JNS The Daily Syndicate - Monday, May 22, 2023

Monday, May 22, 2023


	THE DAILY SYNDICATE

FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Israeli model and TV-show host Galit Gutman hosts the “Israel Calling” concert on Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, on April 10, 2018. Photo by Miriam Alster/Flash90.

COLUMN

Jonathan S. Tobin

‘Bloodsuckers’ slur is at the heart of Israel’s political turmoil

A TV host’s attack on haredim and the anti-Netanyahu demonstrators’ switch to a focus on the budget shows that the political civil war is about tribal conflict, not democracy.

More on this story

Israel TV host sparks backlash after calling haredim ‘bloodsuckers’

TOP HEADLINES

An Israeli flag, with the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City in the background, as seen from the Mount of Olives observatory, on April 24, 2023. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

Israel brushes up against ‘status quo’ atop Temple Mount

The rising number of Jewish visitors to the site is putting in question the future of the status quo established following the Six-Day War.

Shimon Sherman

US ‘deeply troubled’ by prospect of Israeli return to Homesh

Washington also slammed Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's visit to the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site.

Stephen M. Flatow

I’m deeply troubled that the State Department is deeply troubled

Dismantling Homesh was not required by Oslo, and rebuilding Homesh is not prohibited by Oslo.

Abu Dis, Feb. 2, 2020. Photo by Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90.

Jerusalem municipality planning new Jewish neighborhood inside Abu Dis

Kedmat Tzion is to be home to 400 families. Abu Dis straddles barrier between eastern Jerusalem and Judea.

3 killed in shootout with Israeli forces near Nablus

The three belonged to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades terror group. Israeli forces also demolished a bomb lab during the raid.

The flag of Turkey. Credit: Markus Pfaff/Shutterstock.

Erdoğan re-election as president would be boon to Islamists, say Turkish policy experts

The Turkish president’s agenda includes “supporting Islamist organizations and groups worldwide,” Mehmet Efe Caman, visiting professor at Memorial University, told JNS.

Bradley Martin

The Latin American Parliament building in Panama City, Panama. Credit: Mabelin Santos/Shutterstock.

Latin American Parliament latest to adopt IHRA antisemitism definition

Ariel Gelblung of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said the adoption is significant because it comes from the congresses of governments across the continent.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on a state visit to Israel. Source: Twitter/Gov. Brian Kemp.

Georgia Gov. Kemp meets with Israeli leaders on economic development trip

The Republican has said he is not running for president, though there is speculation that he just might throw his hat in the ring.

ABRAHAM ACCORDS

Direct flights from Israel to Saudi Arabia likely next month

“Normalization with Riyadh could happen within six months.”

Etgar Lefkovits

Muslims on Hajj circle the Kabaa at the Great Mosque of Mecca. Credit: Pixabay.

The flags of the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Bahrain are screened on the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, on Sept. 15, 2020. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

Israeli, Bahraini FMs agree to enhance Abraham Accords

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen spoke with his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires. Nov. 20, 2018. Photo by Matias Lynch/Shutterstock.

Yechiel Leiter

Saudi-Israel relations and Iran

TECHNOLOGY & SECURITY

Robotican's "Goshawk" drone hunter can reach speeds of nearly 80 miles per hour, and does not require a human operator. Credit: Robotican.

Sky’s the limit for Israeli autonomous UAV hunter

Robotican's "Goshawk" UAV was among the cutting-edge technologies on display at the prestigious GoForIsrael Investment conference in Tel Aviv.

Yaakov Lappin

Iran building nuke site beyond bunker busters’ reach

Centrifuges at the Iran nuclear energy exhibition in the Islamic Revolution and Holy Defense Museum in Tehran, 2018. Credit: Maps/Shutterstock.

Tunnels are being dug near the Natanz nuclear facility.

Israel’s goal is to be AI ‘powerhouse’

Israeli Defense Ministry Director General Eyal Zamir addresses the 2023 Herzliya Conference, May 22, 2023. Credit: Ministry of Defense Spokesperson’s Office.

The Iron Beam laser anti-missile system is being developed at an "impressive pace."

FEATURES

Photo of Sarah Bernhardt as Cleopatra by Napoléon Sarony (1891). Credit: Musée d'Orsay, Paris, ©RMN-Grand Palais/Hervé Lewandowski.

Sarah Bernhardt still ‘immortal’ 100 years after her death

The Jewish-born actress, who had a “truly uncanny” grasp of mass culture, was the Madonna or Lady Gaga of her day, historian Carol Ockman told JNS.

Menachem Wecker

New Hadassah government-relations head to focus on maternal issues

David Swindle

Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to the land of Moab, 1795. Credit: Drawing/painting by William Blake. United Kingdom, via Wikimedia Commons (scanned by H. Churchyard).

Central Shavuot text ‘all about kindness,’ says rabbi who published Arabic book of Ruth

Elchanan Poupko told JNS he was inspired by the Abraham Accords to make the Megillah accessible to Arabic speakers.

David Swindle

INSIDE ISRAEL

President Isaac Herzog speaks at the Herzliya Conference on May 22, 2023. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

Israel’s president optimistic on reform compromise

Herzog called the debate over the legal initiative a "source of pride."

Bank of Israel Gov. Amir Yaron. Credit: Bank of Israel spokesperson.

Bank of Israel ups interest rate for 10th time

The benchmark is now at 4.75%, the highest level since 2006.

Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf arrives at the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Jan. 22, 2023. Photo by Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90.

Likud reaches deal with UTJ, removing obstacle to budget

The Agudat Yisrael faction will receive 250 million shekels.

Some 300 new immigrants from France arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport on a flight organized by the Jewish Agency, July 23, 2018. Photo by Miriam Alster/Flash90.

Israel speeds up aliyah process

Immigrants will receive ID cards at the airport.

Israel's Noa Kirel at the Eurovision Song Contest final in Liverpool, May 13, 2023. Source: Twitter.

Haredi Knesset member insults Israeli singer Noa Kirel

Moshe Gafni spoke as the coalition is accused of overfunding haredi institutions.

Madonna due to visit Israel this week

The Kabbalah follower will visit Tzfat to pay tribute to Jewish mystics.

THE PULPIT

Entrepreneur and X owner Elon Musk. Source: Facebook.

The Pulpit

Benjamin Kerstein

Elon Musk and the inevitability of antisemitism

What do we do when a man cannot be criticized without antisemitic connotations?

Eran Lerman

Israel’s divided united government

While Israel's coalition has good reason to stick together, it remains deeply split on several core issues.

Laurence Julius

A 2,000-year-old Jewish community revived

Portugal’s Porto Jewish community is the fulfillment of one man’s dream.

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Alex Traiman is the CEO and Jerusalem bureau chief of the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) and host of “Jerusalem Minute.” A seasoned Israeli journalist, documentary filmmaker and startup consultant, he is an expert on Israeli politics and U.S.-Israel relations. He has interviewed top political figures, including Israeli leaders, U.S. senators and national security officials with insights featured on major networks like BBC, Bloomberg, CBS, NBC, Fox and Newsmax. A former NCAA champion fencer and Yeshiva University Sports Hall of Fame member, he made aliyah in 2004, and lives in Jerusalem with his wife and five children.

Alex Traiman

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