Israel and the Middle East News Update Tuesday, June 2 Headlines: Obama: There is no Military Option to Stop Iran Israel Says UN Grants Hamas-linked Group NGO Status France and Britain Refuse to Present at IL Defense Exhibition Egyptian Historian Calls for Normalization with Israel Senior PA Official Reveals New Framework for Negotiations Anti-Semitic Activity on US Campuses Increasing Polish Legislature Launches Pro-Israel Caucus In First, Indian PM Modi to Visit Israel Commentary: New York Times: “Israel’s Charade of Democracy” By Hagai El-Ad Ha’aretz: “How BDS Helps Bibi and his Useless Ministers” By Anshel Pfeffer 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 June 2, 2015 Times of Israel Obama: There is No Military Option to Stop Iran US President Barack Obama told Israeli television that the emerging deal between Iran and world powers is the only way to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and that “a military solution will not fix it.” In a preview aired Monday on Channel 2 of an interview with veteran journalist Ilana Dayan, Obama said that military action against Iran would not deter its nuclear ambitions and that he could prove that a “verifiable” agreement with Iran was the best way forward. “I can, I think, demonstrate, not based on any hope but on facts and evidence and analysis, that the best way to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon is a verifiable, tough agreement,” he said. See also, “ Obama: Only a deal will stop Iran having nukes, attack won't help” (Ha’aretz) Ynet News Israel Says UN Grants Hamas-linked Group NGO Status Israel on Monday accused the United Nations of granting "UN non-governmental organization status" to an association linked to militant Palestinian group Hamas that it said promotes "anti-Israel propaganda in Europe." Israel on Monday accused the United Nations of granting "UN non- governmental organization status" to an association linked to militant Palestinian group Hamas that it said promotes "anti-Israel propaganda in Europe." "Until today, the UN has given Hamas discounts and let it strengthen its activities," Israel's UN ambassador, Ron Prosor, was quoted. "Now, the UN went one step further, and gave Hamas a welcoming celebration at its main entrance." Ma’ariv France and Britain Refuse to Present at IL Defense Exhibition This morning the International Defense and HLS Expo (ISDEF) will open in the Exhibition Grounds in Tel Aviv. However, a large cloud hovers over the event, which is taking place for the seventh year consecutively: Several Western European states have chosen not to present at the exhibition, led by France and Britain. A company that wishes to present at the event first has to receive authorization from the country in which it is registered. It has become apparent that in advance of this year’s exhibition, several companies did not receive authorization from their countries. This refers to leading countries such as France and Britain, but also to additional countries in Western Europe. Jerusalem Post Egyptian Historian Calls for Normalization with Israel Egyptian historian Maged Farag called for normalizing relations with Israel in order to benefit economically and technologically, while saying the Palestinian struggle has caused “nothing but harm” for Egypt. Farag said in an interview aired last week on the Egyptian Mehwar TV station that Egypt could gain culturally, in trade, tourism, and from Israel’s advanced agricultural and industrial technology. “For over 70 years, the Palestinian cause has brought upon Egypt and the Egyptians nothing but harm, destruction, and expense,” said Farag, who recently visited Israel. “We should think with a scientific and open mind, with our eyes set on the future.” 2 Channel 2 News Senior PA Official Reveals New Framework for Negotiations During a recent interview provided to the Washington Post, senior level Palestinian Authority official Rami Abdallah affirms that the US intends to resume the peace talks right after a deal with Iran is reached. According to him, the new framework will involve the UN. Unlike other PA officials who attacked Netanyahu’s government, senior level Palestinian Authority official Rami Hamdallah said, “We are willing to work with any government that is elected in Israel.” He claims there are no preconditions for resuming the talks. Nonetheless, Hamdallah stated that the negotiations could be resumed once a UN resolution is adopted, echoing the internal Palestinian resolution that states the deadline is 2017 for the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the establishment of a Palestinian state. See also, “ A new two-state strategy for peace Interview with Palestinian PM Rami Hamdallah” (Washinton Post) Ynet News Anti-Semitic Activity on US Campuses Increasing As the 2014-2015 US academic year winds down, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is reporting a marked increase in the number and intensity of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incidents on American college