Dr. Patrick Slattery’s News Roundup
A service of DavidDuke.com
From PressTV
CIA chief pays secret visit to Israel over Iran N-talks: Report
Director of the US spy agency CIA John Brennan has reportedly made a secret visit to Israel to brief the regime’s officials over the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 states.
Brennan traveled to Israel on June 4 and met with high-ranking Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and one of his advisers Yossi Cohen, to discuss the developments in the talks between Iran and the six world powers, Haaretz quoted two senior Israeli officials as saying on Tuesday.
The officials, who asked not to be named, said the CIA chief also held meetings with the head of Israel’s spy agency Mossad Tamir Pardo and the regime’s military intelligence chief Major General Herzl Halevi.
It is unclear whether Brennan conveyed a message from US President Barack Obama to Netanyahu about a possible comprehensive agreement over Tehran’s nuclear program.
The CIA has not yet commented on the report of Brennan’s trip.
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From The Times of Israel
Top US official says Iran has met interim obligations
Deputy secretary of state tells Jewish group that many concerns about the emerging nuclear deal are ‘more myth than fact’
WASHINGTON — Iran has upheld all of its obligations under an interim nuclear agreement with a group of six world powers, a senior US State Department official asserted Monday.
Speaking to the administration’s resolve to reach an effective long-term agreement with Iran, Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told the audience at the American Jewish Committee’s annual Global Forum that Israel’s security had already been improved under the provisions of the temporary agreement that went into effect in January 2014, known as the Joint Plan of Action.
Acknowledging that Israel and the United States have disagreed as to the steps necessary to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, Blinken said that “we may have our differences, but our bedrock security relationship is sacrosanct and it is stronger than ever. It is at the center of our minds when we sit at the negotiating table with Iran.”
He added that “there is not an inch of daylight between the US and Israel” regarding the “core strategic goal” of preventing a nuclear-armed Iran.
Although in recent weeks, administration officials have said that they believe that an agreement between the P5+1 powers and Iran can be achieved before the self-imposed June 30 deadline, Blinken noted that “we do not have a comprehensive agreement and there is still a chance that we won’t get one.”
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman Dempsey in Israel to brief officials
JERUSALEM (JTA) — U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey arrived in Israel to brief Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot.
It is the first meeting between the two senior military leaders. Eisenkot took over as chief of staff in February, replacing Lt. Gen Benny Gantz.
Dempsey will meet with senior Israeli and U.S. officials during his visit, the IDF said in a statement. He reportedly will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon.
Meanwhile, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan came to Israel for a secret visit last week to discuss the agreement between Iran and the world powers on a deal regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Haaretz cited two unnamed senior Israeli officials in the report published on Tuesday.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
U.S. will insist on full access for inspectors in Iran deal, Blinken tells AJC
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The United States continues to insist on nuclear inspectors’ unfettered access as part of a nuclear deal with Iran, the deputy U.S. secretary of state told an American Jewish group.
“We would not agree to a deal unless the IAEA is granted access to whatever Iranian sites are required to verify that Iran’s program is exclusively peaceful – period,” Tony Blinken said Monday, addressing the annual global forum of the American Jewish Committee and referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran’s leaders have in recent weeks said they would restrict inspections under a deal.
The major powers and Iran are due to come to a comprehensive agreement by June 30. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a number of pro-Israel groups, including the American Jewish Committee, say the emerging sanctions relief for nuclear rollback deal concedes too much to Iran.
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From Ynet News
Ya’alon: US supply of advanced arms to Gulf can challenge Israel
At Herzliya Conference, defense minister voices concern over Gulf armament against Iran, offers one the bleakest assessments on talks with the Palestinians: ‘There’ll be no peace agreement in my lifetime’.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon voiced concern on Tuesday that Washington’s supply of advanced arms to Gulf Arab states to deter Iran could eventually challenge Israel’s US-backed regional military supremacy.
From Ynet News
Nearly three quarters of Israeli Jews feel that the ‘whole world is against us’
A monthly report released by IDI and Tel Aviv University shows Israelis feeling more isolated and that peace is more distant. The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) and Tel Aviv University have released the monthly Peace Index poll which has a primary focus on three major issues: attitudes toward Jewish settlement in the territories, the diplomatic arena, and the distribution of cabinet posts in the government.
According to the report’s findings, the Jewish public is aware of the deterioration that has occurred in Israel’s international status, which seems to stem from the intensification of voices calling to boycott Israel and its institutions.
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From Ynet News
Graphic anti-Israel display casts shadow over Amsterdam
Display posted by pro-Palestinian group horrifies Israelis who report locals, tourists taking literature in interest; ‘It was disgusting and terrible to see.’ Local visitors and tourists in Amsterdam’s Dam Square were welcomed over the weekend by disturbing images of the bodies of Palestinian children supposedly killed by IDF soldiers – images posted by pro-Palestinian activists who also protested Israel in the square.
