Dr. Patrick Slattery’s News Roundup
From The Times of Israel
Rally in solidarity with Jewish community held in Whitefish, Montana
Hundreds turn out for gathering ahead of planned armed neo-Nazi march designed to harass members of community
January 9, 2017, 5:57 am
A rally was held in Whitefish, Montana, to show solidarity with the Jewish community, which has been targeted by a neo-Nazi website.
The rally Saturday was sponsored by the Love Not Hate organization, which the Daily Stormer has accused of threatening white supremacist leader Richard Spencer’s mother, who lives in the town along with him.
Several hundred people reportedly turned out for the rally — billed as a block party — in sub-zero degree weather, according to Montana Public Radio. The rally included speeches from city and faith leaders, local singers and storytellers, according to the report.
“This is indeed a community where the voices that speak love and acceptance are so many more numerous than those that speak for hate and division,” Jessica Loti Leferrier, a Love Not Hate rally organizer, told Montana Public Radio.
The neo-Nazi website, the Daily Stormer, said last week that it had filed the paperwork for an armed neo-Nazi march designed to harass the Montana Jewish community of Whitefish.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Evangelicals to push pro-Israel moves in DC as Trump presidency nears
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Leaders of the country’s largest evangelical pro-Israel lobby are flying in to Washington, D.C., to back bills that slam the recent U.N. anti-settlements resolution and force the president to move the Israeli Embassy to Jerusalem.
Some 260 members of Christians United for Israel are coming from 49 states to push the measures Wednesday on Capitol Hill, a CUFI news release said.
The tone of the release and of an interview with CUFI’s leadership in Bloomberg News ahead of the fly-in suggest that the group is ready to assert itself under President-elect Donald Trump, who is seen as friendly to the right-wing Israeli policies that CUFI has embraced in the past.
“There are millions of Christian Zionists across the country who are incensed at the Obama administration’s treatment of Israel, and we will make our voice heard both in the halls of Congress and at the ballot box,” Pastor John Hagee, the group’s founder, said in the release.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Report: Trump, Kushner foundations have donated thousands to Chabad
Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump attending the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, March 9, 2011. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images)
(JTA) — President-elect Donald Trump’s foundation has donated thousands of dollars to Chabad institutions.
The Israeli daily Haaretz also reported that the foundation of the parents of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner gave some $342,500 to Chabad institutions and projects over a 10-year period.
The Donald J. Trump Foundation donated $11,550 to three Chabad institutions. In 2008, a year before Ivanka Trump and Kushner were married, the Trump foundation donated $6,750 to the Lubavitch Youth Organization in Brooklyn and $1,800 to the Chabad of Southampton Jewish Charity. In 2011, the foundation donated $3,000 to Chabad of East Boca Raton – an institution in Florida also supported by the Kushners.
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From The Times of Israel
Israel sorry for embassy employee plot to ‘bring down’ UK lawmakers
Ambassador Mark Regev tells British Deputy FM Alan Duncan that comments made about him and other MPs are ‘unacceptable’; London says ‘matter closed’
January 8, 2017, 1:03 pm
The Israeli ambassador to London has apologized to a UK minister after an employee was caught on film conspiring to discredit British politicians, notably Foreign Office deputy minister Alan Duncan, who is perceived as being unfriendly to Israel.
Ambassador Mark Regev had spoken with Duncan and made it clear that the remarks made in the video about UK lawmakers were “unacceptable,” embassy spokesperson Yiftah Curiel wrote in a statement posted to his Twitter account Sunday.
“The Embassy of Israel rejects the remarks concerning Minister Duncan, which are completely unacceptable; the comments were made by a junior embassy employee who is not an Israeli diplomat, and who will be ending his term of employment with the embassy shortly,” the statement said.
“Ambassador Regev on Friday spoke with Minister Duncan, apologized for the comments and made clear that the embassy considered the remarks to be completely unacceptable,” Curiel wrote.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “the Israeli ambassador has apologized and is clear that these comments do not reflect the views of the Embassy or the Government of Israel. The UK has a strong relationship with Israel and we consider the matter closed.”
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From PressTV
Syria crisis deepened by US-led coalition intervention: Russia
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has accused the US-led coalition of having made no positive contribution to the counter-terrorism fight in Syria, but rather worsened the conflict gripping the Arab country.
Speaking at a Defense Ministry meeting in Moscow on Tuesday, Shoigu stressed that Moscow had achieved its main objectives in Syria regarding the anti-terror battle.
He further noted that the US-led alliance’s assistance for Russia’s Syria campaign “did not rate at a zero, but a negative score, and to my great regret we did not see this support.”
