U.S. Supreme Court strikes down law allowing ‘Jerusalem, Israel’ on passports
(JNS.org) The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday struck down a law that enabled Americans born in Jerusalem—which the U.S. government does not recognize as a part of any country—to list “born in Israel” on their passports, on the grounds that Congress overstepped the president’s authority on foreign affairs.
In a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court said that the “the power to recognize foreign states and governments and their territorial bounds is exclusive to the Presidency.” The case in question involved a 12-year-old boy, Menachem Zivotofsky, whose parents sought to list “Jerusalem, Israel” as the birthplace on his U.S. passport.
The U.S. government does not recognize any nation’s sovereignty over Jerusalem and maintains that its status must be resolved through negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. Israel took control of the eastern portion of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War and considers the entire city to be its eternal and undivided capital.
In 2002, Congress passed the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, which included a section that mandated recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. At the time, president George W. Bush signed the law, but issued a statement saying that it violates the president’s foreign relations authority.
Additionally, Congress has called on the U.S. to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem through the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. But presidents Bill Clinton, Bush, and Barack Obama have all delayed the move out of “national security concerns.”
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Palestinians advertise soccer game with photos of slain Israeli soldiers
(JNS.org) Promoters of a Palestinian soccer match in Gaza used the images of two Israeli soldiers killed during Operation Protective Edge in an advertisement to draw spectators to a tournament.
Photographs of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, both of whose remains are believed to be in Hamas hands, were printed on ads for a game between Khadamat Rafah and Itehad Shujaiyya, the cities where they were killed. The writing alongside the soldiers’ pictures reads, “The two teams of kidnapping soldiers compete in the Gaza Cup final.”
Shaul was one of seven soldiers killed when an armored personnel carrier was struck by an anti-tank missile in the Shujaiyya neighborhood of Gaza last summer. His body was never found. Goldin was killed and his body taken after an explosion inside a Hamas terror tunnel near Rafah.
Both soldiers’ immediate families declined to comment on the advertisement. But a relative of Shaul told Israel Hayom, “We do not want to know how our enemies are capable of being so insensitive and disrespectful toward soldiers killed in battle.”
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IDF general: sporadic rocket fire won’t prompt Gaza operation
(JNS.org) Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi met on Sunday with the head of the Israel Defense Forces’ Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman, a day after a rocket exploded in the Hof Ashkelon region, the latest incident in a recent spate of sporadic rocket fire at Israel from Gaza.
“Summer vacation is ahead of us and the memory of Operation Protective Edge is still fresh. More than anything, we want answers and solutions, so our children can get through the summer without rockets and without a war,” Davidi said.
Turgeman said the IDF was operating on all levels to try to prevent rocket fire from Gaza.
“We’re talking about a few rockets exploding in open areas,” Turgeman said, referring to the three rockets that have struck southern Israel over the past two weeks.
“The IDF will respond in a pinpoint manner to rocket fire, but it will not launch an operation in Gaza due to a few rockets,” he said.
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J Street U left out of Adelson/Saban anti-BDS summit, laments ‘Israeli occupation’
(JNS.org) J Street U, the campus arm of the left-wing lobby advocating for a two-state solution, said it was “dismayed” by a summit against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement hosted by pro-Israel billionaire philanthropists Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban this weekend in Las Vegas.
In an email addressed to “leaders of the American Jewish community” who planned to attend the summit, J Street U—which was not invited to the gathering—wrote, “Like you, we are concerned about the growth of the BDS movement on college campuses. Far from an abstract question, this is a live issue for us: as college students, campuses are our home. That’s why we’re dismayed by reports that representatives from several of your organizations will attend a closed-door anti-BDS summit this weekend, hosted in Las Vegas by major donors including Sheldon Adelson.”
Often criticized for stating its opposition to BDS while simultaneously partnering on campus events with pro-BDS groups, J Street U wrote that students “aren’t drawn to support BDS because they reject the existence of Israel; they come to support BDS out of a genuine frustration with the ongoing tragedy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the 48-year Israeli occupation.”
J Street U’s parent organization, J Street, which was also not invited to the Las Vegas summit, was widely criticized when it refused to participate in pro-Israel rallies in Boston and New York during last summer’s Gaza war.
While J Street U’s email criticized American Jewish leaders for catering “to right-wing donors like Sheldon Adelson” through attending the Las Vegas summit, the group did not mention that the summit was co-hosted by Saban, a major donor to the Democratic Party.
