From Russia Today
Sweden accepts NATO troops amid anti-Russia hysteria
Published time: 26 May, 2016 13:39
© Rafael Marchante / Reuters
The Swedish parliament ratified a controversial deal with NATO allowing the bloc to deploy troops in the Nordic country. NATO has been pushing for closer ties with neutral European countries, on the pretext of ‘protection from Russia’.
The so-called Host Nation Support Agreement (HNSA) was passed by the MPs on Wednesday as opponents of the deal vocally protested from the public galleries. Speaker asked security guards to stop the disturbance and escort the activists out.
Sweden’s Left Party, which initially intended to stall the ratification in an unlikely alliance with the far-right Sweden Democrats, dropped the notion when their political rivals withdrew their support. Sweden Democrats said even together with the Left Party they would not be able to push back the deal for more than a couple of weeks, The Local reported.
The HNSA was originally signed in September 2014 and allows NATO to deploy troops in Sweden on an invitation from Stockholm. Visiting soldiers would have legal immunities and privileges while staying in Sweden.
The Swedish government also agreed to cooperate with NATO’s Stratcom, a Riga-based center that was opened in 2014, reported the Svenska dagbladet newspaper. The center’s job includes, among other things, countering what the alliance calls Russian propaganda. Stockholm is yet to sign a cooperation deal with Stratcom’s sponsors: Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Italy, Germany and Britain.
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From Russia Today
Poroshenko vows ‘to bring back’ E.Ukraine, Crimea after Putin pardons Ukrainian pilot Savchenko
Published time: 25 May, 2016 17:43
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, on whom Hero of Ukraine title has been conferred, at the ceremony to present the latter with the Order of Gold Star. © Mikhail Markiv / Sputnik
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has vowed to “bring back” Crimea and the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. His statement was made as European officials welcomed Russia’s pardoning of Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko.
Follow RT’s LIVE UPDATES on Savchenko swap
On Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned Savchenko who was found guilty by a Russian court of murdering Russian journalists Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin near Lugansk, eastern Ukraine, in June 2014 and of illegally crossing the Russian border.
Putin told the Russian journalists’ relatives that his decision to pardon Savchenko was first and foremost motivated by “humanitarian considerations,” and he hoped such a move would “lead to a de-escalation of the confrontation in a certain conflict zone.”
Savchenko was swapped for two Russian citizens jailed in Ukraine on terrorism charges which they had denied. Her pardon sparked a wave of positive comments from European top officials including German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, French President Francois Hollande, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini and Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland.
France and Germany are members of the so-called Normandy Four group which has been holding regular meetings on the Ukraine conflict since June 2014. Francois Hollande welcomed the swap “in accordance with the commitments made during the phone conversation in [the] Normandy format [on]May 23,” the statement from the Elysee Palace said.
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From Russia Today
Russia postpones airstrikes against terrorist-held areas in Syria
Published time: 25 May, 2016 14:28
Russian Sukhoi Su-24 planes at the Khmeimim airbase in Syria. © Maksim Blinov / Sputnik
Russia will postpone airstrikes against militants in Syria, after being asked by several militant groups that are willing to join the ceasefire. The groups say they need time to drive Al-Nusra from their territories. TrendsRussian anti-terror op in Syria, Syria unrest
The Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria has received around 10 messages from the leaders of armed groups in Syria in a number of different provinces asking not to start airstrikes, according to Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov.
The groups say they will look to drive Al-Nusra from specific areas and inform Moscow of Nusra-free territories so that Russian aircraft don’t target them.
“Some of them are ready to provide us with coordinates and the areas which they control after they are fully cleared from terrorists, and further ensure that Syrian towns and army positions aren’t shelled from these areas,” said Konashenkov.
A decision has been taken to work with these armed groups that want to join the ceasefire.
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From The Times of Israel
Trump rules out foreign travel, despite claims of imminent Israel trip
Presumptive GOP nominee to ‘focus on our country and the election,’ says going abroad has no electoral benefit
May 24, 2016, 7:35 pm
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said a trip abroad would not be prudent “at the moment” because it would not sway voters.
Trump’s comments, made Sunday to The Wall Street Journal, came amid reports that billionaire donor Sheldon Adelson and the Republican Jewish Coalition were working on an Israel trip for the billionaire real estate mogul. Earlier this month, Trump said he would visit Israel “soon.”
