French filmmaker Claude Lanzmann Prominent French Jewish filmmaker Claude Lanzmann expressed “shock” last week that German leftists in Hamburg had violently prevented the showing of his debut documentary film, Why Israel, about the role of the Jewish state as a homeland for refugees. In late October, the 1973-produced film was scheduled to be shown at the B-Movie cinema, but roughly 50... 

When US President Barack Obama visits China this weekend, he will encounter a rival that sees the financial crisis as more of an opportunity than a threat. America, on the other hand, has been fundamentally weakened by the global crunch — and is more dependent on the goodwill of the rising superpower than ever. The scientists at the National University of Defense Technology in Changsha, China,... 

WASHINGTON – Morale has fallen among soldiers in Afghanistan, where troops are seeing record violence in the 8-year-old war, while those in Iraq show much improved mental health amid much lower violence, the Army said Friday. It was the first time since 2004 that soldier suicides in Iraq did not increase. Self-inflicted deaths in Afghanistan were on track to go up this year. Though findings of two... 

The Israeli army has been forced to open an investigation into the conduct of its troops in Gaza after damning testimony from its own front line soldiers revealed the killing of civilians and rules of engagement so lax that one combatant said that they amounted on occasion to “cold-blooded murder”. The revelations, compiled by the head of an Israel military academy who declared that he was “shocked”... 

Att. Gen. Eric Holder, featured speaker at the Anti-Defamation League’s American Heritage Dinner on October 17, praised ADL for its historic role in fighting all forms of intolerance and helping make the federal hate crimes law a reality. He called passage of ADL’s hate bill a “marvelous step of progress” and gratefully looks forward to close and continued cooperation with... 

The U.N. General Assembly is likely to approve a resolution that urges Israel and the Palestinians to carry out independent investigations of alleged war crimes during their conflict in Gaza last winter within three months and calls for possible Security Council action if they do not. The 192-nation world body has scheduled a meeting Wednesday to consider a resolution adopted by the Geneva-based Human... 

For the second consecutive year, Israeli President Shimon Peres has convened an imposing conference: Facing Tomorrow (Jerusalem, 20-22 October 2009) where 3,500 people were registered. Among the key speakers were Jewish ecologist Baron David Mayer de Rothschild; Skype CEO Josh Silverman (Jewish); the founder of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales (crypto Jew); spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (who teaches... 

Swiss voters are to decide during a referendum on November 29 whether to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland, a proposal launched by right-wing groups and backed by the country's biggest political party, the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP). Switzerland’s biggest Jewish groups said Wednesday that a far-right push to ban the construction of minarets here was a “threat”... 

In international politics, image counts. A country’s reputation, the aura it projects, the esteem in which its leaders are held — these are as important as its armed services in providing protection for its citizens. Most politicians know that soft power, skillfully used, can be at least as effective as blood-drenched hard power. This is a lesson Israel appears to have forgotten. Its pitiless... 

Iran will “blow up the heart of Israel” if the United States or the Jewish state attacked it first, a top official with Iran’s most powerful military force — the Revolutionary Guard — warned Friday. Cleric Mojtaba Zolnour, who is the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s representative in the Guard, said that if a U.S. or Israeli missile lands in Iran, Iranian missiles... 

Israeli PM’s visit to Moscow was about his Mossad agents involved in Arctic Sea hijacking jailed by Russia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly traveled to Moscow with a plea for the release of Mossad commandos allegedly related to the hijacking of the “Arctic Sea” vessel, says RT contributor Wayne Madsen. But the mission was not a success, believes the journalist. “Netanyahu... 

An Israeli diplomat in Russia has been accused of being involved in unlawful activities and has left Moscow, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday. Diplomat Shmuel Polishuk was briefly detained by authorities on Sept. 24 and left Russia, spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said, without saying the offense Polishuk was accused of. “We hope that this regrettable incident wouldn’t... 

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When the police lend support to vigilante groups hounding Jewish-Arab couples, what hope is there for coexistence? Whilst the proliferation of ultra-orthodox “vigilante police” is a stain on Israeli society, their Taliban-esque actions can at least be contextualised as the inevitable consequence of religious fundamentalism gone wild. Such communities are dominated by leaders who refuse... 

Israel has received two German-made submarines which are capable of launching missiles equipped with nuclear warheads. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed that the regime has received the two Dolphin-class submarines. Israel ordered the submarines in 2005 and they were expected to be delivered in 2010. Nuclear capable submarines are key weapons in Israel’s arsenal. With the delivery of the...