On the eve of talks to revive the Iran Deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Islamic Republic that it faced “grave danger” if it harmed Israel. “Those who want to harm us, place themselves in grave danger. It was true in Jaffa in 1948 and it is true today, with all the differences, with respect to Iran and its proxies,” Netanyahu said.
Israel’s premier made his remarks as world powers are about to gather in Vienna to discuss ways to reactivate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Netanyahu has been one of the chief opponents of the deal that was designed to curb Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons, but which many argue has actually empowered it to become a prospective nuclear power.
The Trump administration withdrew from the accord in 2018. The other signatories to the deal – Russia, China, Great Britain, France and Germany – have maintained that the JCPOA is the best way to prevent Iran from going nuclear, even as Tehran has increasingly stopped complying with its terms.
The Biden Administration wants to return to the agreement. It will participate on Tuesday, along with other signatories and the European Union, and take part in indirect talks to allow the US to become part of the deal and secure an agreement from Tehran that it will once again comply with its terms.
President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday granted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the mandate to form Israel’s government after an unprecedented fourth election in two years. Rivlin said no candidate has a realistic chance of doing so, but decided to task Netanyahu as he had received the most recommendations.
Rivlin met with representatives from all 13 incoming political parties at his official residence in Jerusalem on Monday. Netanyahu garnered the most support, with 52 incoming lawmakers backing his candidacy. Meanwhile, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid was recommended for prime minister by 45 MKs.
None of the candidates Rivlin had to choose from had a clear path to forming a majority coalition of 61 lawmakers in the 120-seat Knesset.
Netanyahu now has 28 days — or until May 4 — to present his government. If he fails to do so by that time, he can request a two-week extension, until May 18, though the president is not obligated to approve it.
If Israel’s longest-serving leader does not succeed in forming a government, Rivlin can either task a second person with the attempt, or send the mandate back to the Knesset, giving the legislature 21 days to agree on a candidate supported by 61 MKs.
At the end of the 21-day period, if no candidate has been agreed upon by a majority of parliament members, the Knesset will automatically disband and the country will head to yet another election.
In its Passover holiday special, Disney Channel’s mini-talkshow In the Nook replaced the traditional Jewish saying “Next year in Jerusalem” with “Next year in the Holy Land,” leading to condemnations by some Jewish organizations.
In the Nook featured several teenagers discussing the Passover Seder before they all said in unison, “Next year in the Holy Land.” In reality, the Haggadah – the text traditionally recited during the holiday meal – ends with “Next year in Jerusalem.”
.@DisneyChannel’s mini-talkshow ‘In the Nook’ replaced “Next year in Jerusalem,” traditionally recited during the #Passover Seder, with “Next year in the Holy Land.” Disney, why are you rewriting Jewish tradition and excluding this reference to the ancient Jewish capital? pic.twitter.com/dC0WJr5zS8
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 6, 2021
B’nai B’rith International said it was “deeply dismayed” by the video. “This is a deliberate negation of Jerusalem as the eternal Jewish capital,” the group wrote on Twitter, adding: “We call for the #disneychannel PSA to accurately depict this sacred Jewish custom related to our holiest city.” In addition, HonestReporting has requested a correction from Disney Channel.
The network has not yet responded to the criticism.
German sports officials have suggested that Germany and Israel, specifically the cities of Berlin and Tel Aviv, make a joint bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games as a “signal of peace and reconciliation.”
“It’s a vision, nothing more,” the German Olympic Association president and the CEO of the 2018 European Athletics Championship wrote in a joint guest article in the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper.
Richard Meng and Frank Kowalski noted that 2036, the next possible bid date, is a “truly difficult date for Germany.” That will mark exactly 100 years since the Nazi regime hosted the Olympics in Berlin. “But one could also look at it the other way around to show what has changed and what still needs to change,” they added.
“So why not send a completely new, strong signal of peace and reconciliation in 2036? A signal that doesn’t suppress the historical burden but takes up the responsibility that comes from it?” the duo suggested.
In a statement, the Israeli Olympic Committee did not address the idea of a joint bid, but supported the German candidacy. “Holding the Olympics in Berlin, 100 years after Hitler’s 1936 Olympics, will remind us all of the dark times we experienced and send a strong message to the world of the values we must uphold,” it declared.
HonestReporting has organized an exclusive trip to the Syrian border, where individuals can observe the prevailing security reality and have their pressing questions answered.
Itinerary:
- Travel to the Oz 77 memorial, which commemorates the Yom Kippur War and overlooks the Valley of Tears, where some of the fiercest battles took place;
- Visit the Monument to Eli Cohen, the notorious Israeli spy that infiltrated the highest echelons of power in Syria before getting caught and being executed. The site is located on an IDF special operations training facility in the Golan Heights;
- Tour the Israel-Syria border, where participants can view the town of Quneitra and a destroyed Syrian military building;
- Have free time at Ein Zivan, home of the De Karina Boutique Chocolate Factory and various other shops.
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