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On Sunday, Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy made public a lengthy new document entitled, "Terrorists in Suits: The Ties Between NGOs Promoting BDS and Terrorist Organizations." Israel released the report to demonstrate "how terrorists came to hold key positions in NGOs promoting the Boycott Divestment and Sanction (BDS) campaign against the State of Israel; and how, through these NGOs, they exploit Western governmental funding, philanthropic foundations, financial platforms and civil society to advance their goal of dismantling the State of Israel." NGOs, or non-governmental organizations, are hotly contested in the Israeli public discourse. Anti-Israel NGOs are so...

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump claimed Friday that the US had nothing to do with the explosion of an Iranian rocket Thursday, tweeting a photo of such high resolution that it prompted questions about whether the President had publicly released classified imagery. "The United States of America was not involved in the catastrophic accident during final launch preparations for the Safir SLV Launch at Semnan Launch Site One in Iran," Trump wrote, and added what appeared to be a sarcastic sign off. "I wish Iran best wishes and good luck in determining what happened at Site One."

A day after sanctions were imposed on networks allegedly helping Iran circumvent U.S. sanctions, the Treasury Department announced new sanctions against a Lebanese bank and individuals in Oman for financial links with Hezbollah and Hamas. Powerful US financial sanctions were imposed on the Jammal Trust Bank in Lebanon, which was accused of acting as a key financial institution for Hezbollah. Sanctions also targeted individuals in Oman who allegedly act as middlemen to funnel cash from Iran's elite Qods (Quds) Force to Hamas in Gaza. The U.S. Treasury Department "is targeting Jammal Trust Bank and its subsidiaries for brazenly enabling Hezbollah's...

Pesident Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran and North Korea have "tremendous potential" he hoped to help them achieve should they reach deals with the United States. Trump made the remarks Monday at the G7 summit in the French city of Biarritz, where he was joined by fellow leaders from Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif too arrived in the city for separate consultations with France that were apparently welcomed by Trump. "I'm looking to have a really good Iran, really strong, we're not looking for...

Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=W_t4if3ubcc Syrian-American human rights activist Ammar Abdulhamid and Egyptian-American researcher Samuel Tadros discussed Zionism and Israel last week on Al-Hurra TV (United States), reports the Middle Ease Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Ammar Abdulhamid said that there is a colonialist-imperialist streak in all civilizations and this means that the colonialist aspects of Zionism are not unique. He argued that the Arabs have become nihilistic with regard to Israel because they focused on annihilating Israel instead of building a Palestinian state right from the start. He also said that one cannot ignore the role that Arab Jews played in Israel's establishment...

The Israeli military Saturday said it foiled a "pending large-scale attack" by Iranian forces and Shiite militia on targets in Israel with a series of airstrikes near Damascus. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed responsibility for the airstrikes, saying it thwarted Iranian drone attacks on Israel, according to a statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in acknowledging Israel's responsibility for the attacks, said on Twitter, "I repeat: Iran has no immunity anywhere. Our forces operate in every direction against Iranian aggression." "He who rises to kill you, kill him first," Netanyahu said in his tweet, quoting Hebrew scripture.

Soros, Koch brothers advance Iran lobby in new Washington think tank JUL 2, 2019 1:30 PM BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS Don’t be fooled by the noble semantics carefully chosen to name a new “think tank” just launched in Washington: “The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statescraft.” The venture is funded by George Soros and the Koch Brothers in partnership with Trita Parsi, founder of the “Iran Lobby front group, NIAC (National Iranian American Council).” A sneak preview of the new Institute: Parsi has praised Iran for pursuing “more moderate policies” in the 90’s while advising that Washington needs a “de-Israelization.” Kenneth R....

Syrian army advances in northwest Syria are putting Turkish troops in the firing line and threaten Ankara's hopes of preventing a new wave of refugees on its southern border. The offensive around Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria, has already forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee towards Turkey. It has also cut off a Turkish military post deep inside Syria as the deal to limit fighting in the region, which the Turkish troops were supposed to be monitoring, collapses. The breakdown of that deal would be a significant blow to President Tayyip Erdogan, who has steered...

Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxVPCjbKuEQ Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said in an address at the Jalazun Refugee Camp near Ramallah that the "Palestinians" cannot be removed from their homeland and that every building built by the Zionist occupation will be destroyed and thrown in the garbage bin of history, reports the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). ..... In the video, uploaded to to Abbas' Facebook page on August 10, he claimed that the "Palestinians" are the Canaanites who have lived in Palestine for 5,000 years, and he rejected the conferences in Warsaw and Manama as unacceptable to the "Palestinian people". He...

The United States has removed nearly 2.7 million barrels (per day) of Iranian oil from global markets as a result of Washington’s decision to reimpose sanctions on all purchases of Iran’s crude, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday. In an interview with MSNBC, Pompeo said the US government was confident it could continue with its strategy. “We have managed to take almost 2.7 million barrels of crude oil off of the market, denying Iran the wealth to create their terror campaign around the world, and we have managed to keep the oil markets fully supplied,” Pompeo said....