campuses. During this academic year, ADL counted a total of 520 anti-Israel events on campus, representing a 38% increase compared to the previous academic year. Moreover, boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns were initiated on a total of 29 US college campuses, nearly double the campaigns seen during the previous academic year. "These incidents are troubling and are generating heightened concern in the Jewish community about the atmosphere on campus for Jewish students," said ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman. i24 News Polish Legislature Launches Pro-Israel Caucus The first-ever pro-Israel caucus in the parliament of Poland will be launched Monday in Warsaw.The new Polish Parliamentary Israel Allies Caucus hopes to garner support for the State of Israel through their shared Judeo-Christian values. “As anti-Semitism continues to rise in Europe and around the world, it is moving to witness this historic initiative by members of the Polish parliament to publicly support the Jewish state just 70 years after the Holocaust,” said former MK Shai Hermesh, a member of the Israeli delegation to the event. The delegation is meeting in Warsaw with high ranking Polish politicians, including MP Jan Dziedziczak, who will chair the new caucus. Jerusalem Post In First, Indian PM Modi to Visit Israel India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Israel, though no firm date has been set, his Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said at a press conference on Sunday, the Indian media reported. “As far as the prime minister’s visit is concerned, he will travel to Israel. No dates have been finalized. It will take place as per mutually convenient dates,” the Hindustan Times reported. Swaraj said that she too would visit “Israel, Palestine and Jordan” this year, but also gave no exact dates. According to the paper, the Indian and Israeli foreign ministries will hold a consultation in July to discuss the Swaraj visit. The paper speculated that a Modi visit could come in November. The visit of Modi would be the first ever visit to Israel by an Indian prime minister. 3 New York Times– June 2, 2015 Israel’s Charade of Democracy By Hagai El-Ad Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is nearing the half-century mark, and Israel’s new right-wing government offers little hope of ending it. Nevertheless, the new government promises something else of value: clarity. And with that clarity, the opportunity to challenge the prolonged lie of the occupation’s “temporary” status. For if the occupation has become permanent in all but its name, what about the voting rights of Palestinians? Two months ago, on election day in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel’s Arab citizens were flocking to the polls “in droves”— a clear effort to cast the voting of one-fifth of Israel’s citizens as a danger to be counteracted. That undermined basic democratic principles, but it paled in contrast to the status of the Palestinian population living next door in territories under direct or indirect Israeli rule. They have no say at all in choosing the government of the occupying power that is in ultimate command of their fate. If you look at all the land Israel controls between the Jordan and the Mediterranean, that area contains some 8.3 million Israelis and Palestinians of voting age. Roughly 30 percent — about 2.5 million — are Palestinians living outside Israel under varying degrees of Israeli control — in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They have some ability to elect Palestinian bodies with limited functions. But they are powerless to choose Israeli officials, who make the weightiest decisions affecting them. International humanitarian law does not grant a people living under temporary military occupation the right to vote for the institutions of the occupying power. But “temporary” is the operative word. Military occupations are meant to have an end. And common sense says half a century is not “temporary.” Nevertheless, that is the basis for denying Palestinians their political rights: Their status is temporary, we are told, until a political agreement with Israel allows them to vote for sovereign Palestinian institutions. Now the chances of that happening are more clear. On the eve of elections, Mr. Netanyahu promised that there would be no Palestinian state while he is in office. Does that mean nobody in the occupied territories has a meaningful vote? No. In fact, some people do: Israeli settlers.in August 1970, the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, discussed amending the Knesset Election Law, which stipulated that Israelis — with few exceptions like diplomats on duty abroad — had to be inside Israel to vote. The amendment sought to expand the exception to include Israelis “residing in the territories held by the Israel Defense Force.” In other words, Israeli settlers could vote for the Knesset from outside Israel; their Palestinian neighbors could not participate from anywhere.