Today’s Top Stories
1. Syrian and Iranian-backed forces are steadily advancing in the border area near Israel. Reuters reports:
The Syrian army said it had encircled the village of Mughr al Meer at the foothills of Mount Hermon as troops moved toward Beit Jin amid fierce clashes. On Monday, the army said they had cut off insurgent supply lines and made further advances . . .
A western intelligence source confirmed rebel reports that Iranian-backed local militias alongside commanders from the powerful Lebanese Hezbollah Shi‘ite group were playing a major role in the ongoing battles.
Tehran was pushing to establish a strategic presence along the Israeli border in the Syrian Golan Heights, the source said
2. Guatemala announced that it will move its embassy to Jerusalem. But it will only happen after the US relocates its embassy.
Ten other countries are said to be in talks about relocating their embassies too. Although Deputy Foriegn Minister Tzipi Hotovely didn’t name names, Israeli media chatter centered on Honduras, Paraguay, Togo, Romania and Slovakia. The Philippines denied reports that they are considering a transfer.
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
leave it to the Palestinian Authority do it yourself. Arab sources told Israel HaYom:
“The Palestinians’ efforts to sway public opinion have been a complete failure, and as a result, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has created a rift between us [the Arab world] and Trump. We are once again left with the demagogic, hollow and inflammatory rhetoric of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.” . . .
A senior official in Amman told Israel Hayom that the Palestinians’ colossal failure to create a unified Arab front against Trump’s Jerusalem decision also has Jordanian officials concerned that the kingdom’s status as the custodian of the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem will be compromised.
4. The Dishonest Reporter of the Year Award, 2017: It’s finally time to announce the winner!
5. What You Were Reading: The Top 10 Posts of 2017: A look back on the year’s 10 most-read posts. What do the articles you clicked on say about 2017?
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Israel and the Palestinians
• Seeing Trump as ‘lost cause,’ Abbas said to widen boycott to US consular staff, according to Israeli media reports.
• The State Department and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman are at odds over his request that official documents stop referring to the West Bank as “occupied.”
However, due to pressure “from above” the two sides agreed that the issue will be discussed again and that US President Donald Trump will have the final say, the report said.
• Western Wall train station to be named after Donald Trump.
• Holiday cheer, Palestinian style:
• Worth reading: The Los Angeles Times opens a window on the split between American and Mideast Christians over Trump’s Jerusalem declaration:
For many Holy Land Christians, Trump’s declaration was about as welcome as a biblical curse.
For American evangelical Christians, it has largely been welcomed as an auspicious sign from on high.
• Israeli chess players are demanding compensation after they were refused visas by host Saudi Arabia.
The Israel Chess Federation accused Saudi Arabia of misleading FIDE to qualify for hosting the tournament.
“All their previous statements were to the contrary,” spokesman Lior Aizenberg said.
Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reports that Qatari chess players are boycotting the tournament over a snub which is “been there, done that” for Israelis:
Qatar’s chess federation said its players had been granted visa but would not take part because organizers demanded that the players not display the Qatari flag during the competition.
• The fallout from Lorde’s cancellation of a Tel Aviv concert in the face of BDS pressure continues. Her Israeli promoter and a researcher on the conflict between BDS and musicians explained to the Times of Israel why it’s naive to think that a young singer like Lorde would have been able to stand up to the bullying.
“Whenever I deal with producers, I always say to them up front, let the artist know what they’re getting into and know what to expect,” he said. “Lorde is younger and not as established as other acts that have visited Israel, that also means she’s easier to influence. And we shouldn’t place the whole burden of BDS on the fragile shoulders of a 21-year-old from New Zealand.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to New Zealand asked to meet with Lorde. And the Washington Post examines how other musicians have handled BDS bullying.
• The editor of “Youpi,” a popular French childrens’ magazine, apologized and removed the latest edition from news stands in France and Belgium over a sentence saying that Israel was one of several states that aren’t “real countries.”
Around the World
A suicide bomber driving a van loaded with explosives blew up the Jewish community headquarters in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people and injuring more than 300.
The story has a lot of moving parts and background, so see the Times of Israel and New York Times.
• Swastika graffiti and SS symbols sprayed on Jewish Melbourne home in shocking racist Christmas Day attack.
• Greek anarchists vandalized the Israeli embassy in Athens with bottles of red paint.
Commentary
• Ponder this: A Brandeis U. study of anti-Semitism at four American universities suggests that anti-Semitism and hostility towards Israel on campuses isn’t as widespread as we thought, that BDS isn’t so entrenched, and that Israel and Jews aren’t a high concern — even among Jewish students.
• In his statement recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Trump specifically stressed that he was not calling for any change in the status quo of holy sites. Which is why the poison pen of The Guardian‘s Nicola Jennings muddies the waters.
• Lorde have mercy on us all!
– Liel Liebovitz: If Lorde is serious about her politics, she shouldn’t boycott Israel but her native New Zealand
– Einav Schiff: BDS, unfortunately, is still alive and kicking
– Amy Spiro: A major BDS win in a sea of losses
– Karl Quinn: Lorde’s Israel backdown shows doing the right thing in music is far from black and white
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Reuel Marc Gerecht: In the Mideast, Trump gives reality a chance (click via Twitter)
– Ben-Dror Yemini: The blue-eyed poster girl of Palestinian propaganda
– Raphael Ahren: Why a small Central American nation became a trailblazer on Jerusalem
– Ronni Shaked: Abbas left with an empty diplomatic toolbox
– Anshel Pfeffer: The Palestinians just gave Netanyahu what he always wanted for Christmas
– Seth Frantzman: Five challenges for Israel if Syria returns to the Golan
– Yoav Fromer: What happens at the UN GA stays at the UN GA
– Col. (Res.) Grisha Yacoubovich: The Palestinian war of narratives
– Itzik Reuven: BDS claims: An Ethiopian answer
– Elior Levy: 13 years after his death, Arafat’s memory remains purely symbolic
– Elliott Abrams: The Trump national security strategy
– David Ignatius: We ignore Iran at our own peril
Featured image: CC BY Eugen Anghel; Jerusalem CC BY-NC-SA BORIS G; chess CC BY monkeywing; Lorde via YouTube/The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon; Nisman via YouTube/Carlos Kalman;
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