Israel and Middle East News Update

Thursday, August 5

Headlines: ● Lapid Has Not Attended Any Coronavirus Cabinet Meetings ● Coalition Overcomes Challenge in Judicial Committee Vote ● Fires Back After 3 Rockets Launched From Lebanon ● Israel Names Iranian Commander Behind Tanker Attack ● ‘Armed Iranians on Board’ - Tanker Transcript Says ● International Conference on Lebanon Raises $370m ● Saudi Praises Abraham Accords, Palestinian Statehood First ● Scientists: Mediterranean Has Become a ‘Wildfire Hotspot

Commentary: ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “Brother or Other’’ - By Yedidia Stern

● Yedioth Ahronoth: “The Hands are the Hands of Iran’’ - By Yossi Yehoshua

S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 1725 I St NW Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President News Excerpts August 5, 2021 Times of Israel Lapid Has Not Attended Any Coronavirus Cabinet Meetings Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid has not attended a single meeting of the coronavirus cabinet since it was reinstated in late June. According to the law establishing the government, Lapid must be a member of the coronavirus cabinet. He also serves as the alternative chairman of the cabinet in the event that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett cannot attend. Yet he has not shown up to any of the four meetings that have been held over the past six weeks, Kan revealed. In response to the report, Lapid said that his presence is not necessary at the meetings and that his representatives attend and keep him updated. Officials in the coalition also reportedly expressed anger at Lapid’s behavior. According to Channel 12, some officials believe Lapid is attempting to shift responsibility for the cabinet’s decisions to Bennett and the other ministers. Opposition leaders were quick to slam Lapid following the report.

Jerusalem Post Coalition Overcomes Challenge in Judicial Committee Vote The opposition failed to defeat the coalition of Prime Minister Bennett in a vote for the Knesset’s representatives on the powerful judicial selection committee, which is set to choose six Supreme Court judges over the next four years and dozens of lower-level judges. Coalition candidate Efrat Rayten of Labor won a seat on the committee. Traditionally, one MK is chosen from the coalition and one from the opposition, but the opposition hoped to elect two of its MKs, defeat Rayten and embarrass the coalition. Ministers Gideon Sa’ar (New Hope) and Ayelet Shaked (Yamina) will also be on the committee, along with representatives of the Supreme Court and the Bar Association. The Knesset also voted for its representatives on the selection committees for Jewish, Muslim and Druze religious courts. Dig Deeper ‘‘No Likud Rep as Coalition, Opposition MKs Elected to Judicial Selection Panel’’ (Times of Israel)

Ynet News Israel Fires Back After 3 Rockets Launched From Lebanon The (IDF) fired over 100 artillery shells into Lebanon causing a large fire to break out, and is considering launching aerial strikes as well in response to a volley of rockets fired into Israel from Lebanon’s south. Air raid sirens sounded in northern Israel as the rockets were fired, with two of them landing inside Israeli territory wounding four people. One rocket landed short in Lebanon. The squad that fired the three rockets belongs to a Palestinian faction affiliated with Hamas. The faction enjoys freedom of action from Hezbollah. In the wake of the attack, the fifth from Lebanon in three months, Israel is discussing whether to launch preemptive attacks on Sunni militants on Lebanese soil — a move that could prompt a military response from Hezbollah. According to one estimate, Hezbollah will refrain from intervening even if Israel does carry out an open counterterrorism operation on Lebanese soil against the belligerent pro-Palestinian squad. 2 Israel Hayom Israel Names Iranian Commanders Behind Tanker Attack Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Lapid highlighted Iran's aggression in the region in a special meeting with ambassadors to Israel, revealing the perpetrators of the recent maritime incidents. Gantz and Lapid named the Iranian commanders responsible for the recent drone attacks on civilian ships, including last week's attack on the Israeli-operated vessel Mercer Street off the coast of Oman, which killed two crewmembers. "Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh is behind dozens of terror attacks in the region employing UAVs and missiles," Gantz said. Gantz and Lapid explained to the ambassadors that the Iranian threat was not a local problem, but a threat to world order that warranted an immediate response. Lapid called Iran's attacks on shipping arteries "an international crime." Did Deeper ‘‘Israel Considers Options After Drone Attack on Ship Blamed on Iran’’ (Al-Monitor)