Iran's president sent a bill to parliament Wednesday that would cut four zeroes from the value of the Islamic Republic's sanctions-battered currency, the rial, as tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington. By sending the bill to lawmakers, President Hassan Rouhani's government shows it is serious about an idea discussed for some time in Iran, where people discuss monetary transactions in both rials and informally, but more commonly, in tomans. A toman is worth 10 rials. If passed by parliament and approved by lawmakers, Iran's Central Bank would in effect devalue the rial and rename it as toman. The bank...

Leader Of Jihadi Military Contractor Malhama Tactical (MT) Killed In Syria; August 20, 2019 The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here. On August 16, 2019, jihadi military contractor Malhama Tactical (MT) posted a Russian-language statement on Telegram announcing that the group's leader, Abu Salman Al-Belarusi, had been killed at the front south of Idlib, and was succeeded by Chechen jihadi 'Ali Al-Shishani. MT operates in Syria and has worked with Jabhat Fath Al-Sham (formerly Jabhat Al-Nusra, the Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria), as well as Ahrar...

Iran Releases Four Women Arrested For Trying To Watch Men's Soccer August 17, 2019 08:22 GMT UPDATED August 17, 2019 19:45 GMT By RFE/RL Iranian women sometimes receive special permission to attend men's football matches. Authorities in Tehran have released four Iranian women from a detention center after they were arrested for allegedly dressing as men to circumvent a ban against women attending soccer matches in the Islamic republic, a Human Rights Watch researcher (HRW) says. The researcher, Tara Sepehrui Far, said on Twitter on August 17 that the four women were freed on bail after reportedly being charged with...

At least 10 Republican members of Congress are supporting Israel's decision to block Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from entering the country after Trump specifically requested it. On Thursday, Trump tweeted that it would be a sign of "great weakness" if Israel allowed the two congresswomen, who have been outspoken critics of Trump, to enter the country. Later that day, Israel officially blocked their entrance. "Israel’s denial of entry to Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar is a sign of weakness, and beneath the dignity of the great State of Israel," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. Most...

In the midst of the hot takes offered up by the 2020 Democrat candidates when the two anti-Semitic U.S. congresswomen were denied entry into Israel, the guy at the front of the pack was quickly reminded that former President Obama’s administration made a similar decision. Joe Biden posted a tweet meant to criticize the Israeli government’s decision. He said he is a supporter of Israel but no one should be denied entry into a democratic state over “ideas”. “No democracy should deny entry to visitors based on the content of their ideas”, he said. Joe Biden: I have always been...

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) late Saturday suggested that viewers should boycott comedian Bill Maher’s late-night HBO show over his vehement criticism of the international movement to boycott Israel. Tlaib, who was denied entry to Israel last week over her support of the movement, said that she was "tired of folks discrediting a form of speech that is centered on equality and freedom." “This is exactly how they tried to discredit & stop the boycott to stand up against the apartheid in S. Africa,” Tlaib added. “It didn't work then and it won't now.” **SNIP** Omar and Tlaib, who became the...

White House hopeful Joe Biden doubled down on his vow to cooperate with Republicans should he be elected president, saying he successfully worked across the aisle as vice president. “There’s an awful lot of really good Republicans out there,” he said Saturday at a Massachusetts fundraiser. “I get in trouble for saying that with Democrats, but the truth of the matter is, every time we ever got in trouble with our administration, remember who got sent up to Capitol Hill to fix it? Me. Because they know I respect the other team.” Biden acknowledged that while Republicans and Democrats appear...

Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., continue to speak out against President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the decision to bar them from visiting Israel last week, but now recent social media posts from the freshman congresswomen – part of the “Squad” that includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley -- include a political cartoon from an artist celebrated for his anti-Semitic imagery. Tlaib and Omar posted to their Instagram stories a cartoon which depicts Netanyahu silencing Tlaib by covering her mouth, and Trump doing the same to Omar, The Jewish Daily Forward’s Batya Ungar-Sargon...

The US justice department has issued a warrant to seize a detained Iranian oil tanker, a day after a judge in Gibraltar ordered it to be released. The Grace 1 supertanker, which is carrying 2.1m barrels of oil, was detained on 4 July on suspicion of illegally transporting oil to Syria. A last-minute legal attempt by the US to keep the tanker detained was rejected by Gibraltar on Thursday. Iran previously called the detention of Grace 1 an "illegal interception".

In listening to an interview given by Malcolm Hoenlein, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, I was surprised to hear him casually say (at 5:10): "Israel flew F-35s to Tehran and made it sort of public.  The leadership of Iran know they did, and (the F-35s) made it back to Israel (Ed: Rough transcript made from podcast)." This was news to me, so I did a Bing search that returned mixed results.  CNBC put out a piece last week that treated the issue as "old news" or maybe even "fake news":...