Today’s Top Stories
1. After refusing to answer a 13-year-old Shachar Rabinovitch’s questions about horses because she’s Israeli, ex-Cambridge academic Marsha Levine dug herself a deeper hole justifying the rude treatment. Levine’s fresh quotes to the Jewish Chronicle and Daily Telegraph poured more fuel on the fire. The Daily Mail, Times of London, and other UK papers picked up on the story. And Brendan O’Neill penned a withering response:
Some people claim Ms Levine’s batty smackdown of a schoolgirl was an extreme act, a case of a BDS acolyte taking the Israel-avoidance thing too far.
In truth, it has exposed the rotten heart of a movement that fancies itself as progressive but is in fact driven by bigotry. . .
And now, even Israeli children are being shunned, shamed, told they aren’t fit to engage with us decent Europeans. You know who else thought certain children were legitimate targets for prejudicial fury and punishment? Do I have to say it?
2. Israeli archaeologists deciphered a seal impression bearing the name, “Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz, king of Judah.” The seal impression itself was discovered in Jerusalem in 2009, but its initial significance was overlooked. More at the Times of Israel.
According to the biblical narrative, Hezekiah ordered the excavation of a water channel to bring water from the Siloam Spring into the city and foil the siege. That tunnel was discovered in the 19th century and an inscription found inside it gives an account of its construction.
3. Diplomatic fallout from the EU’s settlement labeling regime continues. According to Israeli media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “indefinitely postponed” a meeting with Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders. The FM responded by postponing his visit to Israel and the PA, which was scheduled for December 8.
Israel and the Intifada
• Israeli security forces destroyed the house of a Hamas terrorist who killed two Israelis in a car-ramming attack last year.
• If you want a better understanding of why Israel shut down Radio Hebron a few days ago, Palestinian Media Watch recorded the station’s call for suicide bombers in a song.
• Worth reading: The New York Times takes a closer look at the new phenomenon of young Palestinian women going out to stab Israelis:
Where previous outbursts of Palestinian violence predominantly involved men, women have accounted for about 20 percent of all Palestinian attackers in the last two months. And for perhaps the first time in this patriarchal society they are acting on their own, without consulting any male authorities. . .
The participation of such young women has prompted accusations of manipulation, particularly through nonstop, blaring broadcasts by the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad that urge people to take action.
“They inflame the emotions of children, they play on their most sensitive spots, with footage of clashes and death,” said Manal Awwad, 42, the aunt of Hadeel, the 14-year-old attacker.
• Long-Hidden Details Reveal Cruelty of 1972 Munich Attackers
The treatment of the hostages has long been a subject of speculation, but a more vivid — and disturbing — account of the attack is emerging. For the first time, Ms. Romano, Ms. Spitzer and other victims’ family members are choosing to speak openly about documentation previously unknown to the public in an effort to get their loved ones the recognition they believe is deserved.
Among the most jarring details are these: The Israeli Olympic team members were beaten and, in at least one case, castrated . . .
The photographs were “as bad I could have imagined,” Ms. Romano said. (The New York Times reviewed the photographs but has chosen not to publish them because of their graphic nature.)
• Jewish refugees from Arab lands seek justice at the UN.
• Israel and Jordan agreed on a $800 million plan to revive the Dead Sea.
Around the World
• El Al orders pilots not to wear uniforms when out and about in Europe.
• January will see the start of two major book wars, as existing copyrights for Mein Kampf and the Diary of Anne Frank expire. With sensitive legal and ethical issues, people are already lining up for and against putting both books in the public domain. One publisher already plans to release an annotated version of Adolf Hitler’s biography. Meanwhile, a Swiss foundation trying to extend its copyright on Anne Frank faces its own legal challenges.
• Last, but not least, here’s The Guardian on the sorry state of freedom of expression in Turkey.
Commentary/Analysis
• In a Wall St. Journal op-ed (click via Google News), Eugene Kontorovich and Steven Davidoff Solomon lay out the case for legal action against academic organizations that decide to boycott Israel. They could even be liable for damages:
Saying that organizations cannot act beyond the purposes specified in their charters is no mere legal nitpicking. The charter is an explicit contract with members, declaring that their money will be dedicated to agreed-upon goals and that their group will not turn into a motorcycle club or a political party.
Although some major academic organizations have thousands of members, they are generally run by a small staff and a board that effectively controls the agenda. The purposes named in their charters are meant to protect the overwhelming mass of members who cannot get involved in the minutiae of the organization’s affairs, to ensure that the organization cannot be hijacked for a fundamentally foreign purpose, and to protect minority members. The charter is the minimal assurance that while an organization may act unwisely, it will be at least in the category of fieldwork, education and research, not beekeeping or boycotts.
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Boaz Bismuth: Before there was ISIS, there was Black September
– Michael Herzog: For Israel: ISIS is bad, but Iranian axis the graver threat
– Judah Ari Gross: Israel’s air superiority clouded by new Russian missiles in Syria
– Omer Dostri: World seeks cooperation with Israel
– Abdulrahman Al-Rashed: Will Russia succeed where Iran failed?
Featured image: CC BY flickr/Robert Couse-Baker
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