Today’s Top Stories
1. The Local picks up on a spat in which the editor in chief of one of Sweden’s most widely read papers apologized for his paper publishing an anti-Semitic cartoon. The image, by Dagens Nyheter cartoonist Magnus Bard, depicted Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu in a litter carried by Orthodox Jews, Zionists wearing Israeli flags, and hooded Ku Klux Klansmen as Netanyahu exclaims, “Finally.”
When Swedish writer Weidmo Uvell demanded an explanation, the DN tweeted back, “Netanyahu has celebrated Trump’s victory despite Trump’s rhetoric and the enthusiastic support he has received in the USA from the white power movement”.
Israeli Ambassador Isaac Bachman denounced the cartoon, and later in the day, the DN’s editor in chief, Peter Wolodarsky tweeted an apology. The cartoon was apparently removed from Bard’s page at the DN.
Antisemitic comic strip in large Swedish daily features Bibi and #trump being carried by evil zionists,Orthodox Jews & KKK, saying "finally" pic.twitter.com/45YtiHbEop
— Annika H Rothstein (@truthandfiction) November 20, 2016
2. CNN apologized for a banner questioning ‘if Jews are people’ that appeared during a broadcast of The Lead With Jake Tapper. Tapper, who was on vacation, tweeted his anger with the banner.
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
3. Firefighters battled brushfires exacerbated by dry weather and windy conditions around the country. The biggest fire, near Zichron Yaakov, forced the evacuation of 3,000 people from their homes. See Israel HaYom, YNet, Times of Israel and Haaretz coverage.
The fires were spread out to places including Neve Shalom and Nataf (both near Jerusalem), Nahariya (along the northern coast), Kfar Vradim (Galilee), Hadera (south of Haifa), the Yoav Regional Council (between Bet Shemesh and Kiryat Gat), Rosh Tzurim (in Gush Etziyon, south of Jerusalem) the West Bank settlement of Dolev, and other locations.
“When you have simultaneous fires raging you can’t rule out the possibility of arson. All leads are being pursued, but our first priority is to extinguish the fire. The extreme weather is making it difficult, and we are preparing for an intense couple of days,” he said.
Israel and the Palestinians
• In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times Donald Trump said could see his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, taking a stab at brokering an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. (See Benjamin Mullin and Margaret Sullivan for the interview’s fascinating backstory.)
I asked PEOTUS what role he sees Kushner playing. Indicates formal role unlikely but he could be a player on Mideast peace.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 22, 2016
• Before leaving India, President Reuven Rivlin made time for a Q+A with columnist Sandeep Dikshit.
• As the eastern Mediterranean heats up with the presence of a Russian aircraft carrier, a British warship docked in Haifa following exercises with the Israeli Navy. AP notes:
Both countries described the visit by the HMS Bulwark as routine and a reflection of deepening security ties between the two nations. It is the first British warship to dock in Haifa since 2009.
• Hamas denounced an “apartheid wall” Lebanon is building around the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp. What’s more, it turns out the wall’s being built with Palestinian consent.
According to Lebanese media, the wall is being constructed as part of a deal between Palestinian factions and Lebanese authorities in order to enforce calmness after recent confrontations between Palestinians in the camp and the Lebanese army.
Around the World
• Charleston’s Post & Courier and the Washington Post report that President-elect Donald Trump selected South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to serve as US ambassador to the UN.
Last year, Gov. Haley was the first governor to sign anti-BDS legislation into law.
• Revealed: New York student “suffering from nightmares” after 3rd grade anti-Israel event
• A Palestinian BDS group in the US is “rebranding” itself. The ‘US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation’ can call itself the more pleasant-sounding ‘US Campaign for Palestinian Rights,’ but nothing’s really going to change. The organization’s leadership wants to destroy Israel more than it wants to do anything for the Palestinians. More at the Jerusalem Post.
“Any action that puts Israel in a normal light goes against everything the BDS movement is going for,” he said at the time.
• Hmmmm. An Italian gay advocacy group denounced BDS and pinkwashing. According to the Jerusalem Post, “The organization became the first European LGBTI group to denounce the practice.”
The resolution praised Israeli LGBTI activism for its “advancement of human rights” while condemning the pinkwashing movement for “silencing voices” who attempt to reveal the Arab world using a “social and political dialogue on LGBTI issues to pursue a hostile agenda to the Jewish state.”
• When Brussels Airport authorities wanted to boost security measures, they sought out the best in the business for tips and inspiration: their counterparts at Ben Gurion Airport. More at Reuters.
Jambon said he was impressed especially by how some of the measures were non-intrusive for passengers. “There, security measures are present but not visible all the time,” he said.
This month, the temporary tents outside Brussels airport that were used for passenger checks in the wake of the bomb attacks were removed and now police officers newly trained in behavioral detection stand guard at entranceways, looking for signs of suspicious conduct among arriving travelers.
“This is not profiling on the basis of age, skin color or gender, it’s about detecting behavior,” Jambon said at the ACI Europe airport security conference in Brussels.
• New York City sees surge of swastika vandalism since the election.
• Miniature model of Jerusalem to become a permanent tourist attraction in New York City‘s Times Square.
Commentary/Analysis
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– David Gerstman: Did Obama’s “daylight” with Israel bring peace?
– Rami Simani: A letter to the Palestinian friends – I don’t have
– Dr. Reuven Berko: Abbas won’t hand over the wheel to a successor
– Khaled Abu Toameh: Iran, Hamas and the dance of death
– Salim Mansur: The atrocious scandal of the UNESCO Vote on Jerusalem
Image: CC BY Kamyar Adl; Haley CC BY-SA Gage Skidmore; Brussels Airport CC BY 012maximus345;
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
Before you comment on this article, please remind yourself of our Comments Policy. Any comments deemed to be in breach of the policy will be removed at the editor’s discretion.
