Israeli official urges UNESCO to reject ‘effort to distort’ Jerusalem’s history
(JNS.org) Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold sent a scathing letter to the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on Monday (UNESCO), criticizing a draft UNESCO resolution that calls for a return to the “historic status quo” on the Temple Mount.
UNESCO’s 21-member World Heritage Committee is set to vote on the resolution, a joint Palestinian-Jordanian initiative, during its annual meeting in Istanbul, which began next Sunday and runs through that week.
In his letter, Gold wrote, “UNESCO is considering the adoption of a completely one-sided draft resolution on the Old City of Jerusalem that deliberately ignores the historical connection between the Jewish people and their ancient capital. The resolution also fails to acknowledge Christianity’s ties to Jerusalem. It refers to the area of the Temple Mount only as a ‘Muslim holy site of worship.’”
Gold added, “We urge you to oppose this effort to distort history.”
*
eBay buys Israeli start-up to better understand its users
(JNS.org) The online retail giant eBay on Monday announced the acquisition of SalesPredict, an Israeli start-up that predicts consumers’ buying behavior. It is believed that eBay agreed to pay between $30 million and $40 million for SalesPredict, although neither company released financial information on the transaction.
Netanya-based SalesPredict was founded in 2012. Its technology is a form of artificial intelligence that uses various techniques to study consumers’ buying habits through database analysis. eBay, which is a popular online marketplace that allows users to sell the products to each other and bid on them, has increased its presence in the Israeli high-tech sector over the years, and eBay Israel, which is also based in Netanya, employs hundreds of people.
“For our buyers, [SalesPredict] will help us better understand the price differentiating attributes of our products, and, for our sellers, it will help us build out the predictive models that can define the probability of selling a given product, at a given price over time,” eBay said in a statement.
*
Netanyahu reportedly open to Cairo summit with Palestinian leader Abbas
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly open to meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as part of a Egyptian-led summit in Cairo.
According to a report in the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news network, Netanyahu expressed a willingness to meet Abbas in Cairo during a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Sunday.
The Prime Minister’s Office responded to the report by saying, “Whether this is being discussed or not, Israel always says it is ready to directly negotiate, bilaterally, and without preconditions.”
Sunday’s visit by Shoukry was the first official trip by an Egyptian foreign minister to Israel since 2007.
“I welcome President [Abdel Fattah] El-Sisi’s recent offer of Egyptian leadership in efforts to advance peace with the Palestinians and a broader peace in our region,” Netanyahu said in a joint press conference with Shoukry.
*
Theresa May, U.K.’s next prime minister, seen as strong supporter of Israel and Jews
(JNS.org) British Home Secretary Theresa May, who is slated to become the country’s next prime minister, is seen as a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish community.
May emerged as the likely candidate to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his resignation following the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union in a referendum last month.
In her capacity as home secretary, a position responsible for the internal affairs of England and Wales, May has promised to defend the country’s Jewish community and wipe out anti-Semitism.
“I never thought I would see the day when members of the Jewish community in the United Kingdom would say they were fearful of remaining here in the United Kingdom,” May said in a speech to Jewish leaders in January 2015 in the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher supermarket. “And that means we must all redouble our efforts to wipe out anti-Semitism here in the United Kingdom.”
May has also said that “the modern state of Israel is the fulfillment of many generations of struggle” during a speech for Israeli Independence Day in April 2015.
*
Republicans reinstate ‘undivided’ Jerusalem language into party platform
(JNS.org) The Republican Party has reportedly reinstated language endorsing an “undivided” Jerusalem into the party’s platform ahead of its national convention in Cleveland later this month.
According to CNN, which cited a first draft of the party platform that it obtained, the Republicans would reinstate a reference to an “undivided” Jerusalem while removing a reference to “Palestine” in support for a two-state solution.
The Republicans’ move comes after a lobbying effort by an affiliate of Pastor John Hagee’s influential Christians United for Israel (CUFI) organization. The CUFI Action Fund lobby had called on the GOP to reiterate its historically strong support for Israel by declaring Jerusalem as the “undivided and eternal” capital of the Jewish state.
In a letter obtained by JNS.org that was sent to Republican convention delegates on July 6, former Ronald Reagan administration official Gary Bauer, director of the CUFI Action Fund, called for the Republican Party platform to “strengthen its language in support for Israel with Jerusalem as Israel’s ‘undivided, enteral’ capital.”
*
Egyptian foreign minister visits Israel for first time since 2007
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Jerusalem as part of the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister to Israel since 2007.
In their meeting on Sunday, the two leaders discussed the recently reached reconciliation deal between Turkey and Israel, agreements regarding natural gas in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Our two nations have been at peace since we concluded our historic peace treaty 37 years ago, and the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt and between Israel and Jordan are the cornerstones of stability in the region…They are also the cornerstones of a broader regional peace and a broader stability that we hope to achieve. To this end, I welcome President [Abdel Fattah] El-Sisi’s recent offer of Egyptian leadership in efforts to advance peace with the Palestinians and a broader peace in our region,” Netanyahu said.
Shoukry said that “the situation of the Middle East is becoming ever more volatile and dangerous, particularly as the phenomena of terrorism continues to grow and proliferate, representing an existential threat to the peoples of the region and the world at large.”
The “dream of peace and security,” said Shoukry, “moves further out of the Israeli people’s reach as long as the conflict continues.”
*
Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)