Middle East

New Israeli government seals coalition deals as Netanyahu era approaches its end

Published by Reuters By Ari Rabinovitch JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The new Israeli government set to end Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year tenure as prime minister signed its final coalition agreements on Friday, pointedly including term limits. The coalition of parties from far-right to left is expected to focus mostly on economic and social issues rather than risk […]

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Middle East

ADL Report Exposes Antisemitism and Incitement in State-Sponsored Sermons

NEW YORK (Press Release) — During and after the recent outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas, top religious officials in seven U.S.-allied Mideast countries used their positions of authority to spread incitement to hatred or violence against Jews and Israel. A new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), issued Friday, provides new translations of

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Middle East, USA

Jewish-owned cafe in San Francisco tagged with antisemitic graffiti

(June 9, 2021 / JNS) A popular Jewish-owned bookshop, cafe and event space in San Francisco was vandalized on Sunday with antisemitic and pro-Palestinian graffiti. Manny’s in the Mission District was tagged with blue paint and the phrases “Racist pigz,” “Zionist pigz,” and “Free Palestine.” “Targeting Jewish businesses is straight-up anti-Semitic,” California State Sen. Scott

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Middle East, USA

Los Angeles teachers union to vote on resolution endorsing BDS movement

(June 9, 2021 / JNS) The leadership of the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is scheduled to vote in September on a proposed resolution that urges the U.S. government to end aid to Israel and endorses the BDS movement “against apartheid in Israel,” reported The Los Angeles Times. “As public-school educators in the United States,

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Middle East, USA

Can the Biden administration capitalize on an inexperienced Bennett-Lapid government?

By Dmitriy Shapiro (June 9, 2021 / JNS) With the likelihood that new leadership will be sworn in next week in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s departure from the role he has held for almost two decades has some worried about how an inexperienced leadership spanning the breadth of viewpoints will handle Israel’s important relationship

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Middle East, USA

Exclusive – In the belly of the whale: Israeli sub simulates strike

Published by Reuters By Dan Williams INS LEVIATHAN, Mediterranean Sea (Reuters) – When fighting erupted in Gaza last month and rockets rained on Israel, the men operating its navy submarine Leviathan knew next to nothing. Deep beneath the Mediterranean sea, they were relayed only brief bulletins so as not to be distracted from their mission.

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Middle East

Cautious Optimism After Israel’s Political Deadlock

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — About three years ago my husband and I rescheduled our flight back to Israel from London, at considerable financial and personal cost, because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called a snap general election. We were determined to cast our votes in order to get rid of the party

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East

UAE Leader: Abraham Accords Will Show Other Arab Countries Benefits of Peace with Israel

Following the news that the American Jewish Committee will open an office in Abu Dhabi, the organization hosted United Arab Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday at its 2021 AJC Virtual Global Forum. [JNS.org]

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Middle East, USA

Black Lives Matter Should Stick to Its Core Issue; Leave Israel Out of It

How does the Black Lives Matter movement find the time and energy to brand Israel as an apartheid and genocidal state and equate its policies with police brutality? And why don’t any BLM members speak up about those among their associates who have diverted attention from the primary issue that inspired the Black Lives Matter campaign? [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA

UCSD Graduate Students Choose Harmony Over BDS

StandWithUs commends the Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA) of the University of California San Diego (UCSD) for rejecting a destructive and one-sided resolution calling for an academic boycott against Israel on Monday, June 7, 2021. GPSA representatives instead voted to form a committee that will include Israeli, Jewish, and Palestinian students who will work together to develop an unbiased resolution that supports both Israeli and Palestinian student communities.  [StandWithUs news release]

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Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Israeli army clarifies reasons for attack on media offices in Gaza

Published by DPA Following the controversial airstrike on a building housing media offices in the Gaza Strip several weeks ago, Israel’s military has elaborated on the reasons for the destruction of the high-rise building. The Islamist Hamas movement had been working there on technology to disrupt the deployment of Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile defence system,

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Middle East