Today’s Top Stories
1. A pair of international judo tournaments were cancelled in Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, apparently over concerns about the fair treatment of Israeli participants.
“The International Judo Federation’s Executive Committee decided to suspend both the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam and the Tunis Grand Prix until governmental guarantee is given to ensure free and equal participation of all nations at the said events,” a statement posted Friday on the federation’s website announced.
The Federation did not mention Israel specifically but the statement referred to “past situations involving the denial of participation in equal conditions of all IJF member federations – with their national insignia and anthem at the aforementioned events,” a clear reference to Israeli athletes.
Meanwhile, 7-year-old chess champ Liel Levitan of Haifa can’t compete in an international tournament because host Tunisia isn’t allowing Israelis to compete.
2. The David’s Sling missile defense system was used for the first time when it detected a pair of Syrian missiles which the system calculated would strike Israel. Haaretz explains what happened next:
The military investigation found that, while airborne, one of the Syrian missiles changed course and was expected to fall in Syrian territory. Therefore, one of the interceptor missiles was ordered to self-destruct. Israel also launched another interceptor missile at the second Syrian rocket, but it was still unclear if it hit its target.
David’s Sling, also known as Magic Wand, is one part of Israel’s three-layered missile defense system. Iron Dome defends against short-range rockets, David’s Sling against medium range missiles while the Arrow is designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles.
3. Two Palestinian scientists were found dead in Algeria. It’s not clear if their death was accidental or an assassination. More at Haaretz.
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Israel and the Palestinians
• The IDF believes Gaza snipers used an Iranian armor-piercing rifle to kill soldier.
• Yet another flotilla will try to symbolically break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. A four-boat “freedom flotilla” is due to depart the Sicilian city of Palermo this week. They are expected to reach Gaza waters in 10 days.
• Cracks are emerging in the PA boycott of the US peace plan as some officials in Ramallah do not believe spurning the White House initiative is in the Palestinians’ best interest. The Media Line explains:
In the current diplomatic climate, officials warned, Europe cannot replace the U.S. as an intermediary because many European capitals are reluctant to assume America’s traditional role as primary peace broker between the two sides. European leaders are also wary of ignoring the Trump administration’s demand to not abide by the PA’s push to form a new, multilateral mechanism for negotiations.
• Following up on CNN and Washington Post op-eds by Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt, David Friedman and Amb. Nikki Haley, the New York Times examines the US threat to abandon plans for rehabilitating Gaza. This might explain why Washington’s staying on the sidelines as UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov pushes for quiet in Gaza.
• An ancient boulder dislodged from the Western Wall on Sunday, crashing into the mixed-prayer plaza on Sunday afternoon, during Tisha B’Av. Nobody was injured; the 220 pound (100 kilo) stone’s fall was caught on video. Depending on who you follow on social media, its either a call for Jewish soul-searching, Allah’s anger, illegal Palestinian digging, or Israeli efforts to undermine the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In a statement, the [Israel Antiquities Authority] said there were a number of possibilities that may have led to the stone’s fall, such as vegetation growing in the wall’s cracks, or entrapped moisture that may have led to the stone’s wear. There is also the possibility of a still unknown engineering failure. . .
Al-Aqsa Mosque director Omar al-Kiswani denied that anyone on the Temple Mount pushed the rock down to the bottom.
• Globes takes a closer look at what’s known about Hamas’ cyber capabilities and the threat posed by its hacking attempts.
Mideast Matters
Meanwhile, according to Russia’s Ambassador to Israel, Anatoly Viktorov, Moscow and Jerusalem have “understandings” about how Syria will look after Bashad Assad consolidates his control over southern Syria.
• Israeli jets reportedly struck an Iranian-run missile production facility in Syria. Unconfirmed Arab reports picked up by the Israeli media said several Hezbollah members were killed at a site in northwest Syria that was once allegedly used to produce and store chemical weapons.
Window Into Israel
• With Isaac Herzog due to take over the Jewish Agency on August 1, Tzipi Livni returns to her former position of the Knesset’s opposition leader. The Jerusalem Post explains the politics behind that.
• Druze leaders, including three MKs, petitioned the High Court against the Nation State Law.
