Today’s Top Stories
1. The IDF’s bolstering forces around Gaza in advance of a possible operation against Gaza. The rocket fire continues. File this under Ben-Gurion’s miracles and don’t be lulled by the lack of Israeli casualties:
At around 8:30 in the morning, the early warning alarm sounded in Sderot followed by a salvo of three rockets. One of the rockets penetrated the wall of the second story of a building. On the first floor of the same building, a day care teacher and five infants in her care scrambled to the nearest protected area, narrowly evading tragedy.
2. You may have noticed that I haven’t posted the audio recording of one kidnapped boy’s desperate phone call to the police. The leery recording didn’t really satisfy my own curiosity and its journalistic value is dubious.
There’s an understanding among journalists in Israel not to film or photograph bodies at terror scenes out of respect for the dead; the audio raised similar sentiments. Moreover, the recording isn’t clear, and most HonestReporting readers don’t understand Hebrew or Arabic. Eli Hazan is critical of those who posted it, arguing The media must set red lines. It’s worth some discussion:
It is simply too tragic to listen to a recording that shows our greatest fears about the three abducted teens were realized long ago. And to be fully honest, despite the curiosity factor — this is nothing but “snuff” , and it forces us to make a moral decision. This snuff tape only adds more to the sorrow, as it seems sometimes there is no end to the competition between media outlets. Can the editors please tell us what journalistic value there is to hearing the voices of kidnappers singing and celebrating, as was broadcast on Wednesday?
It is clear that for those who decided to distribute the tape: There is no red line.
3. International nuclear talks with Iran resume today in Vienna. Reuters overviews the main sticking points, while the Los Angeles Times looks at the pre-negotiation blame-game posturing.
4. The Times of London Adds Fuel to the Fire: Until more info becomes available, an irresponsible, premature headline adds fuel to an already tense situation.
5. An Apologist for Hamas in the Telegraph: Chris Doyle portrays kidnapping-supporting Hamas as a key to peace Israel’s trying to destroy.
6. Cartoonist’s Cynical Take on Murdered Teens’ Funerals: Steve Bell’s poison pen is no stranger to HonestReporting readers. 7. Chomsky: BDS Tactics Likely to Fail: Movement based on unreasonable demands and misleading claims is “virtually guaranteed to fail.”
7. Chomsky: BDS Tactics Likely to Fail: A movement based on unreasonable demands and misleading claims is “virtually guaranteed to fail.”
Israel and the Palestinians
• The police continue their investigation of Mohammed Abu Khdeir’s murder. The situation in eastern Jerusalem is still tense, but violence hasn’t spread throughout the West Bank. According to the Times of Israel:
Police officials have told The Times of Israel they were investigating two possible motives: that Abu Khdeir was killed in a family honor killing, or that it was a nationalistically motivated slaying. According to officials familiar with the investigation, investigators increasingly view the killing as a revenge attack perpetrated by Jewish terrorists.
• Jerusalem Post: Two Palestinians were mistaken for undercover police and beaten by a mob in eastern Jerusalem.
• This is a one sick Israeli Facebook group, but I wish Big Media would shine the same bright spotlight on all the Palestinian incitement on social media.
- Why 36,000 Israelis joined Facebook campaign calling for revenge
- Israeli Justice Minister Condemns “Incitement” on Facebook
• Is the latest violence the start of a 3rd intifada? Trying to draw some conclusions,the Washington Post looks at the history of the first and second uprisings. Unfortunately, the Post botched the history, blaming Ariel Sharon’s controversial visit to the Temple Mount.
Actually, Suha Arafat confirmed that the second intifada was premeditated; here’s the video which squares off the historical record on her husband, the late Nobel peace laureate Yasser Arafat.
• Portugal warned its citizens not to do business with Israeli settlements.
• Heh: The Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors to Ireland were both published in today’s letters to the editor section at the Irish Times. Both were decrying the paper’s recent coverage. To any journalist out there snickering that the Times is doing something right if both sides are upset, here’s why you’re wrong.
• For commentary/analysis on the spiraling situation, see staff-eds in The Australian, Washington Post, Boston Herald, and Toronto Star, plus op-eds by Frida Ghitis, Efraim Zuroff, Israel Ziv, Tom Rogan, and Ali Jarbawi. Aside from that, Daniel Swindell weighs in on the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign.
Rest O’ the Roundup
• Jewish family secretly smuggled into Israel from Syria.
This was the first time in over three years of the Syrian civil war that a Jewish family has left the war-torn country for Israel. They made the secretive journey in a number of tranches until they reunited before with the family just before Independence Day at the beginning of May this year.
The story has been known for some time now, but because the operation was still taking place, it was put under censor. Even now, the story’s full details can not be published.
• As ISIS gains threaten the region, Saudi Arabia deployed 30,000 troops to its border with Iraq. The move came after Iraqi soldiers withdrew from their positions along the 500 mile border. More at Reuters.
Images: Featured image CC BY flickr/Hamed Saber, audio CC BY flickr/Iwan Gabovitch
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
