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. Egyptian army’s ultimatum to Mohammed Morsi: Resolve crisis in 48 hours or we’ll “intervene.” Morsi’s response: I won’t turn clock back on civilian rule. The White House’s refusal to condemn the army’s threat is interpreted by the Egyptian street as tacitly supporting a military coup, reports the Wall St. Journal (via Google News).
2. Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister tied together a lot of standard anti-Semitic themes to explain his country’s anti-government protests. Hurriyet writes:
Foreign powers and the Jewish diaspora have triggered the unrest in Turkey and worked effectively to boost it, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said yesterday in the Central Anatolian province of Kirikkale.
Atalay also said the international media had a big role in “the conspiracy” and had led the unrest “well.”
3. Kuwaiti parliamentarians praised Israel and said Islamic law even justifies trade with the Jewish state. Is the BDS movement more Islamic than Mohammed himself? Great spot by Memri. Watch the video or read the transcript.
Hammad Al-Dosari: The shari’a permits us to have dealings with the Israelites. We follow the example of the Prophet Muhammad, who died while his shield was mortgaged with a Jew.
Interviewer: Some people have criticized you for saying this.
Hammad Al-Dosari: Because they are ignorant about the sharia. I tell you that the Prophet Muhammad had dealings [with the Jews]. You criticize me?! Go criticize the Prophet Muhammad. A Muslim does not talk. He obeys the instructions of the Prophet Muhammad.
Arab Spring Winter
• The Times of Israel picked up on reports that Egyptian tanks massed along the Sinai-Gaza border on Monday.
• Egypt’s foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr resigned. And Morsi’s latest battle with the judiciary continued when a court ordered a prosecutor Morsi fired back to work. Chalk it up as another example of Calvinball in Cairo.
• For commentary/analysis of Egypt’s spiraling situation, see Spengler, Michael Totten, Bret Stephens (Wall St. Journal via Google News), Haaretz, the Globe & Mail and Times of Israel.
• Check out NOW Lebanon’s interactive feature on Hezbollah in South America.
• Bloomberg News looks at the Syrian spillover effects on Jordan.
Rest O’ the Roundup
• For commentary/analysis on Mideast peace efforts, see David Horovitz, Elliott Abrams, Matthew Kalman, and the Times of Israel.
• Intelsat, the European-based satellite service provider, pulled the plug on several Iranian channels.
• The European Jewish Press picked up on Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta visit to Israel.
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream.