I24 News ‘Armed Iranians on Board’ - Tanker Transcript Says "Five to six armed Iranians" hijacked a tanker off the coast of the UAE, according to a leaked transcript of a conversation between crew members, Kan reported. The Oman Maritime Safety Center said that it had received reports that the Panamanian-flagged Asphalt Princess was being "hijacked in international waters of the Gulf of Oman," and indicated that the sultanate's navy deployed several ships to help secure the area. Three maritime security sources had already claimed that Iranian- backed forces seized an oil tanker in an area of the Arabian Sea leading to the Strait of Hormuz - through which around one fifth of global oil exports pass by sea. UK Maritime Commercial Operations (UKMTO) had previously reported a "potential hijack" and advised vessels in the area to exercise extreme caution. The Iranian foreign ministry called the information "dubious" and warned against any effort to create a "false atmosphere" against the Islamic Republic. Dig Deeper ‘‘Hijacking Ends in Arabian Sea, Says UKMTO, as Oman Identifies Tanker Involved’’ (Reuters)

Associated Press International Conference on Lebanon Raises $370m An international conference on Lebanon raised some $370m in aid to meet the Lebanon’s humanitarian needs, one year after the massive explosion at Beirut’s port, the French presidency said. The pledges, to be delivered over the next 12 months, go beyond the $357m sought in the third global effort to show support for the Lebanese people, President Emmanuel Macron said at the virtual conference co-hosted by France and the United Nations. France will provide $118.6m, Macron said. Paris will also send 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the country. President Joe Biden, who addressed the conference in a video message, pledged to give $100m in new humanitarian assistance. The conference drew 33 states, some represented by heads of state or government, diplomats and 13 international organizations, plus five representatives of Lebanese civil society, according to Macron’s office. Participants included Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and King Abdullah II of Jordan. Dig Deeper ‘‘Saudi Arabia Says Hezbollah Power a Major Cause of Lebanon’s Crisis’’ (Reuters)

3 Jerusalem Post Saudi Praises Abraham Accords, Palestinian Statehood First The Abraham Accords have been good for the Middle East, but their momentum should be used to help the Palestinians achieve statehood, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said at a virtual conference of the Aspen Security Forum. The Saudi foreign minister said that the best way to build on the normalized relations between Israel and Arab states in the past year would be “to find a path to solving the issue of the Palestinians and finding a path to a Palestinian state, because that will deliver complete normalization for Israel in the region.” Faisal added that peace “is a strategic choice of the Arabs” that must be used to reach a comprehensive solution for the Palestinians. Asked if that’s a precondition for Saudi-Israel normalization, in light of the divisions among Palestinian factions making Israel-Palestinian peace unlikely in the short term, Faisal did not address the first part of the question. Rather, he said that the PLO and Palestinian Authority are the legal representatives of the Palestinians. Faisal pointed to the new government in Israel, saying “perhaps it can deliver some progress. Let’s wait and see.” Dig Deeper ‘‘Israel in Contact With Most Arab Countries, Including Iraq — Senior Diplomat’’ (Times of Israel)

Reuters Scientists: Mediterranean Has Become a ‘Wildfire Hotspot The Mediterranean has become a wildfire hotspot, with Turkey hit by its most intense blazes on record and a heatwave producing a high risk of further fires and smoke pollution around the region, a European Union atmosphere monitor said. Wildfires are raging in countries including Greece and Turkey, where thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes and a fire threatened to reach a coal-fired power plant. The fires have struck as Southern Europe experiences an intense heatwave, with some places in Greece recording temperatures of over 115 Fahrenheit. Human- induced climate change is making heatwaves more likely and more severe, scientists say. The EU's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) said the hot and dry conditions had hiked the danger of further fires, although high temperatures alone do not trigger wildfires because they need a source of ignition. Italy, Albania, Morocco, Greece, North Macedonia, Turkey and Lebanon have all faced wildfires since late July. The European Commission said it had helped mobilize firefighting aircraft, helicopters and firefighters to assist Italy, Greece, Albania and North Macedonia. Dig Deeper ‘‘IDF Tentatively Facing up to Israel’s Next Major Threat — Climate Change’’ (Times of Israel)

