Today’s Top Stories
1. Israeli security forces arrested the Palestinian who is suspected of murdering Dafna Meir. Mourad Adais, a 15-year-old boy from a village near Otniel, has reportedly confessed. It’s presumed Adais snuck into the settlement, as he did not work there.
2. According to Israeli media reports, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz returned from a secret trip to the United Arab Emirates. Steinitz previously served as Prime Minister Netanyahu’s point man on the Iranian nuclear issue, and the speculation is that he talked with leaders in the capital city of Abu Dhabi about issues related to the lifting of international sanctions on Iran.
Coincidentally or otherwise, an energy conference was taking place in Abu Dhabi, with Iranian representation, as Steinitz visited. There was no report of any contact between Steinitz and Iranian officials.
3. European Union foreign ministers agreed on a statement on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Key takeaway: Agreements with Israel end at the Green Line and specifically do not include settlements. The criticism dog-piled from there . . .
– US ambassador to Israel slams government settlements policy
– Human Rights Watch: Stop doing business in settlements
4. Why Was Dafna Meir Ignored By the International Media? On the wrong side of an ideological divide, news services overlooked Dafna Meir.
5. New York Times: Palestinian Attacks “Exchanges of Violence”: The New York Times corrects a headline fail after being contacted by HonestReporting.
Israel and the Palestinians
• The International Committee for the Red Cross wrapped up an internal investigation which concluded that a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance did not refuse to treat two Israeli terror victims in November. Jerusalem Post coverage.
• Reuters: Political paralysis leaves Palestinians questioning their future.
Mohammed, a 55-year-old teacher in Gaza, was even more withering. “When you listen to a Palestinian leader now, you think he is in a coma. You don’t hear something that is relevant to our suffering.”
• Hebron has become ‘terror central’
• India’s foreign minister is in Israel for a three-day visit. The Jerusalem Post calls it “a precursor to an expected visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
Around the World
• Ahead of the upcoming Martin Luther King Day, the Times of Israel examines the tug of war over the civil rights leader’s views on Israel, and why they matter today. See also Israeli envoy Yehuda Yaakov’s related op-ed in the Boston Herald.
• Malaysia escapes action as Israel withdraws from the upcoming World Team Table Tennis Championships. It’s not clear why Israel pulled out. The International Table Tennis Federation put big-time pressure on Malaysia to issue visas to Israeli competitors:
International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) chief executive officer Judit Farago had insisted Israel must allowed to compete or Malaysia could be banned from hosting future tournaments.
She also said the World Championships would be scrapped and Malaysia to foot the cancellation costs if the visas were not issued.
That has been averted with Israel withdrawing from the tournament.
• Israel-focused Jewish group kicked out of major LGBTQ conference in Chicago following pressure from anti-Israel activists, Haaretz reports. It’s the stupid “pinkwashing” argument all over again . . .
Commentary/Analysis
• California Assemblyman Travis Allen weighs in at The Hill on why he wants the Golden State to proactively take on the BDS movement.
Israel is one of our key bilateral trading partners in important sectors such as technology, defense, and health sciences. In fact, California’s exports to Israel totaled more than $2.3 billion in 2014. Most recently, Israeli water technology experts have helped Californians navigate through one of the worst droughts in the state’s history. Further, Israel is currently the 25th largest trading partner with the United States with $36 billion in total trade during 2013. Any effort to inflict economic harm upon Israel weakens the ability California and the United States to conduct business, and blatantly undermines the vital economic and employment interests of our nation.
The BDS movement clearly demonstrates that boycotts of entities and individuals affiliated with specific countries can amount to ethnic, religious, racial and/or national origin discrimination.
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Dror Eydar: US Ambassador: As usual, the Jews are too blame
– Jonathan Tobin: Two more Middle East martyrs
– Emily Amrousi: The randomness of terror
– Avi Issacharoff: Amid ‘copycat intifada,’ fears of a suicide bombing fad
– Bradley Burston: Murder is not a legitimate form of “resistance”
– Washington Times (staff-ed): BDS: Bloviation, demand and swagger
– Bret Stephens: Normalizing Iran (click via Google News)
– Nicholas Burns: Talk to Tehran, but talk tough
– Aaron David Miller: Hello to the Iranian Spring
– Jennifer Rubin: Iran sanctions lifted: Now what?
– Roger Cohen: Iran opens for business
Image: CC BY-NC abbyladybug; Abu Dhabi CC BY-NC Meng Zhang;
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