APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday August 17, 2016
While News Nosh's Israel editor is on vacation, we are publishing an abbreviated version produced in Washington and therefore it may be sent later in the day.
While News Nosh's Israel editor is on vacation, we are publishing an abbreviated version produced in Washington and therefore it may be sent later in the day.
Quote of the day:
"As an organization that was started by the Kibbutz Movement, we understand that Israel is the Jewish homeland. But as a democratic state, we understand that we must provide all of our citizens with equality and equal opportunity."
"As an organization that was started by the Kibbutz Movement, we understand that Israel is the Jewish homeland. But as a democratic state, we understand that we must provide all of our citizens with equality and equal opportunity."
- Yaniv Sagee, Executive Director of Givat Haviva
Front Page:
Haaretz
- With return of funding, Israel sees increase in full-time Torah students
- Orthodox groups to lead Israel's new bid to 'strengthen Jewish identity' of diaspora youth
- Supportive crowd greets Israeli man freed from house arrest after killing Palestinian thief
- Report sparks dozens of new testimonies of Ashkenazi kids disappearing, some in pre-state Israel
Israel Hayom
- Hezbollah ploy to recruit Israeli Arabs, Palestinians uncovered
- PM, Transportation Minister lock horns in Likud power struggle
- 'Jewish college students in the US are a persecuted minority'
- New Jersey to divest from firms supporting anti-Israel boycott
Times of Israel
- Netanyahu moves to head off weakening of his Likud powers
- IDF arrests key Hamas elections official in the West Bank
- Turkey submits Israel deal to parliament for approval
- Denying UN violation, Russia launches new Syria strikes from Iran
Ynet News
- German officials say Erdoğan supports terrorist groups
- Jews and Arabs play soccer for peace
- Learning Hebrew on the beach
- Red Cross: 'No one and no where is safe' in Syria's Aleppo
News Summary:
Israeli security forces arrested Hussein Abu Kweik overnight on Tuesday at his home in the el-Amari refugee camp, near Ramallah. Abu Kweik, the main Hamas campaigner for the West Bank, was arrested for his "involvement in security-related activities that presented a threat to security in the area." The Shin Bet cited incitement, but expect more allegations to be made against him after his interrogation. Security forces arrested a number of other Hamas members across the West Bank in the Tuesday overnight operations.
Hamas officials have stated that they may boycott the upcoming elections, set for October 8, because of what they perceive as Israeli interference and unfair arrests by the Palestinian Authority, controlled by Hamas' political rival Fatah. Current opinion polls suggest Hamas, if it participates, will make significant gains in the election.
On the international scene, Russia is continuing to fly raids on ISIS from Iranian bases, despite criticism. US State Department spokesman Mark Toner says Russia's use of Iranian bases may violate a UN Security Council Resolution that requires prior approval for the "supply, sale, or transfer" of warplanes to Iran. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan - who German officials have accused of providing weapons support for terrorist militant groups fighting the Syrian regime - has submitted the deal with Israel to parliament for ratification.
Quick Hits:
- New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signs a bill banning pension investments with firms boycotting Israel. Christie said the law demonstrates New Jersey's “unequivocal, unashamed, and unapologetic support of Israel.” The bill won unanimous approval in the state Senate, and it passed the Assembly 70-3, in late June. The ACLU of New Jersey strongly opposed the bill, criticizing it as an infringement on companies’ constitutional right to free speech and free association. (Wall Street Journal)
- El Al CEO says revenue and profitability rose despite the challenge of competition and lower fares - the company’s quarterly profits doubled. (Globes)
- In an op-ed for the Boston Globe, Alan Dershowitz writes “Criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic. Like other democracies, including our own, it has faults. Criticizing Israel’s settlement and occupation policies is fair game. But singling Israel out and falsely accusing it of “genocide” can be explained in no other way than blatant hatred of Jews and their state.” (Boston Globe)
- PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat expressed dismay at the European Union for failing to support the BDS movement against Israel. In an op-ed penned for Newsweek, Erekat said that the Palestinians had been “astonished” to see official EU representation at two recent anti-BDS conferences. (Jerusalem Post)
- “Israel Proves the Desalination Era Is Here” is the headline title in an interesting article found in a recent edition of Scientific American with the byline: "One of the driest countries on Earth now makes more freshwater than it needs." (Scientific American)
- “How Israel is drying out Palestinians in the Jordan Valley” is the headline found in +972 with the byline: "Next door to the plush Israeli settlements of the Jordan Valley live small Bedouin communities who must struggle for even the smallest bit of water." (+972)
- The Times of Israel features a New York favorite, Kossar's Bialys - after 80 years, Kossar's is the oldest bialy bakery in the states and has served as an anchor for the neighborhood during times of rapid change. "The Lower East Side was a life raft for all of those people who came here, and their bread, the bialy, was their life bread...Some of our customers have been coming into this store longer than we’ve been alive, and with all the gentrification and construction in the area some feel like they are losing their neighborhood. It’s important to know that we are here to honor all the traditions of bialys and bagels.” (Times of Israel)