From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Op-Ed: Arab terrorism responsible for Pew finding on transfer
PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — The recent Pew Research Center study finding that about half of Israeli Jews favor transferring Arabs from Israel reveals the fear, frustration and misery that Israeli Jews feel after being subjected to decades of Arab terrorist attacks that have killed and maimed thousands of innocents. Even 54 percent of Masorti (traditional) Israeli Jews and 36 percent of secular Israeli Jews support transfer.
An additional concern has been repeated instances of Arab Knesset members expressing sympathy for foreign and home-grown terrorist groups.
The Zionist Organization of American has no current position on the transfer of Arabs out of Israel. But it’s not difficult to see why a significant percentage of Israelis would be in favor.
Arab terror has persisted and even worsened despite Israeli appeasement efforts, including the removal of all Jews from Gaza in 2005, Israel’s extraordinarily generous offers of Palestinian statehood and the fact that Israel’s Arabs enjoy more rights and privileges — along with educational, economic, political and professional opportunities — than the citizens of any Arab country.
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From PressTV
Top US general recommends more troops in Iraq, Syria
A US commander says more American troops will be needed to retake key areas from Daesh terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
General Lloyd Austin, the commander of US Central Command, made the recommendation before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Austin referred to Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria as the Daesh strongholds where the US needs more US troops to retake them.
Declining to provide further details on the recommendations, he said additional US military personnel could help develop better intelligence on the ground and help with logistics.
“We could increase some elements of the Special Operations footprint,” he said.
Austin claimed that the US military forces were beginning to diminish in the Middle East, saying, “We are getting dangerously small.”
The US has been leading a campaign of airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. US officials say the attacks target Daesh positions.
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From Russia Today
Migrant assaults mother and 4yo son in Austrian swimming pool
Published time: 10 Mar, 2016 20:20
© Jim Young / Reuters
The quiet southern Austrian town of Klagenfurt has witnessed a grotesque case of sexual harassment, to which both a 37-year-old mother and her 4-year-old son fell victim.
Swimming in the pool with her young son on Sunday, the woman was approached by a man who hardly spoke German but tried to chat with her, according to Kurier daily.
Things went awry when she rejected his advances: the man, later described by the police as a brown-eyed foreigner in his 50s, “strong and fit,” jumped into a nearby children’s play pool and grabbed her 4-year-old son who was splashing there.
He then put the boy on his shoulders and ran into a grotto behind a fake waterfall at the swimming park. The panicked mother immediately ran after the attacker and found him hiding in the grotto with her son, reportedly unhurt.
When the mother stepped in the grotto, however, the man put the child aside and grabbed her instead, groping inside her swimming costume and putting his hand on her private parts and breasts. She managed to escape with her son (relatively) safely, and the man left the place shortly after that.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Leaders of Jewish right and left face off in revealing Las Vegas debate
A common debate tactic is to try to get your opponent to express his most extreme views — revealing what I call the “crazy aunt in the attic.”
This tactic isn’t as useful in the presidential primaries, which are more focused on being “holier than the pope” when it comes to party orthodoxy. But the Republican and Democratic nominees, whoever they turn out to be, will certainly seek out each other’s crazy aunts in the general election debates.
If they’re looking to brush up on how it’s done, they would do well to take notes on Wednesday night’s debate at a Las Vegas synagogue between the Republican Jewish Coalition’s Matt Brooks and J Street’s Jeremy Ben-Ami. Each managed to reveal a crazy aunt of the other, and in some cases to get him to publicly dance with her.
The RJC and J Street have gunned for each other almost since Ben-Ami founded his liberal Israel advocacy group in 2008; he’s now the president. But Wednesday was the first time the Jewish leaders have faced off, and both brought their A game.
From PressTV
Syrian army recaptures villages, areas in Aleppo
Syrian army soldiers have cleared several villages and areas of Takfiri Daesh terrorists in the northern province of Aleppo, a military source says.
In a Thursday statement, the unnamed official said army units established control over the villages of Haiyat kabeera, Haiyat Sagheera, Zabad al-Taweeleh, al-Qleah, Heleh, Hakeel and Kherbet al-Mous as well as Dareehem field and al-Bohouth Hill after fierce clashes with Daesh militants, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported.
