Netanyahu and president-elect Rivlin seek to put differences aside
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli president-elect MK Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met privately Wednesday to discuss their future work plans.
The two have been bitter rivals despite being members of the same party, Likud. But as prime minister and president, their relationship cannot help but change.
“I have no bad blood,” Rivlin said. “I don’t have any bad feelings about anyone.”
Rivlin’s associates reported that Wednesday marked the first meeting between Rivlin and Netanyahu in a year and a half.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us for the sake of the citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “We have been through many things together, and I am sure that we will both be wise enough to put aside the bad things and behave responsibly for the sake of the future of the state of Israel.”
*
Hamas could take over Judea and Samaria, Israeli defense minister says
(JNS.org) Hamas could seize control of Judea and Samaria as a result of the recently formed Palestinian unity government, Israel Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Tuesday at the Herzliya Conference.
“The Palestinian reconciliation is misrepresented,” Ya’alon said. “If anything happens as a result of the reconciliation, it will be Hamas’s takeover of Judea and Samaria.”
Regarding Hamas’s partner in the new government, Ya’alon said the Palestinian Authority “is considered moderate, denies our right to a national home.”
“If you don’t understand that, then you don’t understand why the conflict remains unresolved,” he said.
*
Eric Cantor, only Republican Jew in U.S. House, loses primary
(JNS.org) Congressman Eric Cantor, the only Republican Jew serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and the House’s majority leader, was defeated by Tea Party challenger Dave Brat on Tuesday night in what most observers are calling a stunning upset in the primary election for Virginia’s 7th congressional district.
“We are disappointed that our friend Eric Cantor lost his primary race tonight, but we are proud of his many, many accomplishments in Congress,” Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matt Brooks said in a statement. “He has been a hardworking representative of his district and a trusted leader in the House.”
“Eric has been an important pro-Israel voice in the House and a leader on security issues, including Iran sanctions,” added Brooks. “We deeply appreciate his efforts to keep our country secure and to support our allies around the world.”
Brat’s campaign argued that Cantor, a grandchild of Eastern European Jewish immigrants, is not conservative enough due to his support for some immigration reforms.
“Cong. Cantor was bested by a challenger who campaigned against sensible immigration policies, the kind of policies that enabled Mr. Cantor’s family to become United States citizens,” Rabbi Jack Moline, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, said in a statement.
*
House Mideast Subcommittee calls on Kerry to explain Palestinian unity stance
(JNS.org) Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Middle East are calling on Secretary of State John Kerry to explain the State Department’s decision to work with the new Palestinian unity government, which includes the terrorist group Hamas.
Calling the formation of the unity government a “deeply disturbing development,” a bipartisan letter from the subcommittee members goes on to say that “any decision to work with this unity government could be extraordinarily counterproductive in our efforts both to promote peace and to help support the security of our ally Israel,” U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) said. They added that they plan to hold a hearing to hear directly from Kerry about the administration’s decision.
U.S. law prohibits America from providing funding to any Palestinian government that is controlled by, shares power with, or is influenced by Hamas. While the unity government is largely composed of allegedly neutral technocrats under the control of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas has given its consent to the government’s formation, while refusing to recognize Israel or renounce terrorism.
*
Christians flee jihadist attack on Iraq’s second-largest city
(JNS.org) Jihadists from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) terrorist group on Tuesday conquered parts of Iraq’s second-largest city—Mosul—causing thousands to flee, including dozens of Christian families.
Amid the attack, dozens of Christian families evacuated the city and headed to the Nineveh plains, an area controlled by the Kurdish “Peshmerga” forces, Fides News Agency reported. But several Christians who were unable to flee are now trapped in their homes.
Additionally, local Christian leaders, including Chaldean Bishop Amel Shamon Nona and other religious leaders, launched an appeal to keep churches open to pray for peace while encouraging local shops to remain open to allow people access to food and other basic items.
ISIL has gained considerable strength during its fighting in the Syrian civil war and has crossed over into Iraq. Earlier this year, it conquered Iraqi city of Fallujah, which was the site of some of the heaviest fighting during the U.S. war in Iraq.
Prior to 2003, Iraq’s Christian population stood at 1.5 million, but it has now shrunk all the way down to roughly 300,000.
*
Iran nuclear talks ‘hitting a wall,’ French foreign minister says
(JNS.org) As the deadline for an agreement nears, negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program are “hitting a wall,” according to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
“We are still hitting a wall on one absolutely fundamental point which is the number of centrifuges which allow enrichment,” Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said to a French Inter radio station, Reuters reported. “We say that there can be a few hundred centrifuges, but the Iranians want thousands so we’re not in the same framework.”
It is estimated that Iran has around 19,000 nuclear centrifuges, with about 10,000 in operation, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Under the interim nuclear deal signed in November 2013 between Iran and the P5+1 powers—U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China, and Germany—Iran would receive limited sanctions relief for suspending portions of its program. The two sides would have until July 20 to work out a more comprehensive deal that would significantly shrink Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for Iran’s entire nuclear program to be dismantled and has expressed significant skepticism over the interim deal.
*
Paris Jews sprayed with tear gas a week after axe attack
(JNS.org) Two Jewish friends wearing yarmulkes were attacked in Sarcelles, a northern suburb of Paris, by three men seemingly of North African descent who sprayed the two friends with tear gas. The attack was captured on video surveillance revealed Monday.
The “anti-Semitic character of the attack has not been established,” said Sarcelles Mayor François Pupponi, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The attack comes a week after two Jewish teenagers reported being chased down the street by an axe-wielding assailant while they were on their way to the synagogue in Romainville, another Paris suburb, reported the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism (BNVCA).
*
UNESCO Jewish connection to Israel exhibit opens Wednesday
(JNS.org) An exhibit on the Jewish connection to the land of Israel that was postponed in January by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) due to objections from the Arab League now opens Wednesday in Paris.
The “People, Book, Land: The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People to the Holy Land” exhibit was authored by Robert Wistrich, a leading scholar of anti-Semitism, for the Simon Wiesenthal Center. UNESCO originally scheduled to open the exhibit on Jan. 20 and received heavy backlash for its decision to delay it.
The exhibit consists of 24 panels of about 800 words each describing different aspects of the Jewish people’s connection to Israel throughout history.
“Each panel is a very succinct slice not only of Jewish history, but more specifically of the historical connection between the Jewish people from the dawn of its history and the Land of Israel, up until the present time,” Wistrich said.
“Viewers come away with a strong sense of the continuity of the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel, the unique intensity of the spiritual, religious, national, historical and traditional centrality of the Land of Israel in the Jewish consciousness,” he added, reported the Times of Israel.
*
Preceding provided by JNS.org, which is sponsored on the pages of San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman.