Today’s Top Stories
1. French Jews are ‘relieved’ Emmanuel Macron won yesterday’s presidential election, but worry over Marine Le Pen’s electoral gains and new political legitimacy, as well as what they call Macron’s “weak” plans on security and fighting terror.
French-Israelis voted for Macron, giving him 96.3 percent of their votes.
European Jewish leaders praised the election results, citing Macron’s opposition to unilaterally recognizing Palestine, among other reasons.
Meanwhile, Itamar Eichner asks if Macron’s win will usher in improved France-Israel relations.
2. Say it ain’t so! Security cameras appear to have caught Palestinian hunger-strike leader Marwan Barghouti scarfing down food on the sly. The Israeli Prison Service released this video though Barghouti’s wife called the footage “fake.”
More on the story at the Times of Israel, Ynet and Jerusalem Post.
3. Relatives of a Palestinian family are suing Israel for millions of shekels over a terror attack for which two Jews were indicted. Ahmed Dawabsha lost his parents and brother the family home in the West Bank village of Duma was firebombed in 2015.
The decision to sue the state came after Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said last month that Israel would not pay terror victims’ compensation to Ahmed Dawabsha, who was gravely wounded in the attack.
Writing to Joint (Arab) List MK Yousef Jabareen in response to a question as to why the boy has not received money from the state, Liberman said Ahmed, now 6, does not qualify as a “terror victim” and will therefore not receive compensation.
The current law stipulates that the state must compensate Israeli citizens affected by terrorism, but does not apply to Palestinians “who are not citizens or residents of Israel,” Liberman wrote.
4. Picking the Wrong Signpost: Was The Guardian’s photo choice an embarrassing display of ignorance or an attempt to falsely imply that Arabic is absent from Israeli public life?
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Israel and the Palestinians
• Palestinian farming on Israeli state-owned land in the Jordan Valley is bad enough, but farming in clearly labeled minefields(!?) is insanity.
The movement has been documenting Palestinian farmers harvesting crops using a combine harvester over the past month in a fenced field clearly marked with signs in Hebrew, English and Arabic warning of mines and prohibiting entry. A number of critical injuries and deaths have occurred in the past to trespassers who have entered minefields . . .
“There are irresponsible individuals encouraging the Arabs living in the area to trespass on firing zones, in this specific case an active minefield clearly surrounded by signs. If, God forbid, a tragedy occurs, those who encourage the incursions will point the finger of blame at the State of Israel, even though they themselves are the ones actually responsible for this insanity.”
• Another Attempted Stabbing, Another Headline Fail: Today’s bungled headline is courtesy of The Australian:
The original Reuters headline it was based on was much clearer:
• According to Israeli media reports, the US put the kibosh on PA plans to bring President Donald Trump to the grave of the late Palestinian terror leader Yasser Arafat.
• US Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Israel today. The Jerusalem Post reports he’ll discuss with Israeli defense officials Russia and Syria, the Assad regime’s chemical weapons, attempts to transfer advance weapons to Hezbollah, and Egypt’s battle against Sinai jihadists.
Around the World
• The Independent went undercover at a secret ‘neo-Nazi’ meeting with Holocaust denier David Irving.
• Belgian region votes to ban ritual slaughter, but law won’t be implemented until September, 2019.
Commentary/Analysis
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Daniel Gordis: Why many US Jews are becoming indifferent or even hostile to Israel
– Prof. Eugene Kontorovich: The legitimacy of Israel’s nation-state bill
– Moshe Elad: Terror payments and the PA’s quandry
– Sever Plocker: Trump should just stay home
– Smadar Perry: New Hamas policy document is just a small facelift
– Tridivesh Singh Maini: India-Israel ties: Not just about defense
• For a sense of what the critics are saying, see Dahlia Scheindlin.
Featured image: CC BY-NC-ND Chris DiGiamo; Macron via YouTube/BBC News; Dunford via US Dept. of Defense;
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
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