Israel and Middle East News Update

Friday, October 30

Headlines: ● Marks 25th Anniversary of PM Rabin's Assassination ● US Moves Forward with Sale of 50 F-35 Jets to UAE ● Israel-Lebanon Maritime Border Talks to Resume Next Month ● With Massive Exercise, IDF Prepares for War ● WB Palestinians' Olive Trees Burn as UN Urges Protection ● Anti-France Protests in Islamic World Over Prophet Cartoon ● US Seizes Iranian Missiles, Slaps Sanctions on 11 Entities ● Ohr Torah Stone Launches Interfaith Education Program

Commentary: ● : “Self-Blow to the Wing’’ - By Yossi Yehoshua

● Ma’ariv: “And He Still Hasn’t Apologized” - By Ben Caspit

S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 1725 I St NW Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President News Excerpts October 30, 2020 I24 News Israel Marks 25th Anniversary of PM Rabin's Assassination Israel is set to mark the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister . Rabin, one of the key architects of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians, was murdered on November 4, 1995, after a rally at the Kings of Israel Square in , now renamed Rabin Square. He was shot dead by Yigal Amir, a right-wing radical who was against the Accords - while many thought they brought the promise of peace - leaving Israeli society deeply divided. While millions came out in support of the agreement, others held rallies against it, opposing any sort of a deal with the Palestine Liberation Organization. Rabin's death, which came at one of the pivotal moments in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, sent shockwaves throughout both Israel and the world, with hundreds of thousands joining the mourning. See also ‘‘Rabin’s Legacy Lives on Through Netanyahu’’ (Ha’aretz)

Reuters US Moves Forward with Sale of 50 F-35 Jets to UAE The State Department notified Congress it approved the sale of 50 Lockheed Martin Co LMT.N F-35 jets to the UAE in a deal that could be worth $10b, sources said, potentially setting up a showdown with lawmakers over the deal. The US and the UAE aim to have a letter of agreement for the F-35 jets in Dec. 2, Reuters reported in September. The Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees, whose members have criticized the UAE’s role in civilian deaths in Yemen, have the right to review, and block, weapons sales under an informal review process. Israel initially balked at the prospective sale but last week dropped its opposition after what it described as US guarantees that Israeli military superiority would be preserved. Any deal must satisfy a longstanding agreement with Israel that any weapons sold in the region must not impair Israel’s “qualitative military edge,” guaranteeing weapons furnished to Israel are “superior in capability” to those sold to its neighbors. See also ‘‘Why Is Netanyahu Denying His Peace Deals Have a Price?’’ ( News)

Jerusalem Post Israel-Lebanon Maritime Border Talks to Resume Next Month Israel and Lebanon held "productive" talks over their disputed Mediterranean Sea border and agreed to meet again next month, the UN and the US said. Lebanon pushed for more maritime territory than had previously been under negotiation, media based in Beirut reported on, as the second round of talks began. The Lebanese negotiators sought more maritime territory than the 860-square-kilometer triangle that had been under dispute with Israel for more than a decade, and their new demands encroach into Israeli gas fields, Al Jazeera English reported. The Energy Ministry did not comment on the reports. US Ambassador to Algeria John Desrocher mediated between the sides. 2 Times of Israel With Massive Exercise, IDF Prepares for War The IDF completed a large-scale simulation of war in the north and in the Gaza Strip. Dubbed Lethal Arrow, the drill was meant to improve the military’s offensive capability, specifically the number of targets it is able to strike each day, according to IDF officers. An IDF Spokesperson told reporters the drill simulated a worst-case scenario: a war against Hezbollah and related forces in Lebanon and Syria, terror groups in Gaza, and Iranian proxies “in countries that don’t border us”. This included artillery bombardments on Israel in the form of simple rockets and advanced precision-guided missiles as well as cruise missile attacks, the spokesperson said. Hezbollah is believed to control an arsenal of some 130,000 rockets, most of them simple, so- called “statistic” munitions, but also a small but growing number of precision-guided missiles, which present a far greater threat to Israel. See also ‘‘'Best Defense Is to Attack': IDF General Concludes 'Lethal Arrow' War Simulation’’ (I24 News)

Ynet News WB Palestinians' Olive Trees Burn as UN Urges Protection For West Bank Palestinians, the olive tree is both a revered cultural emblem and an economic necessity - but it has also become a focal point of a struggle between them and Israeli settlers for a land they both claim. More than 1,000 trees owned by Palestinian farmers have been burned since the harvest began, according to a UN report. The report by humanitarian affairs office UNOCHA has also logged 19 disruptions "by people believed or known to be Israeli settlers," with 23 farmers injured. While the settlers dispute those figures, in normal years peace monitors accompany the farmers to protect the harvest. But the coronavirus pandemic has made this harder. Calling on Israel to ensure the farmers' safety, U.N. Middle East envoy told the Security Council: "Each year, the ability of Palestinians to harvest is compromised due to access restrictions, attacks and intimidation." The head of Yesha, the main settler council, said most of the accusations came from "dubious" sources.

