Murderer of Jews Elected Hebron Mayor

Today’s Top Stories

1. A Palestinian convicted of killing six Israelis in a 1980 terror attack was elected mayor of Hebron. The Times of Israel explains what you need to know about Tayseer Abu Sneineh:

Tayseer Abu Sneineh was selected by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah to head the party’s list in Hebron for Saturday’s West Bank elections. Despite the party winning only seven of 15 seats in the West Bank’s largest city, according to official results, Abu Sneineh will have a mandate to head the council.

 

Abu Sneineh was one of four Palestinian terrorists who on May 2, 1980 attacked a group of Israelis and Jews in a Hebron alley, firing and hurling grenades at them. The attack killed US citizens Tzvi Glatt and Eli HaZe’ev, Canadian Shmuel Marmelstein and Israelis Hanan Krauthammer, Gershon Klein and Ya’akov Zimmerman. Another 20 people were injured in the attack.

 

The four terrorists were all sentenced to life in prison, but were released in prisoner exchanges later in the decade.

2. The White House hasn’t published an official itinerary of President Donald Trump’s Israel visit, but the Times of Israel reports diplomatic buzz that he will become the first incumbent US president to visit the Western Wall.

If he indeed goes to the site, it would likely be interpreted by some as akin to an American recognition of Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem.

3. Palestinians, Shin Bet meet in failed attempt to end hunger strike.

4. Plane Hijacker, Terrorist… Female Icon? Leila Khaled still encourages the murder of Israelis and the destruction of the Jewish state.

5. Macleans: Failure to Disclose: Magazine editors fail to disclose that a lengthy book excerpt is a joint project of the radical Breaking the Silence organization.

Israel and the Palestinians

• Worth reading: Associated Press takes a closer look at the discrimination Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have been facing for 69 years. We’re talking about holding jobs, owning property, social benefits, leaving them vulnerable to all kinds of abuse.

Lebanese politicians say that assimilating Palestinians into society would undermine their right to return. But Palestinians say they are not asking for assimilation or nationality, just civil rights.

• Palestinian Authority hopes to launch e-currency in 5 years.

But it is unclear how the planned e-pound would skirt the 1994 Paris Protocol agreement which gave the PMA the functions of a central bank but without the ability to issue currency. The protocol recommended the use of the shekel and gave Israel an effective veto over a Palestinian currency.

• South Africa’s Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is fasting for 24 hours in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners according to South African media reports.

• Is it time to give another look at a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation? The Christian Science Monitor finds people on both sides of the river willing to entertain the notion.

Around the World

• Master of Cambridge college admits causing ‘hurt’ to Jewish students over misleading anti-Semitism inquiry.

• British media erroneously reports Israel quits Eurovision:

The confusion came about when newspapers The Sun and the Mirror Online accidentally misinterpreted an announcement made by Israeli commentator Ofer Nachshon on Saturday night during the contest, who said that the tournament would be the last time it is covered by the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) on the eve of its closure.

• Fire destroys historic New York City synagogue. The cause hasn’t been determined yet.

• Teens identified as vandals of Jewish, Catholic headstones in main Rome cemetery

• For the second time in a year, University of California-Irvine students required a police escort from an IDF-related event due to intense protests.

• Mayor of Virginia city targeted by anti-Semitic tweets after criticizing marchers

• Tunisia to seek World Heritage status for Djerba island, site of Jewish pilgrimage.

• Newsweek picked up on a Pew Research Center study which found that nearly one-third of Eastern Europeans wouldn’t accept Jews, Muslims or Roma as citizens, while half wouldn’t want them moving into their neighborhood.

Commentary/Analysis

However, the elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran are far from being free and democratic. The Guardian Council reviewed hundreds of applications and approved just a few candidates to run for president. The council is composed of six religious figures who are experts in Islamic law and six jurists specializing in various areas of civil law. All 12 are selected and appointed, either directly or indirectly, by the supreme leader himself.

 

No matter how many votes are cast for the would-be presidents, the winner will have essentially been selected by the ayatollah . . .

 

The majority of Iranian journalists, both within Iran and outside it, including those who work for the leading international newswires, sympathize and identify with the so-called reformist camp. That gives the reformists a leg up in terms of media attention and generally positive coverage internationally. Media reports often portray Rouhani as “oppressed” or “victimized” by hardliners intent on sabotaging his enlightened efforts.

 

Ironically, that narrative has granted him and his camp the credibility and political breathing room that has enabled them to avoid fulfilling their promises of social reform, especially when it comes to media freedoms.

– Prof. Eugene Kontorovich: Russia recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Why can’t the US? (click via Twitter)
– David Horovitz: President Trump, you can start making peace. Here’s how
– Norman Bailey: Trump tilts at Palestinian windmill
– Kenneth Bandler: Peace process rituals
– Avi Issacharoff: How Donald Trump, darling of the Israeli right, reinvigorated Mahmoud Abbas

• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .

– Avi Mayer: Thoughts on Nakba Day
– Amos Harel: New underground reality takes shape along the Gaza-Israel border
– Rear Adm. (Ret.) Oded Gour Lavie: Israel as a regional, maritime superpower?
– Prof. Hillel Frisch: Hamas: Another failed Palestinian organization
– Yotam Goren: Value-based diplomacy: It exists and it’s effective
– Gefen Laredo: Why USCB should not divest from Israel
– Marc Goldberg: The unexpected death of BDS
– Efraim Karsh: The Six-Day War: An inevitable conflict
– Yonah Jeremy Bob: Will Trump waive sanctions against Iran?
– Damien Grant: Hysteria over Israel a stain on our nation
– Nadav Shragai: Jordan’s double game

Featured image:CC BY-NC Megan Trace; money CC0 Pixabay; Khameini via YouTube/The SayyidAli; Trump via YouTube/NBC News;

For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.

Before you comment on this article, please remind yourself of our Comments Policy. Any comments deemed to be in breach of the policy will be removed at the editor’s discretion.