Today’s Top Stories
1. According to German intelligence reports seen by the Jerusalem Post, Iran’s seeking illegal nuclear and missile technology, as well as its biological and chemical warfare capabilities. State Department spokesman John Kirby struggled to answer reporters’ questions about the matter.
Kirby then said that living up to the nuclear deal means not procuring illicit nuclear technology, but disagreed with reporters that Iran’s attempts to obtain this equipment would be in violation of the agreement.
2. YNet reports UNESCO’s due to vote on another resolution denying Jewish ties to the Temple Mount while denouncing Israel.
The draft decision presented by the Palestinians and Jordanians includes a number of problematic points in relation to Israel. Firstly, the draft calls on Israel to return the Temple Mount and the al-Aqsa mosque to “the historic status quo,” a new phrase implying that the sites should be returned to their pre-1967 status.
The recommendations constitute another attempt to remove any Jewish presence from the Temple Mount. Moreover, the text repeatedly refers to the entire compound as an exclusively holy Muslim site and makes no exception on the issue of the Wailing wall. In October 2015, a similar attempt failed when brought before UNESCO.
Throughout the entire document, Israel is repeatedly alluded to as an occupying force on the Temple Mount while being accused of breaching international treaties such as the Geneva Convention and the Hague Convention. According to the claims, Israel is causing damage to historic buildings on the mount, to gates, windows and to ceramics while simultaneously preventing repair and renovation projects initiated by the Jordanians.
According to Israeli officials, there is also an attempt to compose an indictment against Israel vis-a-vis its activities on the Temple Mount which will be presented to the Criminal Court of Justice in the Hague.
After UNESCO passed in April a one-sided Temple Mount resolution against Israel in , France and Brazil both apologized for supporting it “in error.” It’s not clear from YNet when the resolution is to be voted on.
3. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is scheduled to visit Israel to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu. The last time an Egyptian FM visited Israel was in 2007.
4. HonestReporting Launches HR Brazil: Our new Portuguese-language initiative will give Brazilian news consumers the opportunity to fight media bias and speak up for Israel. HR Brazil will be spearheaded by Tamara Stern, formerly of Rio de Janeiro and recent immigrant to Israel, who will monitor and critique Brazilian news services, translate selected HonestReporting content, and build a social media community.
HonestReporting Brazil will be hosted via the main HonestReporting website at https://honestreporting.com/brazil
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Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
Israel and the Palestinians
• An Israeli man was injured in a Palestinian drive by shooting in the West Bank near Tekoa Saturday night. The Israeli was wounded in the leg. Searching for the shooter, the IDF sealed off two villages. A Jordanian man is in Israeli custody after he crossed the border and attacked an Israeli woman on a road south of Lake Kinneret on Friday. It’s not clear how the man got into the country, but a preliminary police investigation indicated that the man was mentally unstable.
• Israel HaYom picked up on Palestinian kids dressing up as Hamas goons on the Temple Mount to mark the end of Ramadan. I wonder how the Islamic Waqf, which administers the Temple Mount, explains why this isn’t incitement, brainwashing, and abuse of a holy site all rolled into one.
Can't wait to read these kids' "What I did on my summer vacation" essays. (Eid al-Fitr on the Temple Mount) pic.twitter.com/ncKEuUIn4j
— Lahav Harkov (@LahavHarkov) July 8, 2016
• A Gaza tunnel collapse killed an Islamic Jihad operative.
• The number of Palestinian shooting attacks are up while stabbing attacks are down. The trend caught the attention of the New York Times.
• Archaeologists working in Ashkelon found what they say is the first Philistine cemetery ever discovered. I don’t think the Palestinians will like Associated Press coverage.
The most famous Philistine was Goliath, the fearsome warrior who was slain by a young King David. The Philistines’ legacy lives on in the name Palestine, the term the Romans gave to the region in the 2nd century, and which is used today by Palestinians.
Archaeologists and biblical scholars have long believed the Philistines came from the Aegean region, based on pottery found in excavations of Philistine sites.
But scholars have debated where exactly in the Aegean region the Philistines came from: mainland Greece, the islands of Crete or Cyprus, or even Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey.
