Pointing to COVID-related economy, UAE says it will not fund UNRWA in 2021
February 10, 2021 by JNS
The United Arab Emirates says it does not plan to fund the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, this year as part of a “wiser way of utilizing funds,” according to Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem al-Hashimy, reported Reuters. Read more
Germany charges former Nazi concentration-camp guard with complicity in 3,518 murders
February 10, 2021 by JNS
Prosecutors in Germany charged a 100-year-old former Nazi concentration-camp guard for involvement in the murder of 3,518 people. Read more
Netanyahu pleads not guilty at final pretrial hearing in Jerusalem
February 9, 2021 by JNS
The Jerusalem District Court on Sunday resumed proceedings in the corruption trial against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Read more
UNRWA textbooks under scrutiny by EU Parliament committee
February 9, 2021 by JNS
Palestinian textbooks provided by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) came under scrutiny during a recent hearing of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. Read more
Biden says no to lifting Iran sanctions before Tehran complies with nuclear deal
February 9, 2021 by JNS
U.S. President Joe Biden told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that he would not lift sanctions on Iran as a way of persuading it to return to the negotiating table, and that it would have to first cease enriching uranium. Read more
In latest call, Ashkenazi and Blinken discuss ‘outrageous’ ICC ruling
February 9, 2021 by JNS
Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken on Monday, where he thanked Blinken for American support in the wake of the International Criminal Court’s decision to open a war-crimes case against Israel.
Israeli general Moshe Dayan’s widow dies at 103
February 8, 2021 by JNS
Ruth Dayan, the first wife of the late Israeli defence minister and politician Moshe Dayan, passed away Friday morning at the age of 103. Read more
Report: Trump’s attorney requests impeachment trial pause for Jewish Sabbath
In a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) late last week, former U.S. President Donald Trump’s impeachment lawyer asked that the trial be suspended during the Jewish Sabbath. Read more
US Supreme Court rules against Holocaust victims’ heirs in Nazi-era disputes
February 5, 2021 by JNS
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday against the heirs of Holocaust victims seeking to recover their families’ art treasures and other property seized by Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Read more
German cabinet officially recognizes IHRA as an international institution
February 5, 2021 by JNS
The German cabinet officially recognized the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) on Wednesday as an international institution. Read more
Israelis 16 and up eligible for COVID vaccine; Netanyahu urges inoculation for all over 50
February 4, 2021 by JNS
The Israeli Health Ministry on Wednesday announced that beginning today, COVID-19 vaccines would be available to all Israelis over the age of 16. Read more
Biden administration ‘embraces’ international definition of antisemitism
February 3, 2021 by JNS
The Biden administration has said it will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, a key tool in fighting antisemitism at home and abroad. Read more
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