That an Egyptian dictator or a western progressive criticized the nationstate law is far less important than that Israel's Druze believe we Jews have betrayed them. | Druze MKs petition High Court against Jewish state law https://t.co/OfB6WROsqb via @timesofisrael
— Haviv Rettig Gur (@havivrettiggur) July 22, 2018
• For commentary on the Nation State Law, Prof. Eugene Kontorovich (click via Twitter), Reuven Berko and a counter-intuitive take by Fred Maroun throw their support behind it. Weighing in against was a staff-ed in The Guardian. Kontorovich also debated the law with Jewish Voice for Peace director Rebecca Vilkomerson on MSNBC.
Around the World
• UK Labour’s in-fighting over antisemitism continues. A number of senior party members want Jeremy Corbyn’s spokesman, Seamus Milne, to retract a number of past comments he made about Israel from his days as an editor at The Guardian. The Times of London reports:
Seumas Milne, the leader’s director of strategy and communications, was a vocal critic of Israel during his career as a left-wing columnist. Senior Labour insiders have questioned whether Mr Milne’s previous statements were linked to Labour’s decision to omit part of an internationally accepted definition of antisemitism from its new code of conduct.
A row broke out last week after the party accepted part of the guidelines from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) but left out some of the official examples. One of the omissions states that antisemitism may include “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, eg by claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist endeavour”.
Mr Milne wrote in The Guardian in 2009: “The truth is that throughout the Arab, Muslim and wider developing worlds, the idea that Israel is a racist state is largely uncontroversial . . . This is a state, after all, created by European colonists, built on the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous population.”
Mr Milne went on: “There’s a perfectly reasonable argument to be had about the nature of Israel’s racism and whether it should be compared to apartheid, for example.”
• A key ally of Jeremy Corbyn admits Labour has failed to ‘win the faith of the Jewish community’ on anti-Semitism.
• Stanford U. student threatens to ‘physically fight Zionists’ on campus.
• South African model and media personality Shashi Naidoo expects to be barred from entering Israel when she arrives to “re-educate” herself on the conflict. The Jerusalem Post explains the extent of the BDS bullying:
Naidoo made headlines last month after she defended Israel’s actions in Gaza and explained the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a factual manner. However, during her explanation, she called Gaza a “shithole,” due to the way Hamas is running the Strip. She said the international aid and money given was being used for rockets instead of housing, schools and better infrastructure.
Following her comments, the celebrity said she received 10 death threats and was intimidated, threatened and dropped by several of the brands she represents.
After the death threats, Naidoo issued an apology for her comments. She has since been coerced by the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement targeting Israel into holding a press conference, at which she agreed to go on a trip with the organization.
• Tunisian police arrested six people after photos showing Arab men holding a barbeque in a Jewish cemetery were posted online. “The cemetery reportedly has become a hangout,” the JTA reports.
• Anti-Semitic graffiti found in two Bosnian cities.
Commentary
• Here’s what else I’m reading today:
– Seth Frantzman: David’s Sling and the Syrian regime’s news normal
– Josh Rogin: Inside the Putin-Netanyahu-Trump deal on Syria
– Prof. Eyal Zisser: Helsinki: Israel, Syria and Iran
– Ron Ben-Yishai: Hamas’s military wing wants war
– Daniel Siryoti: Hamas got the message
– Tomas Zdechovsky: EU member states should follow US and leave the UNHRC
– Elliot Kaufman: World socialism’s anti-Israel turn (click via Twitter)
– Mandy Blumenthal: ‘We no longer feel safe in Britain. Anti-Semitism is forcing us to leave our home’
– Charles Moore: Anti-Semitism is an issue that could blow the Labour Party to smithereens
– Lawrence Franklin: Ireland’s anti-Israel bill and the Muslim Brotherhood
– Asaf Romirowsky, Alexander Joffe: Time to rethink our attitudes toward Middle East refugees
• For a sense of what the Israel-bashers are saying, see Rebecca Vilkomerson‘s take on defining antisemitism.
Featured image: CC BY Jon S; chess CC BY Vladimir Agafonkin; Lavrov via putin.kremlin.ru; Milne via YouTube/Captain Corleone; Naidoo via YouTube/Mela on SABC;
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
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