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Today’s Top Stories
1. Breaking news: As this roundup went to press, Israeli and Lebanese media reported four rockets fired from Lebanon hit northern Israel. Is Sheikh Nasrallah desperate, or are radical Sunnis trying to draw Israel into conflict with Hezbollah? Will this incident be contained, or will bigger things hit the fan? Developing . . .
2. What to make of Gaza’s Egypt-inspired Tamarod movement? Will its November 11 demonstration fizzle out? Does Hamas’s security crackdown indicate real fear? LA Times reporter Ed Sanders visited Gaza to find out.
It remains to be seen whether the movement will catch on with young Gazans. Similar attempts over the last two years to organize large demonstrations of Palestinians fizzled, partly out of fear of retribution by Hamas but also for lack of interest.
Yet Hamas’ harsh response reflects the sense of panic in the organization, said Fathi Sabbah, head of the Palestinian Institute for Communication and Development in Gaza City.
See also YNet.
3. CBS News and the Washington Post report that Israeli and PA police may start joint patrols in the West Bank. The budding cooperation on issues like “drug smuggling, human trafficking, juvenile crime, and traffic violations and accidents,” is certainly welcome news.
4. Al Jazeera America Kicks Off With Jew Baiter: News station’s first guest is conspiracy theorist Stephen Walt. So much for first impressions.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Palestinian officials said they’re considering taking action in the UN against settlements even before current peace negotiations run their course. According to AP:
Ashrawi said she was expressing the official Palestinian position, though it was not clear if her warning was a sign of frustration or actual intent.
• Bar Refaeli ain’t suffering a momentary lapse of reason. That delicate sound of thunder you’re hearing is the Israeli supermodel demanding that Roger Waters stop being comfortably numb about boycotting Israel and remove her image from his concert’s video footage. Daily Mail coverage.
Memo to Refaeli: Had you tweeted the message in English, it would’ve gotten even more attention.
• Pointing to Nazareth and Tel Aviv demonstrations supporting Mohammed Morsi, Khaled Abu Toameh notes that Israel’s the only place in the Mideast where Muslims can speak freely:
Not a single Muslim has been hurt or arrested in Israel for demonstrating in favor of Morsi . . .
Today it has become evident that leaders and members of the Islamic Movement in Israel enjoy more freedom and rights than the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Jordan and even — under the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank — Hamas.
• Palestinian supporters are accusing the BBC of censorship.Violinst Nigel Kennedy, who was performing at The Proms made a comment about “Israeli apartheid” which was heard on BBC Radio 3’s live broadcast. But Beeb officials say they’ll edit out the comments from a TV broadcast of the concert airing on Friday. The Daily Telegraph writes:
A spokeswoman for the BBC said that Kennedy’s remarks would be cut from the television screening because they did not “fall within the editorial remit of the Proms as a classical music festival.”
She added: “The Proms is not an appropriate place to foster political statements.”
But in the letter the campaigners applaud Kennedy’s remarks and describe the concert as an “all-too-rare opportunity to demonstrate the vitality of Palestinian cultural life, despite all the obstacles they face.”
• The Jerusalem Post profiles the New Zealand media watchdog, Kiwis for Balanced Reporting on the Middle East.
“The media is a very powerful tool for conveying news and views, but unless it’s balanced and fair, it can have a detrimental effect,” said Michael Kuttner, a KBRM member who has called Israel his home since 1991.
- Israeli intelligence says media reports of Syrian chemical attack are credible.
- Iranians convicted of trying to murder Israeli diplomats.
- What does Turkey’s “precious loneliness” mean for Israel?
