Mossad reportedly gives Ankara intelligence
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Tamir Pardo, met secretly with the Turkish intelligence agency’s undersecretary, Hakan Fidan, on June 10 in Ankara, with Syria, Iran and the Gezi Park protests on the agenda, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported Wednesday.
Pardo claimed to have information that Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Syrian intelligence were working against Turkey, according to Hurriyet. Fidan and Pardo reportedly discussed the ongoing protests in Turkey that started to oppose a development project in Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park and have spread to other parts of the country.
The two intelligence officials discussed the “possible influence of the intelligence organizations of regional countries on the Gezi Park protests in Turkey.”
U.N. official says ‘anti-Semitic card’ being played against him
(JNS.org) Richard Falk, the special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories with the U.N. Human Rights Council who called for the closure of the watchdog group U.N. Watch on the grounds that it is a “pro-Israel lobbying organization,” on Tuesday slammed his critics for playing the “anti-Semitic card” against him.
“What I believe those forces that have been attacking me are doing, which I think is very unfortunate, is to use the anti-Semitic card as a way of intimidating people who speak honestly about the shortcomings of Israeli policies towards the Palestinians and to make it appear as if criticizing Israel is tantamount to what everybody agrees to be objectionable, which is anti-Semitism,” Falk said at a news briefing, Reuters reported.
Eileen Donahoe, U.S. Representative to the U.N. Human Rights Council, said Falk is “unfit to serve in his role as a U.N. special rapporteur.” Falk said U.N. Watch should be investigated to see if it “is not indirectly sponsored by the Government of Israel,” and said the group is carrying out “character assassination against him.”
Falk in an April article for the Foreign Policy Journal blamed the Boston Marathon explosions on Israel, writing, “As long as Tel Aviv has the compliant ear of the American political establishment, those who wish for peace and justice in the world should not rest easy.” Last last fall he issued a report calling for a boycott of companies doing business with Israel, and in 2011 he posted an anti-Semitic cartoon on his blog.
But Falk defended himself Tuesday by saying the response to his actions “tries to paint anti-Israeli criticism as a form of anti-Semitism.”
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Bulgarian foreign minister sends mixed signals on Hezbollah
(JNS.org) Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin backtracked slightly from a statement he made last week that shed some doubt on his government’s conclusion that Hezbollah was behind the July 2012 Burgas Airport terror attack. Five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian bus driver were killed in the attack.
In a meeting with Israel’s Ambassador to Bulgaria, Shaul Kamisa-Raz, Vigenin told the Israeli diplomat that his government’s position on the Burgas attack has not changed, the Sofia Globereported.
“We place high value on the support of Israel for the development of our potential to combat terrorism. We have no choice but to co-operate for the sake of the security of the citizens of both countries,” Vigenin said during the meeting.
Last week, it was widely reported that Vigenin, who recently took office as part of a new Socialist-led government, said there was only an “indication” that Hezbollah was behind the attack.
“It is important that the (EU) decision be based not only on the bombing in Burgas because I think the evidence we have is not explicit,” the foreign minister said at the time, Reuters reported.
But in a subsequent interview with Bulgaria’s Standart newspaper, Vigenin sought to underline that his government had not changed its position.
“Regarding the ongoing consultations whether the armed wing of Hezbollah should be put on the list of terrorist organizations, Bulgaria will share the stand reached by all EU members… So, regardless of some speculations of the media, Bulgaria has not reconsidered its stand on Hezbollah,” Vigenin said.
Irish Christian group rejects Israel boycott
(JNS.org) Irish Christian Friends of Israel (ICFI) is calling on Eamon Gilmore, Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs and trade, to reject a push to label West Bank goods as “settler” products at the next European Union Foreign Affairs Council meeting on June 14.
“We appeal to the Minister not to use the last EU Foreign Ministers Council meeting, to sponsor the labelling of West Bank Settlement products and the subsequent proposed ban on them,” ICFI said in a statement.
ICFI, which was founded in the early 1980s, describes itself as a group of “committed Christians, from various denominations, who love Israel and its peoples.” The group has held several pro-Israel rallies in Ireland, and has sponsored fundraising campaigns for Israel as well as trips to the Jewish state.
Last month, Gilmore announced that Ireland will embark on a campaign to urge fellow EU states to label Israeli products from the West Bank as “settler” products and to eventually encourage a boycott.
“Settlements on the West Bank are illegal and therefore the produce of those settlements should be treated as illegal throughout the European Union,” Gilmore said, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Ireland currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
Cleveland’s Mandel Foundation giving $25 million to Jerusalem art academy
(JNS.org) The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation of Cleveland is giving the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design of Jerusalem $25 million to fund the construction of the school’s new downtown campus, scheduled for completion in 2017.
The Mandel Foundation, established in 1953, prioritizes higher education, Jewish education, social leadership and urban renewal. Bezalel is Israel’s leading academy of arts and design. Bezalel’s new 400,000-square-foot building is being designed by Sejima & Nishizawa and Associates, a Tokyo-based architectural firm, in collaboration with Israel’s Nir-Kutz Architects. “The gift represents our desire to support Bezalel, the city of Jerusalem and the advancement of art in Israel,” said Morton L. Mandel, chairman and CEO of the Mandel Foundation, according to the Cleveland Jewish News.
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