Today’s Top Stories
1. Prince William concluded his Israeli tour with visits to the Western Wall, Temple Mount and Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Duke of Cambridge also visited the tomb of his great-grandmother, Princess Alice of Battenberg and a Mount of Olives observation point. Due to diplomatic sensitivities, they were classified as “private visits.” The Jewish Chronicle live-blogged the day.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that Prince William refused to meet with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in Jerusalem.
Western Wall, Jerusalem. Quite a picture …#RoyalVisitIsrael pic.twitter.com/Y3hth1JhjS
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) June 28, 2018
2. The PA, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have all warned Israel about Turkey’s growing influence in eastern Jerusalem. According to Haaretz, we’re talking about donations to local Islamist organizations, efforts to purchase property, organized tours arranged by Islamist groups, “and the prominent presence of Turkish activists in demonstrations around the Temple Mount.”
According to these officials, the phenomenon reached its peak last year when hundreds of Turkish citizens became a regular presence in and around the Old City, becoming involved in clashes with police officers during Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The defense officials said the Israeli authorities handled the problem with a combination of arrests and deportations of some of the Turkish activists – barring some of them from reentering Israel.
The officials admitted, however, that even though the Turkish activity has quietened in recent months, it is still an ongoing concern.
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3. Terrorist killed in attempted Israel-Gaza border breach.
Israel and the Palestinians
• UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres removes Palestinian kite tweet.
• The battle to deport Omar Shakir, a Human Rights Watch official accused of involvement in BDS activity, continued in the Jerusalem District Court. The Jerusalem Post was on hand.
• Haaretz: Concerned about potential Iranian or Hezbollah missile strikes, Israel is boosting defenses at the Dimona and Nahal Sorek nuclear reactors.
Mideast Matters
• As Syria and Russia press their offensive against rebels in the southern province of Daraa, appear to be cautious about airstrikes near the Israeli border. The Jerusalem Post explains:
Two major issues now facing the Syrian regime and its Russian ally is how to proceed in areas near the Israeli border and, to a lesser extent, near Jordan. As the number of displaced people reach more than 45,000 and they move towards the border for protection, an increasingly volatile situation will emerge. That includes civilians and fighters packed into a small area, as well as extremists from ISIS further south along the Golan.
The second major concern is the movement of any Iranian- backed militias or Hezbollah units. In the last month, they have been accused of changing uniforms to blend in with local militias, and some Iraqi militias operating in the Euphrates valley were even hit with an air strike, shedding light on how Iranian-backed groups in Iraq use the border to reach Syria.
Israel has said it will not accept Iranian bases in Syria, and that any hint of Iranian encroachment behind the offensive could result in escalating tensions.
The most recent Russian air strikes in the province killed 22 civilians. The offensive breaks a ceasefire reached last year by the US, Russia and Jordan. Israel was not a party to that agreement.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will discuss a full Iranian withdrawal from Syria, among other things, at their July 15 summit. Media reports add, that “According to the diplomat, ‘The US will give Israel the green light to attack any Iranian presence in Syria wherever and however Israel wants to.'”
Window into Israel
• Plans for an expanded mixed prayer area by the Western Wall got unexpectedly complicated. Haaretz reports that cabinet minister Miri Regev resigned from her position as head of a ministerial committee tasked with approving construction plans at the southern end of the Western Wall.
Her conscience does not allow her to convene the committee and approve the work to prepare the historic archeological site for mixed-gender prayer, said her office on Wednesday . . .
Netanyahu is worried that if the committee does not approve the construction soon, the High Court will rule against the government and forbid the work. That could lead to a High Court ruling that would allow mixed-gender prayer in the Kotel Plaza itself – which would lead to a political crisis.
• To address problems associated with African asylum seekers, Israel is going to designate south Tel Aviv a “national priority.” According Israeli media reports, this will millions of shekels in grants and assistance for residents and for rehabilitation of run-down neighborhoods. Neighborhoods in other cities with high concentrations of Africans will also receive this designation.
• The Manhattan apartment serving as the residence of Israel’s ambassadors to the UN is still registered under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s name, “although it actually belongs to the state and was purchased on its behalf,” Globes reports.
The apartment was purchased in 1986. Netanyahu served as Israel’s ambassador to the UN from 1984-1988.
• For commentary on the domestic scene, Ben-Dror Yemini weighs in against legislation restricting the filming of IDF soldiers. See also Shmueli Rosner‘s take on Israel’s conversion dilemma and the “Who is a Jew” question.
Around the World
• The JTA examines how the US leaned on Poland to soften its law on Holocaust speech.
• Citibank and Arab Bank have both stopped servicing a Palestinian non-governmental organization with close ties to a terror group.
• Human Rights Watch chief Ken Roth is being rapped on the knuckles for using an ‘antisemitic dog whistle.’
• This National Review columnist is defending the Spanish Inquisition(!?).
• Activists launched a campaign calling for Ireland to boycott next year’s Eurovision song competition in Israel.
• ‘Boycott’ leader Peter Manning’s role at Australian Labor conference angers Jews.
• A Tel Aviv court convicted an Israeli-American man of making hundreds of hoax bomb threats to North American Jewish schools and community centers. The 19-year-old’s name is barred from publication in Israel.
[His] parents and lawyer have not disputed his involvement in the bomb threats but asserted in his defense that he has a brain tumor and a low IQ.
Commentary
• Donald Macintyre is certainly impressed with Netanyahu’s deft use of social media to reach out to Iranians. Here’s the PM’s latest message on YouTube in English with Farsi subtitles.
But while Donald Trump’s use of Twitter continues to provoke acres of commentary on his adeptness in reaching his base and making news, it’s arguably Netanyahu who is really out in front as the master user of social media among heads of government.
• This cartoon depicting Prince Williiam wrapping Mahmoud Abbas in an Israeli straitjacket is from the poison pen of The Guardian‘s Steve Bell.
Considering that A) the royal visit to Ramallah is a significant boost of legitimacy for the PA, B) the Duke of Cambridge called Palestine a “country” and C) refused to meet Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat in Jerusalem, the only conclusion I can draw is that Bell is really opposed to the overall royal visit — probably because it’s a new degree of normalization of UK-Israel relations.
• Here’s what else I’m reading today:
– Bassam Tawil: What Prince William did not see in Ramallah
– Ali Salim: The PA’s suppression of protests and free speech
– Yoav Limor: Next Israel-Hamas clash is imminent
– Max Boot: Trump can’t make a ‘deal of the century’
Featured image: CC BY-SA Tom Woodward;
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