Shoigu’s comments came two days after US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter claimed that the Russians had given “virtually zero” support to Washington in its alleged fight against Daesh militants in Syria and Iraq.
The coalition’s non-cooperation “required the exertion of all our forces, all our capabilities, deploying quite a serious grouping including aircraft carriers and others,” the Russian official added.
‘US-led strikes kill civilians in Syria’
Separately on Tuesday, Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said the coalition airstrikes did not have “any significant results” in Syria and caused a “considerable number of deaths among civilians and government troops.”
Russia’s involvement in Syria “changed the course of fighting terrorism in Syria,” Gerasimov added.
On January 3, over 20 civilians lost their lives in a coalition air raid on the town of Sarmada in Syria’s Idlib Province in violation of a nationwide ceasefire that took effect on December 30, 2016, he further pointed out.
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From PressTV
US-led coalition pounding Syria infrastructure, not Daesh-held oil fields: Russia
Russia has accused the US-led coalition of “systematically” bombing Syria’s economic infrastructure rather than oil production facilities seized by Takfiri Daesh terrorists.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov made the remarks on Wednesday, hours after CIA Director John Brennan claimed that Moscow was purusing a “scorched earth policy” in Syria.
“Brennan is well aware of the fact that long before the start of the Russian campaign, the… coalition had been systematically destroying Syria’s economic infrastructure to weaken the legitimate government…, heedless of burdens for civilians resulting in millions of refugees,” Konashenkov said.
He further accused the US-led coalition of not targeting the Daesh-held oil fields in their bombing campaign in the Arab country.
“Surprisingly, the coalition has not attacked oil facilities captured by Daesh, which allowed the terrorists to make tens of millions of dollars per month through illicit oil trade and recruit mercenaries from all over the world,” Konashenkov said.
The Russian official also stressed that Washington would be held accountable for its conduct in Syria “sooner or later.”
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Mother, relatives of truck-ramming terrorist to lose Israeli residency
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The mother of the Palestinian man who killed four Israeli soldiers in a truck-ramming attack in eastern Jerusalem will lose her Israeli residency and other benefits in the wake of the attack.
Manwa al-Qunbar and 11 other relatives were summoned Tuesday to the Interior Ministry to begin the process of revoking their residency. The family home is in the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem.
Fadi al-Qunbar, who held an Israeli identification card, drove a large truck into a group of soldiers who had just exited a bus on the promenade in the Arnon Hatnatziv neighborhood, which marks the border between the eastern and western halves of Jerusalem. He then reversed back over the bodies after he had hit them before being shot and killed by a civilian tour guide and at least two soldiers. Along with the four killed, 15 others were injured in the attack.
“We must fight with all our strength and by any deterrent means in order to prevent the next terror attack,” Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said. “From now on, terrorists considering an attack will know that their families will pay a price for their actions.”
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From The Times of Israel
During Trump transition, foreign policy matters reportedly relayed through Jared Kushner
President-elect’s team told Obama White House that issues requiring Trump’s attention should be conveyed via son-in-law, according to New York Times
January 9, 2017, 5:43 am
Trump transition officials have told the Obama White House that foreign policy matters that need to be brought to President-elect Donald Trump’s attention should be relayed through his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the New York Times reported.
The article that appeared on the front page of the Sunday edition of the newspaper also reported that Kushner has hired a leading Washington law firm, WilmerHale, to advise him on how to comply with federal ethics laws should he join the White House staff as an adviser to the president.
The Times cited “a person close to the transition and a government official with direct knowledge of the arrangement” in reporting that Kushner, 36, is the go-to guy on foreign policy for the transition.
When the Chinese ambassador to the United States called the White House in early December to express its anger at Trump’s phone call with the president of Taiwan, a break with diplomatic etiquette, the White House relayed the information through Kushner and not Trump’s national security team, according to the newspaper. This despite the fact that Kushner’s company was in the middle of negotiations with Anbang Insurance Group, a Chinese financial conglomerate, about plans to redevelop a Kushner family holding on 5th Ave. in downtown Manhattan, and that the company has Chinese investors.
Kushner reportedly met with Anbang CEO Wu Xiaohui at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, which Wu owns, days after the presidential election to discuss the redevelopment plans, according to the Times.
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From The Times of Israel
Clinton will never run for office again, confidante says
Think tank head rejects New York Times report suggesting former presidential candidate may run for NY mayor
January 9, 2017, 2:32 am
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton will never run for office again after losing the US presidential election to Donald Trump in November after the most divisive campaign in memory, a confidante of the Democrat said on Sunday.
“I think she’s going to figure out ways to help kids and families,” Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, a Democratic Party-connected think-tank told CNN. “That’s been what she’s been focused on her whole life, and a lot of issues that are affecting them, over the next couple of years.”
