Everything you need to know about the weekend coverage of Israel and the Mideast. Join the Israel Daily News Stream on Facebook.
Today’s Top Stories
1. Times of India: Naming names, Indian cops have concluded that the suspects in February attack outside the Israeli embassy were members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. One man, identified as Sedaghatzadeh Masoud, “is said to be the operational head and it was he who planned the attacks in Georgia, Bangkok and Delhi.”
2. Searching for Israel’s Capital, HonestReporting’s Yarden Frankl visited Tel Aviv. In “The City That Knows No Rest,” Frankl talked to residents — and Mayor Ron Huldai — about the British press labeling Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital.
3. Big Media finally confirms that foreign jihadis are present in Syria, while the CIA is slowly realizing that Islamic extremists are a bigger part of the rebel leadership than previously realized. More on that below.
Israel/Olympic Angles
• While Bob Costas’ remarks about the IOC snub were welcome, Canadian sportscaster Brian Williams of CTV (not to be confused with the NBC News anchor) went even further:
“As Israel prepares to enter, my position is well known. It is one that I have taken at previous Olympics. It is wrong that the IOC refuses to have a minute’s silence for Israeli athletes that were slaughtered in Munich.”
. . .
“It is a much bigger issue this year, as it’s the 40th anniversary of Munich. Members of the Canadian government, yesterday, our Governor General, all calling for a moment’s silence. Dr Rogge (Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC) says the ceremony is not the place to remember a tragic event, but, uh, it’s tragic, however, it’s one of the most significant and world changing events in Olympic history. It absolutely should have been done here. The IOC worries about politics. This event is political by its very nature.”
UPDATE 7/31: (Via IsraellyCool) Watch the Williams segment.
Brian Williams – talks about Israeli Munich 11 at London Olympic opening ceremonies from UJA Federation on Vimeo.
• Staff-eds in the Washington Times and NY Post also blast the IOC.
• Al-Jazeera thumbed its nose at Israel’s Olympic delegation during the games’ opening ceremonies. YNet rounds up that and other unsporting conduct:
The festive ceremony was covered by the two renowned Arab sport commentators, Yousef Saif and Isam Shawali. As the Israeli team entered the stadium, Shawali said “They don’t deserve it.”
• The BBC’s Israeli Olympic page getting dumb and dumber. I wish the Beeb was as concerned with accuracy to put an asterisk on “facts” from Palestinian sources:
Originally, the BBC Sport web page simply said:
Without changing the actual number, BBC Sport now writes:
• Lebanese judo fighters refused to train on same mat as their Israeli counterparts. So Olympic officials set up a partition and told Reuters it was perfectly normal:
Organisers of the judo competition said there were always screens available so that competing athletes and their coaching staff would not be able to spy on each other’s training.