The display appeared in the famous square in the center of the city under the title “Save the Palestinian Children.” Included in the display was a photo of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu representing Satan with red eyes and the teeth of a vampire dripping with blood over the body of a dead and bleeding Palestinian baby.
| Video: Barack Signor |
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Spanish Congress to vote on final amendments to Jewish citizenship law
(JTA) — Spain’s congress is poised to vote on final amendments that would make it possible for descendants of Sephardic Jews to apply for citizenship.
The Congress of Deputies is scheduled to vote on the amendments on June 11, according to a statement published on the congress’ website on Monday.
Under the amendments, approved by the Spanish senate on May 27, applicants would be able to apply without traveling to Spain, as proposed in previous amendments which did not pass, but are required to hire a Spanish notary and pass tests on the Spanish language and history.
Applicants can study for the tests and take them at the facilities of the Cervantes Institute, a government entity that offers courses on Spanish culture and its language in over 20 countries, including Israel.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Knesset lawmaker denies report he used drugs, pimped prostitutes
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli lawmakers from all parties have called on a freshman Knesset lawmaker to resign in the wake of a news report that he used crystal meth and pimped prostitutes while managing a casino in Burgas, Bulgaria.
Likud lawmaker Oren Hazan, 33, who serves as a deputy Knesset speaker, on Tuesday vehemently denied the claims made Monday night in a Channel 2 report titled “Prostitutes, drugs and the deputy speaker of the Knesset.” The report cited Israeli tourists who said they did the drugs with Hazan at the casino and his former driver, who said he went on Hazan’s behalf to a local strip club to hire prostitutes. It also interviewed the manager of the strip club, who confirmed that Hazan sent for women; she laughed when she heard Hazan was now a lawmaker.
“I say this unequivocally: There were no drugs. There was no pimping women,” Hazan said in a statement that also was posted on his Facebook page.
“I came to the Knesset to do important things for the People of Israel and the Land of Israel. I won’t let anyone distract me from this,” he said, blaming the media “which has yet to accept the Likud and Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu’s victory.”
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
China balking at sending workers to West Bank settlements — over safety concerns
(JTA) — China is insisting that its citizens not work on Jewish settlements in the West Bank, but the objections are not based on politics.
An unnamed Israeli official told the French news agency AFP that a deal to bring thousands of Chinese guest construction workers to Israel is “stumbling” over the issue of whether or not such workers could be employed in West Bank settlements.
“Beijing is demanding that we ensure there are no workers in this region,” the official said.
The Israel-China discussions, part of a bilateral labor accord, is part of a larger effort to build affordable housing, according to Haaretz, which noted that China is objecting to West Bank jobs out of safety concerns rather than political ones.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
U.N. leaves Israel, Hamas off blacklist of children’s rights abusers
JERUSALEM (JTA) — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon omitted Israel and Hamas from a blacklist of states and armed groups that violate children’s rights during conflict.
The final list was sent to the U.N. Security Council on Monday, according to reports.
Ban had final say on the states and groups that appeared on the list, which reportedly had included the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas in the draft sent to him for approval. His decision to remove Israel and Hamas against the recommendation of the U.N. special envoy for children and armed conflict, Leila Zerrougui of Algeria, is unusual, Reuters reported, citing unnamed U.N. sources.
The report did include harsh criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian children during its military operations in 2014 in the West Bank and Gaza.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
ADL slams Rockland County candidate’s ad as anti-Orthodox
NEW YORK (JTA) – The Anti-Defamation League is slamming an advertisement for a candidate for Rockland County sheriff as highly offensive for its negative portrayal of Hasidic Jews.
The ad for Richard Vasquez includes a photograph of Lou Falco, the current sheriff of the suburban New York county, surrounded by Orthodox Jews as a narrator says the sheriff “has refused to enforce illegal housing laws.” The video, titled “Where Does Louis Falco Stand on Illegal Housing?,” purportedly was posted on the Internet by the Rockland Republican Party, according to the ADL.
“We find the use of an image of visibly identifiable Jews in this campaign video to be deeply troubling, highly offensive, and inappropriate, as it essentially blames the Orthodox Jewish community for the substandard and illegal housing problems in Rockland,” the ADL’s New York regional director, Evan Bernstein, said in a statement. “Voters should be encouraged to make decisions about candidates based upon their qualifications, political positions and not on the basis of race or religion without offensive insertions ascribing blame on an issue to a particular religious group.”
Rockland County, which is estimated to be one-third Orthodox and includes the Hasidic village of New Square and the sprawling Orthodox community of Monsey, has seen intense infighting between the burgeoning Orthodox population and local opponents. A major focus has been the East Ramapo public school board, which has a Hasidic majority that has been stripping local public school budgets and selling off public school buildings to yeshivas at cut-rate prices.
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From PressTV
Israel military recruits 1000s with criminal records: Report
The Israeli military has recruited thousands of soldiers with criminal records, enabling them to request that their records be expunged, a report says.
A total of 3.8 percent of male and 0.3 percent of female soldiers conscripted last year by the Israeli army had criminal records, Haaretz reported on Tuesday, adding that the number of such recruits is rising.
The crimes committed by the newly-recruited soldiers ranged from drug offenses and theft to more serious crimes, including sex offenses, according to the report.
The report cited the case of a soldier at the Hatzerim air base who was not discharged from the army despite having a criminal history for raping two female soldiers.
According to the report, the military also provides a soldier with a criminal record with the opportunity to file a request for an official recommendation to the president that his record be expunged. Such requests are usually agreed to.
From Russia Today
Ukraine, EU ‘may face acid rain’ amid furious blaze at fuel storage depot near Kiev (VIDEO)
Edited time: June 09, 2015 15:43
Ukraine and the EU may suffer from acid rain, following a huge blaze at an oil and gas storage facility near Kiev. Local residents described to RT a Silent Hill-like picture of the area, saying that black sky, rain and smoke are everywhere.
READ MORE: Firefighters die combating massive blaze at fuel storage facility near Kiev (VIDEO)
“The fire is big – all the sky is black, we have seen black rain which lasted for 5-10 minutes,” a local girl, Alina, told RT, adding that the village which is near the blaze area is now being evacuated.
From Russia Today
NGOs, Palestinians outraged after UN chief leaves Israel off list of children’s rights violators
Edited time: June 09, 2015 15:39
Despite mounting pressure from the international community, as well as his colleagues, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon chose not to include Israel on the List of Shame – a document outlining groups and states who violate children’s rights in conflict.
Rights groups have been urging Ban to change last year’s list and add Israel after last summer’s war in Gaza claimed more than 500 children’s lives. Those voices predicted there would be pressure from Israel to be omitted from the list, and appealed to Ban to ignore it, and in so doing “strengthen child protection,” as suggested by crisis advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, Philippe Bolopion last week.
Political pressure seems to have prevailed. We expected better from a Secretary-General who promised to put ‘human rights up front’ 3/3
— Philippe Bolopion (@Bolopion) June 8, 2015
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From The Times of Israel
UN, Iran head for clash over nuclear inspections
Head of atomic agency says Iranians have already agreed to check ups, Tehran says they haven’t
VIENNA — The chief UN nuclear inspector said Monday that Iran has already committed to letting his experts see Iranian military sites and Iranian atomic scientists despite an alleged ban by Tehran, deepening a confrontation over how much openness Iran must accept under any nuclear deal.
Tehran is now negotiating a deal with six world powers that puts long-term caps on its present nuclear activities. The International Atomic Energy Agency, led by Yukiya Amano, will monitor Iran’s compliance with the deal.
The US and its allies also say the IAEA must rule on whether or not Iran worked in the past on nuclear weapons before all sanctions imposed over Tehran’s nuclear program can be lifted.
Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month declared that “no inspection of any military site and interview with nuclear scientists will be allowed,” and Iranian negotiators have since said Khamenei’s ban is indisputable.
Amano, however, challenged that, saying Iran already has committed to permit “access to sites, documents (and) people” under a preliminary agreement that outlined components of the deal now being negotiated.
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From The Times of Israel
France’s Sarkozy comes out against Israel boycott
On a visit to the country, the once and possibly future French president expresses affection for ‘startup nation’
Those who disagree with Israel’s policies need to find other ways to protest than by boycotting it, believes former French president Nicholas Sarkozy.
“The boycott of Israel is unacceptable,” Sarkozy told reporters in Jerusalem. “This is not the way France intends to conduct itself.”
And after hearing about what Israeli technology can do for France, Sarkozy quickly shifted his attention from the mechanics of not doing business with Israel to the many technologies Israel has developed – specifically cybersecurity tech, one of the strongest high-tech industries in the country. Impressed by the breadth and strength of Israeli cyber-protection systems in place, as well as those under development, Sarkozy had just one question for his hosts at the offices of Jerusalem Venture Partners on a visit Monday: How, asked Sarkozy, “did Israel become the Start-Up Nation?”
It was a fair question to ask at JVP, one of the world’s most successful venture capital firms (as measured by industry experts Preqin). Over the past two decades, JVP has raised over a billion dollars and invested in over 120 companies — with 28 of them having a successful exit, among them the recent IPO of CyberArk, and the acquisition earlier this year of CyActive by PayPal.
Sarkozy was in Israel to meet top officials, including former president Shimon Peres and current President Reuven Rivlin, and spoke at the Herzliya Conference Monday evening. But in-between rounds with political officials, Sarkozy found time to meet with entrepreneurs from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv — many of them olim from France, who are living the “Israeli dream,” with their own start-up and hoped-for exit success. Sarkozy worked the start-up crowd, listening to the entrepreneurs’ tales of start-up success, and joking with them about how useful their tech would be in France.
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