Today’s Top Stories
1. Over Israeli objections, a controversial Hamas-linked organization got UN accreditation as a recognized non-governmental organization. UN Watch unpacked the incitement of the UK-based Palestine Return Center in posts one and two. And Sarah Marusek and David Miller further lay out The Case Against the PRC.
2. The Iranian accord will bury any chance of getting justice for the 85 people killed in the AMIA bombing and Alberto Nisman’s assassination. Damian Pachter, the Israeli-Argentinian journalist who broke the story of Nisman’s assassination, argues why:
Iran’s official removal from “the axis of evil” places a question mark on the future of the moribund investigation into the bombing. The persistent demand for justice seems farther than ever, not only because the attorney charged with the AMIA case is dead, but because the international community has recognized the Ayatollahs’ regime as a partner.
Meanwhile, ex-president Carlos Menem and 13 other defendants were barred from leaving the country. Menem may have had clandestine ties with Iran, and he’s due in court in August to face charges he covered up info about the bombing.
And if you want to sink your teeth into something meatier, see The New Yorker‘s look at the death of Argentinian prosecutor Alberto Nisman and Iran’s connections to the AMIA attack.
3. Feeling heady about the Iran deal, EU diplomats brainstormed in Brussels on push Israeli-Palestinian peace talks ahead. AFP talks about an “international support group,” while YNet described the group’s statement slamming settlements, the security barrier, home demolitions, and more before describing what else Europe has in store. Forget the toothless denunciations — this is what keep Israeli policymakers up at night:
The EU foreign ministers’ plan envisages obtaining formal approval for the so-called support group at the UN General Assembly in New York in September, then a UN Security Council resolution to set parameters for a peace deal.
4. The Iranian Deal and Doublespeak: In a special guest post, Cherryl Smith, PhD, examines the use and abuse of language surrounding the Iran deal.
5. While millions of Iranians chanted “death to Israel” a few days ago, the BBC said Iran no longer poses a threat to the Jewish state. Please sign HonestReporting’s petition demanding the BBC tell the truth about Iranian incitement against Israel.
Israel and the Palestinians
• The Knesset stiffened punishments imposed on Palestinian stone-throwers. YNet coverage.
The amendment also splits the offense of stone-throwing to two different levels of severity. On the first level, stone-throwers could receive up to 10 years in prison without the prosecution having to prove intention to cause harm. On the second level, in cases where the prosecution can prove an intention to cause harm, stone-throwers could receive up to 20 years in prison.
• Tehran’s deeply offended by the Saudi-Hamas rapprochement. The Times of Israel takes a closer look at Khaled Mashaal’s meeting with King Salman.
• Who are the ICC judges who ruled against Israel on the ‘Mavi Marmara’?
• Amid Fatah-Hamas tax dispute, Gaza power plant shuts down. The strip’s getting eight hours of electricity.
• Israel’s ambassador in Oslo, Raphael Schultz, is still tussling with the Norwegian media’s handling of the Gaza war. The ambassador recently wrote an open letter denouncing the one-sided coverage. I couldn’t find the full letter online, but the unfortunate response Ambassador Schultz got confirms his point. The Local writes:
Arne Jensen, the Secretary General of Norwegian Editors’ Association denied that the media had admitted to bias last year, saying that they had only recognised that the public should have been given more context and background.
“Israel can not expect that there be equal coverage, because the conflict is not equal,” he told ABC Nyheter. “By that I mean that one party in this conflict is superior to the other.”
Iranian Atomic Urgency
• Iran’s defense chief forbids international inspections of military sites
• US Secretary of State John Kerry told Al Arabiya he’s “disturbed” by Ayatollah Khamenei’s comments denouncing any change in relations with the “arrogant US.”
• While Indian diplomats praised the nuclear deal, the country’s defense establishment and business community are very, very concerned, reports Vijeta Uniyal.
Around the World
• A quick-thinking Israeli businessman in Colombia outwitted his would-be kidnappers. Here’s how.
• Aw shucks . . .
Saudi-based think tank ranks Hebrew U among world’s best
Commentary/Analysis
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Mudar Zahran: Will Israel save the world a third time?
– Khaled Abu Toameh: Iran deal empowers enemies of peace
– Yoni Ben Menachem: Saudi Arabia and Israel are in the same predicament
– George Igler: Europe’s chief negotiator sympathized with Iran
– David Rothkopf: Obama is wrong–the Iran deal is transformational
– Bret Stephens: The Iran deal’s collapsing rationale (via Google News)
• Last, but not least: Is Turkey actively supporting Egypt’s Islamist insurgency against the Sisi regime?
Featured image: CC BY flickr/John Ragai with additions by HonestReporting; Nisman via YouTube/daniberliner;
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