Jerusalem Post Anti-France Protests in Islamic World Over Prophet Cartoon Protests have escalated in Islamic countries amid an increase in calls for a boycott of French goods after President Macron defended the right to show cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. Iranian students demonstrated outside the French embassy in Tehran. In Baghdad, dozens protested outside the French embassy. Tunisia, Syria, Yemen, Gaza Strip, West Bank and Jerusalem saw protests to denounce what participants described as offenses toward Islam and its prophet. The French leader, speaking at a memorial event in front of Samuel Paty’s coffin, said the teacher, who had shown cartoons of Mohammad to students during a lesson on freedom of expression, “was killed because Islamists want our future.” French products have been removed from shops in Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar. President Erdoğan urged Turks not to buy French goods; he described Macron as a “psychopath” after a likeness of the cartoon showed up on the facades of a number of gov’t buildings in France. See also ‘‘Turkey Joins Chorus of Condemnation of Nice Murders’’ (Al-Monitor)

3 I24 News US Seizes Iranian Missiles, Slaps Sanctions on 11 Entities The US revealed it had seized Iranian missiles shipped to Yemen and sold 1.1 million barrels of previously seized Iranian oil that was bound for Venezuela, in the Trump administration’s latest move to increase pressure on Tehran less than a week before the US election. The unsealing of the forfeiture complaints, by the Justice Department, came at the same time that the Treasury Department and State Department jointly slapped sanctions on a combined 11 different entities and individuals for their involvement in the purchase and sale of Iranian petrochemicals. The latest actions against Iran come after US intelligence officials earlier this month alleged that Iranian hackers sought to threaten some US voters by sending them spoofed emails that were made to appear as though they were from the pro-Trump Proud Boys group. See also ‘‘Iran Tries to Mediate Cease-Fire Between Azerbaijan, Armenia’’ (Al-Monitor)

Arutz Sheva Ohr Torah Stone Launches Interfaith Education Program An initiative of the Ohr Torah Stone network, the Blickle Institute and a corresponding Beit Midrash of Judaism and Humanity have been developed to “engage leading educational and rabbinic figures from the Jewish religious community to be partners in creating a new paradigm for how Judaism relates to other religions and how the Jewish people relate to the non-Jews in our midst,” according to Rabbi Kenneth Brander, President and Rosh Yeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone. The Founding Director of the Institute is Rabbi Dr. Yaakov Nagen, a scholar and teacher who has heavily invested much of his career to interfaith dialogue particularly between Jews and Muslims. “With the return to Zion and the establishment of the state of Israel, we must define the halachic status of other religions according to Judaism and outline our responsibilities to the country's non-Jewish minorities. Our goal is to disseminate among our students and fellow community leaders a new approach that focuses on the reality that there is so much more that unites us as peoples of faith than the political and diplomatic divisions that so often cloud that truth,” he said.

4 Yedioth Ahronoth – October 30, 2020 Self-Blow to the Wing By Yossi Yehoshua ● While the White House has informed Congress of the administration’s intention to sell 50 F-35 jets to the UAE—in a deal linked to the normalization agreement signed between Israel and the UAE with US mediation, which was revealed by Yedioth Ahronoth—Israel is dragging its feet in approving the acquisition project financed by US aid funds, and a struggle between the Finance Ministry and the Defense Ministry has been delaying the project’s approval. A ministerial committee was supposed to convene last week and approve the plan, which is largely financed by US aid funds. It includes additional stealth fighter planes beyond the deal already signed for 50 planes, four tanker aircraft, attack helicopters to replace the old Sikorsky helicopters that suffer from safety problems, and a great deal of precision-guided munitions for IAF planes. ● While the IAF was satisfied with the variety of helicopters, Defense Minister Benny Gantz requested to add V- 22 helicopters, and the process was slightly delayed. But the real reason that the deal is currently stuck is a dispute between the Finance and Defense Ministries, which have irresponsibly caused the cancellation of the ministerial committee’s discussions. Defense Ministry officials wish to move up the payments in order to carry out the acquisition sooner, and are prepared to pay the cost of the loan’s interest—which stands at USD 250 million—from the Defense Ministry’s budget. The Finance Ministry is opposed, and the issue has been brought before Attorney General Mandelblit for him to decide. ● High-ranking military officials say that this is a known and familiar course of action [that has been done] over the years, and the reason for the Finance Ministry’s objections is solely internal politics. Finance Ministry officials say that the previous round of loans was not paid off, which is an allegation that IDF officials adamantly deny. In any case, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has to intervene in the issue and ensure receipt of the planes, helicopters and munitions as soon as possible in order to maintain the Israeli [qualitative] edge, which is being eroded due to the new deals being made between the US and other countries in the region. ● US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper visited Israel and discussed the aid packages with Defense Minister Benny Gantz. Gantz said that it was agreed to give [Israel] secret components that would preserve the Israeli supremacy within the systems under discussion, but as of now there is no talk of additional significant weapons expected to land in Israel that were not planned as part of the aid package. This means that Netanyahu’s statement yesterday, that “we received security in the American pledge to maintain Israel’s military qualitative edge” does not refer, at this stage, to any exceptional aid.