The liberated areas extend 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) deep and 9 kilometers (5.5 miles) wide to the east of the town of Khanasir.
Engineering units dismantled the explosive devices and mines that the terrorists left behind before fleeing the troubled areas.
Elsewhere in the in west-central Hama Province, the Syrian forces killed more than 70 Nusra Front terrorists and destroyed five vehicles equipped with machine guns.
An unidentified military source told SANA that the militants had infiltrated into some parts of Hama.
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From Russia Today
Russia’s embassies in Ukraine attacked by angry mobs over pilot Savchenko (VIDEO)
Published time: 9 Mar, 2016 19:37
© Gleb Garanich / Reuters
Russian embassies and consulates in three Ukrainian cities were pelted with stones, eggs, green dye, and iodine as several hundred people staged protests demanding that Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko be freed. One had to be dispersed with tear gas.
About 200 people gathered near the embassy building in Kiev and pelted it with stones, eggs, and iodine flasks for some time, embassy spokesman Oleg Grishin told TASS, adding that the situation was back to normal, as some of the protesters had left and the rally was nearing its end.
According to RIA Novosti, around 300 people took part in the protest in the Ukrainian capital.
The protesters demanded the release of the Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, who is currently on trial in Russia for complicity in the killing of two Russian journalists and crossing the Russian border illegally.
The demonstrators were waving Ukrainian flags and held up banners and placards reading “Free Nadya,” “Russia, free Savchenko,” and “Death to Russia.” They also stuck placards on the embassy fence saying “#Free_Savchenko.” Riot police deployed to the scene reportedly did not interfere when protesters started throwing stones and eggs.
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From Russia Today
Iran tests more missiles, brags about having Israel in range
Published time: 9 Mar, 2016 12:33
A ballistic missile is launched and tested in an undisclosed location, Iran, in this handout photo released by Farsnews on March 9, 2016. © farsnews.com / Reuters
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) of Iran continued its test of ballistic weapons on Wednesday morning by launching two Qadr missiles. The guard stressed that it could hit targets in Israel.
“The reason we designed our missiles with a range of 2000km is to be able to hit our enemy …. from a safe distance,” Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by the ISNA agency.
The two Qadr missiles were fired from northern Iran and hit targets in the southeast some 1,400km away, the Iranian media reported.
On Tuesday, the IRGC reported firing several unspecified ballistic missiles from underground silos across the country. They are presumed to be Iran’s new Emad missiles, which the Islamic Republic first revealed in October 2015, saying they have advanced guidance systems.
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From Russia Today
Russian FM spokeswoman slams US State Dept on Ukrainian pilot Savchenko
Published time: 9 Mar, 2016 05:37
Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova © Alexey Kudenko / Sputnik
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has accused the US State Department of attempting to influence a Russian court’s decision in the case of Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko.
Zakharova questioned the authenticity of the statement attributed to US Secretary of State Kerry, in which he called for Savchenko to be freed “under the Minsk agreements.” The spokeswoman pointed out that the agreements on the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine do not cover cases such as that of Savchenko’s, who stands accused of complicity in the deaths of two Russian journalists, killed by Ukrainian artillery fire she allegedly directed.
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From Ynet News
Report: Abbas rejects US peace initiative
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejects peace initiative proposed by US VP Joe Biden, fearing it will not lead a major breakthrough.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected a peace initiative presented by US Vice President Joe Biden during their meeting in Ramallah on Wednesday, according to Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds.
According to Al-Quds, the US initiative included four main clauses: East Jerusalem as a Palestinian capital, an end to settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, and Palestinians’ forfeiting the right of return.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
UK’s Labour Party brings back member accused of anti-Semitism
(JTA) — Britain’s Labour Party has readmitted a member who runs a website that publishes articles deemed anti-Semitic.
Gerry Downing, who operates the Socialist Fight website and has defended ISIS and the 9/11 terrorists, was expelled from Labour in August for “publicly supporting another political party,†according to The Telegraph.
On Wednesday, during a session in Parliament, Prime Minister David Cameron questioned Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s decision to allow Downing back in.
