Today’s Top Stories
1. San Francisco State University is facing a lawsuit filed by a group of students who say the administration is allowing a climate of anti-Semitism to fester. The suit says Jewish students are physically afraid, unable to speak up, and that the SFSU admin doesn’t take their complaints seriously. The Washington Post writes:
Mandel’s perception was that he didn’t have the same rights as any other students on campus simply because he was Jewish. He said he was often stared down, verbally harassed and confronted by people because of his religion and that the administration was dismissive of his formal complaints . . .
“Without this lawsuit, Jewish students will remain marginalized on San Francisco State’s campus,” he said. “Without it, nothing will be done.”
The suit alleges that the school has violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection, as well as a provision of the Civil Rights Act.
More on the story at KCBS News and the Jerusalem Post.
2. Israel broke ground on the first new West Bank settlement in 25 years.
The new settlement, to be known as Amichai, is to accommodate residents of the illegal Amona outpost, which was evacuated in February in line with court orders because it was built on private Palestinian land . . .
The new settlement — which will be located near the settlements of Shiloh and Eli, north of Ramallah — will be the first of its kind to be constructed since the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo peace accords were signed in 1993.
Israel Radio said the works stated Tuesday involved laying the infrastructure for the settlement. However, the actual building plans still need several stages of planning approval.
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
3. Egypt to furnish Gaza with hundreds of tons of diesel fuel to ease the Strip’s electricity crisis.
Egypt gas supply to Gaza following Dahlan Hamas agreements decrease the potential for war with Israel but weakens Pres. Abbas.Dahlan is back
— avi issacharoff (@issacharoff) June 20, 2017
4. Video: Israel Facilitates Palestinian Prayer on Temple Mount: Jerusalem city councilwoman Fleur Hassan-Nahoum visits the Kalandia checkpoint to see for herself how Israel provides access and transport for Palestinians wishing to pray on the Temple Mount for Ramadan, promoting freedoim of religion for all in Jerusalem.
5. “50 Years of Aggression”: ABC Abandons Objectivity: What should a network do when one of its talking heads gets the facts utterly wrong?
6. HonestReporting is excited to announce a special online screening of Eyeless in Gaza on Wednesday June 21 @ 11:30 a.m. EST. That’s tomorrow!
The documentary exposes media coverage of the 2014 Gaza war. Following the screening, HonestReporting editors Simon Plosker and Daniel Pomerantz will moderate a live Q+A on HR’s Facebook page with filmmaker Robert Magid.
To get your special FREE download, click here on Wed. June 21. To register for our special Q+A afterwards at approximately 1:20 p.m. EST, click here
Israel and the Palestinians
• Once again, over-zealous Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s over-zealous security detail strip-searched a journalist at a media event. It’s a recurring problem, and it makes no difference that Channel 2 photographer Eli Venus is an Arab or that he is from the town of Ghajar (the Israeli-Lebanese border splits the town, creating unusual circumstances for its residents). Venus is an Israeli national and has Government Press Office credentials. Full stop.
If the problem persists, reporters could boycott the prime minister’s media events — with justification.
• The UN Human Rights Council held its regular “Agenda 7” discussion of Israeli human rights issues in the West Bank. Agenda 7 is a special mandate requiring discussions of a country’s human rights record at every UNHRC session. Israel boycotted the debate as it is the only country Agenda 7 is applied to. The Jerusalem Post reports that, notably, all the European countries skipped the session.
• Prof. Eugene Kontorovich appeared at the UN Human Rights Council to blast its blacklist of companies doing business in Israeli settlements.
He was presenting his report (pdf format) on the scope of European and multi-national corporations operating in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, Nagorno-Karabakh, Northern Cyprus and Crimea.
• The UN is fretting that reported increasing ties between Israel and Syrian rebels will endanger international monitors, Haaretz reports.
• Jordan now allows cinemas to screen Wonder Woman.
Commentary/Analysis
• What they’re saying about Iran’s missile launch . . .
– Yonah Jeremy Bob: Iran missile struck ISIS but is also aimed at US, Saudis, Israel
– Judah Ari Gross: In Iranian strike on IS, the missile is the message
– Oded Granot: Tehran’s true targets
• Einat Wilf (video or transcript) debunks the usefulness of “constructive ambiguity” in the Mideast peace process, calling for negotiators to adopt “constructive specificity.”
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Amb. Alan Baker: New Palestinian attempt at UNESCO to claim Hebron and Tomb of the Patriarchs
– Efraim Inbar: Gaza in the dark is not so terrible
– Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror: Hamas: Striking the right balance
– Smadar Perry: Gaza slowly brewing up trouble
– Bassam Tawil: Palestinians praise terror attack
– Prof. Abraham Ben-Zvi: Saudis hold key to ending Israeli-Palestinian impasse
– Annette Blum: Israeli innovation and the bigger picture
Featured image: CC BY-NC-ND Michael Scheinost; San Francisco CC BY-ND Andrew;
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
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