The deepening ties between Israel and Russia are important for the country’s security, PM Netanyahu said Sunday 5 June 2016. Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet this week in the Kremlin. It is the fourth time that Netanyahu and Putin have met in recent months, including Netanyahu visits to Moscow in September 2015 and April 2016, and a meeting last November during the Paris climate conference. The leaders will discuss regional issues including the global fight against terrorism; the situation in and around Syria; and the diplomatic horizon between Israel and the Palestinians; as well as bilateral economic and trade cooperation and the strengthening of cultural and humanitarian ties. Israel has worked to strengthen its ties with Moscow, alongside those of its chief ally, the United States, whose President Barack Obama, Netanyahu has met only once in the last year. It has worked to coordinate its military air activity in the region with Russia, so that the two militaries do not interfere with one another in the Syrian theater. In other diplomatic actions, a bilateral pensions agreement, to restore Russian pensions to immigrants to Israel from the states of the former Soviet Union is scheduled to be signed. Also a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in agriculture and dairy technology is set to be endorsed. (JTA/J.Post) [Comment]

A study published by New Wave Research revealed that only 15% of Israeli adults are smokers – a decline compared to similar previous studies. Published ahead of this year’s World No-Tobacco Day, the study was commissioned by the Israel Society of Pulmonology (ISP). The numbers revealed that 24% of Jewish Israelis began smoking at age 16, 3% began smoking at 12, 12% began smoking at 20, and 5% began after the age of 30. Among the non-smokers, 71% had never touched a cigarette, 12% stopped smoking over a decade ago, and 4% stopped smoking a year ago. (Arutz-7) [Comment]

In Europe, outside the protections of the First Amendment, American tech giants including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter reached an agreement with the Europe Union on Tues. 31 May 2016, to crack down on online speech that some, apparently including activist groups, identify as "hate speech.” The newly approved "code of conduct” will have the tech companies "quickly” remove "illegal hate speech directed against anyone over issues of race, color, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.” The companies agreed "to strengthen their partnerships with civil society organizations that often flag content that promotes incitement to violence and hateful conduct,” the report said. Vera Jourova, the EU commissioner "responsible for justice, consumers and gender equality,” said, "The Internet is a place for free speech, not hate speech.” Bloomberg’s Stephanie Bodoni said the agreement also includes Google and Microsoft. Long identified as a problem have been online communications among members of terrorist groups such as ISIS, "which has used the Web and social media to spread its message of hate against its enemies,” the report said. The companies admitted it would be a "challenge” to balance freedom of expression and "hate speech.” (WND)

In just the last year, a man yelling "Allahu Akbar” attacked a police station in Tours, France. Then there were back-to-back attacks by drivers yelling "Allahu Akbar” who drove into crowds nearby. And there were the Charlie Hebdo jihadist assaults that killed 12. In the middle of last year, an Islamic terrorist attacked a couple of churches in France, and a delivery driver decapitated a man in another atrocity. Four were injured in an attempted mass shooting on a train to Paris and some 130 people were killed in coordinated assaults in Paris in November 2015. Now, the USA State Department has warned of possible terror attacks in France during this summer’s Euro 2016 soccer tournament. Nevertheless, France continues to contribute to a fund paying salaries to jailed murderers.

Palestinian Media Watch director, Itamar Marcus, reported the PA general budget to which France is contributing "pays monthly salaries to terrorists like Hamas bomb maker Abdallah Barghouti, whose bombs murdered 67 people, and Abbas Al-Sayid, who planned two suicide bombings in which 35 were killed, as well as all other Palestinians imprisoned for terror crimes. The French government should note that the PA pays more than $12 million a month in salaries to terrorist prisoners. PMW showed the Palestinian Authority was paying the salaries in secret after it had promised several years ago to stop. PMW sources found Palestinian Authority Ministry of Finance documents that show a transfer of money from the PA to the Palestinian National Fund, the body that funds the Palestinian Liberation Organization, in the amount needed to pay the salaries. The PA has received an estimated $25 billion in financial aid from the USA and other countries over two decades, according to the Gatestone Institute. (WND)