But speaking to the Journal, Trump said he wants to concentrate his energy on issues in the United States as of now, though a future trip could still be possible.
“I don’t think it registers with the voters to be honest with you,” he told the Journal. “What I really want to do is focus on our country and the election, but I might. I’ve been invited by numerous countries to go.”
The Israel trip was reportedly being planned at the behest of casino magnate Adelson, a leading Republican donor who has pledged his support to Trump. Adelson has urged other Jewish Republican donors to back Trump, arguing that he will be more pro-Israel than likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
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From The Times of Israel
Trump clinches Republican presidential nomination
Republican presidential hopeful reaches magic number of 1,238 delegates, avoiding a contested GOP convention in July
May 26, 2016, 5:38 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump on Thursday reached the number of delegates needed to clinch the Republican nomination for president, completing an unlikely rise that has upended the political landscape and sets the stage for a bitter fall campaign.
Trump was put over the top in the Associated Press delegate count by a small number of the party’s unbound delegates who told the AP they would support him at the convention. Among them is Oklahoma GOP chairwoman Pam Pollard.
“I think he has touched a part of our electorate that doesn’t like where our country is,” Pollard said. “I have no problem supporting Mr. Trump.”
It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination for president. Trump has reached 1,238. With 303 delegates at stake in five state primaries on June 7, Trump will easily pad his total, avoiding a contested convention in Cleveland in July.
Trump, a political neophyte who for years delivered caustic commentary on the state of the nation from the sidelines but had never run for office, fought off 16 other Republican contenders in an often ugly primary race.
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From Russia Today
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
State Dept.: Coalition deal ‘raises legitimate questions’ on Israel’s path
(JTA) — In a first official statement to the coalition pact signed between Likud and the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, a State Department spokesman said this “raises legitimate questions” about the direction in which Israel is headed.
Mark Toner said this Wednesday, hours after the signing of a coalition deal that will install hardline settler Avigdor Liberman as defense minister instead of Moshe Yaalon, a former general and Likud member who, after being asked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to switch jobs, resigned and cited the government’s handling of perceived growing extremism.
Confirming to a journalist that the State Department has seen the reports on the new deal, Toner said: “We’ve also seen reports from Israel describing it as the most right-wing coalition in Israel’s history. And we also know that many of its ministers have said they opposed a two-state solution,” according to a transcript of the exchange during the daily press briefing in Washington, which was published on the website of the US Department of State.
“This raises legitimate questions about the direction it may be headed in – headed in, rather – and what kind of policies it may adopt, but ultimately we’re going to judge this government based on its actions,” Toner added. “We’re going to work with this government as we have with every Israeli government that preceded it, with the goal of strengthening our cooperation, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to the security of Israel, and in our commitment to working towards a two-state solution.”
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
GOP-Trump joint finance team includes 5 Republican Jewish donors
Donald Trump attending the 2016 the New York State Republican Gala in New York City, April 14, 2016. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee announced a fund-raising team that includes five current or former Republican Jewish Coalition board members.
Of 20 members of the Victory Leadership Team announced Tuesday, five are or have been on the RJC board: Mel Sembler, a Florida developer and former RJC chairman who was the finance chairman of the presidential campaign this cycle of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; Elliott Broidy, a venture capitalist who is influential among Hollywood conservatives; Sam Fox, a St. Louis businessman and past chairman of the RJC, whose son, Jeff Fox, backed the campaign of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; Lewis Eisenberg, a New York investment manager, who will serve as Trump Victory’s finance chairman; and Ronald Weiser, an Ann Arbor businessman and philanthropist who was chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.
The team coordinates fundraising strategy between the party and Trump’s campaign.
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From Russia Today
Muslim mob strips, beats & drags elderly woman through streets, torches Christian homes in Egypt
Published time: 26 May, 2016 16:57
An Egyptian Christian woman in a Coptic Orthodox church in Alexandria © Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
A Muslim mob stripped and beat an elderly woman before parading her through the streets of an Egyptian village, following rumors that a Christian man had an affair with a Muslim woman. The men also set seven Christian homes on fire.