“But I don’t expect her to ever run for any elected office again,” she added.
Tanden was reacting to a New York Times article speculating about whether Clinton would run for New York mayor against the incumbent Bill de Blasio, her former campaign chief.
“I don’t expect her to run for this and I don’t expect her to run for other office,” Tanden said, without giving more specifics about the 69-year-old former secretary of state’s plans.
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From PressTV
Army will fight on to liberate every inch of Syria: President Assad
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad says the armed forces will fight until the liberation of “every inch” of the homeland from militant and extremist presence.
Assad made the remarks in a statement given to French media, the full version of which was published by the official Syrian Arab News Agency on Monday.
“Of course it’s our mission, according to the constitution and according to the laws, that we have to liberate every inch of the Syrian land,” he said.
Assad had been asked whether the country had any plans to liberate Raqqa from the Daesh Takfiri terror group, which has named the northern city as its so-called headquarters in the Arab country.
“We do not consider that (retaking Aleppo from the militants) as a victory because victory will be when we have eliminated all the terrorists,” Assad said, adding however, that “it is a critical moment in this war because we are on the path to victory.”
‘Everything can be negotiated’
He also said that the Syrian delegation was prepared “to negotiate everything” in the upcoming talks with the opposition, which is to be held in the Kazakh capital of Astana with the mediation of Russia, Turkey and Iran.
Asked if the government was ready to discuss Assad’s position as president, he said “yes, but my position is linked to the constitution.”
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From PressTV
Hamas: Facebook colluding with Israel
From PressTV
Israel sets record for killing Palestinian kids in 2016
A new report says 2016 saw the highest number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli troops over the past decade, warning that Tel Aviv is not being held accountable for its lethal attacks.
The report by Defense for Children International (DCI), a Geneva-based NGO focusing on children’s rights, noted that 35 children were killed and 83 others injured by Israeli troops in 2016.
It warned that Israeli forces are not being held accountable for using firearms against the Palestinian protesters and stone-throwers.
Thirty-two of them were killed in the occupied West Bank, out of whom 19 children were between the ages of 16 and 17 and 13 others were between 13 and 15 years old, the report said.
“We can say Israeli soldiers are encouraged to use lethal force against children in the absence of any kind of accountability. They do not observe the laws protecting civilians under occupation,” Ayed Abu Eqtaish, a DCI director, told Press TV correspondent in Ramallah.
“We have evidence where there was no reason to kill those children. They did not pose any kind of threat. In many cases, soldiers fired so many bullets at the slain children to make sure they were dead,” he added.
Helmi al-Arja, from the Hurryat Center for Defense of Civil Rights, told Press TV that Israeli forces are confident they will not be tried for their crimes.
“Trials will only be the mock ones, because the victims are Palestinians,” he added.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Lithuanian game show taken off the air over Nazi salute and ‘Jew’ clue
(JTA) – A Lithuanian game show in which a contestant performed a Nazi salute and shouted “Jew” to describe a Jewish composer was taken off the air.
Actress Asta Baukute, a former lawmaker, made the gesture on the “Guess the Melody” episode that aired Friday, Delfi reported. In the charades-style game, contestants act out songs and other music trivia without explicitly naming them.
Standing up in a leather coat and dancing excitedly, Baukute put both the index and middle finger of her left hand to her upper lip — ostensibly to indicate Hitler’s mustache — and raised her right hand in a Nazi salute high in the air. She yelled “Jew” three times in Lithuanian.
She was signaling that she recognized the melody being played belonged to Lithuanian composer Simonas Donskovas, who is Jewish. The show was not aired live, but was recorded several days earlier, according to Delfi.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Rotterdam City Hall flies Israeli flag in solidarity against terrorism
The Israeli flag flying at half-mast atop City Hall in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on Jan. 10, 2017. (Photo courtesy of NIW/David de Leeuw)
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — The seat of the municipality of Rotterdam, the Netherlands’ second-largest city, flew an Israeli flag at half-mast in solidarity with the Jewish state following a terrorist attack in Jerusalem.
Rotterdam City Hall flew the Israeli flag Tuesday at the suggestion of Bart Schut, a journalist for the Nieuw Israelitisch Weekblad, the country’s main Jewish weekly, following the slaying of four soldiers on Sunday by a Palestinian terrorist who plowed a truck through a crowd of soldiers who had just alighted from a bus in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Arnon Hanatziv.
The decision to fly the Israeli flag in Rotterdam follows the projection of the Israeli flag on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Monday.
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From The Times of Israel
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep berated President-elect Donald Trump for his divisive rhetoric as she received a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes on Sunday.
