• If the Syrian civil war wasn’t sectarian enough, Reuters reports that Syrian Kurds are now fighting with Al-Qaida linked rebel units.
• A Free Syrian Army fighter getting medical treatment in a Nahariya hospital told the Jerusalem Post:
“I was happy when I found I was here,” he said. “Most fighters know they will get good care in Israel.”
• The Christian Science Monitor assesses Syria’s stakes for Israel, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, and Russia.
• Jonathan Tobin reacts to Andrew Sullivan.
• Ex-Mossad chief Shabtai Shavit to the Times of Israel: Obama’s floundering.
• For commentary/analysis, see Amir Mizroch, Avi Issacharoff, Boaz Bizmuth, and Chemi Shalev. See also Amir Taheri, Lee Smith, Matthew Continetti, and Michael Young.
Israel and the Palestinians
• New Olympic boss Thomas Bach will quit his position as chairman of the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ghorfa), which facilitates the Arab boycott of Israel. The Times of Israel reports:
“He will resign as the president of the Ghorfa,” Christian Klaue, the head of media at the German Olympic Sports Confederation and Bach’s spokesperson, told The Times of Israel. He also denied that Ghorfa had anything to do with the Arab world’s boycott of Israel.
Bach had promised to step down from all his other positions . . .
• Ron Pundak. and Uri Dromi share their thoughts on the Oslo accords’ 20th anniversary. See also the LA Times.
• Israeli textbooks introduced to Palestinian schools in eastern Jerusalem are brainwashing kids. At least that’s what the PA claims. Parents and teachers are torn. See Washington Post and Christian Science Monitor coverage. The latter writes:
They say the step – which Israeli authorities stress is voluntary and at the schools’ request – consolidates Israeli annexation of that area, claimed by Palestinians as their future capital.
The move has left Palestinians feeling torn between the national identity they feel is best expressed in the Palestinian curriculum and the practical desire to give their children the best chance possible of finding good jobs in Israel or getting accepted to an Israeli university.
• Jimmy Carter: Any Israeli-Palestinian peace deal should be approved by national referendums.
• British Airways apologized for an in flight map that had the words “Palestinian Territories” covering part of Israel.
• Dore Gold slams Europe’s double standards.
• Professor Ian Lustick plugs the one-state solution in an utterly unreadable NY Times op-ed.
Rest O’ the Roundup
• Jerusalem Post: Egyptian state-controlled TV accuses Hamas of training the Muslim Brotherhood in how to plant bombs in cars and giving the Brothers hundreds of landmines.
• From Naharnet: Bahrain banned books written by and about Hezbollah.
The Bahrain Ministry of Information Affairs said in a statement that the books “promote sectarianism, hatred, and extremist radical ideologies.”
• Over at The Guardian, Matthew Brodsky responds to the National Security Agency sharing raw intelligence information on US citizens with Israel.
• President Obama confirmed to ABC News he exchanged letters with Iranian president Hassan Rohani.
(Image of Putin via www.kremlin.ru, signing ceremony via YouTube/clintonlibrary42)
For more, see Thursday’s Israel Daily News Stream.
