Middle East Roundup: December 6, 2016

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Israeli airport authorities deny entry to BDS activist for first time

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel refused entry to an activist with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement Monday, the first such case since the Israeli government introduced a bill to that effect in November.

Isabel Phiri, a Malawian member of the World Council of Churches and a known BDS activist, was stopped by Ben Gurion International Airport authorities while trying to enter Israel on a tourist visa.

According to reports, Phiri’s passport was flagged and Population and Immigration Authority officials at the airport contacted the Interior Ministry for instructions. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan jointly head Israel’s public diplomacy efforts against the BDS movement.

Deri instructed airport authorities to deny Phiri’s entry, effectively setting a precedent for barring entry to individuals who promote economic, cultural, and academic boycotts against Israel.

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Paleo diet debunked? Israeli archaeologists reveal prehistoric man’s plant-based diet

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Remains of plants believed to be 780,000 years old were unearthed during excavations at Gesher Bnot Yaakov, a Stone Age archaeological site in the Hula Valley in northern Israel. The discovery provides proof of a plant-based diet in the Paleolithic era, countering the common claim that ancient humans’ diet was based heavily on animal products.

In a study published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Prof. Naama Goren-Inbar of Institute of Archaeology revealed that more than 20,000 remains of edible plants were discovered at the site, providing evidence of the variety of plants and vegetables available to prehistoric humans. The discovery is the “earliest known archive of food plants,” according to the study.

“In recent years, we were met with a golden opportunity to reveal numerous remains of fruits, nuts, and seeds from trees, shrubs, and the lake, alongside the remains of animals and man-made stone tools in one locality,” said Goren-Inbar, who along with Bar-Ilan University’s Dr. Yoel Melamed identified 55 species of edible plants.

“Our region is known for its abundance of plants, but the real surprise was a discovery of plant-based sources in the lake (Hula Lake) itself. We found more than 10 species that grew here in prehistoric times but don’t exist today,” Melamed said.

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Jewish Homes Bennett says outpost bill paves way for annexation of Judea and Samaria

(JNS.org) Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home party, hailed the preliminary passage of a controversial bill to legalize Israeli settlement outposts as paving the way for Israel’s eventual annexation of Judea and Samaria.

The legislation passed its first legislative test Monday, passing a preliminary Knesset reading in a 60-49 vote. The bill still faces three more readings before it can become law.

The measure has been staunchly opposed by many in Israel, including Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who has said that the bill violates international law. The measure has been also opposed by the U.S., the European Union, and the United Nations.

But Bennett said, “Today, the Israeli Knesset moved from heading toward establishing a Palestinian state to heading toward sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, and to remove any doubt about it—the outpost regulation bill is the tip of the iceberg in applying sovereignty.”

The bill, which originally was designed to prevent the court-ordered Dec. 25 demolition of the Amona outpost, will not prevent that community from being relocated after a compromise was reached between Bennett and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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More than a dozen high-level African officials attend Jerusalem agriculture summit

(JNS.org) In the latest sign of growing ties between Israel and Africa, a delegation of more than a dozen African officials gathered Monday in Jerusalem as part of a three-day agricultural summit.

The summit—“Enhancing Sustainable Agricultural Productivity in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions”—was sponsored by MASHAV, Israel’s international development agency, and was attended by seven agricultural ministers as well as other high-level officials from the 15-nation Economic Community of Western African States.

“During the conference, the ministers and delegates will learn about agricultural technology produced in Israel, with an emphasis on dealing with arid climatic conditions, a topic which African agriculture ministers are particularly interested in due to a similar climate prevailing in their countries,” said Jonathan Blum, a spokesperson for Israeli Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, the Times of Israel reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited four countries in East Africa last summer and plans to visit West Africa next year.

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