DOCSLIB.ORG

Monday, July 3

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Monday, July 3 Israel and the Middle East News Update Wednesday, May 27 Headlines: After Rocket Attack, Israeli Jets Strike Targets in Gaza Strip Ya'alon: Gaza Will Pay a Heavy Price if Calm is Not Maintained Palestinians Reject Proposal to Discuss Settlement Borders US Says Reported 'Settlement Borders' Proposal New to its Ears Netanyahu Embarks on Senior Civil Service 'Beheadings' Kahlon: I Will Not Take Part in Gas-Related Decisions A New Headache: Begin Refuses to Resign Amnesty Report: Hamas has Committed War Crimes in Gaza Commentary: Yedioth Haronoth: “The Jerusalem Paradox” By Haim Ramon Foreign Policy: “Benjamin Netanyahu’s Grade A Pork-Barrel Politics” By Neri Zilber S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org ● Yoni Komorov, Editor News Excerpts May 27, 2015 Times of Israel After Rocket Attack, Israeli Jets Strike Targets in Gaza Strip The Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning, hours after a projectile fired from the coastal enclave fell in southern Israel, causing no damage. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the bombardments across the Palestinian coastal enclave. The IDF said in a statement that it targeted four sites of terror infrastructure in the southern Gaza Strip in response to the rocket fire at southern Israel on Tuesday evening. The military said it confirmed direct hits. “The reality that Hamas’s territory is used as a staging ground to attack Israel is unacceptable and intolerable and will bear consequences.” Jerusalem Post Ya'alon: Gaza Will Pay a Heavy Price if Calm is Not Maintained Minister of Defense Moshe Ya'alon responded to the Tuesday night rocket fired at Israel from the Gaza strip, saying that if there isn't calm between Israel and Gaza, the Gaza Strip will pay a very heavy price, adding that Israel's response would "cause anyone that tries to challenge us to be sorry for what they did." Islamic Jihad was named as the responsible party for firing the rocket, said another senior security official. The official said the rocket was fired "as a result of internal conflicts within the organization." Still, Ya'alon maintained the position that Hamas is held responsible for anything that happens in the Strip. Ha’aretz Palestinians Reject Proposal to Discuss Settlement Borders Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat on Tuesday called Netanyahu's proposal to discuss the borders of settlement blocs an attempt to legitimize the settlements, an issue he said that the Palestinians were not prepared to accept. Erekat, a member of the PLO's executive committee, told Ha’aretz that the Palestinian stance was very clear: West Bank settlements are not legitimate and there is therefore no place for discussion about their borders, according to international law. If Netanyahu is interested in renewing the political process, Erekat said, he must halt all construction in the settlements, implement the fourth stage of prisoner release, hold negotiations based on the 1967 lines, and end the occupation. Any other position will render the negotiations irrelevant. Jerusalem Post US Says Reported 'Settlement Borders' Proposal New to its Ears The United States has not heard of a plan by Israel to define the settlement blocs it would be allowed to retain under a future two-state solution with the Palestinians, before resuming direct negotiations toward final agreement, a US official said on Tuesday. The official was responding to reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had made the proposal to the European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, in a meeting last week. "We are aware of the press reports about what may have been discussed in a private meeting, but we have not yet heard anything directly from either side so we are not in a position to comment," State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez said. 2 Ynet News Netanyahu Embarks on Senior Civil Service 'Beheadings' 10 days have passed since the 34th Israeli government was sworn in, and one can already clearly see the transformation: a string of dismissals and resignations of senior pubic officials reveal Benjamin Netanyahu is changing the order of priorities and is picking loyalists. The opposition calls this "beheadings". Yael Endoran, director-general of the Ministry of Finance, resigned her post only 10 days after the elections. Last week, during Netanyahu's first day of work as communications minister, he dismissed