has filed a complaint about the incident with the university administration.
He was asked by his geography professor, Vyacheslav Baburin, to remove his kippah or leave the auditorium where the exam was being administered. Boroda later found another professor willing to proctor him for the exam.
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From PressTV
Israel’s Mossad behind Lebanon car bomb attack against Hamas member: Report
A recent report has revealed that Israel’s Mossad spy agency had orchestrated a car bomb explosion in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon that slightly wounded a member of the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, earlier this week.
According to a report published by Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Akhbar newspaper on Saturday, the Lebanese Army Intelligence Directorate and the Internal Security Forces Directorate have managed to identify the ringleader of the cell that carried out the assassination operation against Mohammed Hamdan on January 14.
He was identified as 38-year-old Ahmad Baytiyah, who descends from the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, situated 85 kilometers north of the capital Beirut, but lives in the Dutch capital Amsterdam.
Baytiyah was recruited by Mossad and used to travel between Lebanon and the Netherlands frequently. He arrived at Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport on January 9.
He rented an apartment for a week in Beirut’s Waterfront City. He visited his family in Tripoli on the day of his arrival, and then returned to the capital.
Baytiyah traveled to Sidon several times under disguise of the head of an executive group, and rigorously monitored Hamdan’s house.
