Palestinians threaten to pursue international soccer sanctions against Israel
(JNS.org) The Palestinians are threatening to pursue sanctions against Israel at a gathering of soccer’s international governing body next month, Reuters reported.
Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub said he is “going for sanctions against the Israelis” at the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Congress if there is a lack of progress on the issues of freedom of movement and access for Palestinian athletes.
“So far the Israelis are not cooperating. I hope [FIFA President Sepp] Blatter and all those who have good intentions can still solve the problem before the Congress, otherwise I am going for sanctions against the Israelis,” Rajoub told Reuters, adding that Israel “cannot keep behaving like the neighborhood bully.”
The Israeli Football Association, however, said it is working “in full cooperation and coordination with FIFA and UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) to ensure the best possible sporting conditions for Palestinians.”
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Israel Prison Service mulls special wing for Olmert, other Holyland convicts
(JNS.org) The Israel Prison Service (IPS) is considering establishing a wing for the Holyland criminals, in which former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the six other sentenced individuals would serve their time together, Israel Hayomreported.
In the coming days, the IPS will consult with the Shin Bet security agency to gauge the security required and the risks inherent in keeping prisoners who are privy to state secrets.
Although Olmert will not be entitled to special treatment while he serves his time, the IPS must consider the dangers that may face him as a former prime minister in jail. Having led the country and made decisions that affect the public, being among the general population of prisoners could be particularly risky for Olmert.
“[His position] can place him in the way of danger and provocation during daily contact with the other prisoners, both Arab and Jewish,” said an IPS official on Tuesday, explaining one of the reasons why a separate wing for Holyland prisoners and other prisoners “with whom they could live with in peace, without risking their lives” is being considered.
If the wing is created, it will likely be in a closed prison, such as Ayalon Prison in Ramle or Ela Prison in the south, rather than in an “open prison” where prisoners can freely roam the grounds.
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Netanyahu meets Japanese emperor, ministers in Tokyo
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a series of meetings on Tuesday in Tokyo with top Japanese leaders, including Emperor Akihito, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera.
Netanyahu also conducted interviews with Japanese media outlets in which he highlighted Israel’s desire to strengthen economic cooperation with Japan.
Before his meeting with Kishida, Netanyahu reiterated the common threat posed by rogue states arming themselves with nuclear weapons.
“In your case, it’s North Korea, and we obviously sympathize and understand the predicament facing you,” Netanyahu told Kishida. “We are faced with such a rogue state in the form of Iran and its quest to develop nuclear weapons.”
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Hillel letter: J Street U members add to ‘ideas within our tent’
(JNS.org) A letter sent to Hillel International colleagues by leaders of the Jewish campus umbrella said Hillel’s relationship with J Street will not change following the recent vote by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations to reject the membership application of the self-labeled “pro-Israel, pro-peace” lobby.
In a letter obtained by JNS.org, Hillel President & CEO Eric Fingerhut and board chair Sidney Pertnoy noted that Hillel is currently a non-voting adjunct member of the Conference of Presidents, and therefore did not participate in the vote on J Street’s application.
“The vote has no effect whatsoever on Hillel’s relationship with J Street U and its student members. Like other Hillel students and student groups, J Street U’s members add their perspective to the rich tapestry of ideas within our tent,” the letter stated.
“Hillel International was built on the value of pluralism and remains committed to embracing wide-ranging expressions of Jewish thought and ideals, and we believe our upcoming membership in the Conference of Presidents will be an opportunity to spread those values,” it added.
Asked to comment on the J Street issue, Hillel Chief Administrative Officer David Eden told JNS.org, “Hillel’s relationship with J Street U and its student members has been well documented. Hillel welcomes all Jewish students into an open, pluralistic environment no matter their politics or perspectives. Hillel International empowers students at a campus Hillel to make decisions that reflect their local environments. This results in Hillels partnering with a diverse range of campus organizations, including J Street U and many others.”
J Street U, the lobby’s campus arm, has come under scrutiny for the events it has organized on different campuses. For example, on March 31, J Street U hosted a speaker from Breaking the Silence (BtS)—an NGO that works with Israeli veterans who severely criticize Israel Defense Forces operations—at the Hillel chapter of Washington University in St. Louis. That night’s speaker, former Israeli soldier Oded Na’aman, “misrepresented and demonized the Israel Defense Forces” and claimed that IDF soldiers “are trained to oppress the Palestinians individually and as a people, that they maliciously mistreat Palestinians in the West Bank, and that they are taught to make Palestinians fear Israeli soldiers,” pro-Israel activist Hen Mazzig wrote in an op-ed for JNS.org.
“BtS is known for bringing in speakers like this, so I could not understand why Hillel and J Street U had sponsored a talk whose only purpose appeared to be to misinform audiences and instill hostility towards Israel,” Mazzig wrote.
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Holocaust liberation should be marked on Hebrew date, Jewish leader says
(JNS.org) Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Vice President German Zacharyev says that world Jewry should make the 26th of Iyar on the Hebrew calendar an annual celebration of the liberation of European Jews by Soviet forces at the end of the Second World War.
In 1945, the 26th of Iyar fell on May 9, which was the day Nazi Germany surrendered to the Red Army.
Israel currently celebrates “Victory Day” on the secular date of May 9, in sync with the same holiday in the Russian Federation. In order to promote the observance of the holiday on the Hebrew date, Zacharyev plans to write the first of several Torah scrolls at a ceremony next week.
It is important to honor the “quarter million Jews who risked their lives during the war as part Allied armies and partisan units,” Zacharyev said in a letter to supporters, the Jerusalem Post reported.
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Jimmy Carter calls Palestinian unity a ‘positive development’
(JNS.org) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter believes the recent unity deal between Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party and the terrorist group Hamas is a “positive development.”
“Although condemned by some, the decision by the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Hamas to reconcile their differences and move toward elections can be a positive development,” Carter wrote in an op-ed published by the Washington Post.
Carter has been criticized by many in the Jewish community for his 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which criticizes Israel’s presence in the West Bank. Carter has also been criticized for meeting with Hamas officials and calling for an end to the blockade of Gaza.
In his op-ed, the former president condemned Israel for continuing to build in the West Bank during the nine months of negotiations with the PA. He wrote that he believes it can be “beneficial” for the Palestinians to become more deeply involved in the U.N., and that the international community, including the U.S. and Israel, should take advantage of these “opportunities.”
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