Communications Ministry Director-General Avi Berger over the phone. On Monday, the director-general of the Foreign Ministry, Nissim Ben-Shitrit, was added to Netanyahu's dismissal list and replaced by Dore Gold. Simultaneously, Antitrust Authority Commissioner David Gilo and National Insurance Institute (NII) Director General Esther Dominissini both resigned too. Channel 2 News Kahlon: I Will Not Take Part in Gas-Related Decisions During the 2015 elections campaign, Kulanu Chairman Moshe Kahlon was interviewed by Israel's Channel 2 News and promised the public on live television: "I will tackle the gas market crisis; every monopoly must be dismantled." Four months later, amid the resignation of the director of the Antitrust Authority, Kahlon announced on Tuesday that he intends to stay out of the annual 100 billion NIS gas market issue due to his association with Koby Maimon, one of the Tamar Gas Field owners. "Upon beginning to serve as finance minister, Kahlon announced he would not be taking part in decisions concerning the gas market issue," a statement issued by Kahlon explains. "Just like he refrained from treating any issue linked to the energy market in the past." Yedioth Ahronoth A New Headache: Begin Refuses to Resign The addition of Gilad Erdan to the cabinet has created yet another farce in the brief term of the fourth Netanyahu government. Prime Minister Netanyahu is now stuck with a minister whom he doesn’t want to fire, and is now looking for a way to get around his refusal to resign. Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Economy Minister Aryeh Deri are staunchly opposed to expanding the size of the cabinet to beyond 20 ministers, which has forced Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to ask Benny Begin to resign his post in order to make room for Erdan. Yesterday, however, it became evident that Begin is unwilling to resign. Begin informed Coalition Chairman Tzahi Hanegbi that he intends to continue to serve as a cabinet minister pending a decision to the contrary. Israel Radio News Amnesty Report: Hamas has Committed War Crimes in Gaza Amnesty International accused Hamas of war crimes against civilians in Gaza during last year’s Operation Protective Edge. The Amnesty report said that the Hamas security organizations kidnapped, tortured and murdered individuals suspected of collaborating with Israel. They were given a free hand by the leadership to commit shocking acts of violence in order to take revenge on their opponents and to instill fear amongst the residents of Gaza. The report said that some of the actions met the qualification for war crimes. 3 Yedioth Ahronoth– May 27, 2015 The Jerusalem Paradox By Haim Ramon A few days ago we celebrated Jerusalem Day. Paradoxically enough, this is a city in which two thirds of the residents are non-Zionists, and in a decade or two, the share of Zionist Jerusalemites in the city’s population will be negligible. The root of evil sprouted in 1967, when the Israeli government made one of the stupidest decisions that a government of Israel has ever made. It adopted a proposal of two overly eager high-ranking officers to annex 28 villages, refugee camps and neighborhoods populated with Palestinians to the capital, Jerusalem. None of the annexed areas had ever belonged to Jerusalem before. Instead of making do with annexing the six square kilometers of Jordanian Jerusalem (including the Old City, the holy basin, the Mount of Olives and Mt. Scopus), the government annexed about 60 square kilometers of areas and lands that were part of Judea in the south and part of Samaria in the north, to Jewish Jerusalem. Today about 860,000 people live in “greater” Jerusalem. About one third of its residents are Palestinians, about one third are Haredim and only about one third are Jewish Zionists. There is no other capital city in the world where most of the residents do not identify fully with their country’s national identity. Binyamin Netanyahu, since he was first elected as prime minister, turned the Palestinian villages that were annexed, with their hundreds of thousands of Arab residents, into the “bedrock of our existence.” The Shuafat refugee camp became as sacred as the Western Wall to him; the Walaja village has become no less sacred than the Temple Mount. Unfortunately, the former finance minister, Lapid, followed suit, calling “greater” Jerusalem, with all its Palestinian villages and camps, an “idea” that must not be touched. Not only do the Palestinian villages endanger Jerusalem’s existence as a