Everything you need to know about today’s coverage of Israel and the Mideast. Join the Israel Daily News Stream on Facebook.
Today’s Top Stories
1. Ehud Olmert was sentenced to six years in prison and fined NIS 1 million for accepting bribes in the Holyland affair. A finding of moral turpitude torpedoes any political comeback. Former Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski’s sentencing was postponed to June due to health problems. For clearest coverage of what happened and what it means, see the Jerusalem Post, YNet, and David Horovitz‘s take.
Before the sentences were announced, the Jerusalem Post’s Yonah Jeremy Bob tweeted from the court house:
2. The Vatican’s concerned that Israeli security will make it impossible for Christian pilgrims to see Pope Francis. Here’s the quote that got The Economist picked up by other papers:
The pope wants to see the people,” protests a papal spokesman. “But Christians won’t be able to see him . . . Israel is turning the holy sites into a military base.”
3. The world powers negotiating with Iran are set to draft a “grand compromise.” See Jerusalem Post, Bloomberg News and the NY Times for what’s brewing in Vienna.
4. Haaretz Admits Its Politicized Agenda: Publisher describes mission having nothing to do with journalism and a lot to do with politics.
5. Ignorance and Confusion in Aspen: Journalist cycling through West Bank draws ignorant conclusions.
6. Divestment Losses Piling Up for BDS: After another failure, maybe BDS stands for Busted Divestment Strategy.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Price tag attacks are disgusting. But this headline has me wondering if Reuters editors believe that one man’s militant settler is another another man’s freedom fighter. When it comes to terror, you see, the wire service divorced itself from reality:
Palestinian foreign minister requests ‘terrorist‘ label for militant settlers
• There’s a London exhibition of propaganda art produced by the PLO information department. Must be worth seeing since The Guardian plugged it . . .
• Jimmy Carter shills for Fatah-Hamas unity in a Washington Post op-ed.
This reconciliation of Palestinian factions and formation of a national unity government is necessary because it would be impossible to implement any peace agreement between Israel and just one portion of the Palestinians.
• In Japan, Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed to boost defense cooperation, especially cyber security. More at Japan Times.
• For more commentary/analysis, see Zalman Shoval (focus on partial arrangements, not a comprehensive deal) and Colin Shindler (recognition of Israel as a Jewish state).
Rest O’ the Roundup
• The King David Hotel’s manager punctured Newsweek’s story of Israeli spies in the air conditioning ducts above Al Gore’s bathroom:
Speaking to The Algemeiner, Dror Danini-Forsyth, the hotel’s manager, said, unlike in big U.S. hotels, the air conditioning system in most Israeli hotels, including Jerusalem’s King David, is a set of small vents that heat or cool air in the rooms, rather than being pumped in through a large duct that a man could crawl through, as described in the Newsweek report.
“I can confirm that the story is ridiculous,” Danini-Forsyth said. “There is a small pipe that brings some fresh air into the room, and it is so small that even a cat cannot walk in it.”
• Iranian regime still fears girl hanged 30 years ago.
• Russia and Egypt to conduct joint military exercise (and are also negotiating an arms deal), reports the Jerusalem Post.
• Buzzfeed:
Israeli security forces are already on the ground in Nigeria, gathering intelligence and assisting in the search for hundreds of schoolgirls who were kidnapped by the extremist Islamist group Boko Haram.
• Bret Stephens weighs in on the nuclear talks. (Wall St. Journal via Google News). See also Jennifer Rubin,
(Image of hotel via Wikimedia Commons/Michael Plutchok)
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream.
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