Today’s Top Stories
1. Thousands of Israelis paid their respects to Hadas Malka, a Border Police Officer killed in a Palestinian terror attack over the weekend. She was laid to rest Saturday night in Ashdod.
Malka succumbed to stab wounds while struggling with a Palestinian terrorist who attacked her in eastern Jerusalem, near Damascus Gate late Friday afternoon. In a second, near-simultaneous attack, two Palestinians using knives and a gun attacked soldiers at Zedekiah’s Cave. Four other people were injured in the two attacks. All three terrorists were killed by responding security forces.
Israel responded by revoking Ramadan entry permits. There were conflicting claims of responsibility between Islamic State and Hamas/Islamic Jihad, while Israeli officials said the three weren’t affiliated with any terror group.
The 23-year-old Malka was from Moshav Givat Ezer. See colleague Eden Panker’s farewell to her sister in arms.
Hadas Malka z"l 23yo murdered today in Jerusalem by #Palestinian terrorist, securing #Ramadan as Israel increased visa permits for 100k+ Pal pic.twitter.com/MR3NUnnClU
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) June 16, 2017
2. Palestinians plan to claim Hebron’s old city and Tomb of the Patriarchs via the UN World Heritage list.
“This is a new front in the war over the holy places that the Palestinians are trying to ignite as part of their propaganda campaign against Israel and the history of the Jewish people,” Israel’s Ambassador to UNESCO Carmel Shama HaCohen told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday . . .
If the 21-member committee approves the PA’s request, it would mark the first time that a Jewish holy site under Israeli control was registered to the “State of Palestine.”
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
3. Israel and Saudi Arabia are in talks to establish modest economic ties, according to the Times of London.
Arab and American sources said that the links would start small: allowing Israeli businesses to operate in the Gulf, for example, and letting El Al, the national airline, fly over Saudi airspace . . .
The Palestinians are privately furious about the idea, fearing that it would normalise ties with Israel while giving them only the vague promise of a future state.
4. The Gaza Energy Crisis: A Catch-22: In a special guest post exclusive to HonestReporting, Col. (Res.) Grisha Yakubovich, former Head of the Civilian Department in the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit, explains the Gaza electricity crisis and its implications for Israel.
5. Bias by the Numbers – April-May 2017: HR crunches the numbers to compare Israel-related media cultures in Britain and the US.
6. Video: Al Quds Day 2017: Ever since 1979, the last Friday of Ramadan is Al Quds Day, described as a day to support Palestinians and the destruction of Israel.
Israel and the Palestinians
• While this development does say something about the lack real freedom of expression in the West Bank, don’t forget that sites affiliated with Hamas or former Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan are really purveyors of “news” or “journalism.”
PA reportedly blocks news sites affiliated with Hamas, Dahlan
Palestinian journalists denounced the move.
• The PA is threatening to drag Israel to the International Criminal Court to protect its stipends to Palestinian terrorists and their families, reports Wafa News via Elder of Ziyon.
• The BBC apologized and changed a headline that sparked an uproar and protests from Jerusalem officials, Donald Trump Jr., and general social media. The opprobrium was over a headline stating “Three Palestinians killed after deadly stabbing in Jerusalem” without mentioning that the three were the terrorists themselves.
The headline now says Israeli policewoman stabbed to death in Jerusalem.
Unbelievable. Can you imagine the revolt had headline be "3 men killed after deadly stabbing in Borough Market"? pic.twitter.com/2K7XgDx9oR
— Julie Lenarz (@MsJulieLenarz) June 17, 2017
• The UN Economic and Social Council released a scathing report on Israel, particularly accusing the Jewish state of
using “force that has at times been deemed excessive” against the Palestinians, “which may have amounted to extrajudicial executions.”
• Australia’s outgoing Ambassador to Israel, David Sharma, discussed relations between the two countries with Sky News Australia. The ambassador also shared some observations on media coverage:
But that said, I think people can get a distorted impression of Israel, how safe it is, how secure it is, if you only look at the media, because the media’s obviously concerned with stories about conflict or clashes. And that’s part of what goes on in Israel, but it’s a small part. On the whole, Israel looks and feels and seems like a country much like Australia.
Around the World
• Hezbollah flags will indeed be allowed at today’s Al-Quds Day demonstration hate-fest in London.
Flags of proscribed (illegal) organisations will not be allowed. For example, you can bring a Hezbollah flag to show support for the political wing of Hezbollah. This is because the political wing of Hezbollah is not a proscribed organisation.”
• Jerusalem Post: After pressure, German TV will air ‘censored’ documentary on anti-Semitism.
