U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes bill giving Congress oversight of Iran deal
(JNS.org) The U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, which would give Congress a 30-day period to review a final nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, in a 98-1 vote.
The only senator to vote against the bill was U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who objected on the grounds that the legislation does not require a final nuclear agreement to be submitted as a treaty requiring Senate approval. U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer was absent for the vote.
President Barack Obama is expected to approve the bill, which is authored by U.S. Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Robert Menendez (D.N.J.), after initially vowing to veto a version of the legislation that gave Congress twice as long—60 days—to review a nuclear deal.
As part of a bipartisan compromise with U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Corker had also agreed to modify the bill’s language on terrorism. The legislation originally called for the president to certify to Congress every 90 days that Iran was not involved in terrorism against Americans, with sanctions being re-imposed if Iran was found complicit in terror. Under the new language, the president would need to send Congress periodic reports on Iran’s involvement in terrorism and on its ballistic missile program, but the details of those reports would not set off the renewal of sanctions that were lifted under the nuclear deal.
The bill’s next step—before it reaches Obama’s desk—is a vote in the House of Representatives, where the proposal needs a simple majority to pass.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) said Thursday after the bill’s Senate passage, “This important legislation provides Congress a mechanism to assert its historic foreign policy role and review any agreement to ensure it meets U.S. objectives, prevents relief of Congressionally-imposed sanctions if it disapproves of the agreement, and requires the administration to report on Iran’s compliance with a deal. AIPAC urges the House to take speedy action on Congressional review legislation and send it to the president for signature into law.”
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Netanyahu calls Iran nuclear threat ‘biggest challenge’ facing new government
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday called the Iranian nuclear threat the “biggest challenge” facing his newly formed government.
“The biggest challenge is Iran’s attempt to arm itself with a nuclear weapon, and in parallel develop terror fronts for conquering areas of the Middle East, around our borders,” Netanyahu said at a ceremony commemorating the Allies’ World War II victory over Nazi Germany. “We will meet this challenge. And we also know that not only are we threatened, but also others in our region. This creates common interests and also might create opportunities to promote alliances and maybe even promote peace.”
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Obama ‘looks forward’ to working with Netanyahu’s new government
(JNS.org) The White House issued a congratulatory statement on Thursday in response to the last-minute agreement in Israel between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the Jewish Home party, which will join Kulanu, Shas, and United Torah Judaism in a new governing coalition.
“President [Barack] Obama congratulates the Israeli people, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the new governing coalition on the formation of Israel’s new government,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement.
Despite the history of tense relations between Netanyahu and Obama, the statement emphasized that Obama “looks forward to working with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his new government,” and that the U.S. continues its “military, intelligence, and security cooperation with Israel, which reflects the deep and abiding partnership between both countries.”
“We also look forward to continuing consultations on a range of regional issues, including international negotiations to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and the importance of pursuing a two-state solution,” the White House statement said.
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American, European political leaders to show solidarity against anti-Semitism
(JNS.org) American and European political leaders will take part in a “Solidarity Sabbath” against anti-Semitism on May 22.
Organized by the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, named after the late U.S. House of Representatives member Tom Lantos, the initiative will encourage officials from participating nations to take the following steps: attend Shabbat services on May 22 at a local synagogue, host or attend a Shabbat dinner, issue a public statement, or host a meeting about combating religious intolerance in their country.
Leaders participating in the “Solidarity Sabbath” are from Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, The Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S.
“These countries must be commended for sending the unequivocal message that bigotry and hatred will find no sanctuary within their borders,” said Katrina Lantos Swett, president of the Lantos Foundation.
Members of Congress joining the initiative include Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.); Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.); Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.); Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.); Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.); Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.); Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla); Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.); Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla); Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.); Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.); and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio).
