Today’s Top Stories
1. In response to an Amnesty International campaign calling for governments and businesses to sever their trade ties with Israeli settlements, the Israeli Finance Ministry is moving to deny tax benefits to Israelis who donate to the human rights organization. More at Haaretz:
It is the first time the government will apply the so-called anti-boycott law, which penalizes organizations and individuals calling for a boycott of Israel or the settlements. The controversial law was passed in 2011 . . .
Although many human rights organizations support a settlements boycott, none that fundraise in Israel have thus far made such an explicit boycott call . . .
Amnesty International’s Israel office only became eligible for the tax benefit last October. Most Israeli human rights organizations do not qualify for this status.
2. The Trump administration is okay with Israel keeping $75 million military aid boost from Congress. Earlier reports said officials in Washington were weighing asking Israel to return the money.
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
3. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Argentina. His first day in Buenos Aires included visits to the site of the former Israeli embassy and the rebuilt Jewish community headquarters — both of which were destroyed in terror attacks linked to Iran in the 90s. More at the Jerusalem Post.
Also, Argentine President Mauricio Macri is expected to announce that his government will transfer to Israel thousands of classified documents detailing the South American country’s ties to Nazis during and after World War II. Details at Ynet.
4. Prof. Who Posted Anti-Semitic Tweets To Lecture On Free Speech: The Irish Times touts conference where free speech evidently doesn’t apply to pro-Israel academics.
5. Bias by the Numbers – June-July 2017: HR crunches the numbers to compare Israel-related media cultures in Britain and the US.
6. Join HonestReporting’s upcoming field tour for an exclusive opportunity to meet the medical team treating and saving the lives of Syrians injured in their country’s civil war.
In the past four years over 2,000 seriously wounded Syrian citizens have been treated at Ziv Hospital in Safed. Who are these Syrians, what traumas have they been through to reach Israel, what complex treatments do they need, and what’s it like to seek help from an “enemy state?” Meet the incredible medical professionals saving Syrian lives to find out the answers.
The day includes a visit to Dalyat El-Carmel to learn more about Israel’s Druze community, accompanied by Ihab Zeidan, licensed tour guide, ex-IDF officer and expert on Druze culture in Israel.
– When: Sunday, October 15th, 2017
– Where: Meet at HR’s Jerusalem offices in Hechal Shlomo, 58 King George Street (next door to Great Synagogue)
– Time: Bus leaves 8:00 a.m. sharp.
– Details: Advance registration and payment required – limited places available. Click here for more info and to register.
Israel and the Palestinians
• In next conflict with Hezbollah, the IDF intends to occupy parts of Southern Lebanon, the Jerusalem Post reports. The goal? To force a UN resolution more favorable for Israeli security along the northern border.
• Speaking at a counter-terror conference in Herzliya, Facebook’s chief policy maker on counter-terror issues shed light on the social media giant’s methods and challenges of quickly finding and removing terror-related content.
• The Washington Post takes a closer look at Israeli medical treatment for Syrians.
Around the World
• North Korea is suspected of chemical and missile cooperation with Syria.
• Jewish groups in Germany are pushing for dismissal of a Social Democratic Party official over comments claiming supporters of Israel were an “organized, good networked ‘fifth column’ in the interests of Israel’s policies.”
• The FBI is investigating the Russian news agency, Sputnik. First reported by Yahoo News, the feds want to know if Sputnik “is acting as an undeclared propaganda arm of the Kremlin in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).” Sounds a bit parallel to Israel’s battle with Al Jazeera, the news service owned by the Qatari royal family.
The emails were turned over by Andrew Feinberg, the news agency’s former White House correspondent, who had downloaded the material onto his laptop before he was fired in May. He confirmed to Yahoo News that he was questioned for more than two hours on Sept. 1 by an FBI agent and a Justice Department national security lawyer at the bureau’s Washington field office.
Feinberg said the interview was focused on Sputnik’s “internal structure, editorial processes and funding.”
“They wanted to know where did my orders come from and if I ever got any direction from Moscow,” Feinberg told Yahoo News. “They were interested in examples of how I was steered towards covering certain issues.”
• One Israeli aid group is saving lives in the Caribbean island of St. Martin hit by Hurricane Irma. And a delegation of Israeli search and rescue volunteers en route to Miami were able to lend a helping hand at a Savannah, Ga. nursing home “replacing the local staff who were stuck in the storm and could not reach the home.”
Just incredible footage from Tybee Island and Savannah on @WTOC11. Please stay safe everyone! #Irma pic.twitter.com/6QzbtLI9Ca
— Jake Wallace (@WTOCJake) September 11, 2017
Commentary/Analysis
• What’s to be done about Israel’s woeful public diplomacy? Norman Bailey offers seven suggestions.
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Yosef Abramowitz: Why was the landmark Africa-Israel summit shelved?
– Sohrab Ahmari: Israel rescues the Middle East, again
– Jonathan Schanzer, Grant Rumley: How do Palestinians define ‘terrorism’? (click via Twitter)
– Amos Harel: Distress of Gaza’s civilians forces Hamas to become more flexible
– Elior Levy: New Hamas leadership cozying up to Iran
– Emanuele Ottolenghi, Michaela Frai: Netanyahu’s Latin America trip: Another chance to talk about Iran
– Seth Frantzman: Calling Israel ‘white supremacist’ perpetuates Western anti-Semitism
– Ariel Bolstein: The art of public diplomacy
– Dr. Mordechai Kedar: Europe’s refugee problem will worsen as Syrian conflict ebbs
Featured image: CC BY Giuseppe Milo; Argentine flag CC BY Global Jet; Ziv Hospital via YouTube/Al Jazeera English;
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
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