The woman, 70, was stripped of her clothes, beaten, and insulted before being dragged through the streets of Minya, in southern Egypt, according to the local Orthodox Coptic church.
Security officials confirmed to AP on condition of anonymity that the attack took place and said the mob consisted of around 300 men. Six people were arrested and police was looking for 12 more, they said.
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From Russia Today
Gorbachev officially barred from Ukraine over Crimea comments
Published time: 26 May, 2016 16:19
Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev (C) © Grigory Dukor / Reuters
The former Soviet leader has been forbidden from entering Ukraine, following an interview with the Sunday Times in which he supported Crimea’s secession.
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From Russia Today
Terrifying migrant boat disaster captured as orphaned baby steals Italy’s heart (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
Published time: 26 May, 2016 15:28
© Lia Bartolo / Facebook
The Italian Navy has released dramatic footage of a rescue off the coast of Libya where they brought 562 migrants to safety after their overcrowded boat capsized.
The fishing vessel overturned Wednesday when migrants reportedly rushed to one side after spotting the naval boat nearby. At least five people are believed to have died in the tragedy.
The Italian navy patrol boat Bettica responded to a call for help made by a satellite phone some 18 nautical miles off Libya, according to The Local.
As the rescue boat approached the migrants to prove them with life jackets, the sudden push of passengers caused the vessel to overturn.
A helicopter and several rubber boats were deployed in the rescue operation.
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From Russia Today
Indictment rate for Israeli authorities following abuse of Palestinians just 3% – rights group to RT
Published time: 26 May, 2016 14:36
© Doron Keren / Reuters
The rate of indictment for Israeli military authorities accused of killing or injuring Palestinians is around three percent and therefore complaining in this flawed system is useless, the CEO of a prominent human rights group B’Tselem told RT.
Speaking just one day after the organization announced it would no longer submit violations on behalf of Palestinian victims, Hagai El-Ad said the entire chain of command of the Israeli military is designed in a way that does not bring justice.
“You can see how all along the chain from the initial investigation, the way the military investigative unit is constructed, the professional performance of its staff, all the way to the military advocates general of the system is structured eventually to reach a whitewash,” El-Ad told RT.
“The conclusions from the data are overwhelming…the rate of indictment is around three percent, and it’s not just the quantitive analysis, but also the qualitative ones,” he added.
And although the Israeli military claims to investigate all allegations against it – including those from B’Tselem – the organization says that claim is “impossible to agree with.”
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From Russia Today
Christian shelter: Refugees of all faiths get sanctuary in German church
Published time: 26 May, 2016 14:11
FILE PHOTO © Michaela Rehle / Reuters
Hundreds of refugees in Germany who escaped Islamic State atrocities and fear deportation have sought sanctuary in a Bavarian church. Though the Church in Germany is not above the law, it’s expected that police won’t storm the holy place.
At least 400 refugees found safe haven in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in the town of Tutzing, in the southern state of Bavaria, AFP reports.
According to Father Peter Brummer, the St. Joseph’s priest, the church accepts both “refugees who have a good chance of succeeding in their asylum applications, and for whom we are the last resort.”
“In most of the cases, it is to prevent them from being sent back to Hungary or Bulgaria, where the living conditions for refugees do not meet human rights standards,” he said.
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From Russia Today
Russian UN envoy Churkin names Turkish companies helping ISIS make bombs
Published time: 26 May, 2016 06:31
Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin. © Brendan McDermid / Reuters
Russia has presented a list of Turkish companies to the UN that Moscow believes are providing Islamic State with the components needed to make homemade explosive devices. TrendsGlobal terrorism, Islamic State, Syria unrest, Syria-Turkey
In UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin’s letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, the envoy says analysis of chemical components of explosives recovered in Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) liberated areas of Iraq’s Tikrit and the Syrian city of Kobani, implicate Turkish companies.
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From Russia Today
Muslim boys must shake hands with female teachers or face fine, Swiss canton rules
Published time: 25 May, 2016 21:04
© Reuters
Muslim school students in the Swiss canton of Basel cannot refuse to shake hands with their female teachers on religious grounds, otherwise their parents will face fines, local authorities have ruled.
“The public interest with respect to equality between men and women and the integration of foreigners significantly outweighs the freedom of conscience (freedom of religion) of the students,” the department of education, culture and sport in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, northern Switzerland, said on Wednesday.
