Kushner and Berkowitz nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for Abraham Accords
February 2, 2021 by JNS
Jared Kushner, senior adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump, and his deputy Avi Berkowitz were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on Sunday for their role in the normalization deals between Israel and several Arab states known as the Abraham Accords. Read more
Iran says nuclear deal non-negotiable, rejects new participants
February 1, 2021 by JNS
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that its 2015 nuclear agreement with six world powers was non-negotiable and rejected any changes to the participants in the accord. The announcement came in response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement on Friday that any new negotiations should include other countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia. Read more
Fatah lauds Munich Olympics massacre as a ‘quality operation’
Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction posted a video last week praising Black September commander Ali Hassan Salameh, one of the architects of the 1972 Munich massacre. Read more
Jewish Agency head Herzog calls out to European leaders on rising antisemitism
Isaac Herzog, chairman of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel, has called on European leaders to take decisive measures in combating antisemitism and vehemently counter repeated attempts at creating an unsafe and unwelcoming environment for European Jewish life. Read more
To battle Holocaust denial, Facebook announces tool to connect users with facts
In an effort to contend with Holocaust denial on its platform, Facebook announced on Wednesday—International Holocaust Remembrance Day—that it will begin to connect users to a site with facts about the 20th-century atrocity that killed 11 million people, including 6 million Jews. Read more
Kyiv chief rabbi, Western diplomats plant trees as part of ceremony at Babi Yar
January 28, 2021 by JNS
Representatives of the Jewish community in Kyiv, Ukraine—led by Rabbi Jonathan Benyamin, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Kyiv—planted seven trees on Wednesday at the Babi Yar memorial in commemoration of the 6 million Jewish lives taken by the Nazis and their collaborators. Read more
Acting US ambassador to UN: PLO mission to be reopened
January 27, 2021 by JNS
The United States will renew relations with the Palestinians, including reopening the Palestine Liberation Organization mission in Washington, D.C., acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Mills told the Security Council on Tuesday. Read more
Senate confirms Tony Blinken as US secretary of state
January 27, 2021 by JNS
The U.S. Senate confirmed Tony Blinken on Tuesday as the 71st U.S. secretary of state. Read more
Merav Michaeli elected head of Israel’s struggling Labor Party
January 26, 2021 by JNS
Israel’s Labor Party on Sunday elected as its new leader Knesset member Merav Michaeli. Michaeli won 77 per cent of the approximately 10,000 votes in the party’s primary, held ahead of the country’s March 23 Knesset elections, the fourth round in two years. Read more
Democratic lawmakers criticize Israel for not vaccinating Palestinians
Several Democratic lawmakers have called on Israel to vaccinate Palestinians – even though under the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority is responsible for the healthcare of the Palestinians. Read more
Biden’s top security advisor tells Israeli counterpart that he hopes to build on Abraham Accords
January 26, 2021 by JNS
U.S. National Security Advisor talked on the phone with his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat, on Saturday, according to the National Security Council. Read more
Police, residents clash in Haredi neighbourhoods over yeshiva shutdowns
January 25, 2021 by JNS
Clashes continued on Sunday in several Haredi neighbourhoods between residents and the police attempting to enforce Israel’s lockdown regulations. Read more
Biden taps two additional Jewish nominees to senior posts in intelligence, health
January 21, 2021 by JNS
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has appointed former CIA deputy director David Cohen to return to the same role. Read more
Trump pardons Jonathan Pollard handler Aviem Sella
January 21, 2021 by JNS
Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday granted a full pardon to Aviem Sella, the former handler of Jonathan Pollard, a former civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy who sold U.S. military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon in the 1980s. Read more
Biden nominees stress that US will not be rejoining Iran nuclear deal anytime soon
January 21, 2021 by JNS
Several nominees for U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s national security team acknowledged on Tuesday that the United States isn’t ready to rejoin the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Read more