4 Yedioth Ahronoth – August 5, 2021 Brother or Other By Yedidia Stern ● The Olympic Games are an event with an inherent contradiction: on the one hand, it is a global, pan-human event. The Olympic spirit, the five interlocking rings, unites people of all colors and races, religions and cultures, into one shared activity, shoulder to shoulder. As opposed to the biblical Tower of Babel, where the builders split into groups with separate languages, we return to speaking one common language in the Olympics, the language of sports. On the other hand, the Olympics is also a local event, because it centers on competition between countries. The athletes represent polities, and every achievement they score is immediately nationalized: the excited victor is quick to wrap him or herself in the state flag; the national anthem is played at the ceremony; the citizens of the victors’ country feel immense pride. However, the biggest virtue of the Olympics is the middle road that it offers: it does not do away with nationalism, but channels it in a positive direction. This can be seen in the ease with which countries have embraced immigrants who are gifted athletes. ● The American who wraps himself in the Swedish flag (after winning the gold medal in the pole ) and the Ethiopian who kisses the Dutch flag (after winning gold in long- distance races) blur the boundaries between the local and the global. Israel does the same when it boasts of athletes who immigrated here. But in Israel, the acceptance of the immigrant is more complicated. Artem Dolgopyat, an Israeli hero, does not enjoy full civil rights. He moved to Israel by dint of the Law of Return and became an Israeli citizen, but since he is not Jewish according to the Orthodox definition (his mother is not Jewish) he is banned from marrying (a Jewish woman) in Israel. Who is Artem? There are hundreds of thousands of citizens in Israel who, like Artem, moved to Israel as part of the family of Jews, even though they personally are not recognized as being Jewish. A good many of the new immigrants from the former Soviet Union belong to this group—they are part of the Israeli-ness but not part of the Jewish-ness. Incidentally, to our shame, because they are not recognized as “Jewish,” they are defined by the Central Bureau of Statistics as “other.” ● It is difficult, it is impossible, to justify this infringement of the fundamental civilian rights of the “others” to raise a family that is recognized by the state. The obvious solution is to abolish the Orthodox monopoly on personal law and having the State of Israel recognize the validity of civil marriage and divorce, as is common practice in all liberal countries around the world. However, on the other hand, for a large group, the recognition of civil marriage and divorce that does not take into account the religious identity of the couple raises both a symbolic and a practical difficulty: symbolically, in that it undermines the unifying base of the Jewish identity of the State of Israel. The Jewish family, for this group, is the essential condition for the trans-generational passing of the legacy that defines us. Practically, in that civil marriage and divorce are liable to produce a large number of bastards and the Orthodox will then have to maintain their own records, creating an historic rift between different parts of the people.

5 ● A solution must be found that will give Artem the option of raising a family that will be recognized by the state without this trampling what the Orthodox and the traditional public hold to be, symbolically and practically, most precious. Professor Shahar Lifshitz came up with a good proposal to have the State of Israel recognize two parallel tracks: Orthodox marriages alongside secular civil unions. In that proposal, the civil unions are to be conducted by a civilian registrar and would be available to anyone wishing to raise a family, and its legal validity would be fully recognized in every aspect. That process is to be carried out in a way that would not create marriages that are Halachically valid, thus removing the concern of bastards and removing the practical obstacle. ● Furthermore, the process would also not be called a “marriage,” thereby preserving the Orthodox monopoly over this institution. This would be a painful compromise for everyone: the Orthodox would have to concede their control over the rules by means of which the state recognizes the institution of the family. However, “marriages and divorces,” as a symbolic matter, would continue to be administered only be in keeping with religious law. This way, Artem could become a citizen with equal rights without this tearing the fabric of our common society. The Olympic spirit—the middle way—should guide us in how we address the disagreements that are characteristic of our shared Israeli journey.