According to the department, if students refuse to shake hands, it means that they involve others “in a religious act.”
“The social gesture of a handshake is important for the employability of the students later in their professional lives,” it said.
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From Russia Today
US spy plane created ‘real threat’ to KLM & Swiss flights over Sea of Japan – Moscow
Published time: 25 May, 2016 12:55
US RC-135 spy plane ©
A US spy jet flying near Russia’s eastern borders over the Sea of Japan on May 22 “created a real threat” to passenger planes, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. A new and similar episode in the same area has been reported by Russian media.
US spy planes conduct flights along the Russian frontier in the east almost on a daily basis, according to Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov.
“However, this time while maneuvering along the international air route, the US spy plane created a real threat of collision for passenger aircraft, which could lead to catastrophic consequences,” the spokesman said.
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From Russia Today
Ukrainian pilot Savchenko pardoned by Putin, swapped for 2 Russians
Published time: 25 May, 2016 12:05
© / RT
An aircraft carrying Russian citizens Evgeny Erofeev and Aleksandr Aleksandrov, part of a prisoner swap for Ukraine’s Nadezhda Savchenko, has landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport. Savchenko was pardoned by President Putin on Wednesday.
Follow RT’s LIVE UPDATES on Savchenko swap
Putin ratified Savchenko’s pardon, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that the Russian leader signed the document simultaneously with the arrival of Erofeev and Aleksandrov in Moscow.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko also signed a decree to pardon Russian citizens Evgeny Erofeev and Aleksandr Aleksandrov. The decree is dated May 24.
Savchenko has already been delivered to Kiev on a Ukrainian plane.
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From The Times of Israel
Jewish Republicans blast anti-Semitic attacks on reporters
Coalition condemns ‘troubling increase’ of anti-Jewish invective directed toward journalists covering both parties
May 24, 2016, 11:54 pm
WASHINGTON — Following a series of incidents in which supporters of presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump assailed Jewish journalists with anti-Semitic messages, the Republican Jewish Coalition issued a condemnation Tuesday of what it described as “the troubling increase of anti-Semitic invective directed toward journalists covering both the Democratic and Republican candidates for president.”
“We abhor any abuse of journalists, commentators and writers whether it be from Sanders, Clinton or Trump supporters,” the organization wrote in its statement. “There is no room for any of this in any campaign. Journalists, regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity should be free to do their jobs without suffering abuses, anti-Semitic or otherwise.”
Last week, New York Times deputy Washington editor Jonathan Weisman ended up in an unanticipated spotlight when he tweeted out a Washington Post opinion piece “This is how fascism comes to America.” The article was highly critical of Trump, and Weisman soon found himself facing a deluge of anti-Semitic rejoinders on Twitter.
He was mocked for his “vaunted Ashkenazi intelligence” by Twitter user CyberTrump, who said that he was “belling the cat for my fellow goyim.”
From The Times of Israel
Obama: World leaders ‘rattled’ by ‘ignorant’ Trump
Ahead of Hiroshima visit, US president says trip will underline the dangers of warfare and the need to work toward peace
May 26, 2016, 2:32 pm
US President Barack Obama on Thursday criticized presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s policy ideas as demonstrating “ignorance” of how the world works.
Trump, the billionaire US real-estate mogul and reality TV star, has dominated headlines since launching his presidential campaign last year with a mix of incendiary comments and policy stances seen as insulting Mexicans, Muslims and women, among others.
“A lot of the proposals that he has made demonstrate either ignorance of world affairs or a cavalier attitude or an interest in getting tweets and headlines,” Obama told reporters on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit.
“They are paying very close attention to this election,” Obama said, referring to other world leaders.
“I think it’s fair to say they are surprised by the Republican nominee,” he added.
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From PressTV
Another mass grave unearthed in Syria’s Palmyra
The Syrian army forces have discovered a mass grave holding more than 60 bodies in the sewers southwest of Palmyra Airbase.
The grave contained 65 bodies, mostly soldiers, which were piled on top of each other, Arabic-language Syria Now news website reported on Wednesday.
The bodies of a woman and a child were among the corpses which showed marks of torture with some beheaded.
