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After a massive explosion on Tuesday evening in Beirut killed at least 100 people and injured thousands more, Israel immediately denied any involvement and offered humanitarian aid to Lebanon. Because the two countries are still technically at war, the offer was extended through third-party intermediaies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed his national security adviser to discuss with UN Middle East peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov how Israel could assist its devastated northern neighbor. Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi issued a joint statement saying, “Israel approached Lebanon through international defense and diplomatic channels to offer the Lebanese government medical humanitarian aid,”
The cause of the enormous blast is currently being investigated, although some Lebanese officials have pointed to 2,700 tons of improperly warehoused ammonium nitrate as the root cause.
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A stand-off between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main coalition partner, Benny Gantz, over the passage of a state budget could result in a fourth election in Israel within the last 18 months. According to Israeli law, parliament must be disbanded unless a budget is passed by August 25. Despite ongoing protests against Netanyahu — who is currently standing trial on corruption charges and who has been widely panned for his handling of Israel’s second wave of coronavirus — polls show the premier’s Likud party still well ahead of any of its rivals.
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Jerusalem and Washington could by the end of the month arrive at an agreement that would see Israel apply sovereignty over parts of the West Bank. According to media reports, the options being considered range from Israel’s annexation of only a few major settlement blocs near Jerusalem to the formal incorporation into Israel of the Jordan Valley and all 130-plus Jewish settlements located beyond the pre-1967 borders. Avi Berkowitz, the Trump Administration’s lead peace negotiator, has held meetings with Israeli officials with a view to implementing the White House’s peace proposal.
Most analysts believe that the window of opportunity to act is closing due to the upcoming US presidential election in November.
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Austria will as of September 1 begin allowing descendants of Holocaust victims to receive automatic citizenship. Prior to a recent amendment to the European country’s citizenship law, only Holocaust survivors themselves were entitled to the benefit — and only if they had fled Austria due to Nazi persecution prior to May 1945.
Tens of thousands of Israelis are now eligible for Austrian citizenship.
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Antisemitism Watch: Nearly half of British Muslims endorse some antisemitic conspiracy theories, according to the findings of a newly published survey. Nevertheless, antisemitic sentiment drops sharply — by as much as 12 percentage points — among those Muslims who are considered more integrated into British society. The poll also showed that British Muslims who most frequently attend mosques harbor the warmest attitudes towards Jews and the State of Israel.
Two historic cemeteries in Virginia — one Jewish and the other African-American — were vandalized with graffiti featuring “777,” an allusion to a known hate symbol. The so-called triskele consists of three interlocking sevens and was one of many ancient European symbols appropriated by the Nazis and later by white supremacist groups.
A Berlin court convicted a BDS activist for assaulting people during a presentation by an Israeli Holocaust survivor at Humboldt University. This week’s ruling in Germany is being construed as a major blow to the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement’s claim that its campaign is non-violent and only targets Israel for opprobrium as opposed to individual Jews.
Police in France arrested Alain Soral, one of the country’s most notorious antisemites who was previously sentenced to prison for inciting racial hatred and denying the Holocaust. Soral had been operating the “Equality and Reconciliation” website, which disseminates conspiracy theories about Jewish power. He was charged with inciting against Jews and encouraging actions that “endanger the fundamental interests of the republic.”
VIDEO: Beirut Explosion
Recommended Reading
- What to teach (and not teach) your children about Israel (Jonathan S. Tobin)
- 5 Golan Heights facts you didn’t know (Emanuel Miller)
- The siren song of ‘one state’ (Bret Stephens)
- Israel must remain open to all Diaspora Jews, not just students (JPost Editorial)
- Who qualifies for Israel’s ‘Law of Return’? (Pesach Benson)
