Coalition deal to form next Israeli government reached after 39 days of negotiation
(JNS.org) At the culmination of a long, complex and nerve-wracking negotiation—lasting a whopping 39 days—the coalition agreements that will finalize the next Israeli government have come to fruition, Israel Hayom reported.
“We did our best with 31 Knesset seats; we are still the ruling party,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday during a Likud-Beytenu faction meeting, just ahead of finalizing the last coalition agreements that will see a new government established.
“The important thing is that we took back the defense portfolio and kept the foreign portfolio,” Netanyahu told his fellow faction members.
Netanyahu was set to meet with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennet on Thursday to sign the deal, Haaretz reported. According to reports in the Israeli media, the new government may be sworn in as early as Monday.
The prime minister decided on Wednesday to agree, though some say succumb, to the key demand made by Lapid—that Netanyahu’s Likud party relinquish the education portfolio in favor of Lapid’s No. 2, Shai Piron.
For his part, Lapid agreed to relinquish the Interior Ministry portfolio that had been promised to his party. He also agreed to compromise further on the number of cabinet ministers—he initially demanded that the cabinet be limited to 18 ministers, then reached a deal over 20 ministers, and now, in exchange for the education portfolio, he has agreed to be flexible, allowing the Tzipi Livni-led Hatnuah party to keep the two ministerial portfolios agreed upon in their coalition deal with Netanyahu (under the 20-minister deal, the party would have had to give up one portfolio).
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New pope known by Jews for compassionate response to Argentina bombing
(JNS.org) Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was selected Wednesday as the new pope, Francis I, by the College of Cardinals.
Bergoglio, 76, is the first pope elected from South America, home to the world’s largest Catholic population, and the first born outside of Europe in more than 1,000 years.
Bergoglio also becomes first member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit) religious order to be elected pope.
“Bergoglio has shown a keen political sensibility as well as the kind of self-effacing humility that fellow cardinals value highly,” says his official biographer, Sergio Rubin, according to the Associated Press.
Bergoglio is also well respected by local Argentinian and international Jewish leaders.
He won praise for his compassionate response to the 1994 terror attack on a Jewish center that killed 85 people in his native Buenos Aires.
“He was very concerned with what happened,” Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz co-founder of the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding at Sacred Heart University said in 2005, according to the National Catholic Reporter. “He’s got experience.”
In 2005, Bergoglio signed a joint statement against terrorism together with Jose Adaszko of the Israel Mutual Association of Argentina, and Omar Helal Massud of the Islamic Center, with an emphasis on preventing attacks such as the 1994 bombing, according to Israel National News.
American Jewish leaders were quick to praise the selection of Bergoglio.
“Pope Francis has demonstrated his profound solidarity with the Jewish community in Argentina in both times of sorrow and joy,” Rabbi David Rosen, the American Jewish Committee’s International Director of Interreligious Affairs, said in a statement. “We look forward to continued close collaboration with the Catholic Church under his leadership as we have been privileged to enjoy his predecessors.”
Pope Francis’s predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II, took significant steps to improve Jewish-Christian relations, as well as to establish diplomatic ties with Israel. The Jewish state and the Vatican, however, have not agreed of late on the Palestinian issue. Last year, the Vatican supported the Palestinians’ status upgrade bid at the United Nations.
“We have been encouraged by the historic progress in Catholic-Jewish relations,” B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin said in a statement. “Interfaith dialogue, stressing tolerance and mutual respect, is increasingly important in today’s world.”
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Israeli NGO asks for slander charges against defeated Oscar nominee
(JNS.org) The film “5 Broken Cameras,” which was criticized in the pro-Israel community for showing anti-Israel bias before falling short in the Best Documentary category at last month’s Academy Awards, is now facing legal challenges.
Consensus—an Israeli NGO comprised of hundreds of reserve and non-commissioned Israel Defense Forces officers described as “Guardians of the IDF spirit”—filed an official request with the Attorney General of Israel for “5 Broken Cameras” to face slander and incitement charges, Israel National News reported.
In the film, directors Guy Davidi and Emad Burnat cover Palestinian demonstrations to stop Israel’s construction of the security fence near the town of Bil’in. The film implies that Israel used excessive force to disperse such demonstrations, focusing on Burnat’s video cameras, which are repeatedly damaged as a result of those clashes.
Consensus, according to Israel National News, wrote to the attorney general that the film “was edited, clip after clip, shot after shot, to the point where it has no connection to reality.”
“The essence of the movie and the main motif is presented through a long scene of scenes that were ‘pre-prepared’… in which soldiers are shown using riot control measures (something that was not emphasized by the directors—which gives the false impression that the soldier is holding a live weapon) against protesters who are shown as not having provoked any response,” Consensus wrote.
The NGO pointed to the film’s “overlapping scenes with ‘soldiers’ attacks’” during which “‘peace-loving’ protesters are seen singing, hugging trees, extending an olive branch to the IDF soldiers and more.”
