Hamas and Russia discuss ‘common relations’
(JNS.org) Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a rare phone conversation on Wednesday, during which they discussed “common relations” and the ongoing final-status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, The Associated Press reported.
In what was the first high-level conversation between Russia and Hamas in months, the leaders also discussed the Israel-Egyptian naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Lavrov in a statement called for the “quick lifting” of the blockade, which the United Nations has deemed to be legal.
A terror group with the stated mission of destroying Israel, Hamas has governed Gaza since 2007.
Stanley Fischer, former Bank of Israel chief, reportedly offered No. 2 post at Fed
(JNS.org) Stanley Fischer, who served for eight years as the head of Israel’s central bank, has been offered the job of vice chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Reuters reported, citing an anonymous source.
The Bank of Israel’s governor for eight years, Fischer successfully steered the Jewish state’s economy through global financial turmoil and is generally credited with avoiding many of the pitfalls that have plagued other Western economies.
“Perhaps the best things that he did were the things he did not do,” Steven Plaut, Professor of Economics at the University of Haifa, told JNS.org in February after Fischer announced his intent to step down from the Bank of Israel in June. “In the United States, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke essentially enabled President Barack Obama to spend trillions of dollars and push America’s debt to new limits.”
The appointment of Fischer, a former chief economist at the World Bank, would need to be approved by the U.S. Senate if he accepts the White House’s reported offer. Janet Yellen, the current vice chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, has been tapped to succeed chairman Ben Bernanke after his term ends on Jan. 31, 2014.
IDF to cut number of soldiers serving outside military
(JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces has decided to cut by 40 percent the number of soldiers it allows to complete their compulsory military service in the Israel Police, Shin Bet, and Mossad, an IDF Manpower Directorate official told the Knesset’s Equal Burden Committee on Wednesday.
IDF Brig. Gen. Gadi Agmon said the decision to make the cut stemmed from a manpower shortage, Israel Hayom reported. Several thousand soldiers are currently serving outside of the IDF.
Rep. Eliot Engel, new chair of Jewish legislators council, hopes group can address concerns on Iran
(JNS.org) U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) was recently appointed as chairman of the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians (ICJP), an initiative of the World Jewish Congress whose stated mission is to “promote an ongoing dialogue and a sense of fraternity among Jewish legislators and ministers,” among other goals.
Engel, one of the leading congressional skeptics on the interim Iran nuclear deal, believes that the ICJP can be a powerful resource for addressing global Jewish concerns, including Iran.
“The [ICJP] really gives me a unique opportunity to engage with my Jewish counterparts from around the world on issues of concern in the greater Jewish community, including the current P5+1 Iran negotiations, the Syrian civil war, and anti-Semitism,” Engel told JNS.org.
During a recent two-day conference in New York City and Washington, DC, that Engel “a great success,” the ICJP constructed three resolutions, on Iran and on anti-Semitism in Europe and Latin America.
On Tuesday, when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged lawmakers to hold off on imposing new sanctions on Iran when testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Engel voiced “serious reservations” about the interim nuclear deal and urged the Obama administration to reconsider its opposition to new sanctions.
“Why does the administration strongly oppose congressional action on Iran sanctions legislation that makes clear new sanctions will not be imposed unless Iran violated the terms of the interim deal?” Engel asked Kerry.
Reports indicate that Congress is close to passing a bipartisan sanctions bill. The deal would give the Obama administration flexibility by not imposing the sanctions for six months, the length of the interim deal. But Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Time magazine that the “entire deal is dead” if Congress passes sanctions.
Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson calls for Jonathan Pollard’s release
(JNS.org) Bill Richardson, who served as the governor of New Mexico and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, called for jailed Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard’s release in a Dec. 10 letter to President Barack Obama.
“Virtually everyone who was in a high position of government—and dealt with the ramifications of what Pollard did at the time—now support his release,” Richardson wrote, citing calls for Pollard’s release by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and John McCain (R-AZ), former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former CIA Director Woolsey, and former Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Dennis DeConcini, among others.
In an interview published Dec. 8, former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told JNS.org, “Pollard has been in prison longer than most people who have done more than he did, and I think particularly in light of his current health situation, [releasing him] would be a nice gesture toward our allies in Israel, and it would be I think a very important humanitarian gesture as well.”
On Nov. 21, Pollard entered his 29th year in U.S. prison. He is the only person in U.S. history to receive a life sentence for spying for an American ally.
“Israel and Pollard have both publicly apologized for their actions,” Richardson wrote to Obama. “Pollard cooperated with the government and has been a model prisoner. I have dealt with cases around the world of people who are imprisoned and I have decided to add my voice to this case because I believe it is right that Pollard be released.”
Peace Now shuns former MK Einat Wilf over ties to NGO Monitor
(JNS.org) The left-wing NGO Peace Now rescinded an invitation to former Labor MK Einat Wilf to its upcoming conference due to her ties with the watchdog group NGO Monitor.
Wilf, who is part of the International Advisory Council of NGO Monitor, was approached several weeks ago by Peace Now—whose stated mission is to “promote peace and democracy” by “removing existing obstacles to a two-state solution”—to speak at its upcoming “Conference of the Israeli Left.”
