Today’s Top Stories
1. Ahead of the UN General Assembly’s discussions on Jerusalem, President Donald Trump threatened to cut aid to countries supporting a resolution denouncing the president’s Jerusalem declaration.
Although the US has no veto power in the General Assembly and the Palestinians enjoy overwhelming support, its resolutions are non-binding. On Twitter, Ambassador Nikki Haley warned other countries “the US will be taking names.”
Video: The UN Debates Jerusalem: A Primer: HonestReporting unpacks today’s UN emergency meeting over Jerusalem.
2. Bahrain distanced itself from the Palestinian campaign against Trump, calling it a “side issue” and insisting that the world keep its focus on the “theo-fascists” of Iran. And the Saudis appear to be pushing the Palestinians to curb their battle with the White House for similar reasons.
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3. The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, who is putting together a blacklist of companies doing business in West Bank settlements, will not seek re-election to his post. Jordanian Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein’s job is up for renewal in August. AFP reports:
Earlier this week, in an interview with AFP, the Jordanian prince had rejected the idea of “wheeling and dealing” with political players to secure a second four-year term in Geneva.
And in an email to staff, seen by AFP, he wrote: “After reflection, I have decided not to seek a second four-year term” adding that “in the current geo-political context,” to stay “might involve bending a knee in supplication; muting a statement of advocacy.”
Hussein did not mention Trump by name, but he has reportedly been under pressure from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to tone down his human rights criticism of Washington.
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Israel and the Palestinians
• US envoy Jason Greenblatt and Ambassador David Friedman met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ynet reports that Israel was asked to hold back on large construction projects in Jerusalem, and that
Trump will give the PA a grace period to reconcile themselves to his Jerusalem declaration.
But this next point makes me wonder if the US is unwittingly giving the Palestinians an opening to avoid peace talks altogether until a new president takes over the Oval Office.
They also stressed that should the Palestinians choose not to return to being open to the US acting as peace interlocutors, the White House has no intention of advancing a peace process without them, adding that the Palestinians would be missing an opportunity.
• A Hamas terror cell plotted to kidnap a Knesset member and the IDF’s Arabic spokesman.
• South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, voted to downgrade its embassy in Ramat Gan to a liason office. The decision was made at the ANC’s biannual conference, which was attended by delegations from both the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas terror group. More at the Times of Israel and the Mail & Guardian along with South African Jewish reactions.
• Plenty of room at the inn: Israeli tourism officials are ebullient over a record-breaking year, including an expected 20 percent increase in Christian pilgrims over Christmas.
• Despite being swamped with 650,000 Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar, the government of Bangladesh rejected what Ynet describes as a “significant” humanitarian aid package. Dhaka’s putting its sensitivity to “political ramifications” ahead of the welfare of refugees it has accepted.
Bangladesh expressed gratitude to Israel for the offer, but informed it that it cannot accept aid due to the sensitivity involved and the political ramifications that could ensue.
Around the World
• Dutch Jews are up in arms over the government’s handling of a recent attack on a kosher restaurant in Amsterdam, the JTA reports.
Yet just 60 hours later the suspect — identified in the media as Saleh Ali — was free. Authorities never divulged details about his identity and origins despite the absence of a gag order, and reports that Ali was a former combatant in Syria’s civil war in the Netherlands on an asylum-seeker visa . . .
But to many Dutch Jews, perhaps the most disturbing aspect is that the draft indictment against Ali mentions only vandalism and theft.
In other words, Dutch officials don’t consider Ali’s actions a hate crime.
• If you boycotted Wonder Woman because Gal Gadot’s Israeli, you may have to boycott the royal wedding too.
Speculation grows Meghan Markle’s wedding dress could be a ‘racy’ Israeli-designed outfit
• Turns out a spate of hate mail received by Canadian synagogues is more widespread than previously reported. Synagogues in Ottawa, Calgary and Kingston say they received identical messages featuring a Jewish star dripping blood with a swastika in the middle along with the words, “Jewry must perish” as synagogues in Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton and Hamilton. More at CTV News.
Commentary
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Eric Cortellessa: Trump warns over UN, but he likely can’t stop feeding the hand that bites
– Clifford May: Reimagining a more realistic ‘peace process’
– Lior Weintraub: An American paradigm shift
– Alan Dershowitz: The conflict over Jerusalem is all Obama’s fault
– Abigail Esman: In Europe, ‘Islamophobia’ gets the headlines — despite trailing anti-Semitic violence
– Howard Feldman: The ANC’s endorsement of Hamas is unnerving
– Daniel Laufer: #NoWayToTreatAChild a cynical campaign to manipulate Palestinian children
– Michael Herzog: The growing risk of an Israel-Iran confrontation in Syria
Featured image: CC BY-NC Elvin; Hussein via UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre; South Africa CC BY-NC-SA Col; royals via YouTube/Inside Edition;
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