“If they [Iranians] want sanctions relief, they know that they’re going to need to enter some kind of negotiation after January 20, and it’s got to be in their minds that they don’t want to undertake any activities between now and [the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden that makes this]… harder to get.” US Special Envoy for Iran Elliott Abrams suggesting that the Islamic Republic is unlikely to respond militarily to the recent assassination of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. The targeted killing has been near-universally attributed to an elite unit within Israel’s Mossad spy agency named Kidon. Accordingly, Jerusalem has nevertheless warned of possible Iranian retaliation against Jewish institutions and Israeli tourists, including those traveling to the United Arab Emirates. (Israel Hayom, December 6)
“I would like to express my regret on the comments of the Saudi representative. I don’t believe that they reflect the spirit and the changes taking place in the Middle East, [which] is today divided into two clear camps: those who have chosen peace, a better future for their children, economic prosperity and regional stability; and those led by Iran and its proxies, who have chosen war and violence, extremism and terrorism.” Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi responding via video link from Jerusalem to former Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Turki al-Faisal al-Saud, who on Sunday shocked participants at the International Institute for Strategic Studies security summit in Bahrain by accusing the Jewish state of housing Palestinians in “concentration camps under the flimsiest of security accusations – young and old, women and men, who are rotting there without recourse to justice.” Ashkenazi later emphasized on Twitter that, “the ‘blame game’ era is over. We are at the dawn of a new era. An era of peace.” (Jewish Press, December 6)
The exchange comes on the backdrop of the normalization agreements signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and following a reported trilateral meeting in Saudi Arabia between Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The young de facto Saudi leader is considered more inclined in the near future to forge open diplomatic relations with Jerusalem than the House of Saud’s “old guard,” including King Salman.
“We opened the economy and there was a wild increase in morbidity. This geometric growth does not afford us a chance to wait.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following a meeting of the so-called coronavirus cabinet, whose members discussed the country’s rapidly rising COVID-19 infection rate. The body on Monday is again slated to convene (19:00 local time) to debate whether to re-impose restrictions that in October started being lifted incrementally after a 5-week lockdown.
Netanyahu’s comments come after a dire warning by Health Ministry officials, who, based on the current situation, predict that Israel could be registering 3,000 new coronavirus cases per day in only two weeks. That number would top 4,000 seven days later and 9,000 by January 10. (Jerusalem Post, December 7)
“.@RashidaTlaib supports 1 state where Jews + Palestinians live equally, under the same law. Why is that less moral that the current 1 state: Where millions of Palestinians lack citizenship, due process, free movement + the right to vote for the govt that controls their lives?” CNN commentator and The New York Times op-ed writer Peter Beinart defending Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who retweeted a post by Palestinian-American Rasha Mubarak that effectively called for the destruction of the one and only Jewish state. Beinart is on December 15 set to appear alongside the congresswoman on a panel event hosted by Jewish Voice for Peace called, “Dismantling Anti-Semitism, Winning Justice.” (Fox News, December 3)
.@RashidaTlaib supports 1 state where Jews + Palestinians live equally, under the same law. Why is that less moral that the current 1 state: Where millions of Palestinians lack citizenship, due process, free movement + the right to vote for the govt that controls their lives? https://t.co/2HUNJaxYPa
— Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) December 1, 2020
I get why many Jews find slogan “Palestine from River to Sea” frightening. Some have used it to disregard Jewish rights (1st Hamas charter, for instance). But @RashidaTlaib has been clear that Jews + Palestinians deserve equality. Suggesting otherwise is a smear https://t.co/2YXZCdcbV7
— Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) December 1, 2020
“In recognizing Jerusalem, President Trump… sent a clear message to the world that the United States stands unflinchingly with its allies and that [America] bases its foreign policy on the truth, not on wishful thinking or on fantasy.… [The president] acknowledged the 3,000-year-old history of Jerusalem and its centrality to the Jewish people. And he actualized the will of the American people, whose leaders passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 by overwhelming bipartisan majorities.” US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman at a ceremony marking the third anniversary of the Trump Administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. During the event, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the proclamation issued by President Trump will hang in the Israeli parliament next to the one by then-US president Harry Truman, who in 1948 recognized the Jewish state just minutes after its establishment. (The Algemeiner, December 6)
“Through his writings, sermons and broadcasts, Rabbi Sacks touched the lives of countless people with his unfailing wisdom, with his profound sanity and with a moral conviction which, in a confused and confusing world, was all too rare.” Prince Charles of the United Kingdom referring to former British Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks as a “light unto this nation” during a tribute marking the end of Judaism’s 30 days of mourning since the iconic spiritual figure passed away. The Prince of Wales eulogized Sacks, who died aged 72 on November 7, in a prerecorded video broadcast to thousands of viewers throughout the world. The ceremony also featured speeches by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and former British prime minister Tony Blair. (Jewish Telegraphic Agency, December 6)
“We told them we were from Dubai, they took a picture with us and we immediately revealed to them that we were from Kafr Qasim,” Arab-Israeli Hamada Odeh during an interview with Israeli Channel N12, after he and his friends pranked residents of Tel Aviv by posing as wealthy Emiratis who drove around the coastal city in flashy cars while listening to music from the Gulf state. (Times of Israel, December 6)
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— Suleiman Maswadeh ??????? ?????? (@SuleimanMas1) December 4, 2020
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- The Particular Universality of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (Bishop Robert Stearns, Jerusalem Post)
- The Response to the Fakhrizadeh Killing Shows the Regime’s Isolation from Its People (Prof. Hillel Frisch, Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies)
- The Declining Credibility of Palestinian Objections to the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism (Ben Cohen, Jewish News Syndicate)
- Defend Temple Mount for Jews and Muslims Alike (David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom)
- Startup World Cup to Make Israel Debut With Final Prize Worth $1M (NoCamels)
