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At the invitation of the Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog landed in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday morning, marking the first visit ever by an Israeli president.
Herzog and his wife were given a festive welcome.
Shalom and Marhaba! #Israel’s President @Isaac_Herzog arrives in Abu Dhabi, where he is greeted by FM @ABZayed, on historic visit to #UAE! 🇮🇱 🤝 🇦🇪pic.twitter.com/wEHQZhyrSP
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) January 30, 2022
En route to Abu Dhabi, Herzog’s plane flew over Saudi Arabia, where the pilot told passengers: “We are now right over Saudi Arabia. We are making history! We shall soon fly over the capital city.”
“I am bringing with me a blessing of peace and a message of peace to the entire region, to the peoples of the region. Peace brings with it prosperity, progress, and growth for the benefit of the peoples of the region,” Herzog said before taking off.
After landing in Abu Dhabi, Herzog travelled to the royal palace, where he held a diplomatic working meeting with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who said: “I would like to thank you for your stance regarding the recent terrorist attacks on civilian facilities in the UAE. It is a stance that demonstrates our common view of the threats to regional stability and peace, particularly those posed by militias and terrorist forces, as well as our shared understanding of the importance of taking a firm stance against them.”
Wow: Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah, is played in the UAE presidential palace as Israeli President Herzog is welcomed by Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. 🇮🇱🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/PKodEukmRY
— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) January 30, 2022
The UAE’s Ambassador to Israel, Mohammed Al Khaja, said on Saturday that Herzog’s visit will enhance relations between the two countries. Herzog joined Al Khaja at the UAE embassy opening in Tel Aviv last year.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited the UAE in December.
The UAE, along with Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco signed US-brokered normalization agreements with Israel, dubbed the Abraham Accords, in 2020. Zayed headed the Emirati delegation at the signing of the accords. The UAE and Bahrain in particular share common concerns with Israel about Iran and its proxies in the region.
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Israel’s fifth pandemic wave, driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant, could be on a downward trajectory, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said.
Officials reported a downtick in the number of Israelis hospitalized in serious condition in coronavirus wards, going from 946 to 941 as of Friday.
“We expect at least two more difficult weeks in terms of hospitalizations. It is far from over and we could see new variants,” Horowitz told journalists on Friday.
Last week, Health Ministry Director Nachman Ash announced that fourth COVID-19 vaccine shots will be available to all vulnerable people aged over 18. Over 600,000 Israelis, out of a total population of 9.4 million, have received a fourth jab.
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The Palestinian Authority (PA) is failing to uphold the promise it made to purge antisemitic and violent content from its educational curriculum, a report by an Israeli watchdog has charged.
Last September, PA officials agreed to reform its teaching material, after an EU-funded report by the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research (GEI) determined that the Palestinian Authority’s textbooks contained antisemitic tropes, glorified terrorists and violence against civilians, and did not include Israel on any maps.
After the publication of the GEI report, members of the European Parliament said continued funding of the Palestinian Ministry of Education without changes to the content of its curriculum risks the body’s credibility.
Yet the problem persists through the current academic year, says IMPACT-se’s January 2022 report, Palestinian Authority Ministry of Education Study Cards 2021-2022: Selected Examples.
The Israel-based NGO found that “there were no revisions made to the PA curriculum for the current 2021-22 school year.”
“The Palestinian Authority seems to have gone to a great deal of effort to hoodwink its donor,” IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff said, adding: “Faced with a clear call by the EU for them to create new textbooks free of hate and antisemitism, the PA simply reprinted the old ones then produced thousands of pages of new teaching material with content worse than the textbooks themselves.”
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Israel and India celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations on Saturday, with each country lighting up historic sites and sharing special video addresses made by their respective leaders.
Israel-India ties were formalized on January 29, 1992. Since then, the countries have been working together on initiatives ranging from agriculture and high-tech to security.
“Today we honor 30 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and India, 30 years of a wonderful partnership, a deep cultural connection, military and economic cooperation,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s message on the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Israel 🇮🇱 and India 🇮🇳: pic.twitter.com/xGq4cAEzRp
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 29, 2022
Israel lit up its Masada fortress for the occasion, and India its Teen Murti Haifa Chowk, with a special logo that was designed to commemorate the occasion. The logo features a Star of David and India’s Ashoka Chakra, together forming the number 30.
Several high-profile visits, including a trip by Bennett to India, are expected to take place this year to mark the occasion.
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HonestReporting is joining forces with StandWithUs and other organizations in order to combat the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) “Commission of Inquiry” (COI) targeting Israel.
In December, the United Nations General Assembly approved an open-ended COI into Israel’s treatment of Palestinians that was proposed in the aftermath of the 11-day Hamas-initiated conflict. The UNHRC in May had voted to launch the investigation amid accusations that Israeli forces committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
At that time, HonestReporting demonstrated that the claims were based on faulty information as well as a misinterpretation of the Geneva Conventions.
The COI is the highest-level probe that can be ordered by the UN Human Rights Council. The one concerning alleged Israeli misdeeds is the first ever to have an “ongoing” mandate. Others, like that focusing on the war in Syria, where hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, must be renewed each year.
We strongly encourage you to speak out against the UN’s latest attempt to single out Israel and the Jewish people.
Sign this petition and make your voice heard.
Recommended Reading
- Erdoğan Announces President Herzog Slated to Visit Turkey (Jewish News Syndicate)
- Namaste, Shalom to Friendship (FM Yair Lapid and Indian FM Dr. Subrahmanyan Jaishankar, Israel Hayom)
- The Great ‘Maus’ Giveaway Is on as Bookstores, Professors and Churches Counter Tennessee School Board’s Ban (Andrew Lapin, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
- First Permanent Holocaust Exhibit Comes to Muslim-Majority Indonesia (Jewish News Syndicate)
- Saving Lives: Israel’s Search and Rescue Teams on Front Lines Worldwide (Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post)