“We hope that the Attorney General will understand how severe the directors’ actions were, in editing the film with a clear agenda, and will decide to put them on trial for the serious incitement throughout the film,” the group wrote.
Consensus previously uploaded a response to “5 Broken Camers” on YouTube. The clip, “5 Broken Cameras—The Real Story,” is an animated spoof of the Academy Awards ceremony and behind-the-scenes footage from the film.
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Shin Bet: Hamas looking to step up terror attacks
(JNS.org) Hamas is looking to increase suicide bomb efforts, rocket attacks and the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers, particularly in the West Bank, according to a report by Israel’s domestic security agency, the Shin Bet.
“On the surface, the four-month truce between Israel and Hamas appears to be holding well since the cessation of last year’s eight day conflict, but behind the scenes, senior Hamas officials in Gaza are increasing their efforts to carry out deadly attacks on Israelis,” the Shin Bet report said, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The report named Hamas interior minister, Fathi Hammad, an outspoken proponent of violence against Israel, as one of the main Hamas figures behind the terror efforts.
Meanwhile, Hamas supporters have called for possible violence and protests ahead of President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to Jerusalem.
“Palestinians everywhere should begin their activities with direct confrontation with the Zionists in preparation for Obama’s visit, even if this entails martyrs and injured [Palestinians] until the ominous day of the visit,” wrote Palestinian columnist Mustafa Sawwaf on the Hamas news website Al-Resalah, the Times of Israel reported.
“That should be the day of battle, the great day of mobilization worthy of the American president,” Sawwaf wrote.
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Jewish gold medalist Aly Raisman to compete in Maccabiah games
(JNS.org) Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman will be bringing her talents to Israel this summer to compete in the 2013 Maccabiah Games.
Raisman, a Massachusetts native, captained Team U.S.A. to overall gold in gymnastics in the 2012 London Olympics. She also won praise from the Jewish community for her public comments about the 40th anniversary of the Palestinian massacre of Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Olympics Games in Munch—which the International Olympic had refused to acknowledge with an official moment of silence—and her choice to dance to the traditional Jewish folk song Hava Naglia for her floor routine.
According to Maccabiah Chairman Amir Pered, Raisman will be honored during the opening ceremony for the games at Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium on July 18.
“We are very happy that an athlete like Aly Raisman, who is at the top of her game, will be coming to take part,” Pered told Haaretz.
Since the Olympics, Raisman has become an international celebrity. She will be appearing on the upcoming ABC reality show “Dancing with the Stars.”
Known as the “Jewish Olympics,” the Maccabiah games are held every four years. This year’s games are set for July 17-30 and will feature more than 8,600 Jewish athletes.
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U.S. official warns against Syrian chemical weapons
(JNS.org) A U.S. intelligence official said that Syrian president’s Bashar al-Assad’s regime is crumbling, which may force the country’s “increasingly beleaguered” government to use chemical weapons to maintain authority on its people.
“The opposition is gaining in strength; it is gaining territory… at the same time, the regime is experiencing shortages in manpower and logistics,” said James R. Clapper, director of national intelligence, in a statement to the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday, where he testified together with the heads of the CIA, FBI and other intelligence organizations in an annual assessment of global threats.
Syria’s biological weapons program “may have advanced beyond the research and development stage,” and “could be modified for biological agent delivery,” Clapper added, according to the Washington Post.
Beyond Syria, according to Clapper, “the struggles of new governments in places like Tripoli and Sanaa to extend their writs, as well as the worsening internal conflict in Syria, have created opportunities for extremist groups… some transitioning governments are more skeptical than their predecessors about cooperating with the United States and are concerned about protecting sovereignty and resisting foreign interference.”
“This has the potential to hamper U.S. counterterrorism efforts and other initiatives to engage transitioning governments,” he said.
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Obama will stick to kosher-for-Passover diet during his stay at King David Hotel
(JNS.org) With workers at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel preparing for Passover, including clearing out the entire hotel and its kitchen from any grain and legumes in accordance with the holiday’s tradition, U.S. President Barack Obama will stick to a kosher-for-Passover diet during his stay there when he visits the Middle East next week.
“We’re used to hosting heads of state and also American presidents, but this situation is very special for us because it’s so close to Pesach. For us it will be double the preparations,” said King David Hotel manager Dror Danino, Haaretz reported.
According to the hotel’s executive chef Michel Nabet, Obama and his staff will be served alternative, but equally delicious food. “Today, there are replacements—we can do a decent roll that will taste a lot like brioche,” he said.
But Obama may still have to do without some typical foods.
“So, we won’t eat pasta and Obama won’t either, it’s not so bad. We’ll eat more fresh vegetables—we have no shortage of ingredients… We have very good food here and we’ll serve it well, in the best possible way,” Nabet said.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org