“Several weeks ago I was approached by Peace Now to speak at their annual conference on a panel discussing whether international pressure on Israel is necessary to promote peace,” Wilf said on her Facebook page. “I was specifically told that my point of view (which opposes such pressure and certainly the domestic efforts to invite it) would be very appreciated in this discussion.”
But Wilf was later contacted by Peace Now’s director, Yariv Oppenheimer, who apparently rescinded her invitation due to objections by other members of the organization, despite his personal support for her appearance.
“Apparently, NGO Monitor’s independent research and critical analysis violates the ideological litmus test, at least for the leaders of Peace Now, which identifies itself with the ‘liberal, progressive Left,’” NGO Monitor President Gerald Steinberg told JNS.org.
“For these zealots, it appears that any form of criticism and debate about their ideological agenda is unacceptable and justifies drastic measures,” Steinberg added.
Katie Couric hosts NY event that raises $1 million for Magen David Adom
(JNS.org) Television journalist Katie Couric, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor headlined a Dec. 9 dinner in Manhattan that raised $1 million for Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency response, ambulance, and blood services organization.
“MDA’s willingness to help save all lives is something we all should rally behind,” Couric, host of the American Friends of Magen David Adom event, said. “I’ve built a career on the pursuit of a good story. And in a part of the world that’s constantly producing ominous headlines, I’ve clearly found a positive one.”
Bloomberg proclaimed Dec. 9 to be “Magen David Adom Day” in New York City. MDA is an organization that is mandated by the Israeli government but not funded by it, instead relying on private donors.
Israel receiving $173 million for missile defense under U.S. budget deal
(JNS.org) Israel is set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in additional military aid for missile defense as part of the new bipartisan budget deal that was agreed on by U.S. lawmakers on Dec. 10.
In addition to the annual $3.1 billion in military aid Israel receives a year, Israel will receive $173 million in military aid for U.S.-Israel cooperative missile defense programs. This includes $34 million in upgrades for the Arrow long-range anti-missile system and $22 million for another upper-tier interceptor, Reutersreported.
The deal commits $117.2 million for further development of the David’s Sling mid-range ballistic missile defense system, which is being jointly developed by Israel’s Rafael Defense Systems and the American-based defense company Raytheon.
Additionally, the deal— expected to pass Congress before the end of the year—supports President Barack Obama’s request for $220 million for Israel to buy more Iron Dome short-range batteries and $15 million for Iron Dome parts.
Mahmoud Abbas honors Palestinian terrorist responsible for 125 Israeli deaths
(JNS.org) Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas recently honored terrorist Khalil Al-Wazir (known as “Abu Jihad,” meaning “father of struggle”), who planned attacks that killed at least 125 Israelis, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reported Dec. 11.
“Martyr leader Khalil Al-Wazir Abu Jihad shall be granted the highest order of the Star of Honor in recognition of his honorable national role and his history of struggle as one of the founding leaders of the Palestinian revolution, and out of great appreciation for his high position and significance in the defense of Palestine as a country, a nation, and a cause,” Secretary-General of the PA’s Presidential Office Tayeb Abd Al-Rahim said on a Nov. 27 PA TV broadcast, reading from a statement signed by Abbas.
“There is no worse incitement to murder than to say that a terrorist who has murdered is a hero,” Itamar Marcus, director of PMW, told JNS.org in November.
Vice President Joe Biden announces special envoy to support Holocaust survivors
(JNS.org) U.S. Vice President Joe Biden announced that the White House is appointing a special envoy to support Holocaust survivors during a luncheon hosted by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee on Tuesday.
“This will make the government more responsive to a Hungarian survivor in the Bronx who needs a wheelchair or the elderly woman with memories of the Warsaw Ghetto who needs a ride to the doctor,” Biden said during the luncheon, according to theLos Angeles Jewish Journal.
Biden also pledged to help organizations already working to provide aid to poverty-stricken survivors. According to the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), two-thirds of the 120,000 Holocaust survivors living in the U.S. lead solitary lives and struggle to make ends meet.
“Today our country took a major step forward toward addressing the needs of many Holocaust survivors,” said Michael Siegal, who heads the JFNA Board of Trustees.
Spanish duke issues apology for Inquisition expulsion of Jews from Gibraltar
(JNS.org) The Duke of Medina Sidonia, Alonso González de Gregorio y Álvarez de Toledo, has formally apologized to the president of the Jewish community of Gibraltar for atrocities committed during the expulsion of the Jewish community from Spain in the 15th century, and the subsequent expulsion of Jews from Gibraltar.
The second Duke of Medina Sidonia, Enrique Perez de Guzman y Fonseca, had expelled Jews from Gibraltar in 1476 after they had escaped there from Spain.
“Today I apologize before the Jewish Community in Gibraltar, who are moral and genetic heirs of the converted Andalucians, who in 1474 fled the cruel, uncontrollable genocide in Andalucia and resorted to take refuge in this city,” the duke read from a written statement, Israel National News reported.
Gibraltar is currently an overseas territory of Great Britain, which had captured the area from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession.
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