5 Ma’ariv – October 30, 2020 And He Still Hasn’t Apologized By Ben Caspit ● Twenty-five years have elapsed, and he still hasn’t apologized. Shimon Sheves’s renewed call on Binyamin Netanyahu to apologize for the incitement that preceded the murder of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin went unanswered. [Sheves was the director of the Prime Minister’s Office under Yitzhak Rabin] Just the opposite, he continues to whine that nobody talks about the incitement and the threats against himself and against his family, the wail of the robbed Cossack [the perpetrator acting as victim]. The ultimate proof of the incitement from the school of the prime minister is embodied in the story of Prof. Yair Amichai Hamburger, which I revealed in my last book about Netanyahu. Hamburger was a professor of mass psychology who was hired by Netanyahu in the two years prior to the murder. He belongs to religious Zionism, he was a settler at the time, he wears a knitted kippa and is a prodigy in his field, he carried out the in- depth public opinion studies for Netanyahu. At some point, more than a year before the murder, he began to warn. “You are letting the genie out of the bottle,” he told Netanyahu and his people, “you are awakening dark passions. You must stop this pattern of behavior. You must stop the incitement.” ● Netanyahu ignored him with a dismissive gesture. The ends justify the means. We know what happened. Hamburger has never given an interview, and to my regret, he still rejects any attempt to interview him. He resigned after the murder, he sent a long and harsh and agonized letter from the bottom of his heart to Netanyahu, and never returned. I had occasion to talk to some of Hamburger’s close associates in the past year. This is what he told his friends: After the murder, I would wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares about Rabin and the murder and the events that preceded it. I will never forgive myself for not resigning before the murder. If I had just had the courage to do this, a burden would have been lifted from my heart. I would pay any sum in the world to turn the wheel back and to have quit before. ● Hamburger spoke from the depths of his heart, from the storm in his soul. I would go down to the second floor of the Likud headquarters, he related, where the Likud young people made posters and planned their actions. I would ask them to stop. They would continue. I tried to influence, I believed that I could moderate what they were doing. I was wrong. I live with an open wound. I cannot stand myself. After the murder, my clothes stank of Rabin, they stank of the incitement against Rabin, from the fact that I was there and I was unable to stop it. Rabin was part of me for years, everywhere I went. For years, I was a haunted man, I never forgave myself. Netanyahu operated a well-oiled incitement machine. Everyone who was there saw this with their own eyes. I cannot reopen this wound. My soul knows no rest. ● So much for Hamburger, with his testimony from the inside. Twenty-five years have since elapsed and nothing has changed. Netanyahu, who begged the GSS director at the time, Yaakov Perry, to be given bodyguards as the chairman of the opposition, continues to sob. They’re inciting against him. As he wails, his son continues to write posts on Twitter 6 in which the attorney general wears a Nazi uniform, left wingers are described as a gang with the goal of destroying the Zionist idea, and anyone who does not conform to the whims of the royal family is rendered illegitimate with a stroke of the keyboard. “Israel’s biggest existential threat, even more than Iran,” is how Netanyahu Jr. described the attorney general that his father appointed and nobody went to the trouble of apologizing on his behalf. Including his father. If and when someone attacks Mandelblit, he will weep over his grave and won’t understand what they want from him. Just like after Rabin’s murder. ● While Netanyahu demands that everyone condemn the incitement against him, his supporters continue to walk around with shirts and signs that say, “leftists are traitors,” to attack demonstrators and to befoul social media. People who were there, in the cursed year of 1995, feel a chill and a sense of déjà vu. The most persistent Bibi- ist, who introduces himself as an adviser to the public security minister and who is the recipient of congratulations, hugs and back slaps from Netanyahu, not long ago played the recording in which Eitan Haber announces the death of Yitzhak Rabin, and added the words, “may his memory be cursed!” in a victorious tone. With the situation being as described here, another political murder in Israel is only a matter of time. The attorney general, the prosecutor, one of the judges, a critical journalist or a chance demonstrator. There is someone walking among us not knowing that they will pay the price of this villainous incitement, which is repeating itself with blood-curling precision. But Netanyahu continues to wail.

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