Today’s Top Stories
1. After weeks of politics, leaders of Israel’s coalition parties agreed to dissolve the Knesset and hold early elections in April. Disagreements over Haredi army conscription and a court-mandated deadline to resolve the issue was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition was left with a barely-there one-seat Knesset majority when former defense minister Avigdor Liberman’s Israel Beitenu party quit in protest of an unofficial Israel-Hamas ceasefire in November.
The decision to go to the polls was apparently made after it became clear that the 61-seat coalition, with its one-seat majority, would not be able to pass legislation on the draft of ultra-Orthodox into the army, which had a January 15 deadline. Earlier in the day, opposition parties Yesh Atid and Yisrael Beiteinu made it clear that, unlike previous stated, they did not intend to support the law.
More on the story at the Times of Israel. And as Lahav Harkov points out, despite the agreement for early elections, it’s not official until the Knesset votes to formally dissolves itself. Though it’s unlikely, there’s precedent for MKs to reverse the decision.
2. A Gaza terror group called Al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades warned the Strip’s 1,300 Christians not to celebrate Christmas.
A verse from the Quran, quoted on the left side of the flyer, warns Muslims “not to go the way of the Jews and the Christians, indeed God is not for the evil people.” The brigades added it is “absolutely forbidden” to celebrate the holidays in any capacity.
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3. Women’s March leader Tamika Mallory says white Jews ‘uphold white supremacy.’ The movement’s issues with antisemitism attracted the attention of the New York Times. Mallory is the Women’s March national co-chair.
4. Columbia Professor Dishonestly Smears Israel: We call out Professor Katherine Franke’s calumnies in the New York Review of Books.
In the News
• “The Russian forces currently in Syria will take action to restrain Hezbollah and Iranian activity there, according to understandings reached by Israel, the United States, Jordan and Saudi Arabia with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Jordanian official confirmed to Israel Hayom.”
• Per Israeli media reports, Honduras is considering moving its embassy to Jerusalem, and sent a delegation of senior officials to explore the possibilities.
• A recent meeting between PA chief Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah raises a lot of questions. Why did the king keep Abbas waiting for three days in Amman? Why did he tell the PA not to take further steps against Hamas? Might US policies force Jordan to absorb some 1.4 Palestinian refugees? Are the Saudis seeking to gain an official presence on the Temple Mount at the expense of the Palestinians and Jordanians?
• “IDF soldiers opened fire at a group of gunmen who crossed the 1974 ceasefire line in the Golan Heights and were approaching Israel’s border fence from Syria, the army said Sunday night.” Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post picked up on Damascus claims that Syrian forces found Israeli-made weapons and medical equipment hidden by rebels in the Quneitra province.
• Qatar is preparing to welcome Jewish and Israeli fans for the 2022 World Cup with kosher food and places for prayer.
• Basketball star LeBron James apologized for an antisemitic Instagram post (subsequently removed).
Commentary
• Here are other commentaries I’m reading today:
– Seth Frantzman: Turks operating in Syria judged differently than Israel
– Jonathan Tobin: Trump just gave the finger to his Jewish voters
– Daniel Pipes: Will Trump divide Jerusalem in three?
– Nadav Shragai: Hamas too close for comfort
– Raphael Ahren: Has Israel made a huge mistake letting a Chinese firm run part of Haifa port?
– Jonathan Tobin: Some things are more important than international good-will
– Alexandra DeSanctis: Women’s March, sponsors silent on anti-Semitism allegations
– Christine Rosen: Antisemites on the (Women’s) March
– James Kirchik: What the EU survey reveals about European antisemitism
Featured image: CC BY-NC-ND Alex Moreno Fuster; James via YouTube/FreeDawkins;
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