Corbyn has not responded to requests that Downing be removed. The party leader himself has been accused of tolerating anti-Semitism.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Speaker Paul Ryan among top House leaders to address AIPAC conference
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Speaker Paul Ryan will be among the top House leaders from the Republican and Democratic parties to address the AIPAC conference.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee also said Thursday that Reps. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the majority leader, and Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the minority whip, will join Ryan, R-Wis., as speakers at its annual event being held March 20-22 in Washington, D.C.
Hoyer becomes the first Democratic lawmaker who supported last year’s Iran nuclear deal to be tapped as a speaker by the prominent Israel lobby. The bitter debate over the deal pitted Israel’s government and AIPAC against the White House and much of the Democratic Party. Until Thursday, all the congressional Democrats listed as speaking at the conference had been among the minority who opposed the sanctions relief for nuclear rollback deal.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Swastikas found on 2 Indiana campuses
(JTA) — Two Indiana universities — the University of Indianapolis and Purdue — were vandalized with swastikas this week.
According to The Associated Press, University of Indianapolis President Robert Manuel sent an email to students Tuesday saying a swastika was discovered scratched into a bust of a Chinese artist. On Monday, a swastika and anti-Semitic slur were found on a whiteboard outside the American studies program office at Purdue in West Lafayette.
Both incidents were condemned by senior university administrators.
“Such an act is against every core value on which our University stands; yet it reminds us we are not immune to intolerance and hate,†Manuel said in his email, according to WISH-TV in Indianapolis. “UIndy has not and will never tolerate such behavior.â€
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From Russia Today
‘Blunt injuries’ killed Russian media tycoon Lesin in Washington, DC – forensic data
Published time: 10 Mar, 2016 21:46
Mikhail Lesin © Iliya Pitalev / Sputnik
Four months after the death of former Russian press minister and prominent media figure Mikhail Lesin in a DC hotel, Washington’s chief medical examiner has revealed forensic data indicating that Lesin died of injuries to the head.
While initial reports following Lesin’s death in DC’s Dupont Hotel on November 5, 2015 indicated that a heart attack had been to blame, no conclusive official forensic data has been released until now.
A joint statement by the District of Colombia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) and Metropolitan Police Department said that the former minister’s death had been a violent one, as cited by RIA Novosti on Thursday.
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From Russia Today
West ‘hypocritical’ on Russian embassy attack in Kiev – Lavrov
Published time: 10 Mar, 2016 13:16
Protesters throw eggs towards a building of the Russian embassy during a rally demanding the liberation of Ukrainian army pilot Nadezhda Savchenko by Russia, in Kiev, Ukraine, March 6, 2016. © Gleb Garanich / Reuters
The West’s lack of response to recent attacks on Russian diplomatic missions in Ukraine, particularly the embassy in Kiev, is a sign of “hypocrisy and duplicity,†Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Amid a spate of attacks, Moscow is monitoring the situation around its embassy in Kiev and frequently communicates with the Russian ambassador and his staff, Lavrov said in an interview with Andrey Dobrov, from Russian channel Ren TV.
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From Russia Today
Wake up! Too much sleep increases chance of dying from heart disease, study says
Published time: 10 Mar, 2016 13:09
© Jonathan Alcorn / Reuters
Getting a good night’s sleep may not actually be very good for you after all. A new study has found that people who sleep more than eight hours or less than four hours a night face a higher risk of dying from heart disease.
Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology collected information from 400,000 Taiwanese adults, aged 20 years and older, who had medical check-ups between 1994 and 2011. The participants were asked how long they slept each night, from zero to more than eight hours.
In a follow-up, 711 of the volunteers had died from cardiovascular disease, leading the researchers to conclude that those who reported sleeping eight hours or more were 35 percent more likely to die from the disease, compared to those who slept six to eight hours a night. Those who slept less than four hours were 34 percent more likely die from the condition.
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From Russia Today
North Korea fires two missiles into Sea of Japan, cuts cooperation with South
Published time: 10 Mar, 2016 03:00
© KCNA / Reuters
North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, according to the South Korean military. The launch comes amid the biggest ever joint US-South Korean war drills, which the North views as infringing on its sovereignty.
The missiles were fired around 5:20 a.m. local time (8:50 p.m. GMT) from North Hwanghae province. The rockets reportedly flew some 500km before landing in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) northeast of the city of Wonsan in South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported.
“The military is keeping close tabs on the situation and is prepared to deal with any North Korean provocations,” said the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff in a statement.
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