Everything you need to know about today’s media coverage of Israel and the Mideast.
PA to launch new diplomatic offensive at Rio summit. Israel hints responsibility for new computer virus. Mob torches presidential candidate’s Cairo headquarters.
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Israel and the Palestinians
• Mark down June 20 for a diplomatic rumble in Rio de Janeiro. That’s when the UN’s environmental summit meets, and the Palestinians will push for a status upgrade in the UN Environment Program (UNEP). According to YNet:
According to various media reports, the PA is seeking to use the Brazil conference to duplicate the success it had in achieving UNESCO membership, as part of the Palestinians’ efforts to gain unilateral international recognition for statehood.
According to a Rotter report, the PA will ask Rio+20 to upgrade its “observing entity” status in the UNEP to that of “observing state” status.
• Palestinian activists tried to disrupt the Habima Theater Group’s London performance, but the show went on. Quote of the day goes to Dominic Dromgoole, who — before the curtain went up — asked the audience for calm, as reported by the BBC:
“You’re not watching politicians or policy-makers,” Dromgoole said. “You are watching artists who are here to tell a story.”
• Eamonn McCann’s Belfast Telegraph column was so skewed, I’m inviting readers to sharpen their Israel advocacy skills by helping debunk it.
• Worth reading: David Harris (Huffington Post) on 10 Reasons I Admire Israel and Melanie Phillips (Daily Mail) on Zionism and Bigotry.
