President Hassan Rouhani says Iran hopes for ‘liberation’ of Jerusalem
(JNS.org) While the latest nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 powers took place in Vienna, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said during a Wednesday meeting in Tehran with Palestinian Parliament Speaker Salim Zanoun that one of Iran’s wishes as a nation is “liberation of the Holy Quds (Jerusalem).”
Rouhani said he hopes “the Palestinian nation and the entire Muslim world will find a serious solution to this occupation [by Israel] through unity and integrity,” according to Fars News Agency.
Iran and the world powers, meanwhile, agreed to meet again in Vienna on March 17.
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Shimon Peres rules out staying on as Israeli president
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli President Shimon Peres will not continue to serve as president beyond the scheduled end of his term in July, the President’s Residence said in a statement on Wednesday. The announcement came against the backdrop of renewed speculation over the fate of the institution and the rules governing the presidential election process.
On Wednesday, Army Radio reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s advisers are considering drafting legislation to establish a nationwide vote for the presidency, rather than the current system of the Knesset’s 120 members choosing the president in a secret ballot. According to the report, the prime minister is also not ruling out abolishing the institution of president altogether.
The Israeli president’s position is mostly ceremonial, although he does have some real powers. The president must approve government coalitions after Knesset elections (although these are mostly predetermined by party alliances), and can dissolve the Knesset (at the request of the prime minister) and grant clemency.
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Partners in Israel’s Tamar gas field sign $500 million export deal with Jordan
(JNS.org) The Houston-based company Noble Energy, on behalf of its partners in Israel’s Tamar offshore natural gas field, has signed a $500 million deal to export natural gas to Jordanian gas firms.
The contract, which was mediated by the U.S. State Department along with Israeli and Jordanian officials, will provide 1.8 billion cubic meters (66 billion cubic feet) of gas to Jordan’s Arab Potash and Jordan Bromine companies over 15 years, starting in 2016.
Previously, the Tamar partners signed a 20-year, $1.2 billion gas supply contract with the Palestinian Authority, which like Jordan has been hit hard by gas disruptions from Egypt.
“The execution of this agreement evidences the growing regional opportunities for our natural gas and brings forward value for the Tamar asset,” said Keith Elliot, Noble Energy’s Senior Vice President for the Eastern Mediterranean.
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Gallup survey: Israel remains most favorable Mideast country for Americans
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(JNS.org) Israel remains by far the most favorably viewed country in the Middle East for Americans, according to new survey by Gallup.
Seventy-two percent of those surveyed had a “very favorable” view of Israel. The next-closest country in terms of earning a “very favorable” view was Egypt at 45 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia at 35 percent.
But the survey found a generational gap between Americans on Israel and the Palestinians. Roughly 81 percent of those 55 and older viewed Israel as very/mostly favorable, while only 64 percent ages 18-34 expressed the same sentiment. On the Palestinians, 24 percent of younger Americans viewed them favorably, compared to only 16 percent of those 55 and older.
Meanwhile, Iran remains the least favorable Mideast country in the eyes of Americans, with only 12 percent favorably rating the Islamic Republic and roughly 84 percent rating the country mostly/very unfavorably.
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Vassar College Jewish Union breaks from Hillel’s Israel guidelines
(JNS.org) The Vassar College Jewish Union officially called itself an “Open Hillel” on Tuesday, disassociating itself from the Jewish campus umbrella’s guidelines on Israel. The Hillel International-affiliated institution is the second campus organization to do so, following Swarthmore Hillel.
Hillel’s official guidelines state that the organization will not “partner with, house or host organizations, groups or speakers that delegitimize, demonize or apply a double standard to Israel.” The “Open Hillel” campaign was recently founded by students who say they feel excluded from Hillel because they believe their criticism of Israel is not accepted.
“The mission statement of the Vassar Jewish Union calls on us to commit to strengthening our pluralistic Jewish community. We recognize that identification with Israel is not necessarily an integral part of every individual’s Jewish identity. We commit to providing a spiritual and cultural home for Jewish expression in any form,” the Vassar Jewish Union said in a statement.
“VJU will support individual members’ expressions of their own political views, and will seek to represent this diversity with its programming. We welcome open discourse concerning Israel, Palestine, and any other relevant and critical issues, and will not exclude on the basis of political opinion,” the statement added.
Roz Rothstein, CEO of the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs, told JNS.org that the Vassar College Jewish Union “will have to read the letter to Swarthmore Hillel written by [Hillel President and CEO] Eric Fingerhut, which expresses Hillel’s new red line and prohibits anti-Zionists from being invited to speak under the auspices of Hillel.”
