Avigdor Lieberman cleared of corruption charges
(JNS.org) In a unanimous verdict, a three-judge panel on Wednesday acquitted former Israeli foreign minister and Yisrael Beiteinu party chairman Avigdor Lieberman of corruption charges, Israel Hayom reported.
“I congratulate you on your acquittal and I am pleased with your return to the Israeli cabinet so that we can continue to work together for the benefit of Israel,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Sunday will ask his cabinet to reinstate Lieberman as foreign minister.
Lieberman was accused of fraud and breach and trust. An indictment said that in 2009, he used his clout at the foreign ministry to promote former Israeli ambassador to Belarus Ze’ev Ben Aryeh to Israeli ambassador to Latvia. A year earlier, Ben Aryeh supplied Lieberman with a document containing sensitive information on the Israel Police’s investigation into possible crimes committed by Lieberman. But Lieberman claimed he did not ask for the document and immediately disposed of it upon realizing it contained privileged correspondence.
“As for the appointment of Ben Aryeh as ambassador to Latvia, the prosecution could not establish that the defendant made any effort to appoint him; choosing Ben Aryeh was made properly, he had the necessary qualifications and was a natural choice; he did not need the defendant’s help,” the judges said in their verdict. “Ben Aryeh’s appointment could not be described as a promotion.”
Knesset member on bus attacked by firebombs on way to Hebron
(Israel Hayom Exclusive to JNS.org) Habayit Hayehudi Member of Knesset Orit Struck said a group of Arabs threw five firebombs at the bus she was traveling on from Jerusalem to her home in Hebron on Monday night.
“It was unpleasant, even frightening,” Struck told Israel National News regarding her ride on Bus No. 160. “The windshield seemed to be burning, but it stopped after about a minute and a half.”
“The driver said it’s a place where they regularly throw [firebombs],” Struck said. “Unfortunately, as long as nobody is hurt, nobody talks about it.”
Israel Peace Index shows little Israeli confidence in conflict talks
(JNS.org) Tel Aviv University’s Israel Democracy Institute released its monthly Peace Index Poll on Monday, revealing that only 25 percent of Jewish Israelis believe that Israeli-Palestinian conflict talks will lead to peace.
The poll showed that 89 percent of Jewish Israelis are either sure or moderately sure that the Israel Defense Forces can defend their country properly from security threats.
Fifty percent of Arab Israelis believe that Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations will lead to peace, doubling the confidence of Jewish Israelis in that outcome, according to the survey. Additionally, 90 percent of Israeli Jews believe that U.S. intelligence services are spying on Israelis.
BDS groups in Ireland place ‘boycott Israel’ stickers on Israeli-made products
(JNS.org) Irish pro-BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) groups have placed stickers urging buyers to support “Palestine” and boycott Israel on Israeli-made products in the popular Irish supermarket Tesco.
According to a photograph on Ynet, Israeli dates that were labeled as produce of the “West Bank (Israeli Settlement produce)” had another yellow sticker placed on them saying, “For justice in Palestine, Boycott Israel.” The sticker was not only placed on products from the West Bank, but also on those produced within Israel proper.
Tesco is a U.K.-based multinational supermarket chain that was originally founded by British businessman Jack Cohen, son of Polish Jewish immigrants, in 1919. Today, Cohen’s descendants live in Israel.
Ireland has one of Europe’s most robust BDS movements, with several Irish non-governmental organizations supporting BDS.
“The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s (IPSC) is the leading organization engaged in the campaign for BDS in Ireland. In promoting the BDS campaign the IPSC, has in many ways, been more successful in spreading its message than other similar groups across Europe,” Irish-born Professor Rory Miller, who is director of the Middle East and Mediterranean Studies Program at King’s College in London, previously told JNS.org.
Yair Lapid: Palestinians must recognize Jerusalem will never be divided again
(JNS.org) Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid said it is a “founding ethos” of Israel that Jerusalem will never again be divided, and that the city is not up for negotiation.
“If the Palestinians want a state, then they must know that this has a price and they will not get everything they want,” Lapid told Israel Radio.
Lapid’s remarks came as reports indicate that Jerusalem has been discussed during recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations. According to Israel Radio, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is Israel’s chief negotiator, and Yitzhak Molcho, who represents Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in negotiations, have had differences over the possible borders of Jerusalem. Molcho supports maintaining the current municipal boundaries and including some Jewish communities beyond the security barrier, while Livni supports more flexible boundaries to accommodate Palestinian claims in eastern Jerusalem.
The status of Jerusalem has been a longstanding issue for Israelis and Palestinians. Divided between 1949-1967 between Israel and Jordan, Israel gained the eastern half of the city, which includes the Old City and Western Wall, during the 1967 Six Day War. But Palestinians want eastern Jerusalem as their future capital.
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