December 9, 2021
The main headlines
Israeli bus drivers block the Azrieli junction in Tel Aviv, protesting their working conditions, Sept. 12, 2021. Photo by Miriam Alster/Flash90.
news
Buses at risk of attack in Israel’s south, seen as ‘symbol of state and easy target’
David IsaacJNS
Israel Ganon, chairman of the Association of Public Transport Drivers in Israel, says drivers carry the trauma of violent incidents long after they’re over, and that “the Ministry of Transportation must give drivers moral backing and regulatory support as much as possible.”
Annalena Baerbock speaking in the Bundestag, Oct. 30, 2020. Credit: Olaf Kosinsky via Wikimedia Commons.
news
Who is Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s new foreign minister?
Orit ArfaJNS
The choice of the 40-year-old Green Party member leaves analysts and the media unsure over effects on the domestic Jewish community, anti-Semitism and Israel policy.
newsGermany’s new ‘traffic light’ government signals worry for German Jews
Orit Arfa
“We now have a culture minister who is a close friend of the Iranians and who has bowed her head wearing a headscarf in front of the mullah regime, in addition to supporting cultural boycotters of Israel,” said Sacha Stawski of the pro-Israel watchdog group Honestly Concerned
Melanie Phillips
Featured Column
Melanie PhillipsJNS
Double standard of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) speaking at the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), congressional reception for newly elected congressional representatives. Credit: Phil Pasquini/Shutterstock.
Featured Column
Jonathan S. TobinJNS
Skirting the line between a lukewarm friend and an enemy
At center-front: Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), along with other members of U.S. Congress, meet with Palestinian children in Hebron as part of a delegation organized by J Street, Nov. 10, 2021. Source: Jamaal Bowman/Twitter.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi and director of the POL-MIL Bureau in the Ministry of Defense Zohar Palti meet with US CENTCOM Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, Jan. 28, 2021. Source: Israel's Ministry of Defense/Twitter.
brief
Israeli Air Force prepares for large-scale drill simulating attack on Iran
JNS
The exercise is slated for this spring over the Mediterranean Sea and is to feature long-range sorties.
briefPoll: 51 percent of Israelis would support attack on Iran without US green light
The Israel Democracy Institute also found that a majority of the public views Iran as an existential danger.
briefUS announces largest-ever seizure of Iranian fuel and arms shipments
The fuel products were sold for more than $26 million; some of the funds may go to the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.
Iran Air (Airbus) plane at Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran. Credit: Khashayar Talebzadeh via Wikimedia Commons.
brief
Report: Half of Iran’s civilian aircraft grounded due to shortage of spare parts
JNS
The deputy head of Iran’s Airlines Association reported that the number of inactive planes in Iran has risen to more than 170 “as a result of spare parts, particularly motors.”
The Polish flag with Warsaw in the background. Credit: Velishchuk Yevhen/Shutterstock.
brief
Report: Diplomatic tensions again simmer between Israel and Poland
JNS
The tension has resurfaced despite attempts to resolve a crisis around a Polish restitution law limiting property claims by Holocaust survivors.
New York Police Department officer patch. Credit: BrandonKleinPhoto/Shutterstock.
brief
NYPD: Hate crimes double in year, many markedly anti-Semitic
Faygie HoltJNS
Of the nearly 500 hate crimes reported in the city as of November, some 180 were anti-Semitic in nature.
feature
Remembering the Jewish servicemen who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor
Tabby RefaelThe Jewish Journal
The “USS Arizona,” after being hit by a Japanese bomb on Dec. 7, 1941. At left, men on the stern of “USS Tennessee” are using firehoses on the water to keep burning oil away from their ship. Credit: U.S. Navy.
Workers seen at the Tamar gas field off the northern coast of Israel. Credit: Moshe Shai/Flash90.
brief
Europe’s largest gas pipeline group buys 25 percent of Israel-Egypt company
JNS
Snam buys a stake in the 90-kilometer (56-mile-long) “peace gas pipeline,” one of the main energy supply sources for Egypt.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (left) meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 9, 2021. Credit: Israeli Foreign Ministry.
brief
Israeli foreign minister meets with Egyptian president in Cairo
JNS
During his diplomatic visit to Egypt, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, in cooperation with the Israel Antiquities Authority, will hand over Egyptian archeological items seized in Israel.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers display table. Source: Dow Jones Events via Flickr.
brief
Big Four auditors ditch NGOs listed as terror groups by Israel
JNS
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Ernst & Young Global Limited will no longer audit the Union of Agricultural Work Committees or Defense for Children International Palestine.
Tess Alps. Source: Twitter.
brief
British broadcaster hires Labour Party member who defended anti-Semitism
JNS
Tess Alps spoke out in support of Jeremy Corbyn in 2019 when he was accused of being racist against Jews, allegations that the Equality and Human Rights Commission confirmed.
Thompson Penitentiary in Illinois. Credit: Federal Bureau of Prisons.
brief
Illinois prisoners face murder, hate-crime charges for killing Jewish inmate
JNS
Both men, who are incarcerated at Thompson Penitentiary in Illinois, were part of a white-supremacist group, the Valhalla Bound Skinheads.