The USA State Department this week issued a travel advisory to American citizens planning on traveling to Europe warning that the large crowds are likely to become a target for terror attacks. "We are alerting USA citizens to the risk of potential terrorist attacks throughout Europe, targeting major events, tourist sites, restaurants, commercial centers and transportation,” it said in a statement. The release specifically mentioned the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day event, being held in late July 2016, in Krakow, Poland. The European Soccer Championship in France, being held in June and July 2016, is also a likely target. The Brussels bomber cell which bombed the Belgian capital's airport had, in fact, originally chosen it to be their target - but changed their minds after police began closing in on their location. The State Department urges citizens to "exercise vigilance" in large crowds and be alert in public places, keep updated with local media, and stay in touch with friends and family members throughout their trips. (Arutz-7) [Comment]

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, the Archbishop of Vienna who is considered second-in-line to Pope Francis, gave a special interview to Israel’s daily, Arutz Sheva, at the sidelines of a convention of the Conference of European Rabbis in Vienna. Schonborn began by calling Jews and Catholics in Austria "neighbors" and "friends," noting that "it's less than half-a-kilometer between the synagogue and the cathedral (in Vienna), and that's not only geographical it's also spiritual." Regarding European hostility to Israel, he said, "I don't think you will hear from the Catholic church such voices. We have such a good and close relation to not only to the Jewish people, but especially to the state of Israel. There are political tendencies in Europe and it's good to stand up against them, which is what we try to do. We have only one voice but I hope that voice is heard," said Schonborn. In a biting comment on the BDS movement seeking to boycott the Jewish state, the Cardinal said, "I think it is not only false, it's stupid." (Arutz-7) "Stupid” is indeed a good description of BDS activities. Here are ten brands that BDS supporters have urged others to boycott: Pampers, Volvo, Intel, Israeli hummus, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Victoria’s Secret, Starbucks, McDonald's, and SodaStream. There are thousands of other products on their list that contain or use Israeli-developed technology, including iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, Skype and computer firewalls. [Comment]

Recent vandalism targeting three New England synagogues is aimed at intimidating the Jewish community, the director of the New England office of the Anti-Defamation League said. According to Robert Trestan, the attacks at two synagogues in the Boston area and one in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, are part of a spike in anti-Semitic incidents in the region since the start of the year. Trestan said there is no indication the recent incidents - which all occurred in May 2016 - are related, but the short time frame and proximity stand out. "To have three synagogues targeted in a week within 100 miles of each other, that’s a real concern,” Trestan told media sources. "People are intentionally going onto a property of worship to intimidate the community.” He said the uptick in reported anti-Semitic incidents since the beginning of 2016 - particularly in schools, but also in the community - runs from harassment to graffiti. "The incidents already reported to us this year exceed all of 2015, with school-based incidents experiencing the largest increase,” according to a spokesperson at the New England office. The office could not disclose the exact numbers, but the figures will be part of a forthcoming report from the national ADL. (JTA) [Comment]

"Look around you. This is an historic moment in the UN!” Those were the words of Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon on Tuesday 31 May 2016, as he looked out over a packed General Assembly Hall at the start of an event opposing the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. More than 2,000 attended the session, making it one of the rare occasions, if not the only to date, in which the UN General Assembly Hall could be described as a place of pro-Israel sentiment. "Never before have so many people, from so many places, gathered here in the General Assembly to declare unanimous support for the State of Israel,” Danon continued. Under the banner "Building Bridges, Not Boycotts,” Danon explained to the international community that the BDS phenomenon is a thin mask for "modern-day anti-Semitism,” and urged the world to "put an end to its ideology of hatred and lies. We will not allow the forces of hate to demonize Israel. Together, we will defeat BDS.” The gathering was addressed by other Jewish and Israeli leaders. (Israel Today) [Comment]