Today’s Top Stories
1. Yesterday at the US Supreme Court, lawyers for the family of Menachem Zivotofsky and the US government made their cases for and against listing the 12-year’s place of birth as “Jerusalem, Israel” in his US passport.
The Washington Post, Reuters and other news services all all described justices divided on the issue; a ruling is expecting in June. Here’s the official full transcript of the one-hour proceedings. Disclosure: My kids are also US citizens born in Jerusalem.
Thumbs up to legal bloggers Jonathan Keim and Wells Bennett for quick, meaty, off the cuff assessments. SCOTUS blog rounded up more commentary. See also a Los Angeles Times staff-ed.
2. Free Syrian Army coaxing Islamists away from Israel border
3. Iran has tentatively agreed to ship uranium to Russia as part of a nuclear deal. The New York Times got the scoop:
Under the proposed agreement, the Russians would convert the uranium into specialized fuel rods for the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran’s only commercial reactor. Once the uranium is converted into fuel rods, it is extremely difficult to use them to make a nuclear weapon. That could go a long way toward alleviating Western concerns about Iran’s stockpile, though the agreement would not cut off every pathway that Tehran could take to obtain a nuclear weapon . . .
For Russia, the incentives for a deal are both financial and political. It would be paid handsomely for enriching Iran’s uranium, continuing the monopoly it has in providing the Iranians with a commercial reactor, and putting it in a good position to build the new nuclear power reactors that Iran has said it intends to construct in the future. And it also places President Vladimir V. Putin at the center of negotiations that may well determine the future of the Middle East, a position he is eager to occupy.
If the United States is wary of Russia’s role, it has little alternative to involving the country.
4. Flagging Temple Mount Fauxtography: Trick photography and a caption not giving “the full picture” make the Temple Mount tinderbox even more combustible.
5. Is Yehuda Glick “Right Wing?”: Perhaps “extremist” would be more accurately applied to those who are against Jewish prayer at the holiest Jewish site.
6. Vote for This Year’s Dishonest Reporting Award: It’s that time of the year. Nominate this year’s worst news service or journalist and make your voice heard.
Israel and the Palestinians
• The Knesset passed a law limiting the release of Palestinian prisoner releases. More at the Jerusalem Post.
• In her first interview as the EU’s new foreign policy chief, here’s what Federica Mogherini told The Guardian about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
Sweden’s recent recognition of a Palestinian state did not represent a template for the rest of the EU to follow, she said, admitting that such a move would hold little traction among many of the other 27 EU member states.
Establishing rather than recognising a Palestinian state was the point, she said, pointing to the resonance of the issue for the generation of politicians coming to power in Europe.
“There is an entire generation growing up with the Palestinian issue. I mean, I’m 41, I studied politics at 16 and this was the main campaign when I was at school.”
For her first trip in her new post, Mogherini will visit Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Shes’ due to arrive on Friday.
• Australia’s Attorney-General, George Brandis, rejected any moral equivalence between Australians fighting for the IDF and ISIS. He was appearing on the ABC News show, Q&A. The relevant clip‘s on YouTube, or watch the whole show. Via IsraellyCool.
• New York Times bureau chief Jodi Rudoren visited the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo. The dispatch is better nuanced than I expected.
But for all the international outrage that Ramat Shlomo has engendered, not a single new home has been built there in a decade.
• The Israeli embassy in Dublin is battling fake tweets taunting the Irish government.
Unknown perpetrators attempted to discredit the embassy by uploading a screenshot of fake Tweets to Reddit Ireland, purporting to come from the Israeli Embassy’s official account, which taunted the Irish government and people.
• I’m glad the Times of London picked up on this.
Commentary/Analysis
• Worth reading: Plans to Rebuild Gaza Keep Getting Undermined
• For more commentary/analysis, see Yaakov Amidror (The Israel-Iran-US triangle), Ron Kampeas (Beneath the chickensh*t), Raphael Ahren (US veto at Security Council may not be a given), Khaled Abu Toameh (Egypt’s war on terror and the world’s double standards), Bernie Quigley (The passion of Yehuda Glick), Jennifer Rubin (Where the real “peace process” will take place), Michael Burleigh (Iran may be our best ally against ISIS), and a staff-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Fight over Jerusalem risks explosion).
Rest O’ the Roundup
• Always good to see Arab journalists — at least some of them — getting feisty for press freedom.
• Reuters: The Sinai’s largest and most active jihadi group, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, swore allegiance to ISIS.
Image: CC BY flickr/Mo Riza; atom CC BY-SA DeviantArt/deejaywill
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
