Today’s Top Stories
1. Egypt wants to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, as Egypt’s foreign minister continues his significant visit to Israel.
2. Israel’s Shin Bet security service discovering increasing links to Islamic State among terrorists who target Israel, both domestically and via infiltration into Gaza.
3. U.S. House passes measure to block Boeing sales to Iran.
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
Israel and the Palestinians
• Hospitals, schools, tourism, and startups: Israelis and Palestinians work together in peace in more ways that you’d guess, and more than the news usually cares to cover.
• A probe is underway into PM Netanyahu’s finances, though Israel’s Attorney General has yet to actually launch a full-fledged criminal investigation. Details are sparse at this stage.
• Another Gaza tunnel collapsed, bringing the death toll of tunnel workers to fourteen for the year, so far.
Mideast Matters
• Over the years, Hezbollah has transformed from a party with limited power to a potent political and military heavyweight. Now, though it is growing more powerful than ever, the political and terror group is also alienating much of its traditional support in the Middle East. Yet the question remains, is Hezbollah getting ready for another war with Israel?
• In honor of “Al Quds” day, an Iranian commander claims that Israel’s annihilation is imminent. The speech included threats against the Kurds of Iraq.
Around the World
• PM Netanyahu’s tour of Africa takes on special meaning upon visiting Ethiopia: for Ethiopian Jews both in Ethiopia and in Israel.
• Israeli and American families of victims of Palestinian attacks filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the social network is providing a platform for militants to spread incitement and violence. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York via the Israel advocacy group Shurat HaDin.
• In an odd and rambling speech, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni frequently referred to Israel as “Palestine,” and offered to mediate a peace process while also admitting that he sleeps during many international meetings. Museveni also praised Jews for avoiding something he referred to merely as “British nonsense” and criticized the historical King Herod for being “a bad gentleman or something like that.” PM Netanyahu spoke of the role of the Entebbe raid in his personal life and in the world.
Commentary/Analysis
• Haaretz’s Anshel Pfeffer points out that modern heroes from Mohandas Gandhi to Muhammad Ali had relationships with some unsavory global figures, yet none were criticized for this upon their deaths. Eli Wiesel, by contrast, has been criticized upon his death for his position on Palestinians: in a manner that is not only unfair and unusual, but also untrue. HonestReporting previously debunked one such criticism, which had been published in the Independent.
• Times of Israel’s Avi Issacharoff says that undue focus on Facebook distracts from the real security issues underlying the recent “lone wolf intifada.” By contrast, The Washington Post’s Margaret Sullivan says that Facebook is in denial that it is actually in the news business.
• HonestReporting wrote a critique debunking the claim in an LA Times staff editorial that Boycotting Israel counts as constitutionally protected “free speech.” Yesterday, some LA Times readers reacted to the staff/ed.
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– An archaeological dig discovered remains of ancient Philistines: apparently a more complex society than we’d previously known.
– Khaled Abu Toameh asks whether Palestinians can hold free and fair elections.
– US criticism of Israeli settlement building may have been based on faulty information from Palestinian sources.
Constitution image: CC BY-NC Jim;
Tunnel Image: CC BY-NC flickr/European Journalism Observatory;
Featured image: CC BY Dustin Smous with additions by HonestReporting;
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