Arab Spring Winter
• American analysts conclude that Israel will launch another air strike on Syria to take out Russian missiles which weren’t destroyed in a previous attack. The NY Times writes:
After the Israeli attack, the Assad government sought to hide the fact that the missiles had been missed by setting fire to launchers and vehicles at the site to create the impression of a devastating blow, according to American intelligence reports . . .
Another factor that could lead to a military response by Israel is the continuing flow of weapons to the Assad government, some of which Israel fears may make its way to Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.
• Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor got op-ed space in the NY Daily News to weigh in on the EU’s blacklisting of Hezbollah.
• I’m not sure how significant this may be, but Lebanese president Michel Sleiman is talking about controlling Hezbollah’s arms. Sleiman made his remarks at a Lebanon Army Day celebration:
• Egypt’s state-run media is now controlled by the army, while the Islamists are turning to social media to get their message out. The LA Times looks at the Egyptian media war’s turned tables.
Rest O’ the Roundup
• Leo Leiderman was tapped to become the next governor of the Bank of Israel. For a quick roundup of what the Israeli press is saying about the Argentinian-born economist, here are links to Globes, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, and YNet.
• A Kenyan lawyer is taking legal action against Israel, the Jewish people and others in the International Criminal Court in the Hague over the death of Jesus. According to the Jerusalem Post:
Dola Indidis, a lawyer and former spokesman of the Kenyan Judiciary is reportedly attempting to sue Tiberius (emperor of Rome, 42 BCE-37 CE), Pontius Pilate, a selection of Jewish elders, King Herod, the Republic of Italy and the State of Israel . . .
Indidis apparently named the states of Italy and Israel in the lawsuit because upon the attainment of independence, the two states incorporated the laws of the Roman Empire, those in force at the time of the Crucifixion.
• AP (article and video) visited the newsroom of the newly launched i24 news station.
The initiative, which follows dozens of other attempts to tell Israel’s side of the story, highlights a deep-seated sense that Israel is losing the battle over international public opinion and that its voice has been missing from a smorgasbord of news outlets.
“When you are talking about Israel in the international media today, it is only through the perspective of the Arab-Israeli conflict. We have to show that there are a lot of things about Israel that people don’t know about,” said Frank Melloul, the channel’s chief executive. “What I want to do with this channel is to connect Israel to the world and connect the world to the Israeli reality.”
• Iranian tanker ships are illicitly using Tanzanian identification to get around international sanctions. Tanzanian officials are trying to stop this, but allAfrica reports little progress.
(Image of Leiderman via YouTube/TASEONTV)
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream.