The Gwynn Wilson Student Union the campus of the University of Southern California, July 21, 2021. Credit: EEJCC via Wikimedia Commons.
news
USC president responds to faculty members demanding opprobium of student’s hate-filled tweets
Shiryn GhermezianJNS
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean and director of global social action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said the administration’s response did not go far enough and will be included in the center’s annual list of the “Top 10” worst anti-Semitic incidents.
Vienna Town Hall. Credit: Pixabay.
brief
EU: Iran nuclear talks to resume in Vienna
JNS
Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora says the seventh round of discussions would start again “after consultations in and among capitals.”
feature
‘If you build it, they will come’: Israeli baseball field for terror victim Ezra Schwartz
Deborah FineblumJNS
The Ezra Schwartz Memorial Baseball Field in Ra’anana, Israel, Dec. 3, 2021. Credit: Courtesy.
Video
Herzl Makov: ‘If an enemy says they are going to destroy us, believe them’
Ellie CohanimJNS
Police officers at the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, Dec. 8, 2021. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.
brief
Israeli woman stabbed by Arab teen girl in Sheikh Jarrah
Efrat ForsherIsrael Hayom
The incident occurred while the woman, 26, was walking her children to school • The attack is the third in the past five days.
briefIsraeli security guard moderately wounded in car-ramming attack; terrorist killed
Efrat Forsher, Lilach Shoval and JNS staff Israel Hayom
The assailant, a 16-year-old resident of Nablus, rammed his vehicle into another at a checkpoint near Tulkarm, hitting the guard, 34, in the process • MK Ram Ben-Barak: “We are in the midst of a terror wave.”
briefOne wounded in Jerusalem terror attack; assailant killed by police
The terrorist, a resident of Salfit in his 20s, stabbed an ultra-Orthodox man and attacked Border Police officers near Damascus Gate. The Israeli premier praises officers’ “quick and determined” response.
H.E. Job Daudi Masima, ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania. Credit: Tanzanian embassy in Tel Aviv.
brief
Outgoing Tanzanian envoy: Israel experience ‘one of the greatest turning points in my career’
Israel Hayom
“The most important achievement was becoming [my country’s] first resident ambassador to Israel,” says Job Daudi Masima.
Illustrative image. Photo by Nati Shohat/Flash90.
brief
Gut microbiome may be culprit for weight gain after quitting smoking
Jon SchillerIsrael21c
Study in mice shows that changing the microbiome after smoking cessation prevents the typical weight gain experienced after quitting.
Max Rose (right) attends a meeting on the coronavirus pandemic run by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attended by senior staff at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 22, 2021. Credit: U.S. Department of Defense Photo by Lisa Ferdinando.
brief
Jewish Democrat Max Rose enters race to win back his New York City district
JNS
Since January, he has served as special assistant to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as a senior adviser working on tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
The Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus in Farmington Hills, Mich., in December 2019. Photo by Carin M. Smilk.
brief
Michigan Holocaust museum gets $15 million gift, single largest in its history
JNS
“This major donation will enable us to expand the important work we do to teach the lessons of the Holocaust and confront anti-Semitism and hatred,” said Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld.
Delegations in Tel Aviv during the first Maccabiah competition, March 28-April 2, 1932. Credit: Maccabi's Sports Archive via Wikimedia Commons.
brief
Maccabiah games in Israel back on track, slated for July
JNS
The program provides athletes with the opportunity to tour Israel and engage with Israeli society by participating in cultural events as well.
The logo of "Mobileye" on a car in Jerusalem on March 14, 2017. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.
brief
Intel to make Israeli self-driving car unit Mobileye public in US
JNS
The deal could value the Israeli unit at more than $50 billion.
briefIsrael plans for 400 self-driving electric taxis in 2022
Avner Flor, an official at the Transportation Ministry, said 640 Israeli startups were working on autonomous vehicles with the goal of zero road accidents.
Participants in a mass protest against the Israeli government, at Habima Square in Tel Aviv, Dec. 7, 2021. Photo by Tomer Neuberg/Flash90.
brief
Israeli protesters blast coalition response to Ra’am Party’s Hamas ties
Dan LavieIsrael Hayom
“Our soldiers did not give their lives for the state just to see it handed over to the Muslim Brotherhood,” Likud Knesset member Eli Cohen tells demonstrators.
Israel Security Agency Director Ronen Bar outside his home in Rishpon, central Israel, Oct. 11, 2021. Photo by Flash90.
brief
Shin Bet head: ‘We thwarted but failed to prevent Iran spy plot’
Lilach ShovalIsrael Hayom
A probe into the breach that allowed someone with multiple criminal convictions to work as a cleaner at Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s home ends with the reprimand of two senior Israel Security Agency officials.