{Articles dealing with Jewish women in Congress are sponsored on San Diego Jewish World by Laura Galinson in memory of her father, Murray Galinson}
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Archbishop of Canterbury vows to take rising anti-Semitism ‘seriously’
(JNS.org) In an address to leading Jewish figures in the United Kingdom, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby vowed to take rising anti-Semitism in the U.K. and within his church “seriously.”
In a candid and reflective speech to the Board of Deputies of British Jews—the representative organization of U.K. Jewry—the archbishop said it has been a very “shocking” year with the rise religiously sponsored violence perpetrated by terror groups like Islamic State, Boko Haram, and others “aimed at Jewish communities in Europe and around the world… including very serious attacks on Christian and Anglican communities.”
“We need to stop that, both with security—that is an essential—but also with ideology that undermines, that subverts, the arguments of the radicals, that models an alternative that is about human flourishing and about the flourishing of human societies,” he said.
The archbishop, who serves as the “first among equals” of the 80 million-strong Anglican Church, also acknowledged the rising anti-Semitism in the U.K., admitting that in the past he has failed to stand up and protest anti-Semitism. Welby apologized for the actions of Church of England Vicar Stephen Sizer, who attended an anti-Semitic conference in Iran. The archbishop vowed to take anti-Semitism “seriously” within the church.
Additionally, Welby said that Christians need to stand up and address the “horrendous” violence against Jewish communities.
“Within the Christian community we need to stand against our own tendency, when exhibited over many centuries, to violence; violence against each other and above all violence against Jewish communities in horrendous and horrible ways going back well over a millennia,” he said.
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Federal judges blast IRS in hearing on pro-Israel group’s tax-exempt status
(JNS.org) Judges for the Washington D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals blasted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during a hearing in a case on the tax-exempt status of a pro-Israel organization.
Z Street sued the IRS in 2010, alleging that the agency singled it out for extra review due its pro-Israel views when the group applied for tax-exempt status. Z Street said it was told by the IRS that the extra review applies to groups that are “connected with Israel… to determine whether the organization’s activities contradict the administration’s public policies.”
During a May 4 hearing, a three-judge panel of Merrick Garland, David Tatel, and David Sentelle heavily criticized the U.S. government’s lawyer, Teresa McLaughlin. Sentelle told her, “They (Z Street) are not in court seeking to restrain the assessment or collection of a tax, they are in court seeking a constitutionally fair process,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
The government argued that organizations may sue the IRS only if they don’t receive a response to their grievance from the agency for 270 days.
“You don’t really mean that, right? Because the next couple words would be the IRS is free to discriminate on the basis of viewpoint, religion, race [for 270 days]. You don’t actually think that?” Judge Garland said. “Imagine the IRS announces today a policy that says as follows: No application by a Jewish group or an African-American group will be considered until one day short of the period under the statute… Is it your view that that cannot be challenged?”
The judge went on to tell the government lawyer to “ask your superiors” if the government is free to “unconstitutionally discriminate” against its citizens for 270 days.
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Israel’s Ben-Gurion University to develop robots to help senior citizens
(JNS.org) Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have received a grant from Israel’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Space to develop robotic systems that will meet the needs of senior citizens.
The BGU project, titled “Follow Me: Proxemics and Responsiveness for Following Tasks in Adaptive Assistive Robotics,” will use “robotic adaptive person-following” algorithms to create robots that will adjust to specific tasks, the pace and abilities of their users, and the characteristics of their environments.
“While most person-following algorithms focus on the effectiveness and efficiency of the robot, what is unique about our approach is that we focus on the effectiveness of the human-robot interaction by introducing constructs related to proximity in human-human interaction,” Dr. Tal Oron-Gilad, a researcher in BGU’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, said in a statement.
In essence, the Israeli-developed robots will behave similarly to how humans interact with one another.
“Robots can assist the elderly in everyday tasks as they seek to age independently. Nevertheless, the introduction of assistive robotics into seniors’ daily life will be dependent upon user acceptance, satisfaction and affordability,” said Oron-Gilad.