Israel reportedly notified the United States that it was responsible for Tuesday’s attack on a cargo ship operated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) off the coast of Eritrea in the Red Sea. The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported that the Saviz vessel’s hull was damaged in an explosion caused by limpet mines.
Tuesday’s incident came after two Israeli ships were recently attacked in the region, and amid reports of dozens of earlier strikes carried out by Jerusalem and Tehran on each other’s maritime vessels in locations ranging from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.
Additionally, TankerTrackers.com reported that four Syria-bound Iranian-run tankers were en route to the Suez Canal carrying a combined 3.5 million barrels of oil. The delivery of crude to Damascus would violate trade embargoes imposed on the two countries.
Meanwhile, on the backdrop of the launch this week of indirect nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the Jewish state would defend itself against all threats from the Islamic Republic.
Relatedly, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to arrive in Israel next week in what will be the first cabinet-level visit by a member of the Biden Administration. Austin is set to meet with Netanyahu and Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz. The talks are expected to focus on Iran, Syria and Lebanon, as well as the US’ commitment to upholding Jerusalem’s qualitative military edge over its neighbors.
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers have reintroduced the Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act. The bill requires that the US Secretary of State submit to Congress a review of textbooks produced and distributed by the Palestinian Authority.
“There are concerns that such textbooks produced by the Palestinian Authority include language and imagery that encourage violence and hatred toward other nations and ethnic groups,” Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) said in a statement, adding: “Such content is particularly concerning given the use of such materials in educational settings for children as young as primary school age.
“The United States has provided millions of dollars to support the education of Palestinian children with the stated goal of equipping Palestinians with the tools to build a democratic, secular, and politically moderate Palestinian civil society as a driver for peace,” Sherman noted.
The US’ Government Accountability Office has raised similar concerns about the content contained in such teaching materials.
The Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act’s reintroduction comes as the White House has quietly moving to ramp up assistance to Ramallah, after former president Donald Trump cut off nearly all aid. Since taking office, the Biden Administration has reportedly earmarked some $100-plus million for the Palestinians.
Sudan’s cabinet has voted to nullify legislation from 1958 that forbids diplomatic and business relations with Israel. To go into effect, the move needs the approval of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, which serves as the country’s primary interim governing body.
Khartoum also promised Jerusalem that it would cancel a law that calls for the imprisonment of migrants returning from Israel.
(photo credit: Intelligence Ministry)
While Sudanese authorities maintain that the decision to forge full relations with Israel will be determined by a future formal parliament, the latest moves are nevertheless being construed as a step to pave the way for such an eventuality.
Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen, who led a recent Israeli delegation to Sudan, welcomed Khartoum’s decision: “This is an important and necessary step toward the signing of a peace accord between the countries,” he declared.
Sudan was the third of four countries to join the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab and Muslim states mediated by former US president Donald Trump’s administration last year.
Slowly but surely, the Jewish state is opening up to tourists. In this respect, foreign nationals who have been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 will now be permitted to enter Israel to visit first-degree relatives under an expanding set of circumstances.
Those non-citizens and non-residents seeking to enter the Jewish state still need to submit a request to the Population and Immigration Authority and receive approval before their flights. They must also show proof of vaccination or recovery and demonstrate that they indeed have close relatives in Israel.
Additionally, travelers must get a coronavirus test within 72 hours of their departure.
Academy Award winner Helen Mirren will portray Golda Meir, Israel’s fourth prime minister, in an upcoming movie whose plot is set during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Production on the biopic is set to begin later this year, according to US media. Golda will be directed by Israeli filmmaker Guy Nattiv.
“As someone who was born during the Yom Kippur War, I am honored to tell this fascinating story about the first and only woman to ever lead Israel…. I could not be more excited to work with the legendary Miss Mirren to bring this epic, emotional and complex story to life,” Nattiv said in a statement.
Golda is not the only upcoming film about Meir. Last month, MGM/UA Television announced that it had cast Israeli actress Shira Haas to play the late prime minister in a TV series called Lioness, which will follow Meir from “her birth in Kiev to her American upbringing in Milwaukee, her role in the formation of Israel and her rise to become the new nation’s first and only female prime minister.”
Recommended Reading
- Iran Remains Unworthy of Trust (Dr. Spyridon N. Listas, Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies)
- Jordan’s Volatility Could Shake Up the Middle East (Yoram Ettinger, Algemeiner)
- Yad Vashem Online Exhibit Emphasizes the Power of Family (Deborah Fineblum and Jewish News Syndicate, Israel Hayom)
- Israel Tops World in Kidney Donations to Strangers (Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21C)