Jewish city, the State of Israel spends NIS 2-3 billion every year in paying about 300,000 Palestinians various National Insurance allowances and funding their welfare, education and health services. Netanyahu and Lapid were joined in the latest election campaign by the opposition leader, Herzog, who also pledged allegiance to the absurdity of “greater Jerusalem.” His Jerusalem extends from the Shuafat and Kalandiya refugee camps in the north to the Walaja village in the south, with Issawiya, Jabel Mukaber and Sur Baher in the middle. Yes, these names are familiar—the lone terrorists [who carried out attacks] in Jewish Jerusalem in the past years have originated from all these villages and camps. For Bibi, the greater Jerusalem has been and remains not only an empty slogan, it is a slogan that covers up a disastrous reality.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • How Palestinians Can Burst Israel's Political Bubble
    Al-Shabaka Policy Brief Policy Al-Shabaka March 2018 WHEN LEFT IS RIGHT: HOW PALESTINIANS CAN BURST ISRAEL’S POLITICAL BUBBLE By Amjad Iraqi Overview the allies holding up his fragile rule, from the ultra- orthodox Jewish parties to his personal rivals within Although no indictments have been issued yet, Israelis Likud. “King Bibi,” however, survived them all. A are speculating whether the latest developments in skilled politician, he has been adept at managing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption Israel’s notoriously volatile coalition system, and [email protected] scandals finally mark the beginning of his political has remained in power with three consecutive demise. The second-longest serving prime minister governments over nine years – each more right wing after David Ben-Gurion, Netanyahu has had a than the last.2 profound impact on Israel’s political scene since the 1990s. It is therefore troubling, especially to Netanyahu directly influenced the country’s media Palestinians, that if these corruption cases are the landscape by shaping the editorial stance of Israel harbinger of Netanyahu’s downfall, they will have Hayom (the nation’s gratis, most-read newspaper, had nothing to do with the more egregious crimes for funded by American billionaire Sheldon Adelson), which he is responsible, and for which he – and future and used the Communications Ministry to threaten Israeli leaders – have yet to be held accountable. and harass media outlets that were critical of him. Despite crises and condemnations throughout This policy brief analyzes Israel’s political his career – including mass Israeli protests for transformations under Netanyahu and maps out the socioeconomic justice in 2011 and, more recently, current leadership contenders from a Palestinian weekly protests against widespread government perspective.1 It argues that Israel’s insular political corruption – Netanyahu withstood public pressures discourse, and the increasing alignment of Israeli to step down.
    [Show full text]
  • 2007 Israeli Democracy Index Is Dedicated to Captain Zur Zarhi from Nahalal, a Beloved Friend Who Went to War and Did Not Come Back
    Auditing Israeli Democracy – 2007 Cohesion in a Divided Society Asher Arian, Nir Atmor, Yael Hadar The Israel Democracy Institute is an independent, non-partisan body on the seam of academia and politics. The Institute proposes policy recommendations and reforms for government and public administration agencies. In its plans and endeavors, the Institute strives to support the institutions of Israel’s developing democracy and consolidate its values. The Institute’s research is followed up by practical recommendations, seeking to improve governance in Israel and foster a long-term vision for a stable democratic regime adapted to the structure, the values, and the norms of Israeli society. The Institute aspires to further public discourse in Israel on the issues placed on the national agenda, to promote structural, political, and economic reforms, to serve as a consulting body to decision-makers and the broad public, to provide information, and present comparative research. Researchers at the Israel Democracy Institute are leading academics directing projects in various areas of society and governance in Israel. The IDI Press produces, markets, and distributes the results of their work in several series of books (“The Democracy Library”), policy papers, the Caesarea Forum Series, periodicals, and conference proceedings. The Guttman Center was established in its present form in 1998, when the Guttman Institute for Applied Social Research became part of the Israel Democracy Institute. Professor Louis Guttman founded the original Institute in 1949 as a pioneering center for the study of public opinion and the advancement of social science methodology. The goal of the Guttman Center is to enrich public discourse on issues of public policy through the information retrieved from the Center’s databases and through public opinion surveys conducted by the Center.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel and Overseas: Israeli Election Primer 2015 (As Of, January 27, 2015) Elections • in Israel, Elections for the Knesset A
