Iran reportedly deploys rocket and missile batteries in Iraq
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) While the White House insists it is not cooperating with Iran in fighting the Islamic State terror group,The New York Times reported Tuesday night that Iran has deployed missile and rocket batteries to Iraq to help Iraqi government forces recapture the city of Tikrit from Islamic State.
According to the report, U.S. intelligence agencies observed the deployment of heavy weapons in recent weeks. Iraqi forces in the operation to wrest Tikrit out of Islamic State hands number 30,000, of which two-thirds are part of the Iraqi armed and trained Shi’a militias, the American sources said.
One defense official said in the report that Iran deployed Fajr-5 rockets and Fateh-110 missile batteries to the region, with another official saying there were other comparable Iranian weapons. The officials told The New York Times they believed Iran had brought in the heavier weaponry because after nearly eight weeks of fighting, Islamic State fighters were still entrenched in large parts of Tikrit. There have been reports that the Iraqi advance in Tikrit was recently halted due to roadside bombs.
America’s Central Intelligence Agency did not comment on the report.
Global media prematurely eulogizes Netanyahu government
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Some news outlets found themselves prematurely hinting at the defeat of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tuesday’s Israeli election, before Wednesday’s official vote tallies revealed a victory for Netanyahu’s Likud party.
The French newspaper Liberation featured a picture of Netanyahu captioned “Bye Bye Bibi?” and The New York Times reported that Netanyahu was “fighting to stay in power.” Yet television exit polls on Tuesday night showed Likud with either an advantage of one Knesset seat over the Zionist Union or in a tie with that party, and Wednesday’s official results produced a six-seat advantage for Likud. Other media outlets chose to focus on the prime minister’s remarks right before the election. The British newspaper The Guardian described Netanyahu’s call for citizens to vote in light of the reported high Arab voter turnout as “incitement.”
Meanwhile, Arab media outlets referred to Israeli Arab voters as “Palestinians.” Al-Jazeera reported that the Arab public was showing up to polling stations in large numbers and took credit for prompting Netanyahu and the Likud to call a special meeting to warn against a possible upheaval. The Saudi news outlet Al-Arabiya reported that despite the high Arab turnout numbers that were reported in the morning, by the afternoon the Arab turnout had stabilized to its statistical norm, and that it would likely not be higher than 55 percent of eligible Arab voters.
Al-Arabiya’s Arabic-language website featured a report that quoted senior officials in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as saying they preferred a Netanyahu government over one led by the Zionist Union’s Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni, since those Arab states assume Netanyahu will be more determined to stop Iran’s nuclear program.
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Israeli election sees highest voter turnout since 1999
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Tuesday’s voter turnout to elect Israel’s 20th Knesset was 71.8 percent, the highest figure since 1999, when 78.7 percent of eligible Israeli voters cast ballots.
For most of Tuesday, the voter turnout percentage was nearly identical to what it had been in the 2013 Israeli election, which had a voter turnout of 67.8 percent. At 8 p.m., turnout stood at 65.7 percent, compared to 63.7 percent at the same time two years ago. By the time polls closed at 10 p.m. and Israelis were gathered around their televisions, the 2015 voter turnout had exceeded 70 percent. The Central Elections Committee believes that the increased voter turnout was the result of public service announcements encouraging people to vote as well as Israeli President Reuven Rivlin’s urging of the public to head to the polls.
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‘Religious Zionism rallied to save Netanyahu,’ Jewish Home party says
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Despite dropping from 12 Knesset seats to eight seats in Tuesday’s Israeli election, the religious Zionist party Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) took solace in the fact that the right-wing bloc maintained its strength and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would likely lead the next government.
After Tuesday’s exit polls were made public, Netanyahu called Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett, and the two leaders agreed to immediately begin forming a nationalist coalition. Bennett said, “We’re in it for the long haul. I was asked if I am disappointed. No, on the contrary, I am proud of religious Zionism. It was called on to act and answered the call in a big way.”
“It is hard on the personal level, but joyous on the national one,” said MK Ayelet Shaked, the third-ranked candidate on Habayit Hayehudi’s Knesset list. “Religious Zionism rallied to save Netanyahu.”
Habayit Hayehudi MK Uri Ariel said, “The nationalist camp won and it’s because our friends gave their votes to the Likud.”
Kulanu party wins 10 Knesset seats, cements decisive role in coalition process
(JNS.org) Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon, whose new centrist party won 10 Knesset seats in Tuesday’s Israeli election and is widely considered a deciding factor in the formation of the country’s next government, said Kulanu “will sit in a government that will allow us to fulfill our promises.”
“It was a historic election campaign that dealt with day-to-day problems,” said Kahlon. “They tried diverting us left or right, Iran and Washington, and Gaza and Sinai, but we said our lives are no less important. Our children’s chance to have an apartment is no less important, the chance to allow our parents to live with dignity and not on welfare is no less important. This was the first campaign since 1977 in which social issues were discussed, and this is because of us (Kulanu). Where others have given up, we vowed to fight and to win.”