Tlaib calls Israel ‘racist’ for not offering COVID vaccines in Palestinian territories
January 20, 2021 by JNS
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) accused Israel of being “racist” for not distributing coronavirus vaccines to the Palestinian territories, despite the fact that the West Bank is under the control of the Palestinian Authority, and the Gaza Strip is run by the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hamas. Read more
Israelis over the age of 40 now eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccine
January 20, 2021 by JNS
Israel’s Ministry of Health lowered the age of those eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine to 40 on Tuesday. At the same time, the ministry ordered the country’s four health management organizations to prepare to distribute a quarter of a million vaccines per day. Read more
Fatah official: ‘Criminal jackass’ Trump thrown into garbage bin of history
January 18, 2021 by JNS
Senior Palestinian official Jibril Rajoub said in a recent interview that U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he referred to as a “criminal jackass,” had been thrown in the garbage bin of history, and that those Arab leaders that have normalized relations with Israel will share his fate. Read more
Delivery man to be deported from France for refusing kosher orders
January 17, 2021 by JNS
A French court on Thursday convicted a delivery driver of discrimination against Jews after refusing to accept orders for kosher food. Read more
US enacts sanctions targeting Iranian shipping, arms proliferation
January 17, 2021 by JNS
In the final days of the Trump administration, the United States on Friday imposed sanctions targeting Iran’s shipping sector and conventional arms proliferation. Read more
Trump orders US military’s Central Command to include State of Israel
January 17, 2021 by JNS
U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees the mission of the U.S. military in the Middle East, to include Israel, reported The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, citing U.S. officials. Read more
Al-Qaeda calls on Muslims to target Israeli visitors to Arab countries
January 14, 2021 by JNS
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula blasted the governments of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco for normalizing relations with Israel, calling on Muslims to target Israelis who visit these countries, according to a report shared exclusively with JNS by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)’s Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). Read more
U.S. Marshals arrest man wearing ‘Camp Auschwitz’ sweatshirt in Capitol riot
January 14, 2021 by JNS
A man who wore a sweatshirt with the words “Camp Auschwitz” was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the Jan. 6 mob invasion of the U.S. Capitol as Congress was tallying U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory, according to media reports. Read more
Etsy removes ‘Camp Auschwitz’ shirt following mob invasion of US Capitol
January 13, 2021 by JNS
Etsy has removed a T-shirt with the words “Camp Auschwitz” following the Jan. 6 mob invasion of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump. Read more
Pompeo: Al-Qaeda terror group positions itself in Iran
January 13, 2021 by JNS
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday warned about Al-Qaeda’s presence in Iran. Read more
Multibillionaire casino mogul, conservative donor and Jewish philanthropist Sheldon Adelson has died at 87
January 13, 2021 by JNS
Sheldon Adelson, the multibillionaire casino mogul, conservative donor and philanthropist, has died at the age of 87. Read more
Biden names Orthodox woman to senior National Security Council position
January 10, 2021 by JNS
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to appoint Anne Neuberger, an Orthodox Jewish woman, to serve in a newly created cybersecurity position on the U.S. National Security Council. Read more
Israeli journalist harassed by pro-Trump protester outside US Capitol
January 8, 2021 by JNS
An Israeli journalist was harassed by a protester supporting U.S. President Donald Trump outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as a mob surrounded the building—with some breaking into it—seeking to prevent Congress from tallying U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s win. Read more
Republican congresswoman says at pro-Trump rally, ‘Hitler was right on one thing’
Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.), who was sworn into office on Jan. 3, told a crowd of protesters outside the Capitol on Tuesday that “Hitler was right on one thing.” Read more
Qatari TV host claims Israelis stole from Dubai hotels
January 7, 2021 by JNS
Israeli media picked up a story reported by a Qatari TV host last week, claiming that Israelis had been caught stealing from hotels in the United Arab Emirates. The unverified report was uploaded to YouTube and viewed more than 300,000 times. Read more
