The Atlantic: Here’s ‘What’s Going On’ With Muslims

On Monday, following the Orlando terrorist attack, Trump at once narrowed and vastly expanded the ban. He specified that he would “suspend immigration from areas of the world where there’s a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe, or our allies.” But when you stop and think about that line, you realize it’s an even more sweeping statement than keeping most of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims from America’s shores. Does that mean, for instance, that the ban would apply to everyone from France as well? How about Belgians? [...]

Through it all, Trump has remained consistent about one thing: His ban would be in place “until we”—a “we” that, judging by his rhetoric, doesn’t seem to include Muslims—“figure out what is going on.” [...]

I put the question to six Muslim commentators and scholars who spend a lot of time thinking about Islam in the United States and around the world. They sent back responses, which I’ve edited and included below.

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AP: Israeli leader spent $1,600 on hairdresser on New York trip

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent more than $600,000 of public funds on a six-day trip to New York, including $1,600 on a personal hairdresser, according to a newly released expense report.

The trip to the U.N. General Assembly last fall also included $210 in laundry services, $1,862 in meals and nearly $20,000 to move and store furniture. [...]

In 2013, the premier was chided for spending $127,000 in public funds for a special sleeping cabin on a flight to London. He also ran up a $2,700 bill that year for ice cream, mostly vanilla and pistachio.

The court documents note that the trip also incurred a charge of $1.5 million for a flight, although it did not specify whether the flight was for the Netanyahus only or for staff as well.

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Deutsche Welle: Russian soccer hooligans attack tourists in front of Cologne Cathedral

According to German media reports on Thursday, a group of Russian soccer hooligans making their way home from the Euro 2016 tournament attacked and injured several tourists in front of the Cologne Cathedral in western Germany.

Six Russian nationals were arrested, authorities said, "on their way to the airport to fly back to Moscow this evening." [...]

The incident follows days of brawls between Russian and English fans in the southern French city of Marseille, which hosted the match between the two countries. Russia has been slapped with a fine and a final warning from UEFA, and French authorities arrested three Russian hooligans before deporting twenty others. Even after the Russia-England game had come and gone, some English fans continued the violence, clashing with police in the city of Lille.

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The Times of Israel: Livni: Israel must decide between annexation and partition

Speaking at the Herzliya Conference on Thursday, she responds to comments minutes earlier by former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, who criticized the Netanyahu government as “unethical” and said he would run in the next election in a bid to replace Netanyahu.

“I’m glad that Ya’alon is going to war over values, but the real question is what we’re going to do with the territories,” she says, referring to the West Bank.

Ya’alon is considered a liberal on many domestic issues, including gay rights and rule of law, but opposes an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank in the near term on security grounds.

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The New York Times: When a Phrase Takes on New Meaning: ‘Radical Islam,’ Explained

It was nearly 18 months ago, shortly after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, when a reporter for National Public Radio, Mara Liasson, observed at a White House press briefing that President Obama and his aides had “bent over backwards” to avoid using the phrase “radical Islam.” The press secretary, Josh Earnest, said this was because “these terrorists are individuals who would like to cloak themselves in the veil of a particular religion,” opening a debate over the phrase that has taken on new rancor amid the massacre in Orlando. [...]

Shadi Hamid, a scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said that before the controversy began, he did not use the phrase “radical Islam” much, but neither did he find it overly objectionable. After two years of politicization, though, Mr. Hamid and other analysts say the phrase has worrisome connotations, potentially maligning all Muslims or Islam itself. [...]

The phrase does not explicitly say there is an intrinsic link between terrorism and Islam. But it suggests religion is the core issue, and by using the vague modifier “radical,” there is an implication that any adherent can be suspect on grounds that are unclear and open to interpretation.

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The Telegraph: Nicola Sturgeon orders officials to draw up plans for second independence referendum

The First Minister told MSPs "all options to protect our relationship with Europe and the European Union will require to be considered" if Scotland faced the prospect of leaving the EU against the wishes of most voters.

Her official spokesman later confirmed she was referring to plans for a second referendum rather than any potential legal or parliamentary mechanisms to block or delay Brexit.

Ms Sturgeon’s intervention was a marked change in tone from her rhetoric during the past few weeks when she has gone quiet about Brexit triggering another independence referendum.

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Salon: The UN’s damning report on Israel and torture: The desperate case of Palestinian youth in the occupied territory

Just recently, Israel was elected to chair one of the United Nations’ permanent committees — the Sixth Committee, called the “Legal Committee.”  It oversees issues related to international law, including human rights issues and issues of decolonization.  Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon remarked, “I am proud to be the first Israeli elected to this position… Israel is a world leader in international law and in fighting terrorism…We are pleased to have the opportunity to share our knowledge with the countries of the world.”  This presents a case of overwhelming contradiction, as Israel itself has been sharply and persistently criticized for violations of human rights and its continued colonial project in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

In May 2011, Danon wrote an op-ed published in The New York Times where he advocated that Israel annex all West Bank settlements and “uninhabited areas.”  He concluded that under his plan Israel would bear no responsibility to Palestinians in the West Bank, who would live in their own “unannexed” towns.  Furthermore, under his plan Palestinians would not be eligible for citizenship.  According to him, this solution would avert the “threat to the Jewish and democratic status of Israel by a growing Palestinian population.”  Danon’s definition of democracy is specifically narrow, and now that the two-state solution is thoroughly dead, this mentality indicates what democracy Israel-style might look like in the one state. [...]

