Today’s Top Stories
1. As this roundup went to press, President Donald Trump was due to announce his policy on the Iranian nuclear accord today. He faces a May 12 deadline on whether the US should remain in the agreement.
2. It’s official: Paraguay became the third country to plan embassy move to Jerusalem. In the coming days, the US and then Guatemala will open embassies in the Israeli capital.
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3. First the Palestinians weaponized kites, now they’ve weaponized helium balloons. Just attach a lit-Molotov cocktail and send it off. Ynet and Israel HaYom describe the hundreds of thousands of shekels damage they caused yesterday:
One balloon landed near Kibbutz Mefalsim in the Shaar HaNegev Regional Council, setting a wheat field ablaze.
Another caused a fire in the Be’eri Forest in the Eshkol Regional Council.
Iranian Threat
• “Opposition forces in southern Syria arrested a number of suspected Hezbollah members in the past week, including one man who said he was awaiting orders to fire rockets at Israel, a rebel commander told The Times of Israel late Sunday night.”
• Cypriot President: Iranian threat to Israel is also a threat to Cyprus. President Nicos Anastasiades’ comments to i24 News come ahead of trilateral summit with Netanyahu and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday.
• The Jerusalem Post visited northern Israeli communities to gauge the mood of the people.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Hamas denied yesterday’s Haaretz report that it was willing to negotiate a long-term truce with Israel.
• Square near US embassy in Jerusalem to be named for Donald Trump.
• A Knesset bill to deduct terror funds from PA cleared its first legislative hurdle. Ynet coverage.
The deducted money, according to the bill proposal, would be put in a special fund created for this purpose and used—subject to approval from the defense minister—to carry out Israeli court verdicts against the PA or against terrorists; to pay compensation to terror victims; and to carry out projects as part the fight against terrorism and the funding of terrorism.
• After completing nine months of a 14-month sentence, Hebron shooter Elor Azaria was released from jail today.
Azaria was convicted of manslaughter for shooting a Palestinian, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif as he lay prone on the ground minutes after he had been neutralized by soldiers Sharif had attacked with a knife. Azaria’s trial polarized the country for weeks.
• According to the UN, some 7,000 Palestinian refugees have been displaced by a Syrian army offensive on the Yarmouk refugee camp. I haven’t seen any meaningful coverage for days.
Around the World
• The UK Labour party expelled a hard-left ‘revolutionary’ who sent a letter to several news services falsely claiming to have been signed by 33 Barnet Labour members supporting Jeremy Corbyn’s record on antisemitism.
Corbyn visited Barnet last Tuesday. Didn't meet a single Labour candidate, didn't campaign for them – but did meet man expelled from Labour hours laterhttps://t.co/uy2Iocp8WU
— Stephen Pollard (@stephenpollard) May 8, 2018
• Police escort required for Israeli speakers after protesters disrupted their appearance at U. California, Irvine.
• Durham BDS activists employed by local synagogues, federation.
• Poland’s Holocaust law has triggered a tide of abuse against the Auschwitz museum.
A key claim of the campaign against the museum is that it has been training the site’s official guides to promote “foreign narratives” that are considered by many nationalists and government supporters to be inherently hostile to the Polish point of view.
• Ynet: The Giro d’Italia bicycle race moved on to Sicily, where pro-Palestinian protesters denounced the participation of an Israeli cycling team and tried to block the road.
Commentary
• Ahead of Israel’s 70th anniversary (according to the English calendar), retired US admiral James Stavridis and Michael Makovsky argue that the US should wish the Jewish state a happy birthday by simply raising Israel’s intelligence clearance, speeding up promised aid and encouraging a higher level Israeli-Arab security cooperation.
By ensuring that Israel can defend itself and facilitating tacit cooperation between Israel and our Sunni Arab partners, the U.S. can bolster the anti-Iranian coalition, lay the foundation for a more stable Middle East and restore its regional leadership — all without putting significant numbers of American boots on the ground.
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Anshel Pfeffer: From doomsday to delay: 5 scenarios ahead of Trump’s decision on the Iran nuclear deal
– Avi Issacharoff: Few options for Tehran as it plots revenge on Israel
– Amos Harel: Iran seeks revenge on Israel without claiming responsibility – taking a page from Israel’s playbook
– Seth Frantzman: Iran’s missile threat and Israel’s message to Russia and Assad
– Yoav Zitun: IDF bases prepare for possible Iranian strike
– Yigal Carmon, A. Savyon: Tehran lied about a fatwa banning nuclear weapons
– Wall St. Journal (staff-ed): Iran wins in Lebanon (click via Twitter)
– Nadav Shragai: The US embassy prepares to move to Jerusalem
– Micky Aharonson: Why Russia recognizes Hamas, and other contradictions of its Israel policy
– Andrew Baker: To fight antisemitism, first you have to define it
– Jonathan Tobin: The new anti-Semites promote a very modern ‘blood libel’
– Elizabeth Tsurkov: The Left only cares about Palestinians when it can blame Israel
– Adam Langleben: Labour has betrayed Jewish voters — Corbyn must take action now
Featured image: CC BY David McDermott; Cyprus CC0 Pixabay; money CC BY Images Money;
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