“We once again commend Eric for sticking to Hillel’s established guidelines and implementing them across the country,” Rothstein said.
Fingerhut wrote to Swarthmore Hillel in December 2013, “I hope you will inform your colleagues on the Student Board of Swarthmore Hillel that Hillel International expects all campus organizations that use the Hillel name to adhere to these guidelines. No organization that uses the Hillel name may choose to do otherwise.”
Jacob Baime, executive director of the Israel on Campus Coalition, told JNS.org, “‘Open Hillel’ is a misnomer because Hillel is already the most open and pluralistic campus organization on the planet.”
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Jewish groups urge peaceful solution to Ukraine protests
(JNS.org) The American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) urged a peaceful solution to the conflict resulting from protests in Ukraine. On Wednesday afternoon, CNN—citing a U.S. State Department official—reported that the Ukrainian government and opposition announced a truce to allow negotiations to start.
Earlier on Wednesday, about 25 people were reported to have been killed in clashes between protesters and government forces, and at least 241 were injured, the Associated Press reported.
The ADL told JNS.org in a statement, “We support the clear message that top U.S. and E.U. officials have been sending: the violence must stop and a negotiated political solution must be found. For the sake of all the people of Ukraine, we hope for a quick end to the violence and political turmoil.”
“For those who cherish democratic values, including the right to peaceful assembly and protest, it is incumbent to be heard and to make clear that such behavior is totally unacceptable… These events pose a particular challenge for Europe and the United States, which need to underscore that, if Ukraine is to have a bright future in the international community, there must be an immediate end to the use of violence and an intensive discussion about a change of direction,” AJC Executive Director David Harris said in a statement.
The protests began during the last weekend of November 2013, when Ukrainian police clashed with hundreds of protesters in Kiev’s Independence Square, known as “Maidan.” The crowd was protesting Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to freeze plans to join a free trade agreement with the European Union just before the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit. Instead, Yanukovych indicated an intention to join the Eurasian Customs Union, an economic union dreamed up by Russian President Vladimir Putin that is viewed as a precursor to a wider Eurasian Union of Eastern European countries and the Caucausus.
Until Monday, the opposition and the Ukrainian government appeared to be working toward an agreement. Then Russia announced that it plans to resume providing funding to help the Ukrainian government survive, reigniting the opposition’s fear of a deal with Russia. On Tuesday, protesters attacked police lines and set fires outside the Ukrainian parliament.
“The promise of a democratic and peaceful Ukraine hangs in the balance… The Ukrainian leadership, supported by Moscow, bears primary responsibility for the deepening crisis. They should heed the urgent calls of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, President Obama, and European leaders to rethink their approach and respond with understanding to the legitimate aspirations of the Ukrainian people,” Harris said.
Despite the violence, Chabad-Lubavitch of Kiev reports that its Or Avner Jewish Day School is remaining open.
“In Israel and the U.S., we are not needed, and in Ukraine, we can make a positive difference in people’s lives, so we are here,” said Rabbi Shmuli Zejger, according to Chabad.org.
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IDF, watchdog group criticize Australian media report on Palestinian children
(JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the media watchdog group the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) have criticized a recent Australian TV report on abuse of Palestinian children by the Israeli military.
The report, titled “Stone Cold Justice,” aired on Australia’s ABC TV on Feb. 10 as part of a joint investigative report with The Australian newspaper.
According to the report, host John Lyons travels to the West Bank to “hear the story of children who claim they have been taken into custody, ruthlessly questioned and then allegedly forced to sign confessions before being taken to court for sentencing.”
“John Lyons’s documentary, replete with distortions, misrepresentations and outright falsehoods, is one of the most extreme instances of anti-Israel propaganda to appear in a mainstream television outlet in recent memory,” Tamar Sternthal, director of CAMERA’s Israel office, toldJNS.org.
Sternthal added, “Had the reporter upheld his journalistic obligation to fact-check specific charges of brutal torture of Palestinian minors, he would have learned that the accusations were unfounded.”
In one part of the show, Lyons, standing in front of the walls of the Ofer military prison outside of Ramallah, claims to have witnessed Palestinian children “shuffling across the courtyard, handcuffed and shackled” as well as being summarily sentenced by Israeli military judges.
In a statement provided to CAMERA, the IDF called Lyons’s portrayal of the military court system “fictitious, blatant, and malicious.”
Michelle Gun, editor of The Weekend Australian, insisted that Lyons was escorted inside of the prison by the IDF, and that there are pictures of him inside. But according to Sternthal, the IDF was “adamant” that Lyons was never inside of the prison and called on The Australian to release the photos.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org