The 67-year-old fought to control her emotions as she received a standing ovation during her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award, handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
“You and all of us in this room, really, belong to the most vilified segments in American society right now. Think about it. Hollywood, foreigners, and the press,” she said to her peers with a laugh.
“But who are we? And, you know, what is Hollywood anyway? It’s just a bunch of people from other places.”
Meryl Streep poses in the press room during the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 8, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images/AFP)
From The Times of Israel
South Carolina church shooter sentenced to death
22-year-old white supremacist Dylann Roof refused to apologize or even explain 2015 shooting rampage at historic black church
January 11, 2017, 1:31 am
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) — An unrepentant Dylann Roof was sentenced to death Tuesday for fatally shooting nine black church members during a Bible study session, becoming the first person ordered executed for a federal hate crime.
A jury deliberated for about three hours before returning with the decision, capping a trial in which the 22-year-old avowed white supremacist did not fight for his life or show any remorse. He served as his own attorney during sentencing and never asked for forgiveness or mercy or explained the massacre.
Hours earlier, Roof threw away one last chance to plead for his life, telling jurors: “I still feel like I had to do it.”
Every juror looked directly at Roof as he spoke for about five minutes. A few nodded as he reminded them that they said during jury selection they could fairly weigh the factors of his case. Only one of them, he noted, had to disagree to spare his life.
“I have the right to ask you to give me a life sentence, but I’m not sure what good it would do anyway,” he said.
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From The Times of Israel
Obama says goodbye in last presidential speech
US president heads to hometown Chicago to wrap up eight years in office ahead of handover to Trump
January 11, 2017, 12:47 am
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Barack Obama closes the book on his presidency Tuesday, with a farewell speech in Chicago that will try to lift supporters shaken by Donald Trump’s shock election.
Obama’s last trip on Air Force One will be a pilgrimage to his adoptive hometown, where he will address a sell-out crowd not far from where he delivered his victory speech eight years ago.
“For Michelle and me, Chicago is where it all started. It’s the city that showed us the power and fundamental goodness of the American people,” Obama said in a Facebook post previewing his remarks.
Diehard fans — many African Americans — have braved Chicago’s frigid winter to collect free tickets, which now sell for upwards of $1,000 a piece on Craigslist.
Aside from First Lady Michelle Obama, the Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden will also come along for the ride.
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From The Times of Israel
Obama: Netanyahu talks of two-state solution but his actions undermine it
In final interview with Israeli TV, president says ‘unfettered support’ for settlements by his successor would bring ‘worsening situation’ to conflict
January 10, 2017, 10:33 pm
In a final interview to Israeli media on Tuesday, US President Barack Obama cast doubt on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s support for the two-state solution, while warning that “unfettered support” by the US for West Bank settlements would lead to a “worsening situation” between Israeli and Palestinians.
The president gave the farewell tete-a-tete to Channel 2’s Ilana Dayan on the “Uvda” show, which aired 10 days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump has promised to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, a step not taken by a US president despite several campaign promises over the years. Trump’s future ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is an unequivocal supporter of West Bank settlements.
Obama charged that Netanyahu’s actions indicate that he doesn’t support a two-state solution with the Palestinians, pointing to the acceleration of settlement construction in recent years “that was not compelled by Israel’s security.”
“The settlement issue has become a barrier to a two-state solution. Bibi says he that believes in two-state solution and yet his actions have consistently shown that if he’s pressured to approve more settlements he will do so, regardless of what he says of the importance of a two-state solution,” said Obama.
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From The Times of Israel
TV report: Trump’s ambassador could work from Jerusalem, with embassy still in Tel Aviv
Channel 2 quotes Israeli diplomats on possible compromise, but CNN says incoming administration telling allies embassy will move
January 10, 2017, 8:40 pm
A possible compromise over moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem could see Donald Trump’s ambassador working from an existing US consulate in the capital while the embassy itself remains in Tel Aviv, Israeli television reported on Tuesday.
Quoting unnamed Israeli Foreign Ministry officials, Channel 2 news said intended ambassador David Friedman, who has said he looks forward to working from the US embassy in Jerusalem, might instead merely work from the city with a small staff, while the Tel Aviv embassy remains intact and most of its operations and staff stay there.
The report noted that building contractors in neighborhoods near the existing consulate in Talpiot have received calls recently from would-be buyers seeking luxury homes for Americans.
In marked contrast to the talk of a compromise idea, however, CNN reported that Trump was pushing ahead with plans for the embassy move and telling allies that it will go ahead.
The US Consulate in Jerusalem’s Talpiot neighborhood (Raphael Ahren/Times of Israel)