    Israel and Overseas: Israeli Election Primer 2015 (As of, January 27, 2015) Elections In Israel, elections for the Knesset are held at least every four years. As is frequently the case, the outgoing government coalition collapsed due to disagreements between the parties. As a result, the Knesset fell significantly short of seeing out its full four year term. Knesset elections in Israel will now be held on March 17, 2015, slightly over two years since the last time that this occurred. The Basics of the Israeli Electoral System All Israeli citizens above the age of 18 and currently in the country are eligible to vote. Voters simply select one political party. Votes are tallied and each party is then basically awarded the same percentage of Knesset seats as the percentage of votes that it received. So a party that wins 10% of total votes, receives 10% of the seats in the Knesset (In other words, they would win 12, out of a total of 120 seats). To discourage small parties, the law was recently amended and now the votes of any party that does not win at least 3.25% of the total (probably around 130,000 votes) are completely discarded and that party will not receive any seats. (Until recently, the “electoral threshold,” as it is known, was only 2%). For the upcoming elections, by January 29, each party must submit a numbered list of its candidates, which cannot later be altered. So a party that receives 10 seats will send to the Knesset the top 10 people listed on its pre-submitted list.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel Elections 2019 Update
    Israel Elections 2019 Update September 10, 2019 With no party succeeding in forming a government following the elections that took place in Israel in April, 2019, a brand new election will now take place next week, on September 17. JFNA is pleased to present the following backgrounder summarizing what has occurred, and what may happen in the coming weeks and months. JFNA has also prepared a background briefing on why a second round of elections are taking place – which can be seen here, as well as a paper on how Israeli elections work. Elections: Round Two Perhaps the most crucial take away from the backgrounder papers (linked above) is that in practice, Israeli elections have two “stages.” The first - the actual elections - occurs when the population elects the 120-members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. Those are the national elections, but once the results of these elections are known, we don’t always have a clear picture of who will lead the country. This only occurs during what we can call a “second stage” when a potential prime minister seeks to form a governing majority coalition of at least 61, from among those 120 newly elected MKs (represented through their parties). September 2019’s theme: Mergers In the months that have passed since second elections were called, there has been little, if any, debate about policy or major issues of substance; or even discussions about personality. Instead, the focus has been on tactics, strategy and coalition building. So, in many ways, the September 2019 look like a redo of the elections that took place in April.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel and the Middle East News Update
