Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei repeated his claim that the Islamic Republic is not pursuing nuclear weapons, but, notably, qualified that if he wanted to acquire the bomb then no nation — including Israel — could prevent this potentiality.
That international Zionist clown has said they won’t allow Iran to produce nuclear weapons. First of all, if we had any such intention, even those more powerful than him wouldn’t be able to stop us. 1/2
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) February 22, 2021
Khamenei’s tweet is an apparent reference to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel’s premier, a leading critic of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, has made crystal clear that the Jewish state will not allow Tehran to go nuclear.
Despite Khamenei’s latest assertion, he nevertheless indicated that his country would further ramp up uranium enrichment.
Meanwhile, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi hammered out an agreement with Tehran, whose leaders hailed as a “significant achievement.” The deal will allow UN inspectors continued access to Iran’s declared nuclear sites, but will bar inspections of other suspicious facilities for three months.
The temporary arrangement is geared towards buying time for the United States, European powers and Tehran to salvage the nuclear pact.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Israeli counterpart that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was best for the future of Israel.
Blinken, in a call with Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, “emphasized the Biden Administration’s belief that the two-state solution is the best way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace alongside a viable and democratic Palestinian state.” A State Department statement about the call added that, “the Secretary noted the United States’ continuing commitment to opposing unfair, one-sided actions against Israel in the multilateral arena.”
The conversation with Ashkenazi comes two days before Blinken is set to address the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which has passed more resolutions condemning the Jewish state than against any other country. Under the Trump administration, the US had withdrawn from the council to protest its bias against Israel. The Biden Administration has rejoined the body, initially as an observer state.
Despite the global pandemic and the resulting economic impact, the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2020 continued to incentivize terrorism. Last year, the PA paid more than NIS 512 million ($157 million) to convicted terrorists, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reported on Monday.
The PA’s controversial “pay-for-slay” scheme provides “salaries” to those who commit violence against Jews and Israelis, with more money being doled out on a monthly basis to terrorists who shed the most blood. In 2019, the Palestinian leadership paid about NIS 517 million ($158 million) to detained and released terrorists. Moreover, PMW’s study found that the PA attempts to conceal the payments, most likely with the goal of misleading international donors.
Palestinian Media Watch has called on donor countries to demand the policy ends. “This is not only necessary in the interest of transparency, but it is critical in order to monitor and eventually stop the PA’s ongoing incentivizing and funding of terror,” the organization said.
One of the world’s oldest known scrolls of the Book of Esther has been gifted to the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem, just days before Jewish communities worldwide celebrate Purim.
Experts estimate that the unique Esther scroll dates back to 1465 and was written by a Jewish scribe in the Iberian Peninsula. It is believed that only a few scrolls from the medieval period remain intact, and it is even rarer to find one from pre-Expulsion Spain and Portugal.
“The Library is privileged to house this treasure and to preserve the legacy of pre-Expulsion Iberian Jewry for the Jewish people and the world,” Dr. Yoel Finkelman, curator of the National Library’s Judaica collection, said in a statement.
The scroll is a donation from Michael Jesselson and family, the statement noted.
- A Light Unto the Nations, and Vaccines (Prof. Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom)
- The US Brings Israel Into CENTCOM (Yaakov Lappin, Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies)
- It’s the Dawn of a New Era for Jewish Life in the Gulf (Houda Nonoo and Alex Peterfreund, Jerusalem Post)
- Israeli Singer Omer Adam Dominates The Apple Music Charts (NoCamels)
