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Tonight, Tikun Olam breaks the story of the Israeli ambassador who cheated on his wife with men and boys–inside the ambassador’s residence!

Israel’s former ambassador to the UK has been accused of inviting men and boys for trysts late at night when his wife was not home.  A British policeman filed a complaint with Israeli authorities about the incidents.  A further investigation by the foreign ministry’s inspector general found that UK-born Ambassador Daniel Taub, who was ambassador from 2011-2015, violated security protocol by not notifying his chief of security of the identity of the visitors.  The purpose of recording visitors is in order to prevent Israeli diplomatic personnel from being blackmailed or compromised.  Since MI5 knew of Taub’s activities, the Israeli foreign ministry was concerned that he might be compromised by them or that one of his paramours might attempt to extort payments from him.

Diplomatic security is provided by the Shabak, which would be aware of the incident.  But my attempts to elicit comment from an Israeli security source were met with silence.  Though the story has been reported in the Israeli media, no one has yet identified Taub by name.  This is peculiar because there is no judicial gag order against reporting his name.  This is one hot potato!

When questioned about the matter, Taub claimed he had never invited a minor into the residence.  He added that the visitors were all adults and that their purpose was “therapeutic” (!) in nature.  Though none of the Israeli reports have spoken outright of sexual activity, how could there not be?

When asked to explain why the police officer would claim minors entered his residence if that wasn’t the case, Taub claimed that he and the policeman had exchanged words and the officer had been offended by something the ambassador had said to him.

Read more http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2016/02/03/breaking-israels-ex-ambassador-to-uk-accused-of-sexual-liaisons-with-minors/?utm_content=buffer07d4e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Intelligence in the lead-up to Friday evening’s terrorist attacks in Paris was not nearly so scarce as had initially been indicated, and several nations, including Iraq and Israel, appear to have been passing France intelligence on the matter in the days leading up to the attack.

According to the Times of Israel, French Jewish security officials were informed of an “impending large terrorist attack” in France on Friday morning, There was considerable speculation in the lead-up that France’s Jewish community would be among the targets.

Ultimately, this appears not to have been the case, though the community notes that the Bataclan, the site of the massive hostage-taking, was until very recently Jewish-owned, and has repeatedly been the site of both IDF fundraisers and anti-Israel protests, raising speculation that this made the target higher-profile for ISIS.

Read More http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/15/french-jews-warned-friday-morning-of-impending-large-terrorist-attack/

The Bataclan theater, targeted in Friday night’s Paris terror attacks, was Jewish-owned for decades, but was sold two months ago, its former owners said.

French magazine Le Point said early Saturday that the Bataclan, where at least 80 people were massacred by Islamic State gunmen on Friday night, has for years been the target of anti-Zionist groups as the Jewish owners often put on pro-Israel events. The publication quoted a member of the extremist group Army of Islam, who told French security services in 2011 that, “We had planned an attack against the Bataclan because its owners are Jews.”

The Eagles of Death Metal, the band performing at the theater when the attacks began, played in Tel Aviv’s Barby club in July.

Pascal Laloux, one of the theater’s former owners, said Saturday that the theater was “sold in September after 40 years.”

“We’re devastated because we knew everyone who worked there,” he told Israel’s Channel 2 news.

His brother Joel, the co-owner, told Channel 2 that they sold the theater on September 11, and he recently immigrated to Israel. He said he took a call from the theater at the time of the attack “and I could hear the gunfire.”

Read more http://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-owners-recently-sold-pariss-bataclan-theater-where-is-killed-dozens/

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Sunday that France’s parliament would be making a “grave mistake” if it recognises a Palestinian state in a vote on December 2.

“Do they have nothing better to do at a time of beheadings across the Middle East, including that of a French citizen?” he told reporters in Jerusalem, referring to hiker Herve Gourdel who was executed by his jihadist captors in Algeria in September.

“Recognition of a Palestinian state by France would be a grave mistake,” Netanyahu said.

“The State of Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people, the only state that we have, and the Palestinians demanding a state do not want to recognise the right to have a state for the Jewish people,” Netanyahu told members of Israel’s growing Jewish community from France.

His comments came just hours after his cabinet voted 14-6 in favour of a controversial proposal to anchor in law Israel’s status as “the national homeland of the Jewish people”.