    Israel and the Middle East News Update Wednesday, January 3 Headlines: ​ ● Trump Threatens to Cut Palestinian Aid ● PA: Israel Law on Dividing Jerusalem is ‘Declaration of War’ ● Netanyahu Allies Rethink Remapping of Jerusalem ● State Dept Denies Shift on ‘Occupied’ West Bank ● Army: Islamic Jihad Fired Iran-Made Mortar Shells ● US Ambassador to Pay Shiva Call Over Green Line ● Egypt: Israeli Restraint Vital to Palestinian Reconciliation ● INSS Report Details Threat of Two-Pronged Northern War Commentary: ● Israel Hayom: “Finally, Ideological Clarity” − By Polly Bronstein ● Ynet: “In a Foolish Decision, Likud Gave BDS a Valuable Gift” − By Ben Dror-Yemini S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● Aaron Zucker, Associate Editor ​ ​ News Excerpts ​ January 3, 2018 Ha’aretz Trump Threatens to Cut Palestinian Aid US President Donald Trump said the United States may withhold future payments to the Palestinians because they are "no longer willing to talk peace" with Israel, and that Israel would have "had to pay more" in return for his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December. Trump's tweet implied that he intended to extract possible future concessions from Israel for his speech recognizing Jerusalem as the Jewish state's capital. Trump's comments came hours after US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said that the Trump administration would cut funding to UNRWA, the UN's agency for aiding Palestinian refugees, unless the Palestinian Authority went back to the negotiating table. See also, “How Much Funding Does the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 19/16 Aktuelles Aus Israelischen Tageszeitungen 1
    Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 19/16 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 1.-15. Oktober Die Themen dieser Ausgabe Beerdigung von Shimon Peres ................................................................................................................................. 1 UNESCO-Debakel .................................................................................................................................................... 3 Terror in Jerusalem ................................................................................................................................................... 4 Medienquerschnitt .................................................................................................................................................... 6 Beerdigung von Shimon Peres to Peres’s determined pursuit of peace, it was jarring Die Beisetzung von Israels früherem Staatspräsi- to observe the rejectionist front being represented, denten Shimon Peres, der Ende September den not just by a terrorist organization, but by a party of Folgen eines schweren Schlaganfalls erlag, ent- Israeli parliamentarians. Due to all of this, Abbas’s puppt sich rückblickend mehr und mehr als Politi- participation was an important step that should be kum. Mehrere Redner, darunter US-Präsident Ba- appreciated by Israel and the Netanyahu govern- rack Obama und der israelische Schriftsteller Amos ment. (…) Abbas took an important step on Friday, Oz, nutzen die Bühne zur Mahnung, das Erbe von especially considering the criticism that he faced Peres
    [Show full text]
  • Benjamin Netanyahu and the 'Otherwise Enlightened'
    BUSINESS 17-18 ■ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 24 THE JERUSALEM POST . TUESDAY,C SEPTEMBERO 13,MMENT 2016 &FEATURES THE JERUSALEM POST Benjamin Netanyahu and Founded in 1932 by GERSHON AGRON YAAKOV KATZ Editor-in-Chief DAVID BRINN, Managing Editor ILAN EVYATAR, Senior Editor TOVAH LAZAROFF, Deputy Managing Editor the ‘otherwise enlightened’ STEVE LINDE, Senior Features Editor CAROLINE B. GLICK, Senior Contributing Editor NOA AMOUYAL, News Editor AMY SPIRO, Night Editor SETH J. FRANTZMAN, Op-Ed Editor MATI WAGNER, Editorial Page Editor OUR WORLD RHONA BURNS, Magazine Editor ERICA SCHACHNE, In Jerusalem/Metro Editor • By CAROLINE B. GLICK NERIA BARR, Billboard Editor SHAWN RODGERS, Arts & Entertainment Editor BARUCH LIPSITZ, Business Editor ADAM HASKEL, Chief Copy Editor MARC ISRAEL SELLEM, Chief Photographer DANIEL CLINTON, Managing Editor, JPost.com ometimes, nothing is more infuriat- JUDY SIEGEL, Health & Science Editor LIAT COLLINS, International Edition Editor ing than the truth. HANA BEN ANO, Chief Designer ELAINE MOSHE, Archivist S On Friday, Prime Minister Benja- min Netanyahu infuriated the Obama administration when he told the truth about the nature of the international- Police integration ly supported Palestinian demand that Israel must transfer control over Judea, n April, during the swearing-in ceremony of Jamal Samaria and Jerusalem to the Palestin- Hakrush as deputy commissioner of Israel Police, Pub- ians Jew-free. Ilic Security Minister Gilad Erdan declared his inten- In a video address posted to his Face- tion to increase recruitment of Israel’s Arabs to the police book page at around dawn Washington force. The appointment of Hakrush, an Arab Israeli, to time, Netanyahu said, “The Palestinian the rank of deputy commissioner was a watershed event.
    [Show full text]
  • Sent a Letter
    בצלם - מרכז המידע הישראלי לזכויות האדם בשטחים (ע.ר.) ﺑﺗﺳﻳﻠم - ﻣرﻛز اﻟﻣﻌﻠوﻣﺎت اﻹﺳراﺋﻳﻠﻲ ﻟﺣﻘوق اﻹﻧﺳﺎن ﻓﻲ اﻷراﺿﻲ اﻟﻣﺣﺗﻠﺔ B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories Jerusalem 25 November 2015 MK Benjamin Netanyahu The Prime Minister Dear Sir, Re.: Your responsibility for permitting a de facto death penalty The day before yesterday, a police officer in Jerusalem shot N.'A., a 16-year-old girl from Qalandiya as she lay injured and immobile on the ground. Her 14-year-old cousin, Hadil, was also shot in the same incident even after she had already been hit by gunfire and had fallen to the ground. Hadil was killed. The day before, soldiers shot dead Ashraqat Qatnani, a 16-year-old girl from Nablus, after she had already been injured when hit by a car. In October, Basel Sidr and Fadi ‘Alun were shot dead in Jerusalem; the gunfire did not stop even after they had already been hit and injured. In each of these five cases, even though the individuals involved had already been “neutralized,” they were shot at again. Of the five, four were killed and one seriously injured. Whether or not these individuals had been attempting to perpetrate attacks is a matter that cannot obscure the harsh reality at hand: these instances constitute public, summary street executions, without law or trial. And there is reason for concern that there are other such cases as well. The death penalty for murder was abolished in Israeli criminal law in 1954, over 60 years ago. And never was a death sentence a possible penalty for attempted murder or grievous assault.
    [Show full text]
  • March 31, 2017 Benjamin Netanyahu
    March 31, 2017 Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister, State of Israel Jerusalem, Israel Fax: +972-2-566-4838 Email: [email protected] Aryeh Deri Interior Minister, State of Israel Jerusalem, Israel Fax: +972-2-670-1628; +972-3-763-2533 Gilad Erdan Public Security Minister, State of Israel Jerusalem, Israel Email: [email protected] Dear Prime Minister and Ministers, We write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) of North America and its Committee on Academic Freedom to register our concerns regarding the Government of Israel’s decision to investigate Omar Barghouti, permanent resident of Israel and co-founder of the Boycott, Sanction, and Divestment (BDS) movement, for tax evasion. We are concerned that this latest investigation to which Omar Barghouti is being subjected is political in character and related to his non-violent support for Palestinian rights and BDS in particular. MESA was founded in 1966 to promote scholarship and teaching on the Middle East and North Africa. The preeminent organization in the field, the Association publishes the International Journal of Middle East Studies and has nearly 3,000 members worldwide. MESA is committed to ensuring academic freedom and freedom of expression, both within the region and in connection with the study of the region in North America and elsewhere. Omar Barghouti is a Palestinian born in Qatar who is married to a Palestinian citizen of Israel with whom he has lived in Acre for 23 years. He is a co-founder and world-renowned advocate of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions Movement. Currently, the Israeli government alleges that Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Quotes of the Week… Commentary…
    בס״ד Settling the Score’ ‘ עש״ק פרשת ויגש 6 Tevet 5779 ISRAEL NEWS with Terrorists December 14, 2018 Won’t Prevent Issue number 1224 A collection of the week’s news from Israel Subsequent Attacks From the Bet El Twinning / Israel Action Committee of By Alex Traiman Jerusalem 3:57 On the last night of Hanukkah, a Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Congregation Toronto 4:23 Palestinian terrorist wounded seven in a drive-by shooting at a bus stop outside the large Jewish community in Ofra, Samaria. Injured in the attack were Shira Ish-Ran, a 21-year-old and 30-week pregnant woman, and her Quotes of the Week… husband, Amichai, both of whom suffered multiple gunshot wounds. On Monday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Canadian Political Leaders’ Responses to Sunday’s Terrorist Attack in condemned the actions of the “horrible terrorists” at the weekly Likud Ofra Party faction meeting in the Knesset. “Absolutely gutted by the news that Amichai and Shira Ish-Ran's baby “It’s monstrous,” said Netanyahu. “Security forces are pursuing … boy has passed away after being born prematurely following a targeted and They’ll capture them. We’ll bring them to justice and settle the score.” gutless terror attack in Ofra. Jill and I are praying for their family in But Israelis are not interested in bringing individual terrorists to Montreal and for Amichai and Shira's full recovery. Conservatives justice. And they most certainly are not interested in a pattern of suffering unequivocally condemn, in the strongest possible terms, this vile terrorist deadly terrorist attacks, only then to capture the terrorist in a manhunt and attack as well as all acts of violent anti-Semitism.