Avigdor Lieberman resigns as Israeli foreign minister, won’t join Netanyahu coalition
(JNS.org) Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced that his Yisrael Beiteinu party will not be joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, and that he is resigning as foreign minister.
“We have come to a unanimous decision that it would not be right for us to join the coalition,” Lieberman told reporters, adding that “we chose our principles over cabinet seats.”
“Unfortunately, everything we wanted in coalition agreements and also that which we didn’t see brought me to the conclusion that the future will not be a government that serves national interests, but one that serves opportunists,” Lieberman said.
A fierce nationalist, Lieberman’s political power fell sharply in the recent Israeli election, as his party won only six seats in the new Knesset. While Netanyahu can still form a slim 61-seat Knesset majority without Lieberman, Yisrael Beiteinu’s absence will make holding together the coalition more difficult. Netanyahu currently has 46 Knesset seats lined up and is still in discussion with the Shas and Jewish Home parties ahead of a May 7 deadline for forming a coalition.
Despite his party joining Netanyahu’s Likud on a joint ticket in the 2013 Israeli election, Lieberman has been a fierce critic of Netanyahu. Last summer, Lieberman slammed the prime minister for what he considered a cautious approach during the Israel-Hamas war, advocating for deeper ground operations into Gaza to destroy the Palestinian terror group.
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FBI identifies one gunman in Muhammad cartoon event shooting in Texas
(JNS.org) Investigators from the FBI have identified one of the gunmen from the shooting at a free speech event in Texas on Sunday night that featured cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The gunman has ties to radical Islam.
Two gunmen opened fire at an event in Garland, Texas, hosted by the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) called “Jihad Watch Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest.” One security guard was wounded, and the gunmen were subsequently killed by police officers.
AFDI is led by Pamela Geller, a prominent critic of radical Islam. In 2009, Geller protested a planned mosque near the World Trade Center, and more recently garnered headlines for a controversial ad campaign on the New York City public transit system with slogans such as, “Killing Jews is Worship that draws us close to Allah.”
Geller described the Texas event as pro-free speech, arguing that the “media is self-enforcing Shariah” and censoring criticism of Muslims. Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician who is also a prominent critic of radical Islam, attended the event. Wilders is currently on an al-Qaeda hit list.
The FBI identified one of the gunmen as Elton Simpson from Phoenix, the New York Times reported. Simpson was previously charged in 2010 by federal prosecutors for attempting to travel to Somalia “for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad.”
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Search team finds body of last Israeli unaccounted for in Nepal
(JNS.org) A search team discovered the body of 22-year-old Israeli trekker Or Asraf, who was the last Israeli citizen unaccounted for in Nepal following the devastating earthquake there.
The IsraeLife Joint Disaster Response Team—compromised of volunteers from United Hatzalah, Zaka, and F.I.R.S.T—found and identified Asraf.
“We are very sad that our mission has ended in this way,” said Eli Beer, president of United Hatzalah. “Throughout all the days of the search, we remained hopeful that we would find Or alive and bring him home to his family. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, we found Or when he was no longer alive. We find some comfort in the fact that, as a result of the efforts of our volunteers, Or will be brought to burial in Israel.”
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Citing ‘hysteria,’ Kerry takes latest jab at criticism of Iran nuclear talks
(JNS.org) In an interview with Israel’s Channel 10 television network on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused critics of the framework nuclear deal between world powers and Iran of “hysteria.”
Kerry said, “I believe that where we are heading will in fact protect Israel. President [Barack] Obama has absolutely pledged [Iran] will not get a nuclear weapon. … We will have inspectors in there every single day.”
The secretary of state said critics of the deal “really need to look at the facts, and they need to look at the science of what is behind those facts.” Earlier last week, Kerry told the Boston Globe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position on Iran is “mythology.”
On Saturday, in a video message marking the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s 30th anniversary, Netanyahu said the framework deal “will endanger Israel, big time.” He noted how Iran “repeatedly threatens to annihilate Israel” but “doesn’t just talk the talk, it walks the walk.”
“[Iran] arms terrorists with thousands of rockets and missiles to be fired at our citizens,” said Netanyahu. “Israel simply cannot afford to let Iran obtain the capability to follow through on its genocidal designs.”
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Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman.
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