Image of the newly completed underground and overground Gaza barrier. Credit: Israeli Minister of Defense.
brief
Israel announces completion of 40-mile security barrier with Gaza Strip
JNS
It’s equipped with sensors, radar systems, advanced cameras, a naval barrier, and command-and-control rooms.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz at a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on Oct. 19, 2021. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.
news
Headed for US, Gantz to stress benefits Iran derives from nuclear twilight zone
Yaakov LappinJNS
The Israeli defense minister will also hold discussions with the Biden administration on Iron Dome replenishment and certain defense acquisitions that have faced delays.
briefDutch court rules Gantz immune from prosecution for Gaza airstrike in 2014
Israel’s Deputy Attorney General Roy Schondorf said the ruling sets a precedent “that safeguards Israel’s military commanders as a whole.”
World War II veteran and longtime senator Bob Dole receives the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 17, 2018. Credit: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead.
news
Jewish leaders, organizations mourn passing of World War II veteran, longtime senator Bob Dole
Dmitriy ShapiroJNS
“He really was a man of principle; he was a man who stood up for what was right; and above all, he put country above partisanship,” said Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
Rabbi Jonathan Feldman (second from left), who heads Tribe Tel Aviv, with attendees at a nighttime social event, including Steve Reich (to his right). Credit: Courtesy.
news
Tribe Tel Aviv engages new ‘olim,’ helping them acclimate to Israeli life
Eliana RudeeJNS
“Having events for people with a similar background, language and culture to discuss the society they are becoming a part of—and their importance in that—gives us a support network,” explained Steve Reich, 31, originally from Philadelphia.
Podcast
Jonathan Schanzer: U.S. Media Coverage on Israel Is ‘Insane’
Jonathan S. TobinJNS
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meets with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in Jerusalem on Dec. 7, 2021, ahead of a Israel-Greece-Cyprus trilateral summit. Credit: Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO.
brief
Bennett, Anastasiades in Jerusalem for Israel-Greece-Cyprus summit
JNS
Cyprus is among the “positive forces” working together to secure the eastern Mediterranean, says Israel’s premier • Israel and Cyprus sign a science and technology agreement.
briefBennett to host trilateral Israel-Cyprus-Greece summit
The leaders plan to discuss energy cooperation, strengthening tourism, and jointly dealing with climate change and the ongoing pandemic.
Ben & Jerry's ice-cream in a grocery-store freezer. Credit: Ho Su A Bi/Shutterstock.com.
brief
Pressure ratchets up on Unilever to end Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream boycott
JNS
Attorney generals from 12 U.S. states wrote to Unilever CEO Alan Jope expressing their concern over the company’s refusal to sell its products to Judea and Samaria, and parts of Jerusalem.
Chabad on the Plaza in Kansas City, Mo., was vandalized with electrical wires damaged, water lines broken, and items torn and strewn everywhere; the Torah in its ark was safe, Nov. 30, 2021. Source: Screenshot.
brief
Vandals tear through Chabad House in Kansas City, Mo.
Faygie HoltJNS
Within hours after a campaign was started to help clean up the center, more than $91,000 was raised, almost double the funds needed.
Richard Hesketh. Source: Screenshot.
brief
British video-streamer jailed for four years after inciting racial hatred online
JNS
Richard Hesketh, 36, of Manchester posted 4,000 videos promoting anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and encouraging violence against Jews.
Elias Khoury speaks about “Europe Meets the Arab World” at Boston University Photonics Center, March 18, 2016. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
brief
Lebanese author boycotts Paris festival, citing Israeli involvement
JNS
The Arabofolies festival organized by the Institut du Monde Arabe in France is being held through Dec. 12.
The “Rook,” a new autonomous unmanned ground vehicle introduced by Israeli companies Elbit Systems and Roboteam. Credit: Elbit Systems.
news
Israeli-made military robot set to play diverse battlefield roles
Yaakov LappinJNS
The autonomous “Rook,” unveiled in November by Elbit Systems and Roboteam, can evacuate soldiers, carry equipment, act as a “mothership” for drones and small robots, and fire on targets after approval by a human operator.
briefIsraeli defense companies unveil new unmanned ground vehicle
“Rook” features autonomous capabilities, can evacuate injured soldiers from the battlefield and perform intelligence-gathering missions.
Mike DeWine (at podium) as Ohio attorney general before he became governor in January 2019, at the U.S. Department of Justice with (from left) U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Feb. 27, 2018. Credit: U.S. Department of Justice via Wikimedia Commons.
news
Ohio Gov. DeWine takes public stance against anti-Semitism, especially on college campuses
Dmitriy ShapiroJNS
“No student should be afraid on a university campus because of their race or religion. Sadly, for too many of our Jewish students, that is not the case,” said Gov. Mike DeWine in a Nov. 29 letter outlining concrete steps to take to improve safety for students.
Toronto District School Board (TDSB) sign on the headquarters building in Toronto. Credit: JHVE Photo/Shutterstock.
news
Toronto school officials censure trustee who sounded alarm on anti-Semitic materials
Faygie HoltJNS
Noah Shack, vice president at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, urged the Toronto District School Board to take “immediate, meaningful and reparative action to fix the rot of anti-Semitism, particularly with its Human Rights Office.”
brief
Saving lives with artificial intelligence
JNS
Blood system image. Credit: Pixabay.
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