Gelb explains Simulcast cancellation of “The Death of Klinghoffer”
(JNS.org) “I’m convinced that the opera is not anti-Semitic,” New York Metropolitan Opera’s Leslie Gelb said in a statement in which he announced a simulcast of “The Death of Klinghoffer” at AMC theatres would be canceled, but live performances at the Met would proceed. “But I’ve also become convinced that there is genuine concern in the international Jewish community that the live transmission of ‘The Death of Klinghoffer’ would be inappropriate at this time of rising anti-Semitism, particularly in Europe.”
Gelb had responded to Kaplan’s letter that composer John Adams “has said that in composing ‘The Death of Klinghoffer’ he tried to understand the hijackers and their motivations, and to look for humanity in the terrorists, as well as in their victims.” Kaplan responded to Gelb in a second letter for JNS.org, “The opera’s search for the ‘humanity’ of the murderers echoes the French saying that ‘to understand is to excuse,’ but one reason terrorism is a crime under international law is because terrorists deny the humanity of their victims.”
Israel re-arrests 51 Palestinians freed in Gilad Shalit swap
(JNS.org) Fifty-one prisoners released in the 2011 deal that secured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit’s freedom were re-arrested Wednesday among a group of more than 65 Palestinians detained by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as part of the search for three Jewish teens believed to have been abducted by Hamas, the IDF said.
Israel freed 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in the exchange for Shalit. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that a total of 240 Palestinians have been arrested in Judea and Samaria amid a crackdown on Hamas since the June 12 kidnapping near Hebron. Israel’s Civil Administration also raided nine Hamas-linked institutions in Hebron, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Tulkarem, and Nablus.
“We have been saying this since the start of the operation and we are saying it again today: The two channels—arrests of terror operatives and the gathering of information about the kidnapped Israelis—will converge into one,” Lerner said.
Arab-Israeli MK Haneen Zoabi: kidnappers are ‘not terrorists’
(JNS.org) Arab-Israeli MK Haneen Zoabi said in a radio interview on Tuesday that the people who kidnapped the three Israeli teens last week are “not terrorists.”
“They are people that cannot see any way to change their reality, and they are forced to use these means until Israeli society wises up a bit and sees and feels the suffering of the other,” Haneen Zoabi said in a interview on Tuesday morning with Radio Tel Aviv.
Zoabi, who is a member of the Arab nationalist party Balad, has had a controversial political career. She has been an outspoken opponent of Israel and participated in the 2010 flotilla that tried to break the naval blockade on Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Facebook slammed Zoabi for her remarks, calling her the terrorist.
“Not only are the kidnappers terrorists; Hanin Zoabi is a terrorist,” Lieberman said.
“The fate of the kidnappers and the fate of the inciter who encourages kidnapping Hanin Zoabi should be the same,” Lieberman added.
Meanwhile, Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat said she plans to call on Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to investigate Zoabi’s remarks and whether they violate Israel’s laws on inciting terrorism.
“Zoabi is not worthy to serve as an MK in Israel and she should be put on trial,” Livnat said, the Jerusalem Post reported.
On Monday, Zoabi also harshly criticized her relative, 17-year-old Mohammed Zoabi, who posted a YouTube video condemning the kidnappers and calling for them to release the Israeli teens.
“I am happy to see that Israeli hasbara [public diplomacy] is in such a dire state that it needs a stupid boy with a twisted identity who feels a continuous need to apologize to his strong masters,” Haneen Zoabi told Ynet News
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Great Britain plans to reopen Iranian embassy amid Iraq chaos
(JNS.org) British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced on Tuesday that the British government will reopen its embassy in Iran as the instability in Iraq has forced the British to reassess its ties with the Islamic Republic
“Iran is an important country in a volatile region, and maintaining embassies around the world, even under difficult conditions, is a central pillar of the UK’s global diplomatic approach,” Hague said, the BBC reported.
The British closed their embassy in Tehran in 2011 after protestors upset over Western-imposed sanctions on Iran stormed the embassy.
British and American officials have discussed cooperating with Iran as Sunni Islamic jihadists threaten Iraq’s Shi’a-led government.
However, Israeli leaders have voiced serious concern over possible cooperation.
“And we would especially not want for a situation to be created where, because both the United States and Iran support the government of (Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri) al-Maliki, it softens the American positions on the issue which is most critical for the peace of the world, which is the Iranian nuclear issue,” Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said, Reuters reported.
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Pope Francis appeals for safety of Iraqi Christians
(JNS.org) Pope Francis appealed for the safety of Iraqis, including Iraq’s beleaguered Christians, who are fleeing the advance of the jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has swiftly overrun many parts of Iraq and is now threatening Baghdad.
“I invite all of you to unite yourselves with my prayer for the dear Iraqi nation, especially for the victims and for those who most suffer the consequences of the growing violence,” Pope Francis said, Vatican Radio reported.
“In particular the many persons, among whom are so many Christians, who have had to leave their homes,” Pope Francis said.
Roughly 90 percent of Mosul’s estimated 10,000 Christians had fled Iraq’s second largest city, which was overrun by jihadists last week, France 24 reported. Many of these Christians have fled to Iraq’s Kurdistan region, where Kurdish Peshmerga forces have offered Christians and other refugees protection from ISIS.
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Israeli National Library gets Sharansky family archive
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The family of Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, perhaps the most famous former prisoner of Zion, has given its archive to the National Library of Israel.
Sharansky was arrested by Soviet authorities in 1977 and charged with espionage and treason. He was sentenced to 13 years of forced labor in a Siberian prison, and was eventually released in 1986.
The family’s archive includes hundreds of never-before-seen documents and items dating back to the early 1960s.
The archive comprises documents and letters gathered by Sharansky’s wife, Avital, and includes updates the family received at the time from the Israeli government and intelligence agencies. Some of the records detail phone conversations then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin held with other heads of state in efforts to facilitate Sharansky’s release.
“This is a very unique archive, which affords an authentic glimpse into one of the most important Zionist struggles of the 20th century,” National Library Chairman David Blumberg said.
“The National Library is proud to be a partner in the conservation efforts of this archive and to ensuring the public has access to the this documentation,” he said.
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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.