Iran nuclear program will only be stopped by increased pressure, Netanyahu says
(JNS.org) Newly inaugurated Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said at a press conference on Tuesday that Iran is “serious” about negotiations on its nuclear program as long as the other party in talks “abandons the language of pressure and threats.” But at a Jerusalem meeting with 36 U.S. legislators, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded that the “only thing” that can stop the Iran nuclear program is increased pressure.
But at a Jerusalem meeting with 36 U.S. legislators, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded that the “only thing” that can stop the Iran nuclear program is increased pressure.
“Iran’s president said that pressure won’t work,” Netanyahu said. “Not true! The only thing that has worked in the last two decades is pressure. And the only thing that will work now is increased pressure. I have said that before and I’ll say it again, because that’s important to understand. You relent on the pressure, they will go all the way. You should sustain the pressure.”
Iran has “taken many actions that have compounded suspicions that it has not stopped its uranium laser enrichment activities,” despite claiming in 2003 that it had abandoned this process, according to a recently released Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) report.
Additionally, the Wall Street Journal reported ran has made significant progress on the construction of a heavy water nuclear reactor that was started in 2004 in Arak in northwestern Iran. The reactor under construction is capable of producing uranium fuel. The “spent fuel” resulting from the process of a nuclear reaction contains small amounts of plutonium, which can be used for a nuclear bomb.
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Four IDF soldiers wounded in blast along Lebanon border
(JNS.org) Four Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers were wounded, two of them moderately, in an explosion along the Lebanese border overnight Wednesday, Israel Hayom reported.
The IDF, in a statement, did not say what the cause of the explosion was and would not elaborate on whether the incident was combat-related or a training accident. According to the Lebanese state-run National News Agency, a landmine explosion struck the soldiers’ patrol, which crossed into Lebanon’s southern border and advanced 150 meters inside the Lebanese border village of Labbouneh.
Israel Radio said the soldiers were part of an elite military unit, adding that large military forces were deployed to the area following the blast.
The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital in Nahariya for treatment. According to a Walla News report, three of the wounded soldiers were being operated on, while the fourth was admitted to the intensive care unit. Israel Radio quoted the hospital director as saying that all four soldiers arrived at the hospital conscious, and all had suffered shrapnel injuries.
The incident takes place seven years since the end of the Second Lebanon War, a period in which relative quiet has been maintained along the border.
“During an overnight operation adjacent to the northern border, an explosion occurred, injuring four IDF soldiers lightly to moderately. The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital for further treatment. This incident is being investigated,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement.
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Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions ‘victory’ with Delta Airlines proven false
(JNS.org) A “victory” claimed by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)-aligned blog Electronic Intifada, stating that Delta Airlines would stop serving a snack produced in Israel’s Samaria region due to a complaint by the “Coalition of Women for Peace,” has been proven false.
Although the blog’s editor, Ali Abunima, claimed that Delta Airlines lawyers “ruled that Israeli settlement-made snacks should not be served,” Israeli activist Avi Mayer got a letter from the airline saying that the snack in question, a vanilla halva bar, was only removed due to “normal” menu changes, Israel National News reported.
Furthermore, Delta said it “makes a practice of sourcing local goods for catering in most international markets we serve.”
Mayer said that when rocker Lenny Kravitz canceled a trip to Israel last year, BDS activists hailed it as a victory even though Kravitz “has said clearly that he was canceling for totally unrelated reasons.”
“The BDS Movement’s tactics are clear: bully, threaten, and—if all else fails—just plain lie. The hallmarks of a failed movement,” Mayer said.
Pink Floyd member’s use of anti-Semitic imagery slammed by Vatican newspaper op-ed
(JNS.org) An op-ed appearing in L’Osservatore Romano—the Vatican’s semi-official newspaper—slammed the use of anti-Semitic imagery by former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters at a concert in Belgium last month. The op-ed, however, did not mention Waters by name.
“The spirit and the style of the Werchter Rock festival was visible, with the fans who had every right to listen to music that they enjoy. But did they also have the right to draw the Star of David on the back of a pig and not be reported?” wrote Christina Dobner, the author of the op-ed.
“We continue to talk about the respect for every religion and every human being, yet we keep falling into these shameful situations,” she wrote.
During the concert, Waters featured a giant pig-shaped balloon emblazoned with a Star of David. The pig-shaped balloon has been used in Pink Floyd concerts for decades as part of performances of songs from their album, “The Wall.”
Waters, who has been a vocal supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, has garnered widespread criticism for his concert display.
“With this disgusting display Roger Waters has made it crystal clear. Forget Israel, never mind ‘limited boycotts promoting Middle East Peace.’ Waters is an open hater of Jews,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told The Algemeiner.
In an open letter on his Facebook page, Waters rejected Cooper’s criticism and denied that he is an anti-Semite.
“Like it or not, the Star of David represents Israel and its policies and is legitimately subject to any and all forms of non-violent protest. To peacefully protest against Israel’s racist domestic and foreign policies is NOT ANTI-SEMITIC,” Waters wrote.
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Anti-Semitic graffiti painted on Ohio mausoleum
(Cleveland Jewish News/Exclusive to JNS.org) A 56-year-old man faces a fifth-degree felony charge of vandalism after allegedly spray painting anti-Semitic comments on the side of a mausoleum at a memorial park in Springfield Township near Akron, Ohio.
Slavko Mazibrada allegedly wrote “GO HOME JEWS EVL Z” and “DEAD JEWS” using black spray paint on the morning of Aug. 2, according to a Springfield Township police report.
Mark Heisa, superintendent of Hillside Memorial Park, was arriving at work when he saw the vandalism and called the police. Heisa followed Mazibrada’s car until police caught up with and arrested Mazibrada on Albrecht Avenue, according to the report.
Mazibrada was booked into the Summit County Jail, where as of the afternoon of Aug. 2 he awaited trial. The damage to the mausoleum and three cemetery statues on the cemetery’s property is estimated to be $7,000.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org