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Jewish-owned American Pharoah ends horse racing’s Triple Crown drought
(JNS.org) American Pharoah, a horse owned by an Egyptian-born Jew, on Saturday won the Belmont Stakes to claim horse racing’s first Triple Crown since 1978.
The horse’s owner, Ahmed Zayat, is an Orthodox Jew from Cairo who currently lives in Teaneck, N.J.
“We all wanted it. We wanted it for the sport. I’m happy for the horse, for the fans,” Zayat said after the Triple Crown-clinching win, NJ.com reported.
The historic feat comes just five years after Zayat’s company, Zayat Stables, had declared bankruptcy after defaulting on a $34.2 million loan.
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Israeli government to budget nearly $26 million to fight BDS movement
(JNS.org) Israel’s strategic affairs minister, Gilad Erdan, is due in the next few weeks to introduce an official Israeli government plan with a budget of $25.9 million to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, Israel Hayom reported Sunday.
“The motive behind boycotts isn’t Israel’s policies in Judea and Samaria, but an unwillingness to accept our existence here as a Jewish state and our historic right [to the land],” Erdan said.
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In latest shift, Orange CEO says telecom company in Israel ‘to stay’
(JNS.org) In the latest shift in a back-and-forth saga, the CEO of the French telecommunications giant Orange told AFP on Saturday that the company is in Israel “to stay.”
“Orange does not support any form of boycott, in Israel or anywhere else in the world. … Let me make it very clear that the Orange Group is in Israel to stay,” said CEO Stephane Richard.
On Thursday, Orange had confirmed plans to cut ties with Partner Communications Ltd., its affiliate that provides cell phone service in Israel.
“This agreement [in Israel], which was signed prior to the acquisition of Orange by France Telecom in 2000, is the only long-term brand license agreement within the Orange Group,” the company had said. “In line with its brand development strategy, Orange does not wish to maintain the presence of the brand in countries in which it is not, or is no longer, an operator.”
In Egypt a day earlier, Richard had said he would have the company pull out of Israel “tomorrow,” but wasn’t yet prepared to make that move. French advocacy groups have pressured Orange to end operations in Israel.
“I am ready to abandon [business in Israel] tomorrow morning, but the point is that I want to secure the legal risk for the company,” Richard said June 3.
“We want to be one of the trustful partners of all Arab countries,” he said.
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IDF deploys Iron Dome near Gaza as rocket threat increases
(JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces said it is deploying two new Iron Dome missile defense system batteries in southern Israel amid an increased threat of rocket attacks from Gaza.
The move comes as Salafi terrorists in Gaza who have aligned with Islamic State claimed responsibility for the June 3 launching of two rockets at Israel and vowed more attacks. The Islamic State supporters are also in the midst of fighting Gaza-ruling Hamas.
Ironically, Hamas is attempting to prevent the rocket fire in order to avoid igniting another costly war with Israel while the Palestinian terrorist group attempts to rebuild its terror infrastructure.
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Iran rejects even limited inspector access to military sites
(JNS.org) An Iranian general has declared that his country will not allow even limited access to military sites under any final nuclear agreement.
“Any kind of inspection of Iran’s military sites, including managed and restricted access, is unacceptable,” Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri was quoted by the Tasnim news agency as saying, Reuters reported.
Jazayeri’s statement echoes other Iranian leaders’ stated stances on access for international inspectors to nuclear sites, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has said that “absolutely” no permission will be given for inspections.
The tough stance on military sites comes as a June 30 deadline approaches for Iran and world powers to reach a final nuclear deal. Access to Iranian military sites is one of a number of key sticking points in the negotiations.
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Israel doubles water supply to Gaza, increases supply to Palestinian Authority
(JNS.org) Israel’s national water company, Mekorot, is doubling the water it supplies to Gaza despite continued rocket threats from the Hamas-ruled Palestinian coastal enclave.
Mekorot said the annual water supply to Gaza will increase from 5 million cubic meters to 10 million cubic meters.
“With the rise of Hamas, contact was cut off, and only recently have conditions become ripe to supply them the water,” said Avraham Ben-Yosef, Mekorot’s vice president of engineering, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
“Thanks to our desalination plants along the coast, there is no lack of water in the country,” he said. “There is no problem transferring water, the only limitation is the means of water supply. Moreover, we intend to enlarge the water lines to the Palestinian Authority in order to increase the supply.”
Israel has overcome water shortages with new methods of conservation, recycling, and desalination.
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