News Nosh 8.18.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday, August 18, 2017

NOTE: Orly Halpern, editor of News Nosh, is on holiday from August 15th until August 24th, during which News Nosh will be produced as a truncated version and sent later in the day. There will be no News Nosh this Sunday - it will resume on Monday, August 21. 
 


Quote of the Day

"We need them to tell us where the hell they are going. . . It’s now or never. . . This is the time and this is the opportunity. . . we are hanging on this opportunity. . . we want it to succeed.”

-- PLO representative in Washington, Husam Zomlot, speaking in a press briefing on Thursday about Greenblatt, Kushner, and Powell's upcoming trip to the Middle East

 

Front Page:
Haaretz

Ynet News

Times of Israel
Israel Hayom
i24 News

 

News Summary:
Israeli news is focused on yesterday's terrorist attack in Barcelona, which killed 13 people and injured around 100 others, leaving a number in critical condition. Spanish authorities have arrested four suspects and believe the attack was part of a larger plan. Notably, Barcelona's chief rabbi, Rabbi Meir Bar-Hen, said his community is "doomed" and that "Europe is lost." He said "Jews are not here permanently. . . I tell my congregants: Don’t think we’re here for good. And I encourage them to buy property in Israel."

As Jason Greenblatt, Jared Kushner, and Dina Powell prepare for their trip to the Middle East at the end of August, the Palestinians express mixed feelings about what may come of it. The PLO's Washington representative, Husam Zomlot expressed cynicism that "the Trump administration will make good on its promise to secure a peace deal in the Middle East between Palestinians and Israel." In a press briefing yesterday, Zomlot said that the upcoming visit, "as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s effort to restart the peace process, would be crucial. If it fails. . . the Palestinians could renew efforts to gain recognition through the international arena."

 
Quick Hits:
  • "Who better than a black female rabbi to talk race, bigotry and healing today?" The Times of Israel features Rabbi Tiferet Berenbaum - the newly installed Rabbi of Temple Har Zion in Mount Holly, New Jersey - and her take on the idea of ‘comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.’ Read more here.
  • Archaeologists have uncovered mikvahs at the site of the Nazi-razed Great Synagogue in Vilnius, Lithuania. The ritual baths are further evidence of the rich Jewish community in Vilnius, which was considered the "beating heart" of Lithuanian Jewry. Read more here.
  • Israeli professors have petitioned the High Court against gender-separated university classes. This petition follows the Council of Higher Education’s plan to integrate ultra-Orthodox students into academia by opening more gender-segregated programs. Read more here.
  • The Telegraph features a strange new tourist attraction in Israel: Caliber3, an anti-terror training camp. "Visitors can sign up for a variety of courses, including a two-hour 'Shooting Adventure' where they learn to fire assault rifles and sniper rifles – or a 'Survival and Navigation' programme where they spend up to two days 'training within harsh conditions. . . to sharpen your skills.'" Read more here.

 

*Bonus* Israel in the US Media:
  • The Daily Beast features an analysis of "Netanyahu's cynical delay denouncing Trump’s Nazi equivocation." Neri Zilber argues that "Netanyahu’s shameful delay and minimalism surrounding the events at Charlottesville may not be the lowest moment of his premiership, but it will likely prove fatal to the Israeli prime minister’s claim for moral leadership in the Jewish world. If condemning Nazis is beholden to politics, then nothing is sacred." Read more here.
  • In a similar vein, Isabel Kershner (New York Times that) takes on Netanyahu's dilemma, caught between "his vow to represent all the Jews of the world and his friendship with the testy president of the United States." Read more here.
  • In an op-ed in the Forward, Naomi Dann takes a controversial second look at Richard Spencer's comparison of white supremacy to supremacy to Zionism. She says, "This is what’s so chilling about Spencer’s comparison of white supremacy to Israel – not its anti-Semitism but the kernel of truth at its core. Richard Spencer, whose racist views are rightfully abhorred by the majority of the Jewish community, is holding a mirror up to Zionism and the reflection isn’t pretty." Read more here.
  • In LobeLog Foreign Policy, Lara Friedman analyzes why "The Israel Anti-Boycott Act Is an Act of Political Persecution." Read more here.