| 1 |
Iran executed a man convicted of providing information to the United States and Israel about a prominent Revolutionary Guard general, Qasem Soleimani, who was consequently killed by a US drone strike. According to Iran’s judiciary, Mahmoud Mousavi Majd worked for both the CIA and Mossad. Soleimani was killed on January 3 in a targeted strike by US forces at Baghdad International Airport.
| 2 |
IDF troops hijacked a Hezbollah drone on Sunday evening. The drone had crossed the border from Lebanon and entered Israeli airspace, the Israel Defense Forces said. According to a Lebanese reporter, the drone was being used to film a music video for a Hezbollah orchestra along the border when the IDF “took control of it electronically” and flew it some three kilometers (1.86 miles) into Israel.
Israeli defense officials have accused Hezbollah of using ostensibly civilian tools, including drones, to conduct reconnaissance along the border. Though relatively calm in terms of exchanges of fire, Israel’s border with Lebanon has become increasingly active recently.
| 3 |
The Knesset’s Coronavirus Committee demanded a number of changes to the government’s list of new restrictions on public activity, including lifting the weekend closures of beaches and permitting restaurants to operate at a reduced capacity. Committee chairwoman Yifat Shasha-Biton (Likud) also pushed back against claims Israel may need to impose a second nationwide lockdown in the near future.
| 4 |
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó is scheduled to visit Israel on Monday to sign a deal with regards to space research. Szijjártó will only visit Jerusalem, where he will meet with Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Science Minister Yizhar Shay.
| 5 |
Leading Jewish organizations from across the spectrum mourned on Sunday the passing of veteran Georgia congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis. John Lewis “was instrumental in encouraging Black-Jewish dialogue, consistently outspoken against antisemitism, one of Israel’s strongest advocates in Congress, and an active supporter of the Soviet Jewry movement in the 1970s and 1980s,” the American Jewish Committee noted.
| 6 |
Antisemitism Watch: Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez has officially condemned the Buenos Aires AMIA Jewish center bombing that killed 85 people in 1994. Fernandez’s comments are significant given that his vice president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, has been on trial for years over allegations that she conspired with the Iranian government to cover up Iran’s involvement in the bombing.
Recommended Reading
- Iran increasingly obsessed with China deal, blames Israel for controversy (Seth J. Frantzman)
- Will US scuttle growing Israel-China ties? (Tyler Kotler)
- Calling out racism and antisemitism is a responsibility (David Love)
- How Israel’s 1956 Sinai Campaign reshaped the Middle East (Dov Lipman)
