The Associated Press (AP) recently published an article entitled, Leading human rights group calls Israel an ‘apartheid’ state, based on a widely reported claim in a controversial document compiled by B’tselem.
Immediately, HonestReporting sprang to action, reaching out to the AP while in parallel publishing this critique (excerpt):
By uncritically portraying this group as a leading proponent of human rights, the media have effectively facilitated the hijacking of the word apartheid by anti-Israeli activists whose goal is to foster doubt about the legitimacy of the Jewish state….
Not a single country other than South Africa has ever been charged by the international community with imposing apartheid on its people. None of the world’s worst human rights violators have been placed in this docket…
By subjecting Israel to a double standard, B’Tselem and, in turn, the media have blurred the fine line between legitimate criticism of Israeli policies and antisemitism.
Read about AP’s response here.
The incoming Biden administration has reportedly already started holding talks with Iran on the United States’ possible return to the 2015 nuclear deal, and has updated Israel on those conversations.
Joe Biden, who is set to be inaugurated as president on January 20, has insinuated that the US could re-enter the accord — from which current leader Donald Trump withdrew America in 2018 — if Tehran recommits to the terms of the deal.
Iran, in turn, has conditioned such an eventuality on the lifting of US economic sanctions that have since been re-imposed.
Meanwhile, Jerusalem is apparently pushing Washington to negotiate fresh limitations on Tehran’s ballistic missile program, as well as to address the Islamic Republic’s support for terror activities around the world. Late last week, it was reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was assembling a team to prepare for a first round of formal talks on the matter with US officials.
Relatedly, European powers on Saturday expressed concern over Tehran’s plans to produce uranium metal, warning that the substance has “no credible civilian use.
“The production of uranium metal has potentially grave military implications,” said the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany, the so-called E3 countries, in a joint statement.
As part of the nuclear deal, Iran committed to a 15-year ban on “producing or acquiring plutonium or uranium metals or their alloys.”
The Pentagon is reorganizing the US military’s global structure to include Israel under the auspices of the Central Command, which overseas activities in the Middle East.
Israel has for decades been under the purview of the European Command because of the often turbulent nature of its relations with the Arab world.
The Pentagon said the change to what it calls its Unified Command Plan reflects the easing of tensions between the Jewish state and some regional countries. It added that the Abraham Accords, which normalized Israel’s ties with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan, “provided a strategic opportunity” for Washington to “align key partners against shared threats in the Middle East” — an apparent reference to confronting Iran.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree ordering general elections in the Palestinian territories. If elections do end up being held, it would be the first time that the Palestinians have gone to the polls in 15 years.
The declaration calls for both legislative and presidential votes on May 22 and July 31, respectively. Abbas has made several promises to hold elections but has shelved them time after time. While he was only elected to a four-year term, Abbas has been in office since 2005. Recently, he has come under pressure from the European Union to conduct a vote, although the last one ended in a landslide victory for the Islamist terror group Hamas.
After a short-lived unity government with Abbas’ ruling Fatah faction, a civil war erupted, resulting in Hamas seizing control of the Gaza Strip. Abbas has since continued to rule in the West Bank.
The Israeli government will decide in the coming days if the current coronavirus lockdown will be extended, with health officials stressing that there is “no choice” but to prolong the measures by another week. However, opposition from several political parties makes the outcome of the expected cabinet vote uncertain.
The current nationwide shutdown, which went into effect almost two weeks ago, is set to expire on Thursday evening. Despite Israel’s world-leading vaccination campaign, experts are still worried about the infection rate. Over the weekend, more than 10,000 cases were confirmed. The death toll also continues to rise.
Nevertheless, over two million Israelis have already received their first injection of the COVID-19 inoculation in the past month, and nearly 225,000 have had the second dose administered.
Sunday, January 17
Live Webinar and Q&A – ‘Palestinians Exposed: Hate in the Classroom’
Join us for an eye-opening webinar in which Itamar Marcus, Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, analyzes “The World of the Palestinian Child” including, sports, culture, music and education, and how it all contributes to anti-Israel hate and terror.
Al Jazeera Deletes Israel Report About Fake Emirates Pilot (VIDEO)
- Natan Sharansky: ‘COVID Transformed Aliyah Patterns, Antisemitic Narratives’ (Ran Puni, Israel Hayom)
- Israeli Judoka Peter Paltchik Wins Bronze in Qatar Tournament, Was Motivated by Antisemitism He Faced (Shiryn Ghermezian, Algemeiner)
- Israeli Startup Albo Takes On Carbon Monitoring With AI, Satellite Imaging (Viva Sarah Press, NoCamels)
- World’s First Food Processor, From 350,000 Years Ago, Found Near Haifa (Hannah Brown, Jerusalem Post)
- Mayim Bialik to Guest Host ‘Jeopardy!’ While the Show Seeks a Permanent Replacement for the Late Alex Trebek (Curt Schleier, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
