Atlanta Mayor Says 'No' to Black Lives Matter and 'Yes' to Israel

JERUSALEM, Israel – The mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, rebuffed a demand by Black Lives Matter to end counterterrorism training with Israeli police.

The Atlanta Police Department (APD) is one of many U.S. police departments that take part in Israeli counterterrorism training.

The group demanded a "complete overhaul of Atlanta Police Department's training institutions… [and] a termination to APD's involvement in the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange program that trains our officers in Apartheid Israel [sic]."

Mayor Kasim Reed told reporters after the meeting he had no intention of meeting its "demand."

"There was a demand that I stop allowing the Atlanta Police Department to train with the Israeli police department," the mayor said. "I'm not going to do that. I happen to believe that the Israeli police department has some of the best counterterrorism techniques in the world, and it benefits our police department from that longstanding relationship."

Meanwhile in Cleveland, Black Lives Matter issued its official response to Republican nominee Donald Trump's Thursday evening acceptance speech at the RNC, calling him a "terrorist" and "facist," Breitbart reported.

"The terrifying vision that Donald J. Trump is putting forward casts him alongside some of the worst fascists in history," the group's co-founder, Patrisse Cullors, said.

"The terrorist on our televisions tonight was Donald Trump. He pledged to fight for Americans, while threatening the vast majority of this country with imprisonment, deportation and a culture of abject fear.

"His doublespeak belies his true nature: a charlatan who will embolden racists and destroy communities of color. He is a disgrace. White people of conscience must forcefully reject this hatred immediately," the statement concluded.

Reed is scheduled to address the Democratic National Convention next week.