The victims are believed to have been executed by Daesh militants after the Takfiri militant group in May 2015 seized the ancient city, which hosted some of the most well-preserved ruins of antiquity.
Daesh destroyed temples, burial towers and the Arch of Triumph at the desert oasis dating back more than 2,000 years. It also looted graves and used the amphitheater of the city to stage killings.
According to reports, Daesh committed a massacre in Palmyra on May 24, 2015, leaving at least 400 people dead, most of them women, children and elderly people.
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From PressTV
UAE to dispatch more mercenaries to Yemen: Report
The United Arab Emirates has signed a $529-million contract with a security firm to send more mercenaries to Yemen to fight alongside Saudi forces in the impoverished war-torn country.
The accord was inked between Major General Eisa Saif Mohammad al-Mazroui, representing the Emirati forces, and a person identified as Michael Romy, representing the security services company Reflex Responses Management Consultancy LLC, Yemen’s al-Masirah TV reported.
Under the deal, the Abu Dhabi-based firm has agreed to provide the units of Emirati mercenaries with security services.
In another development on Thursday, Masirah reported that the Yemeni army and popular committees thwarted an attack by the Saudis on the Jabal ad Dabas base in the Wazi’iyah district of the southwestern province of Ta’izz. Twenty mercenaries were killed.
Saudi warplanes further conducted fresh airstrikes on Ta’izz, and the provinces of Jawf and Lahij. The airstrikes left dozens of people dead or injured.
On Wednesday, Yemeni forces also foiled another assault by Saudi mercenaries in Jawf’s al-Maslub District.
Yemen has seen almost daily military attacks by Saudi Arabia since late March 2015. More than 9,400 people have been killed and at least 16,000 others injured since the onset of the campaign.
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From Ynet News
German police probe Britons’ ‘Hitler salute’ at Buchenwald
Two British neo-Nazis allegedly went to Buchenwald death camp with a neo-Nazi flag, perform Hitler salute. BERLIN- German authorities are investigating members of a British far-right group for posting a photo on social media showing themselves performing the Bellamy salute (well known because of the Nazis’ adoption of it) at the former Buchenwald concentration camp.
German daily Bild published a photograph Thursday it says was posted on a National Action website showing a blurry image of two people holding the far-right group’s flag inside the basement of Buchenwald’s crematorium.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
London’s Muslim mayor joins pledge to fight anti-Semitism
Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party candidate for London mayor, and his wife Saadiya Khan, posing for photographers after voting in London, May 5, 2016. (Simon Dawson/Bloomberg)
(JTA) — Newly elected London Mayor Sadiq Khan endorsed a pledge cosigned by dozens of American and European mayors to fight anti-Semitism.
Khan, a Muslim Labour politician who won the May 5 mayoral election by a broad majority, recently informed the Board of Deputies of British Jews of his decision to join the Mayors United Against Antisemitism initiative, the board said in a statement published Thursday.
The board and two other Jewish groups approached Khan to sign the pledge, the statement said.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Why scientists are fighting about the origins of Yiddish – and the Jews
The “Star Wars” character Yoda’s uncommon grammar is used by a geneticist to explain his theory on the origins of Yiddish, among whose greatest writers was Sholem Aleichem. (Screenshot from YouTube/Ullstein Bild via Getty Images)
(JTA) — Science has finally provided evidence of what Jewish “Star Wars” fans long suspected: Yoda is a member of the tribe — or at least he speaks like one.
The bad news is the science has been widely dismissed as junk.
The Yoda reference appears in a video in which a a 36-year-old Israeli linguist at Sheffield University in England argues that Ashkenazi Jews and the Yiddish language originated in Turkey.
The study joins a number of others published in the past 15 years that challenge the prevailing theory that Jews originated in the Mediterranean Middle East and that Yiddish was developed among Jews in Europe. The research is controversial not only because its critics say it is scientifically weak, but also because it is seen by some to weaken Jews’ claim to the Land of Israel — and is used to this end by some who oppose the Jewish state.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Bernie Sanders expects ‘consensus’ on Palestinian rights at Democratic convention
Bernie Sanders, Democratic presidential candidate, speaking at a campaign rally at California Sate University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California, May 17, 2016. (Jim Steinfeldt/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bernie Sanders said he expected his views on Palestinians rights to be reflected at the Democratic National Convention, and his appointees to the party’s platform drafting committee pledged to push for acknowledgement of the Israeli occupation.