6 Yedioth Ahronoth – August 5, 2021 The Hands are the Hands of Iran By Yossi Yehoshua ● Ever since Operation Guardian of the Walls, when we received a taste of what a multiple- theater war would be like, there have been several troubling incidents that point to an erosion of Israel’s deterrence. These incidents compel the government to act to restore Israel’s deterrence and to avert an all-out war that might exact a heavy toll. Even though the three rockets that were fired yesterday at Kiryat Shmona and Misgav Am—probably by a Palestinian organization—failed to cause either damage or casualties, they are part of a bigger, disturbing picture, firstly on the border with Lebanon: this was the fifth incidence of rocket fire in three months. In just the last two weeks, two rockets were fired at the Galilee, one was intercepted and the other landed in the sea; after that, two Sudanese men infiltrated in the Shlomi area and showed us once again just how easy it is to breach the fence; a few days later, a swimmer was sent to the maritime border to test the Israel Navy’s alertness and was easily caught. ● These incidents come on the heels of the rocket fire during Operation Guardian of the Walls and together constitute the most significant aggregate of incidents since the Second Lebanon War in 2006. What we have here is an attempt to turn this area into an active confrontation line once again. This is not because of some Palestinian organization, but because of Iran—that is how the situation must be viewed. The IDF says that Hizbullah was not involved in yesterday’s rocket fire, that it did not know about it, that there was no Iranian guiding hand or any Palestinian connection since nothing unusual had happened that would necessitate such a response from Lebanon. ● Nevertheless, we can and must see things differently; we have to question the statements and the intelligence; and we have to bear in mind the lessons that we learned in the last operation in the context of multiple-theater warfare. Even if no clear instructions were issued by Tehran or Hizbullah headquarters in Beirut, this kind of rocket fire cannot be coincidental. As previously noted, no rockets fly in Lebanon without Hizbullah’s approval and there is no Palestinian organization that is brave enough to decide to fire on its own from a staunchly Shiite area that is under Hizbullah’s control. A more likely explanation is that the Iranians were signaling to anyone planning to attack them for the incident at sea, that they have the capacity to retaliate from within Lebanon, and this possibility should not be ruled out. ● This hones Israel’s dilemma about its response: OC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Amir Baram pushed for a more powerful retaliation than following the previous incidents. Indeed, this time Israel responded with three stints of artillery fire—and not just one— across the entire sector, firing about 100 shells in total. While this is more than in the past, it is clearly not enough. Imprecise artillery fire at open areas does not achieve the goal of deterrence. As far as Baram is concerned, it would be wrong to attack Hizbullah, which did not carry out the rocket fire, or to attack the crumbling state of Lebanon, since at this stage, attacking its interests will not stop the rocket fire.

7 ● The solution lies elsewhere, and it is to exact a price from the Palestinian organizations carrying out the rocket fire. But it seems as if the intelligence currently in hand about them is insufficient to facilitate a precise attack, and this gap has to be overcome. Israel currently has a number of active fronts: a nuclear-threshold Iran, a maritime front with Iran, the Iranian entrenchment in Syria, Lebanon, Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and, lastly, Gaza. This is a new era in which all the fronts are active at the same time and are ready to act in unison if and when the order is given. That is why, in the context of yesterday’s rocket fire, we have to bear in mind that despite all of the distinctions drawn by the IDF, nothing happens in Lebanon without Hizbullah’s approval and recent events all point to an erosion in Israel’s power of deterrence. Hizbullah was built by Iran to protect its nuclear program. In 2006 the Iranians almost lost this asset and were angry with Nasrallah. Since then, he has acted with restraint. Now he realizes, in coordination with the Iranians, that opening a front in Lebanon is doable, and his self-confidence is growing along with his willingness to manufacture more incidents. That has to be stopped.

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