• Just when you thought people couldn’t get more bent out of shape over Israel and Jewish people, along comes a New Zealand interpretation of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” According to the Wellington-based news site, Stuff:
The Wellington City Council has apologised to Sir Tim Rice after the word “Israel” vanished from song sheets featuring the renowned lyricist’s work . . .
The president of the Jewish Council, Stephen Goodman, said the lyric change was an example of “people trying to be politically correct where it’s unnecessary to be so”.
A community coordinator made an error in judgement which we will rectify before the schoolkids perform in Sept. Sorry, we love your work.
— Wellington City Council (@WgtnCC) June 16, 2017
• JTA: Ex-police boss seeks review of French cops’ inaction during Jewish woman’s killing by Muslim man.
• BDS activists in the UK are appealing to the High Court to “consider the legality of the Government’s ban on local councils boycotting foreign countries like Israel.”
• I’m impressed with TV talk show host Stephen Colbert for standing up to filmmaker Oliver Stone’s Israel-bashing. Viewers didn’t see it on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert because it wasn’t aired, but one person in the audience told Page Six it was “cringe-worthy” and “painful to watch.”
The audience member explained that as Colbert pressed Oscar winner Stone — who was promoting his new Vladimir Putin Showtime series, “The Putin Interviews” — on his apparent sympathy for the Russian president in spite of claims about Russian interference in the US election, Stone, at a disadvantage, tried to shift the talk to Israel.
The source said they “watched from behind [their] hands” as Stone said words to the effect of: “Israel had far more involvement in the US election than Russia.”
The “Platoon” director further challenged Colbert by saying, “Why don’t you ask me about that?” — but we’re told that the host shot back, “I’ll ask you about that when you make a documentary about Israel!”
(The source described Stone’s Israeli argument as “a classic anti-Semitic canard.”)
You can watch the interview (that aired).
• Modern Language Association members pass anti-BDS resolution (you read that right) by 2-1 margin. Background and links at Inside Higher Ed and Legal Insurrection.
• Jordan won’t ban ‘Wonder Woman’ after all.
• Romanian synagogue desecrated with anti-Semitic graffiti.
Commentary/Analysis
• Israel cabinet minister Israel Katz took to the Daily Telegraph to call for a “coalition of principles” to fight Islamic terror.
• I barely understand this, but the Harvard Law Review just debunked the settlement bashing UN Security Council resolution 2334.
• Plenty of commentary about the murder of Hadas Malka, the Gaza electricity crisis, and Trump and the peace process:
– Ron Ben-Yishai: The wave of terror surges on
– Yossi Yehoshua: Jerusalem’s false and misleading calm
– Yonah Jeremy Bob: Did the Knife Intifada ever end?
– Avi Issacharoff: True or not, Islamic State’s claim of Friday attack is a statement of intent
– Prof. Eyal Zisser: Navigating the Gaza electricity crisis
– Anna Ahronheim: 5 reasons Gaza’s electricity crisis could spark a war
– Judah Ari Gross: Israel and Hamas court catastrophe in high-stakes game of chicken
– Elliott Abrams: Sacrificing Israeli security to hurt Trump
– Yaakov Katz: Why Trump should adopt a bottom-up approach to Mideast peace
– Jonathan Tobin: The PA can’t stop paying terrorists — so Trump can’t make a deal
• Here’s what else I’m reading:
– Fred Maroun: Why I support the Israeli occupation
– Zvi Bar’el: As Qatar crisis rages, Egypt gets closer to Hamas
– Maajid Nawaz: Quds Day: Flying terrorist flags in the capital is an insult to victims of the London attacks
– Liel Leibovitz: Why believing atrocity stories about Israel is stupid, even when they’re on CNN
– Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians’ real tragedy: Failed leadership
– Prof. Hillel Frisch: When Palestinians are hopeless, terror declines; when hopeful, terrorism increases
– Einat Wilf: No, maestro, the Holocaust did not create Israel
– David Weinberg: Why we shouldn’t divide Jerusalem
– Sir Eric Pickles: How did Corbyn’s comments on Hamas not put off voters?
– Michael Binyon: Saudi Arabia’s trade talks with Israel carry huge risks
– Dr. Jim Salinger: New Zealand’s ‘regret’ looks right from Israel
– Dani Dayan: Why this Israeli official can’t stay silent about Linda Sarsour
Featured image: CC BY-NC-ND laurence lallemand; Saudi Arabia CC BY-SA Wikimedia Commons; Stone and Colbert via YouTube/The Late Show With Stephen Colbert; quill CC0 Pixabay;
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