Today’s Top Stories
1. The corruption scandal in FIFA (I liked how Vox explained this complicated story), punctuated by the arrest of seven high-level officials, will probably kill Palestinian efforts to kick Israel out of international soccer. The Jerusalem Post explains why:
Suspending the Jewish state from international play would have rocked world soccer’s boat, inviting allegations of anti-Semitism and double standards. Israel, to say the least, likely would not have gone quietly into the night.
Now, with FIFA’s boat already rocking, member states will probably be loath to pile one controversy on another. FIFA President Sepp Blatter, already opposed to Israel’s suspension (he met last week with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas) is probably looking to avoid two crises on his hands at once.
Palestinians quoted by Time insisted that the scandal won’t wreck their plans, but the Times of Israel suggests PA soccer chief Jibril Rajoub may be softening. Tomorrow’s vote could be delayed as soccer officials go into crisis mode.
As Palestinians hijack soccer to score political goals against Israel, the New York Times becomes a cheerleader. See HonestReporting’s latest critique: New York Times Deserves a Red Card.
2. Is Qatar paying countries to support Palestinians in FIFA vote?
“The corruption affair calls into question FIFA’s credibility,” diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.
“If indeed the allegations are true, and countries did pay to buy votes on hosting the World Cup, who can guarantee us that votes on the bid to suspend Israel are not being bought? We suspect that Qatar, about whom claims are circulating that it paid in order to host the 2022 World Cup, is now paying countries to vote in favor of the Palestinians.”
3. Tony Blair is resigning after representing the Quartet (the US, UN, EU, and Russia) in the Mideast for eight years. He was primarily tasked with helping the Palestinian economy and institutions prepare for statehood:
Western diplomatic sources said that two factors within the Quartet had pushed Blair to resign. The first was the feeling that he work was ineffective and that he had lost credibility in the region. The second was criticism in the international community that his activity as an emissary of the Quartet was contrary to his business interests with some governments in the Middle East. Obama administration officials also said in the past that Blair was no longer an asset.
Israel and the Palestinians
• One of the disgraced FIFA executives suggests Zionists have a hand in the scandal. In a 1,400-word letter to the Trinidad Guardian, FIFA’s ex-vice president Jack Warner wrote:
I will talk about the racism that is within FIFA. I will talk about the levels of religious discrimination which I sought to correct. I will talk about the Zionism, which probably is the most important reason why this acrid attack on Bin Hammam and me was mounted. These are just some of the issues of which I will speak as it relates to the FIFA.
• Former US envoy Dennis Ross had some strong criticisms of President Obama’s handling of Mideast peace talks. The Jerusalem Post picked up on his comments to the Voice of Israel.
• President Reuven Rivlin made some waves for saying he’s open to negotiating with Hamas.
“It is really not important to me with whom I speak, but rather about what we are speaking. I have no aversion to holding negotiations with anyone who is prepared to negotiate. The question is what do they want to negotiate about. If they want to negotiate my very existence, then I would not negotiate with them,” the president said, when asked specifically about talks with Hamas.
• French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will visit the Mideast in June to push the peace process. AFP/Times of Israel coverage.
Iranian Atomic Urgency
• Iranian dissidents detailed to Reuters how North Korea is helping Iran develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
• With the Iranian trial of Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian underway behind closed doors, the New York Times rounds up a list of other foreigners — including several journalists — detained in Iran
• Wendy Sherman, the chief US negotiator in the Iranian nuclear talks, announced that she’ll step down shortly after the talks’ June 30 deadline. The New York Times lays out the significance:
With her departure, all the top officials who have negotiated with Iran over those two years will have left the administration, leaving questions about who will coordinate the complex process of carrying out a deal if one is struck by the deadline.
Around the World
• Vienna landlord orders Jewish tenant to remove Israeli flag and mezuzah or face eviction.
• Anti-Semitism in Malmo reveals flaws in Sweden‘s immigration system
• A Hungarian university’s decision to make Holocaust education mandatory for all students is a first of its kind initiative in Europe.
• Al Pacino pulls out of “Nazi play” in Denmark over author’s support for Hitler.
• Anti-Semitic fliers left in Chevy Chase, Maryland, driveways.
• Nepalese see Israel as source of inspiration.
• Ambassador Samantha Power, a Pulitzer Prize winning ex-journalist, called on the UN to protect journalists in conflict zones as Russia portrays itself as victim
Commentary/Analysis
• Your daily dose of idiocy, courtesy a New York Times staff-ed on the secret trial of the Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian:
The best hope for a resolution might be the personal intervention of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Surely he recognizes that the case against Mr. Rezaian and his wife has been a travesty from the start.
• A New York Daily News staff-ed weighs in on Amnesty International’s report on Hamas killing and torturing Palestinians.
• Here’s what else I’m reading:
– Sam Kiley: Blair unlikely to be missed
– Elias Groll: After eight years and few wins, Blair steps down
– Rabbi David Wolpe: Why boycotting Israel is a bad idea
– Clifford May: Anti-Semitism: the longest hatred
– Gary Rosenblatt: Signs of growing disconnect between U.S. Jews and Israel
• Last, but not least, Fisk’s being Fisk, again.
Featured image: CC BY-NC flickr/John with additions by HonestReporting; Blair screengrab from The Guardian; atom CC BY-SA Deviant Art/deejaywill
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