It then enumerates 25 concerns, including allegations of torture and ill-treatment, excessive use of force, coerced evidence, settler violence, house demolitions, and the issue of asylum seekers and refugees.  It also “regrets the State party’s continued argument that the Convention does not apply in all the Occupied Territories and notes that this position is contrary to the views of this Committee as set forth in its previous concluding observations (CAT/C/ISR/CO/4, para. 11), other treaty bodies, and the International Court of Justice.”  It then “reaffirms that the Convention applies to all territory and persons under the jurisdiction of the State party, including the Occupied Territories.”

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The Guardian: EU to investigate Poland over logging in ancient forest

The European Union on Thursday launched an investigation into Polish logging in its ancient Białowieża forest, a protected Unesco World Heritage site which includes some of Europe’s last primeval woodland.

“The commission has launched an infringement procedure against Poland ... the commission is in contact with the Polish authorities to make sure that any measures are in line with EU law,” a spokesman said. [...]

Environmentalists said instead the logging will destroy an ecosystem untouched for more than 10,000 years and complained to the European commission, the EU’s executive arm.

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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Russia Leads Effort To Strip Gay Decriminalization From UN Measure

Russia led an effort at the United Nations to strip language from an AIDS resolution that would have called for the decriminalization of homosexuality and drug use.

Russia was joined by Iran, Poland, and several Gulf states in blocking the decriminalization language from being included in a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on June 8 that called for ending the AIDS pandemic by 2030.

An earlier draft resolution had called for treating homosexuality and drug use as "human rights issues." Instead, it now stresses the need to help intravenous drug users, gay men, and transgender people who are at high risk of contracting HIV.

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The Washington Post: Pope Francis: ‘The great majority’ of marriages are null because couples don’t understand what they’re doing

Pope Francis said Thursday that “the great majority” of Catholic marriages are religiously null because people don’t understand the concept of a lifetime commitment. [...]

Francis, who in his three-plus years as pope has regularly made news with his off-the-cuff remarks, cited a case he’d heard of a young man who wanted to become a priest — but just for 10 years. The culture is too provisional, Francis said.

“It’s provisional, and because of this the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null. Because they say ‘yes, for the rest of my life!’ but they don’t know what they are saying. Because they have a different culture. They say it, they have good will, but they don’t know,” he reportedly said.

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Salon: Left-wing lawmaker shot dead by nationalist shouting “Britain first!”, as far-right is on rise in Europe

Labour Party MP Jo Cox, who opposes an exit from the E.U., was slain outside of a library in Birstall, West Yorkshire on Thursday afternoon. Eyewitnesses, according to reports, say she was shot three times and stabbed several times.

Multiple witnesses say the alleged killer repeatedly shouted “Britain first!” as he attacked her. This could potentially be a reference to Britain First, a far-right, anti-immigrant party that supports Brexit, a British exit from the E.U.

Britain First, however, strongly denies any involvement, and issued a statement saying it “could have been a slogan rather than a reference to our party.” The far-right party’s leader, Paul Golding, condemned the attack and said the shooter could have actually shouted, “It’s time to put Britain first!” [...]

The nationalist attack on the left-wing lawmaker is by no means the only incident of its kind in Europe. In October, a neo-Nazi attacked a leading candidate in the mayoral race in Cologne, Germany. Henriette Reker, who supports admitting refugees, was stabbed in the neck by a right-wing extremist who opposed accepting Muslim asylum-seekers. Reker survived, and won the election.

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The New York Times: Palestinian Killed by Israeli Soldier Posed No Danger, Commander Testifies

The company commander, Maj. Tom Naaman, said he “did not feel any danger from him” when he stood near the Palestinian man lying on the ground. “No one brought to my attention that the terrorist endangered anything,” Major Naaman said in court, according to the Israeli website Ynet. “There was no such claim.”

Major Naaman testified that, afterward, he had asked the soldier, Sgt. Elor Azaria, who had authorized him to shoot the wounded man in the head. He said the sergeant replied, “The terrorist was alive, and he has to die.” [...]

The killing and the manslaughter trial have prompted a nationwide debate in Israel over the conduct of Sergeant Azaria, a member of perhaps the most respected institution in Israel, the defense forces. That debate probably played a role in the political machinations that led to the resignation of Moshe Yaalon, the defense minister. Avigdor Lieberman now holds that post.

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Quartz: It’s happening: A robot escaped a lab in Russia and made a dash for freedom

A robot in Russia escaped from a research lab in the town of Perm yesterday, June 15, reports the BBC. An engineer at robotics company Promobot had forgotten to close a gate, and the runaway bot caused a traffic jam as it bolted out into the world.

It promptly ran out of power in the middle of the road. The robot got about 50m (164 ft) before its battery died, according to local newspaper Argumenty i Fakty (Russian).

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