Read more http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-netanyahu-warns-of-grave-mistake-if-france-recognises-palestine-2014-11?IR=T

Tony Blair has held secret talks with the leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas in a bid to secure a peace deal with Israel.

The former prime minister met Khaled Meshaal in the Qatari capital, Doha, on two separate occasions over recent weeks, it emerged today.

Mr Blair, who resigned as the Middle East peace envoy in May, was allegedly acting as a go-between to win peace guarantees from Hamas in exchange for the Israeli government lifting its blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter says the US might utilize the “military option” against Iran in a bid to pacify Israel after Tehran, Washington and five other world powers concluded nuclear talks in Vienna.

“We remain prepared and postured to bolster the security of our friends and allies in the region, including Israel; to defend against aggression; ensure freedom of navigation in the [Persian] Gulf; and check Iranian malign influence,” Carter said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We will utilize the military option if necessary,” the Pentagon chief added.

He is scheduled to travel to Israel next week to meet with his counterparts.

President Barack Obama noted that “Carter’s visit next week to Israel is a reflection of the unprecedented level of security cooperation between the United States and Israel, and that the visit offers a further opportunity to continue our close consultation on security issues with Israeli counterparts,” the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.

Iran and the P5+1 group of countries — the US, Britain, France, China, Russia plus Germany — reached a conclusion on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna on Tuesday.

According to the text of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran will be recognized by the United Nations as a nuclear power and will continue its uranium enrichment program.

Read more http://presstv.ir/Detail/2015/07/15/420377/US-Iran-nuclear-conclusion-nuclera-deal-Vienna-Israel-Ash-Carter

Israeli politicians have voted to continue work on a bill to allow hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners to be force-fed. Opponents argue it’s meant to silence convicts through torture similar to the force-feeding in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

The vote passed with a small majority Monday night at the Knesset plenum. The controversial bill, which could be soon fast-tracked into law, would allow prisons to seek official permission to force-feed a prisoner if a doctor advises there is a grave risk to the prisoner’s health.

The Israel Medical Association (IMA) has been strongly opposing the controversial bill, along with the American Medical Association, the British Medical Association, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, just to name a few.

“Force-feeding of hunger strikers is considered to be a form of torture,” the IMA says, stating that the World Medical Association’s (WMA) 1975 Tokyo Declaration prohibiting the participation of doctors in the practice of torture also prohibits doctors’ involvement in force-feeding.

http://rt.com/news/272137-force-feeding-prisoners-israel/

Welcome to Palestine,” said an Alitalia pilot as he landed in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, causing a stir among passengers and the airline’s Israeli employees, a spokesman for the company said.

“We have not spoken to the captain,” said the company’s spokesperson in Israel, Orly Segal. “But if this did happen it will not go over quietly.”

The incident happened on an overnight flight from Rome to Tel Aviv and touched a nerve on Memorial Day, when Israel pays homage to the 21,540 people killed in Israel’s wars. A beareaved family coming to pay respects on Memorial Day was on board at the time.

Segal said that airline workers in Israel have sent a letter of complaint to the Italian national airline’s headquarters in Rome and the Israeli Airports Authority has demanded an explanation. “One thing is certain, this captain will not fly to Israel again,” Segal said.

A similar incident took place recently with the pilot of an Air France aircraft.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/alitalia-pilot-stuns-passengers-landing-in-tel-aviv-1.10912

Israel issued a report on Sunday arguing its 2014 Gaza offensive was lawful, a move aimed at pre-empting the release of findings of a U.N. war crimes investigation that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scorned as a waste of time.

The 277-page report, which cited Israel’s internal probes and statements from Western leaders backing its right to self-defence, suggested the Netanyahu government hoped to defuse criticism from the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) inquiry in advance.

Deeming the HRC biased, Israel boycotted its investigators as it did those from the council who looked into its 2008-09 Gaza offensive. That HRC inquiry accused Israel of war crimes.

Launched last July after a surge of cross-border rocket fire by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, Israel’s 50 days of shelling, air strikes and ground incursions in the congested enclave killed more than 2,256 Palestinians, including 1,563 civilians, a U.N. report said in March.

Read more  http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/06/14/uk-israel-palestinians-un-gaza-idUKKBN0OU0B220150614