It makes my head spin: I’ve seen Palestinians also claim they’re descendants of Canaanites — even pre-Canaanites. What does all this mean for claims that Jesus was a Palestinian?
Around the World
• An elderly Moroccan-Jewish couple was found murdered and dismembered in their Casablanca home. The couple’s gardener has been arrested and confessed, saying he killed them in order steal their money and jewelry.
• Toronto teacher calls a terrorist who killed a 4 year old Israeli girl a “hero”
• Over at New York University, Students for Justice in Palestine blame Israel for the latest US police shootings of blacks. Yair Rosenberg responds:
What’s particularly pernicious about the posting is that by erasing the American history of predatory conduct towards blacks and instead exporting culpability to a scapegoat, SJP short-circuits any necessary national conversation about U.S. police violence. As long as shadowy outside forces can be blamed for the problem, there will be no internal reckoning.
• Spanish leftists are under fire for an anti-Semitic cartoon ahead of President Obama’s upcoming visit. The JTA explains:
The Madrid branch of Izquerda Unida, or United Left, on Thursday tweeted the cartoon image, which depicts a thick-lipped Obama standing behind a wall amid explosions while hugging a Jew with side curls, a kippah emblazoned with the Star of David and a suit in the light-blue color on the Israeli flag. The Obama character is shown slipping a wad of cash in or out of the Jew’s pocket. It used the hashtag #ObamaGoHome.
Invadir y destrozar países para saquearlos. Este domingo 12.30h nos vemos frente a la embajada de EEUU #ObamaGoHome pic.twitter.com/ufVmR0gvRs
— IU Madrid? (@IU_Madrid) July 7, 2016
Commentary/Analysis
• Jordan wants to push forward with a civilian nuclear program, but Mudar Zahran calls it a “potential Chernobyl next to Israel.” Jordan’s lack of expertise in nuclear know-how and financial requirements makes the endeavor a non-starter, but is Is Amman blaming the lackluster Western interest on Israel?
The king does not seem to realize his problem is not with Israel, but in fact with the big Western powers, including the U.S. A well-informed source told me years ago that Israel was not lobbying at all against Jordan’s nuclear program. In fact, it is those Western powers that don’t seem to be convinced Jordan could run a safe, effective or reliable program . . .
Let’s not forget, Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria was very stable when Israel reportedly destroyed his secret nuclear reactor, which was placed near Raqqa, the very city that is now considered ISIS’ capital . . .
Jordan’s government lacks the transparency and governance in general and seems to not have much nuclear knowledge. Even if the regime had the 100% best intentions, such a program could end up a new Chernobyl that would endanger Jordan, Israel and American interests.
• Israeli columnists gave Prime Minister a thumbs up on his Africa trip.
– Raphael Ahren: In Africa, Lion King Bibi begins to outroar the Palestinians
– Yoaz Handel: Netanyahu’s Africa trip worth every penny
– Norman Bailey: Israel adds diplomatic skill to its armory
For a window into how Africans viewed the trip, see a Rwandan New Times staff editorial and Kenyan columnist Gitau Warigi.
• A number of Knesset members got op-ed soapboxes of note this weekend. MK Yair Lapid takes on the UNRWA, Sharren Haskel takes on Palestinian incitement, and Michael Oren explains why Europe’s continuing fixation on Jews must not grip the US.
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Judith Bergman: Do houses matter more than Jews?
– Ruthie Blum: Abbas’ holiday attack on the Quartet
– Sardar Aziz: Israel and Turkey’s new deal: A pessimistic Kurdish view
– Pinhas Inbari: An Ottoman return to Jerusalem
– Fred Maroun: The Arabs’ Historic Mistakes in Their Interactions with Israel
– Sever Plocker: Facebook is not the enemy
– Dennis Ross: Sending Iran the right deterrent signals to preserve the nuke deal
– Michael Wilner: Has Iran complied with the nuclear deal?
– Jonathan Tobin: Iran violates the deal. Now what?
Featured image: CC BY Max Talbot-Minkin with additions by HonestReporting; Dome of the Rock CC BY Stefano Mazzone;
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