The absence of an EU definition for hatred of Jews does not compromise efforts to fight the phenomenon, the body’s coordinator on combating anti-Semitism said.
Katharina von Schnurbein, who last year became the first EU official to hold the title, defended the European Union’s ability to counter anti-Semitism in an interview with JTA at the Brussels headquarters of Google, where she attended the launch of the Facing Facts online course on hate crimes developed by the group CEJI – A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe.
An Istanbul court on Friday dropped the case against four top former Israeli commanders who were being tried in absentia over a 2010 deadly IDF raid on a Gaza-bound ship, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
An arrest warrant for the four was also withdrawn, Gulden Sonmez, a lawyer representing those on board during the raid, wrote on Twitter after a closed door hearing in Istanbul.
By Mark Moyar: Among global elites, Donald J. Trump’s recent phone call with Taiwan’s president has induced fear on a scale seldom matched since Ronald Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech. The Sydney Morning Herald warned that the phone call “risks provoking a cold war between the United States and China with potentially catastrophic economic and security implications.” The fright appears to confirm the narrative formed earlier this year by headlines like “Donald Trump Terrifies World Leaders.”
The fear is real. Mr. Trump has indeed terrified foreign leaders with his “America first” mantra, his promises to enlarge the American military and his tough talk on everything from the Islamic State to Air Force One. The good news is that his administration can turn this fear to the benefit of the United States.
The Fifth Committee of the United Nations is set to decide next week whether to allocate funds to ensure that a motion by the body’s Human Rights Council to create a “blacklist” of companies operating in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights can be implemented.
The Human Rights Council motion had passed in March with no countries voting against. The resolution required UN human rights officials to produce a database of “all business enterprises” that have enabled or profited from the growth of Israeli settlements, Haaretz reported.
A Terror cell made up of East Jerusalem teenagers planning to carry out a shooting attack on an IDF base in the capital was arrested in recent days, the Shin Bet security service announced Friday.
The group, which allegedly included members of the Hamas terrorist organization, was made up of eight Arab Israeli residents of the Tsur Baher and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, the Shin Bet said. The security agency would not specify when exactly the arrests were made, but said they happened in the month of November.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is headed to Israel for the first time as a legislative battle heats up over a proposed state law banning investments in companies that boycott Israel.
The trip is being organized by the New England Israel Business Council. It is focused on cybersecurity and digital health, and aims to bolster already strong ties between Massachusetts and Israeli companies, startups and academic partnerships. Baker departs Thursday.
By Bradley Martin: “If Christianity [in the Middle East] survives, it will not be because of any interest taken by Christians in our part of the world, but rather because the State of Israel, the people of Israel, and conscientious Jews everywhere are dedicated to saving it,” said Dr. Paul Merkley, Professor of History at Carleton University, last week in a panel discussion at Toronto’s Beth Radom synagogue.
A day ahead of a government shutdown deadline, Congress scrambled on Thursday to wrap-up unfinished business, voting decisively to send President Barack Obama a defense policy bill, including more than $600 million for missile defense cooperation with Israel.
The Senate passed the defense legislation by a wide margin, 92-7, a week after the House overwhelmingly approved the measure, 375-34.
By Liel Leibovitz: Here’s a single-question Rorschach Test that tells you everything you need to know about the mind-set of any Jew in America these days: Of all the menacing black spots blotting our political horizon, which is the most dangerous?
To some, the answer is Donald Trump and his delegation of deplorables, led by Stephen Bannon, alt-rightist in chief and purveyor of hateful bile. To others, the real perils lie leftward, with the contender for Democratic leadership, Keith Ellison, and his long record as an apologist for the noxious Louis Farrakhan and a sympathizer with all sorts of anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic devils. A few particularly jittery Jews, like yours truly, look at the two camps and see evil lurking in both. And one prominent American Jewish leader, bless his rosy soul, finds fault with neither.
Such are the perks of being Charles Schumer, ranking Democrat and perennial pragmatist. When asked by Tablet’s Armin Rosen how the senator, a supporter of Israel, can also support the objectionable Ellison, his deputy communications director, Marisa Kaufman, urged us to trust Schumer with deciding just what constitutes standing with the Jewish State.
The Ohio Senate approved a bill targeting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, all but assuring it will become law.
The bill passed Thursday by a vote of 26-5 and now awaits Gov. John Kasich’s signature. The state’s House of Representatives passed the measure last month.
The legislation prohibits the state from contracting with companies that engage in boycotts of Israel, including firms located outside of the state. It also would require companies to explicitly state in contracts that they are not boycotting or divesting from Israel, according to the Cleveland Jewish News.
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