Today’s Top Stories
1. The skies of Damascus lit up as the Israeli Air Force allegedly struck arms depots belonging to Hezbollah and Iran. A US defense official told Newsweek that several senior Hezbollah leaders were targeted while boarding a plane bound for Iran, though some reports suggested the plane took off just before the strike. The Jerusalem Post examines why Hezbollah personalities were traveling to Iran from Damascus instead of directly from Beirut.
Russian officials denounced the attack, accusing Israel of endangering passengers on two civilian air craft without offering any specifics. One Syrian rocket was intercepted over the Israeli town of Hadera.
https://twitter.com/Obs_IL/status/1077695930793639939
2. As this roundup was published, Israeli lawmakers were in the process of dissolving the Knesset, officially paving the way for April elections. Amid the initial fallout of Israel’s pivot to elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scaled back his planned visit to Brazil this week and ex-defense minister Moshe Ya’alon announced that he’s launching his own party.
Last but not least, can a caretaker government appoint diplomatic representativess or a police chief during an election campaign, and why does it matter?
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
3. “Earlier this week, American financial markets experienced steep losses and their worst Christmas Eve declines ever. Some economists in Israel believe a financial storm is looming over the horizon.” The Media Line examines whether Wall Street’s difficulties suggest darkening clouds for the Israeli economy.
4. HonestReporting’s Top 10 Posts of 2018: Israel had plenty of intense moments in 2018. We look back on the year through the articles you read, shared and discussed the most.
5. Daniel Pomerantz on Israeli TV – The International Coverage of Israel: HR executive director Daniel Pomerantz discussed media coverage of Israel with Channel 10. Watch the video.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Israeli security forces shot a Palestinian carrying out a car-ramming attack at a West Bank bus stop near an IDF base near Nablus.
• PA security forces arrested 44 Palestinians accused of selling land and houses in the West Bank and Jerusalem to Jews.
• The Defense Ministry advanced plans for some 1,300 homes in the West Bank. Plans for another 400 homes are expected to advance today.
• Are we in the midst of an Israeli-Palestinian trade war?
• Globes got the, uh, scoop on Ben & Jerry’s cone-undrum. “Some Israelis want to boycott Ben & Jerry’s for supporting left-wing US groups, while abroad BDS activists urge boycotting the ice cream because the brand operates in Israel.” I guess Banana Nut-anyahu isn’t happening soon.
• Worth reading: The Times of Israel interviewed Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, one of the leading Israeli authorities on criminal and constitutional law, on the collision of police investigations of Benjamin Netanyahu with snap elections. Is Israel about to elect a corrupt prime minister? Kremnitzer looks at how the situation might play out.
• How many English-speaking MKs will make it through the next elections?
• “The Madrid City Council rejected a draft resolution calling for a boycott of Israel shortly after a Spanish court suspended another city’s motion on the matter.” Related reading: BDS: The Bane in Spain.
• According to Israeli media reports, “Egyptian super-star Mohamed Salah has allegedly threatened to leave Premier League football club Liverpool if Arab-Israeli soccer player Moanes Dabour joins the team.”
• A college student was told to remove a “F*** Nazis” sign because it wasn’t “inclusive”(!?)
Commentary
• Plenty of spilled ink and burnt pixels commenting on the snap elections:
– Raphael Ahren: Snap elections may put Trump’s peace plan on back-burner until summer
– Raoul Wootliff: Early election timing likely more to do with graft-dodging than draft-dodging
– Marissa Newman: 6 questions that may hold the key to Israel’s upcoming elections
– Yoaz Hendel: Netanyahu and the dilemma of the Israeli right
– Sima Kadmon: Israel holding elections for sake of Netanyahu’s personal interests
– Mati Tuchfeld: With early elections, Netanyahu is looking for public acquittal
• Here are other commentaries I’m reading today:
– Amos Harel: Israel’s extensive Syria strike signals business as usual despite Trump and Putin
– Toledo Blade (staff-ed): Back Israel in Hezbollah fight
– Pinhas Inbari: Why did Abbas proclaim the dissolution of PA parliament?
– Bassam Tawil: Palestinians: The real “crimes”
– Aykan Erdemir, John Lechner: Erdogan’s antisemitism will sink Turkey’s economy
– Richard Cohen: Anti-Semitism is not just another opinion. The New York Times should know better.
Featured image: CC BY hobvias sudoneighm; ice cream via Wikimedia Commons;
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