“I have always and will always be 100 percent supportive of Israel’s right to exist and live in peace and security,” Sanders, the Independent senator from Vermont who is vying for the Democratic presidential nod, said in a statement reported Thursday in the New York Times.
“I also believe that lasting peace in the region will not occur without fair and respectful treatment of the Palestinian people,” he said. “I believe that most Democrats agree with that position and that a strong consensus will be achieved at the Democratic National Convention.”
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Interfaith couple files complaint against Illinois hotel owner who refused to host wedding
(JTA) — A Wisconsin couple filed a discrimination charge against an Illinois hotel owner who allegedly refused to host their interfaith wedding because it was not religious.
Alexandra Katzman and Jonathan Webber of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, filed the charge against the owner, Dave Anderson, with the Illinois Department of Human Rights, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Katzman is Jewish and Webber is Christian.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Israel celebrates US Jewry’s historic contributions to Zionism
(JTA) — In an unusual role reversal, Israeli officials paid tribute to American Jewry’s contribution to the State of Israel at a Knesset ceremony.
The May 25 ceremony in Jerusalem, the first of its kind, marked what organizers called 100 years of activity and support by American Jews for the pre-state Yishuv and the nation of Israel. The event was initiated by the Boston-based Ruderman Family Foundation, and was accompanied by a photographic exhibition, “Stripes, Stars and Magen David,” erected by the Ruderman Program for American Jewish Studies at the University of Haifa.
The exhibit, which will be on display at the Knesset for two weeks before traveling to Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People and Ben-Gurion Airport, notes how, in July 1916, Jewish leadership in Palestine appealed to Zionist organizations in the U.S. for medical assistance. In response, Hadassah organized the American Zionist Medical Unit.
Attendees at the ceremony included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposition leader Isaac Herzog, Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro and Richard V. Sandler, chair of the board of trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Skverer rebbe’s employee accused of secretly filming nude couples at NJ motel
New Square, a village in Rockland County, New York, is home to the Skverer hasidic movement. (Uriel Heilman)
NEW YORK (JTA) — An employee of a Rockland County Hasidic grand rebbe has been arrested and charged with secretly taking photos of couples having sex in a New Jersey motel.
Nachman Breier, a driver and former chef for Skverer rebbe David Twersky, was arrested Monday night in Fort Lee, New Jersey, on a charge of third-degree invasion of privacy, the Journal News reported.
Breier, 54, lives in Spring Valley, near the New Square headquarters of the Skverer movement, with which he affiliates.
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From Russia Today
Don’t swim with your street clothes on! Czech spa town educates Arab visitors on local customs
Published time: 26 May, 2016 11:59
© Jamal Saidi JS / Reuters
Arab vacationers traveling to the Czech town of Teplice for its hot springs and health spas are the target audience of pamphlets explaining local customs and laws. It comes after residents complained that Arab tourists misbehave during their visits.
The town with a population of 50,000 receives several thousand visitors from Arab countries each year, mostly from Kuwait. Some come for short stays, others remain for the entire season, and many have bought property in the area.
However, complaints by residents have led to the government issuing brochures for the second year in a row, Radio Prague reported.
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From The Times of Israel
Audiences of comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s new film, “The Brothers Grimsby,” may think that’s the first time that he has leveled his parodical rifle at Donald Trump. But a quick search through YouTube’s archives proves that he’s taken aim at the Donald before.
The story line of “The Brothers Grimsby,” an espionage comedy in which chaos ensues after a dimwitted soccer hooligan reunites with his long lost MI6 assassin brother, also involves Donald Trump contracting HIV.
Baron Cohen, who wrote and starred in the film, has repeatedly reported during promotional interviews that audiences around the world have stood up and clapped at the scene in which this happens. Yes, that is correct: People have literally and repeatedly given this plot twist a standing ovation.
Earlier this week, James Corden hosted Baron Cohen on the “Late Late Show” and recalled when the actor interviewed Trump 13 years ago. (It wasn’t exactly Baron Cohen who conducted the interview, but rather alter ego Ali G., his satirical rapper wannabe character.)
