Top US Commander: Iran ‘Very Close’ to Getting Nuke; Jerusalem Slams Brussels for West Bank Product Labeling Plan

The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in 2019 that products produced in West Bank Jewish communities must be labeled as not made in Israel. But EU countries have been slow to adopt the policy.

Legal expert Eugene Kontorovich said that Belgium’s plan “puts a new kind of yellow star solely on Jewish products. Belgium has no rules against doing business in disputed territories anywhere else in the world – because they know that such activity is not illegal under international law. Thus, the labeling and lists it is requiring is not about business in occupied territories – it is about business with Jews,” said Kontorovich, who heads the International Law Department at the Kohelet Policy Forum.

More than 50 members of the United States House of Representatives signed a letter calling on the Biden Administration to add Israel to the US Visa Waiver Program. The letter was sent to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Adding Israel to the Visa Waiver Program will benefit U.S. tourism and national security, while underscoring the strength of the U.S.-Israel alliance.

My colleagues and I led a bipartisan letter to @SecBlinken & @SecMayorkas urging Israel’s addition to the program ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/U2tPy5GD98

— Kathleen Rice (@RepKathleenRice) November 23, 2021

“Israel’s participation in the program would grow the US economy, strengthen national security at each of our borders, and increase opportunities for people-to-people exchange,” the lawmakers wrote.

For years Israel has sought entry into the waiver program, which allows travelers to stay in the US for 90 days without requiring pre-arranged visas. Israelis consider it a way to enhance business and trade with the US.

In the past, US officials listed numerous reasons why Israel was not allowed into the program, including Jerusalem’s purported failure to crack down on Israelis who arrive as tourists but stay to work illegally.

Current US law requires Israelis to apply for a visa before traveling to the Western country, a complicated process that often takes months.

A 2,000-year-old silver coin experts believe may have been minted by a Temple priest was recently found in Jerusalem by an 11-year-old Israeli girl. Liel Krotokop came across the coin while helping sift through archaeological debris from the excavation of Pilgrimage Road in the City of David national park.

One side of the coin features an image of a chalice with the inscription “Shekel Israel.” Next to the cup the Hebrew letters Shin and Bet appear, an acronym of the words “Shana Bet,” or “Year Two” — a reference to the second year of the Jewish revolt against the Romans (67-68 C.E.).

The flip side of the coin features a depiction of what researchers say is the staff of the High Priest, flanked by the words “Holy Jerusalem” in early Hebrew script.

Dr. Robert Cole, head of numismatics at the Israel Antiquities Authority, explained that the discovery was a rare one.

“Of the thousands of coins found thus far in archaeological excavations, only about 30 are made of silver and date from the time of the great rebellion,” he said. Cole believes that the silver used to mint the coin was taken from the Temple stocks, and that the coin itself was minted on the Temple Mount grounds, possibly by one of the priests.

Recommended Reading

• The Spread of Iran’s Malign Activities (Lenny Ben-David and Wade Ze’ev Gittleson, Jewish News Syndicate)
• Israel Has as Much Right to Defend Itself as Everyone Else (Gil Troy, Jerusalem Post)
• The Demoralization of the UN (Clifford D. May, Israel Hayom)
• Duke University Hands a Big Win to Antisemites — and BDS (Ben Stone, Algemeiner)
• HBO Spotlights Amar’e Stoudemire’s Journey From the NBA to Orthodox Judaism (Shira Hanau, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)