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel: Background and U.S
    Israel: Background and U.S. Relations Jim Zanotti Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs November 1, 2013 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL33476 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Israel: Background and U.S. Relations Summary Since Israel’s founding in 1948, successive U.S. Presidents and many Members of Congress have demonstrated a commitment to Israel’s security and to maintaining close U.S.-Israel defense, diplomatic, and economic cooperation. U.S. and Israeli leaders have developed close relations based on common perceptions of shared democratic values and religious affinities. U.S. policymakers often seek to determine how regional events and U.S. policy choices may affect Israel’s security, and Congress provides active oversight of executive branch dealings with Israel and the broader Middle East. Some Members of Congress and some analysts criticize what they perceive as U.S. support for Israel without sufficient scrutiny of its actions. Israel is a leading recipient of U.S. foreign aid and is a frequent purchaser of major U.S. weapons systems. The United States and Israel maintain close security cooperation—predicated on a U.S. commitment to maintain Israel’s “qualitative military edge” over other countries in its region. The two countries signed a free trade agreement in 1985, and the United States is Israel’s largest trading partner. For more information, see CRS Report RL33222, U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel, by Jeremy M. Sharp. Israel has many regional security concerns. Israeli leaders calling for urgent international action against Iran’s nuclear program hint at the possibility of a unilateral military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
    [Show full text]
  • Full PDF Version
    NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations www.lrwc.org ; [email protected] ; Tel: +1 604 738 0338; Fax: +1 604 736 1175 3220 West 13 th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. CANADA V6K 2V5 Tuesday, July 11 2017 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Director General, Ministry of Health Prime Minister’s Office Moshe Bar Siman Tov 3 Kaplan St. Hakirya 39 Yirmiyahu St. Jerusalem 91950, Israel PO Box 1176 Tel: 972-2-6705555 Jerusalem 9101002, Israel Fax: 972-2-5664838 Tel: 972-2-5080000 [email protected] Fax: 972-2-5655966 [email protected] Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan Military Judge Advocate General The Ministry of Public Security Brigadier General Sharon Afek Rehov Clermont Ganneau, Building C [email protected] Sheikh Jerach Government Complex Sheikh Jerach, Jersualem PO Box 18182 Jerusalem 91181, Israel Tel: 972-2-6408189 Fax: 972-2-6753982 [email protected],il , [email protected] Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu, Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan, Director General, Ministry of Health Moshe Bar Siman Tov, and Military Judge Advocate General Brigadier General Sharon Afek; Re: LRWC call for immediate release of lawyer Muhammed Allan Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) is a committee of Canadian lawyers and other human rights defenders who promote human rights and the rule of law through advocacy, education and research. LRWC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. LRWC is gravely concerned about the treatment of Palestinian lawyer Muhammed Allan, who was seized from his family home during a pre-dawn raid by Israeli occupation forces on 8 June LRWC: Call for immediate release of Lawyer Muhammed Allan Page 1 of 5 2017, placed under administrative detention, and is currently on day 34 of a hunger strike to protest his arrest and administrative detention.
    [Show full text]