He added, “We embarked on a demanding journey and saw it through honorably. We have a responsibility, and we will take care of those who for many years have been abandoned—the middle class and the weaker sectors.”
To create a government in Israel, the party leader appointed by the president must build a coalition of at least 61 of the 120 Knesset seats. Likud won the most 30 Knesset seats in Tuesday’s election—30—and the party’s likely coalition partners include eight for Jewish Home (eight seats), Shas (seven), United Torah Judaism (six), and Yisrael Beiteinu (six). With Kulanu in the fold, a Likud-led coalition would have 67 Knesset seats.
Kahlon is a former Likud member, and served as both Minister of Communications and Minister of Welfare and Social Services under Netanyahu from 2009-13.
“I have no doubt Kahlon is a true Likudnik and he will join our coalition,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud), Israel Hayom reported. “The prime minister will keep his word and Kahlon will be finance minister.”
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Herzog concedes defeat in Israeli election, says ‘nothing has changed’
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Isaac Herzog, the leader of the Zionist Union party, called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday morning to congratulate him on winning Tuesday’s election, which pre-election polls had shown Herzog’s party might win.
Despite a lead of up to four seats in the polls immediately preceding Tuesday’s election and a draw or one-set deficit projected by exit polls Tuesday night, the Zionist Union ended up with only 24 seats, while Likud won 30.
Speaking to reporters outside his house on Wednesday, Herzog said, “I wished the prime minister good luck, but I hope the citizens of Israel realize that the challenges are still the same challenges and the problems are still the same problems. Nothing has changed.” He vowed that he and Zionist Union co-leader Tzipi Livni would continue to steer the party to serve as an alternative to Likud.
“We will continue to fight for a more just society, for the peace process, and for Israeli democracy,” said Herzog. “We will continue to fight for a Jewish democratic state and we will not let up. … This is not the time to talk about governments or coalitions. Right now, above all else, Israel needs a different voice, an alternative—a voice that will continue to tell the truth, the real truth. This truth has elicited immense support from the people. Our truth hasn’t seen this kind of support in almost an entire generation.”
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Likud emerges as clear-cut winner of Israeli election in final tallies
(JNS.org) The Likud party, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has emerged as the clear-winner of Israel’s elections, according to official vote tallies released Wednesday. Likud won comfortably over the Zionist Union party, with 30 Knesset seats to its opponent’s 24.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu had already celebrated his party’s “victory” on Twitter despite the fact that Israeli television exit polls initially indicated that the race was too close to call. Some television networks showed that Likud had won the most Knesset seats by a margin of one seat, 28-27, while others indicated it was tied with the Zionist Union party at 27 seats.
“Against all odds: a great victory for the Likud. A major victory for the people of Israel!” Netanyahu had tweeted after the exit polls were released.
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Three swastikas sprayed on Jewish fraternity’s house at Vanderbilt University
(JNS.org) Vanderbilt University is investigating an incident in which three swastikas were found spray-painted on the chapter house of the Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi). The anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered on Saturday after a party.
Vanderbilt Provost Susan R. Wente wrote in an email to the student body that “the university condemns the reprehensible depiction of this symbol that since the time of Nazi Germany has come to be associated with hate, anti-Semitism, violence, death and murder.”
“We understand the anguish and pain that this hateful symbol causes and we stand together to condemn any effort to intimidate or send an unwelcoming message to the Jewish members of the Vanderbilt community,” she wrote. “We seek the perpetrators so that they may be held accountable and learn that this behavior is simply not tolerated at Vanderbilt.”
Vanderbilt campus police, along with Office of the Dean of Students, are investigating the graffiti as a hate crime. In late January, swastikas were found spray-painted during Shabbat on another AEPi house, at University of California, Davis.
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Israeli ambassador thanks Canada for support at United Nations
(JNS.org) Israeli Ambassador to Canada Rafael Barak thanked the Canadian government, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, for helping Israel improve its standing at the United Nations.
Barak said that Canada helped Israel gain admission to the U.N.’s group of Western nations about a year ago. Previously, Israel was barred from the Asian U.N. group, where it belongs from a geographical standpoint, due to opposition from Muslim nations.
As a result of being admitted to the Western group, Israel can better defend itself against anti-Israel resolutions at the U.N. and can run for seats in U.N. bodies, including in the Human Rights Council, which is currently investigating Israel’s actions (but not those of Hamas) during last summer’s Gaza war without the Israeli government’s cooperation.
The Canadian government believes Israel “should be a player in an international forum and the multilateral community… so this makes a difference,” Barak said in a story published Tuesday by Canada’s Global News.
“We are very, very thankful to Canada,” he said.
Harper is known to be very friendly to Israel and critical of U.N. bias against the Jewish state. “Canada believes that Israel should be able to exercise its full rights as a U.N. member-state and to enjoy the full measure of its sovereignty,” Harper said in a speech to the Israeli Knesset last year.
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Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman.