| 1 |
Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired 13 rockets into southern Israel, injuring numerous people and causing significant damage. In response, the Israeli military said it struck nearly a dozen Hamas targets in the Palestinian enclave.
The rocket attacks came just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was signing normalization agreements at the White House alongside US President Donald Trump, who mediated the historic diplomatic breakthroughs between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates as well as Bahrain.
“On a historic night of peace, we have received a reminder from our enemies that we must always be strong and prepared to defend Israel’s residents in every arena and at any time,” Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said.
US ambassador to Israel David Friedman described the attacks as “terrible.”
Meanwhile, the head of the Palestinian mission in London, Husam Zomlot, called news of rockets being fired from Gaza a “media stunt.”
WATCH!
Palestinian Ambassador to the U.K. @hzomlot on @skynews just now:
“As I just arrived in the studio I saw the news that there was a rocket coming from Gaza and sirens were going all over Israel. What are they talking about?…..
THIS IS A MEDIA STUNT!”No really pic.twitter.com/aClgeBKJU3
— SussexFriendsofIsrael (@SussexFriends) September 15, 2020
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Israeli President Reuven Rivlin hailed Tuesday’s ceremony in Washington, D.C., and urged leaders of Gulf nations to visit the Jewish state.
I invite you to come to Jerusalem, the City of Peace, the city where members of all religions – can worship freely.
Ahlan wa’Sahlan!— Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) September 15, 2020
Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also signed a trilateral document, the Abraham Accords, named after the patriarch of both Judaism and Islam.
For his part, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had this to say about the developments.
Additional reading:
- Full text of the Abraham Accords and Agreements Between Israel and the United Arab Emirates/Bahrain
- UAE Foreign Minister’s Speech at the Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony
- Bahrain Foreign Minister’s Speech at Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump revealed that Saudi Arabia would likely be among 7-9 countries that would also make peace with Israel “at the right time.”
A new survey shows where travel-happy Israelis already want to tour in the wake of the agreements.
| 3 |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly requested from the Trump Administration 12 Boeing V-22s, another squadron of F-35 fighter jets — which would bring the IDF’s total to 75 — and the early delivery of two Boeing KC-46As. The request is also likely to include replacements for Israeli Apache AH-64A combat helicopters that are slated to go out of service in 2025.
The estimated price tag for the wish list: $8 billion.
The new weapons would be meant to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge in the increasing likelihood that the US agrees to sell fifth-generation F-35s to the UAE.
| 4 |
Antisemitism Watch: According to a new survey, nearly two-thirds of Americans aged 18-39 are unaware that 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, and more than one in 10 believe Jews themselves caused the World War II Nazi genocide.
The study, commissioned by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, also found that almost half (48%) of those surveyed could not name a single concentration camp or ghetto established by Hitler’s regime. Twenty-three percent of respondents said the Holocaust was a myth or had been exaggerated.
| 5 |
Luiz Fux, the first-ever Jewish justice to sit on Brazil’s highest court, used a Hebrew expression meaning “blessed is God” during a swearing-in ceremony making him the body’s president.
“May humility, courage, independence, prudence and discipline guide the journey that I now begin,” Fux said during his address in the capital Brasilia. “May God protect me. Baruch Hashem,” he concluded.
| 6 |
The hit Israeli television series Fauda will return for a fourth season. The show, which premiered in 2015, details the exploits and failures of an undercover elite unit of the Israel Defense Forces tasked with combating terrorism. The first two seasons of Fauda were staged primarily in the West Bank, while the third season was set in the Gaza Strip.
Mark Your Calendar
The IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism: Eleven Examples, Eleven Stories will be live streamed on September 16, 2020 at 1 PM EST on CAM’s social media platforms including YouTube, CAM’s website, Facebook and Tw
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